So far, nothing, but this car is relatively new. Have owned two Saturns SL1s before this, one was totaled at 185,000 miles and the other still going at 164,000. I would recommend an S Series Saturn, but some would beg to differ.
Mine is as stripped down as an SL2 gets, which I like. There are no power windows, power locks, power seats, automatic transmission, or power mirrors. The trunk release is cable operated, which will not die like the electric one in my Intrepid.
The SL2 has "sport" seats, which offer nice adjustment and are very comfortable. The radio, climate control, and all other buttons are easy to use. There is no factory cruise, but the aftermarket one does just fine.
A/C is very powerful and the heat heats up fast. The adjustment knobs are a tad resistant to turn because they climate control is cable operated.
Shift light and oil change light are useless to me, and don't seem to work very well anyway. I can be going 40MPH up hill in 4th gear, and it wants me to shift into 5th.
The suspension is "sporty", so it corners nicely. Sporty also means that medium to large road imperfections are felt very explicitly. The damping is good, and small bumps are barely noticed.
The SL2 has a double overhead cam engine which has an extra 24HP over the single overhead cam in the SL and SL1. The transmission has shorter gearing, which gives the car great acceleration. I occasionally grind and miss gears, as the shifter is very imprecise. My other two Saturns were like this as well, but it is really no big deal.
Back seat is tight, but this is not a big car. Trunk is fairly large for a vehicle of this size, and it can haul a good amount of stuff with the seat folded down.
The plastic body panels are very nifty, and it is sad that Saturn is starting to do away with them because the panel gaps are unsightly, in their opinion. In my opinion, rust and dents are unsightly.
I get about 35MPG in my daily driving, which is a mix of city and highway. My other Saturns got 39, but they had less power.
The one thing I'd change with the car is to either add a 6th gear or not have such short gear ratios. At 75MPH on the freeway, the engine is near 3,100 RPM. This causes the high speed freeway mileage to drop to about 30MPG, which is less than the 33MPG my much larger Intrepid would get.
I have a 2002 SL2 that I am very happy with, except it has no cc. I had bad luck with aftermarket cc with a 5 speed. The gas pedal was always going up and down. Speed up, slow down... You said your after market works fine, where do you recommend I get one?
My clutch and shifter are also imprecise. I'm always double clutching it and worry about the clutch going out.
The person had made the first comment is wrong, he has an SL because if you have an SL2 you would have power windows, locks, and mirrors. A power seat is not availiable on this S-Series. So the person has an SL not an SL2.
I wrote the review, and I can guarantee you that it is an SL2. I know my cars quite well, especially the ones I own, and am not just some schlump that can't tell an SL1 from an SL2.
I know for a fact that my car is an SL2 because:
-It has the simulated tail lamps on the trunk lid
-It has a DOHC engine, the SL1 has a SOHC
-The gearing is shorter than any SL1 I've ever driven
-The steering is tighter than any SL1 I've ever driven
-It has an oil life monitor, which is standard on an SL2 and I am pretty sure is unavailable on an SL1 (and, by the way, doesn't work all that well)
And yes, the car does have manual crank windows. There is a chance it may have been a special order, but it is still an SL2.
As for how the car is doing, it has survived a few minor accidents, but is still running beautifully and is darn close to 100,000 miles.
A problem that has arose is that the paint is chipping quite badly on the front of the car, for no apparent reason, on both the plastic fenders and steel hood. Luckily it is silver, so it is not too noticeable, but is still unacceptable for a four year old car.
To back up the last comment: SL2 and SC2 models were most definitely available without power accessories.
If nothing else... perhaps the original poster could at least look at his/her title...
My 2002 SL2 is running strong after 100,000 miles. The only complaints I have is that the driver's side door has a malfunction that requires me to be very alert getting in and out as it seems pulling and releasing the door handle sets the lock, the other problem is that the seat adjustment cable, (more like a wire) has broken. Other than that the car has been great. This is the 4th Saturn I have owned. They are well engineered autos, giving me tremendous fuel mileage, and I have not had to replace a tire on any of them until at least 80,000 miles. I was able to get 94,000 miles on the 2002 SL2 and probably could have gone further, but why take a chance.
In the 2002 models, Saturn downgraded their standard options for the last of the SL2's, removing power windows as standard equipment. Don't ask me why they expected customers to pay more for less, but they certainly did!
That was one of the things that turned me off to the company initially, and I've remained skeptical ever since.
Well, personally, I prefer cars with manual door locks and windows, as they usually never need replacing, and I never need a key fob in my pocket to get into my car. I wonder what people have to go through to get into their car if they happen to break their key fob.
Just bought a used 2002 SL1 for my daughter. Has 81K orginal miles and is very clean. Did a carfax on title. I'm the 2nd owner.
Just been a couple of weeks since buying. No complaints so far. Seems to be a good car for a a kid going off to college.
Sometimes you get what you buy. I feel that I bought a good used car at a decent price.
As another former SL1 driver who has been living with a "new"
'02 SL2 for a week, I completely agree that the gearing is too short. It's the same as an SL1 in 1st and 2nd, but when you shift to third you can't help, but notice that it's hardly any "taller" than second was, and so on, and even driving at only 55, the engine is working much harder than it needs to be. If the goal was maximum acceleration the twin-cam engine, fine, but it seems they could have made gears 1-4 the "speed" gears and made 5th more of an overdrive for more economical cruising.
Other than the fact that I spend half my spare time
daydreaming about how and when I'm going to get an SL1 transmission transplanted into my SL2 without spending a fortune...I'm very happy with the SL2.
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