Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-49
I just bought a 96 SL2 Saturn last week for $600. The car has an odometer reading of 130k miles. The owner advised me that the car need a clutch replacement as it slips at high rpm while transmission is in gear. The other day, the transmission clutch was replaced with new parts. I did the work myself and it took me 3 days to complete the clutch job. Yesterday, I noticed the service engine soon warning light was coming on and off. I also noticed some engine misfire while accelerating. Today, the service engine soon warning light was on all the time. I haven't checked whats causing the service engine soon to come on, but other than that the car runs great.
After reading the first comment from the X-Saturn owner, I thought I had wrote this myself. I am going through this right now. My car is a 2002 and had 70,000 miles. It now sits in the dealership because engine failed due to no oil. Now mind you, I have kept up with all oil changes like Saturn told me. There answer to that was that I should have checked my oil each and every time I put in gas. I find that a ridiculous statement. Who does that? If I would have known I had to that each time then a Saturn would not have been my choice. I am also being told to pay $5500 for a new engine. I am still paying on this car without the benefit of being able to drive it. I now kicked myself for not buying a Toyota, but I fell for the Different Kind of Car marketing. Now their customer service has been nothing, but horrible.
All right already, you guys have given me the heebee-jeebee's about Saturns. Of course I own one, a 1999 SW2. The service engine light went on recently and we were having some misses while under acceleration. We found a former Saturn mechanic about 70 miles away, but decided to go to the dealer about 5 miles away. A friend of mine owns a Saturn and has enjoyed his car, so I did not hesitate to purchase one. The dealer did a tune up and replaced some other smog control stuff, and now the car runs like new. I'm going to watch it like a hawk though. I'm not interested in replacing engines, too much dinero. By the way, I think the pontiac sunfire uses the same engine.
My observation about the dealership is like going to a grateful dead concert. They seem to have been robbed of their initiative from smoking dope or something. I swear, they had a baby's crib in the car repair area. I'm all for being cool and progressive and stuff, but come on, it's a business and it will only survive if it's product performs to a level of excellence making people want to come back. Hey you guys at Saturn, are you reading this. I love my car...now...really, but my hands are starting to grow a bit clammy. Is this normal, or do I need to see a therapist?
I own a 1999 Saturn Sedan. It has almost 120K miles on it and it still running fairly well. In response to those people who have their service engine soon light come on and the car sputters a bit, it may just be the spark plugs and/or the wires. I had this happen a few months ago and instead of spending the $300 to have the dealership fix it, we spent $30 at a local auto shop for the parts and my non-mechanical husband was able to fix it. I am now having the problem that the light is on again and I'm not quite sure why and it costs so much to have them just put it on the scanner to find the problem, let alone have them fix it. I got the engine flushed and it went off, but then it came on again. After reading all the entries, I am not sure that I have nothing to worry about. Up until this point I was 100% willing to recommend a Saturn to anyone, I'm a bit hesitant now.
I own a 99 SL2 with about 85000 miles. The engine just blew the other night, stuck in -20 degree MN weather. I really hadn't had many problems with the car, just normal maintenance. I had been using a lot of oil since last summer. I thought it was because I was driving a lot of extra miles. I was beginning to wonder what I did wrong, now I see that I probably didn't. I found a neighborhood mechanic that can replace my engine for around $1500. No, it's not the dealer, but who cares. I almost donated the car to charity! The car is still worth more than that, so we'll probably sell it.
I just bought a 2004 L300 with 11,000 miles. I hope that there won't be any problems. I got an extended warranty.
Also, read the earlier comment about the high-performance spark plugs. I plan on making sure that we only use the better parts for oil changes and maintenance for the new car. I did more research on that one before I purchased it on Saturday. I didn't see anything, hopefully it's not an issue.
I picked up a 95 SW2 with 180K. The car was cheap enough that if it blew in 3 months it would be fine with me. The person I purchased the car from told me that the only reason he drove the car was to blow it up. He never changed the oil, or serviced it in any way. I changed the oil flushed the transaxle, coolant change etc.. The car burned 1qt per 1K now after a flush and multiple oil changes it burns 1qt per 2500. Basic maintenance is KEY CHECK YOUR OIL!!! Change your oil. These cars are loud, uncomfortable, ugly, but very reliable if you maintain them.
To the person who just bought the L300--check out the reviews for that car on this site. The 2003 and up models fare pretty well, with a good repair record. I own a 2005 and have put 26000 carefree miles on it. Just be sure to keep up with tire rotations (every 5-8k miles) to make sure the tires wear evenly. Otherwise the later model L300s are very good cars to own and drive.
Don't be concerned about the problems associated with the earlier model years (2000-2002), because most of those issues have been addressed. Also, the timing chain problem is associated only with the 4-cylinder model, so your V6 model isn't affected. Good luck.
I purchased my 97 Saturn Sl2 about 4 years ago and have had many of the same problems previously mentioned. I got the car with 107,000 miles on it and the crank went through the block at 143,000 miles. I'm glad I bought a warranty when I purchased the car or I would have been out of luck. About $300 dollars ($100 deductible $125 new clutch $75 labor) and a month later I had my car back with a used motor with about 85,000 miles on it. Around 10,000 miles some engine mods (short ram intake, header from a 92 SC2, 2 1/4" exhaust, 8.5mm wires and other mods) later oil is burning I've been told that my cars exhaust smells like a 2 stroke engine. I have never really even noticed serious oil loss. The rear main seal leaks a bit and I burn oil, but I don't use more than a Quart between oil changes. Other than that the car has been great. I don't take my car to Saturn I service it myself in my home garage. Aside from inspection and tires my car never sees a professional mechanic. And yes I have had the service engine light issue. If its not the upper O2 sensor then its the lower O2 sensor after the Catalytic Converter. You'll find this on 96 and up S Series Saturn's. I will be the first to admit that I don't drive nice I rev out the engine and do the occasional street race with Civics. So considering how ruff I am with things this is a tuff little car and gets good gas mileage to boot. I've been toying with the idea of putting a rebuilt motor in the car just because I have replaced everything else. I think it would be worth it just cause the body will always be intact. I love my Tupperware car.
I currently own a 94 Saturn SC2 which I got for $100 with a bad water-pump and 160k on it. I've put 30k on it my self and needed coolant related repairs and a new fuel pump. My check engine light has never been on. I just finally changed the oil far over due. This is my second Saturn SC and I learned a lot on the first. A word of caution from personal experience NEVER use a poor quality oil... these engines run hot and some oils can't take it. My first Saturn was a 91 SC that I crashed after 320k still running great.
My sons each owed a 1994 Suturn S series. Neither car needed anything (but one clutch at 120,000 miles) and both cars drove nicely to over 165,000 miles with only oil changes every 5,000 miles. Finally one of the cars blew a head gasket and I sold the car to a junk dealer for $75. I'm very glad the car didn't nickel and dime us to death. This car often drove from Cape Cod to Penn State U. and back.
I own a 1998 Saturn SW2 with 199,000 miles on it that we bought new. I just had to have the original clutch replaced, as well as the radiator. The service engine light was on for the past 100,000 miles. When I took it to the Saturn dealership after it turned on, they gave me a list of things to fix (sensors, wires, etc.) and told us that the head gasket was leaking and would all cost over $2600 to fix. There was no real indication that the head gasket was leaking, so we ignored every bit of that advice and took it home. We have replaced brake pads, spark plugs twice, and the spark plug wires twice, PCV once, changed the oil occasionally (only 6 or 7 times, not responsible of us). In short, routine maintenance here and there. The car runs great. We do check the oil every other week or so, just to be sure. Otherwise we treat it very poorly and it still doesn't let us down. The car has been wonderful, even though the dealership service left much to be desired in knowledge and honesty. I would not hesitate to buy another Saturn.
We recently purchased a 1996 Saturn for our daughter. It was cheap and had 124K miles on the odometer.
She experienced the same problems, IE check engine light and putting in oil every other day. We couldn't figure out where the oil was going! (We didn't know that it was being burned off in the catalytic converter).
Three weeks after the purchase, the engine started knocking. After checking the oil, we found it was low again, but it was too late. We ended up flat-bedding it home with a rocker arm dangling out of the engine block. A mechanic told us that the engines tend to build up carbon and that we could have saved the engine by dropping 3 in 1 oil down the spark plug holes, running the car to clean out the carbon build-up, then changing the oil. We are replacing the engine and you had better believe that we will be following his advice in the future.
The car is in beautiful condition otherwise, and our daughter loves driving it.
Hi.
You guys just don't understand. I have a 96 SL2 and just got a 98 SW2. My 96 SL2 has 264,000, and it'll go another hundred thousand or so.
I love the twin cam 1.9 liter they use to make. But yes, check the oil, that's all. Use some Lucas and you'll be fine.
I bought my 1999 Satrun SC1 about 3 years ago. Before buying it I had it inspected by a private mechanic (other than the dealership). I was told it was a great car, although he said I should be checking my oil every time I fill my car, because it is older it will burn more cars…but not to worry about it. Other than noticing it burns oil it is a great car, it has over 200,000 KLM and no problems at all. I was hearing a high pitched squeak sounds shortly after I had bought it, I took it in and the mechanics took me for a ride. They did roughly $1200.00 worth of work it did not need, replaced all the bearings, ect, when all it was a noise coming from the hub cap.
It has been a great car, but I have faithfully maintained it taking it in every 3 months or 2,500 KLM. I would defiantly buy another one.
I bought a 96 Saturn SL2 almost 30 months ago w/90K miles on it since I started a job with a long commute. I hoped it would last me a few years and give me good gas mileage--it has. I get around 38+mpg(summer, less in winter) and average about 550 miles on it every week. I do add oil about 1-1.5 quarts every 1200 miles. Since I add oil so regularly---do I need to change it? The manual says that the Service Engine Light may come on during rain... it does. Also during rain I might get some water puddles in the car; but all in all I like the car and hope to get another 50K miles so I can reach the 200,000 mile mark. With all the dead engine comments; I will take better care of it and add oil more regularly.