2001 Saturn L300 from North America - Comments

Main seal leak replaced under warranty BCM went out covered under warranty.. good thing I bought the extended warranty for $1049.00 or we would have really been screwed.

Positive cable side of battery leaked..

Battery replaced by owner.

Saturn of Columbia, SC is terrible. They gave me a run around about the oil leak and the BCM.. After seven visits for these two problems the service manager told me Saturn doesn't like to spend warranty dollars and that was the cause for all the runaround.

Wow, I can't believe that this owner stated that the dealers didn't like to perform warranty work? I have had two saturns and the dealership has never been hesitant in replacing parts under warranty that were defective. I would certainly question the dealer if this is what they stated. I LOVE my dealership and would most certainly purchase a third Saturn. Regards.

I bought a 2001 Saturn L300 and have been disapointed with several defects. At 82,000 miles my Mass air flow sensor has gone bad, the door locks are very weak in the way they operate, the power steering pump leaks, the oil pan leaks, the engine block has a slow anti-freeze leak, something in the steering is jerky when turning, and two days ago my car wouldn't start. I had it towed to the dealer and the service manager said they can't find the problem yet. It might be the ECM module, or maybe the fuel pump is bad. I do like my car, but I still owe $8,000 on it so I will keep it until it's paid off or untill I can't stand it anymore. I should have gotten an extended warranty. Good luck Saturn owners from disgruntled in Ogden Utah.

I purchased a Saturn L200 from Saturn of Columbia, SC also had have had several disappointing visits to their service department. Some warranty and some not. The customer service is horrible and they aren't very good at admitting mistakes. My wife had the car in there Saturday 2/26/05 because one of her tail lights went out. They ended up replacing both tail light assemblies for around $280. We got the car back and while she was driving it Saturday night only a few hours later the tail lights failed again and now the instrument panel is out as well.

I dread having to have her take the car back there, but feel they should be responsible for this since the charged us and did not fix the problem. I'm sure I get the run around again as usual. They feel they can't do anything wrong and seem to blame everything on the customer. I've met several people who purchased from this store that have had similar problems. The cars are lemons, just read about them on-line.

Saturn.com always gives me the same story about the stores are franchised and they have no say. But this is a well known problem with these cars that Saturn refuses to address. No more Saturn's for this family.

I own a 2002 L300 and while I was initially satisfied, my feelings have changed.

My headlights died due to a failure in the dash computer system. Quite a problem when you're attempting to make your way back home from 50 miles away at night!

I also experienced a problem with the Oil Cooler. After researching online, I discovered that this seems to be a common problem for this model. Unfortunately, Saturn has never issued a recall for it. So, unless your car is under warranty, you're looking at a costly repair.

While I enjoyed the Saturn buying experience, reliability will be an important factor when I choose my next new vehicle.

As I write this in May 2005, the L300 has been discontinued. Most critics agree that Saturn's first venture into the mid-sized sedan market has been a disappointment. I'm sure Saturn expected a longer shelf life for this model. Couple that with less than stellar reviews regarding the Ion and Relay mini-van and it would appear that Saturn needs to go back to the drawing board.

Just because it wasn't a popular car doesn't mean it was a disappointment. The car was never marketed successfully by GM, and it's in an awfully competitive segment. Overall I think those that can appreciate the car for its European handling characteristics are very satisfied... and it's nice to stand out amid a sea of boring Accords and Camrys.

Yes, the oil cooler is a common issue on the V6 L-series, but that and your computer issue isn't too bad in over three years of driving. It may not be as solid as a Camry, but for those of us that can appreciate it, it drives rings around the Camry, and offers more value per dollar.

The L was a strange combination of a German chassis, Saab-derived brakes and suspension, and an British (at least the Vauxhall-based 3.0 V6) engine. Altogether it made a very European sedan wrapped in a nondescript American wrapper, marketed by a brand known for its economy cars. Sometimes GM does weird things (Aztek, anyone?).

My final word is to not discount Saturn just because of the limited success of the L-series. The replacement car, called the AURA, will be in dealers in '06...and it is stunning!

We have an L300. In the last seven months we have been forced to replace the fuel pump, the fuel filter, the water pump, the transmission filter, the serpentine belt, the timing belt, the battery, the spark plugs, the oxygen sensors, the coolant bottle and the temp sensor. We are talking about thousands of dollars, and that is some done by us, some done by our mechanic, and very little done by Saturn. So if done by Saturn, ours would have run at least double what we have already paid.

Every sensor that trips the warning light is a fortune from Saturn JUST TO FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG, and I am not talking about the actual repair. Their parts prices are triple and more what any other part would be in any other car, and they have not helped out by making any available through auto parts stores.

This car is very nice WHEN IT WORKS, but when it fails it is a nightmare to fix, and that nightmare is ONLY caused by the manner with which Saturn "assists" you and the information available for home repair. They have gone to extremes in their pricing of replacement parts, and I can only assume they are seriously attempting to make people get rid of the car once it gets old. Saturn does not want to hear about anything that is wrong with the L series beyond 65,000 miles. How's that for a long term commitment?

We will never, ever buy a car from Saturn again, and we tell everyone we come across not to. It is a very bad idea, they don't care or try with regard to their product, and they purposely work to make your repairs as difficult as they can possible be.

It makes a person seriously consider never buying American again. We are back to the terrible cars of the seventies, and it is only getting worse.

May 11 2006

Wow I agree with the L300 series. I have had nothing, but trouble with mine since I bought it in 2002. In fact it's been the same problem over and over again. Saturn's service employees have had my car 3 times for weeks on end, and always end up not knowing whats wrong with my car. So if any of you have any suggestions please e-mail me. l_cunning2002@yahoo.com.

Thanks Unhappy Customer.

You want suggestions for a problem you didn't even describe?

It's probably the air freshener.

I purchased a 2001 Saturn L 300 and have had it in the dealership on and off for the past 2 years with the same problem of the car turning over, but not catching. My car is presently in the Saturn shop again, they found the problem and it dates back to a recall on electrical system: ignition module, also they are checking the recall on the power train and tail lights, look it up under Saturn recalls 2001 L 300 series. The ignition module can lead to fire underneath the car.

After my lease ran out on my 2001 S-1 Saturn, I purchased a 2001 L300 thinking I would be as happy with it as I was with the S-1. Overall I'm happy with how it drives, but I've had quite a few problems with it since I got it 2 years ago.

Does anyone have a problem with the ignition key getting hot? At first I just thought it was heat from summer sun, a side effect of driving too long, or just my imagination. But, it's not.. in fact it heats up rather quickly and will get almost too hot to touch. Also, has anyone had trouble with the A/C unit operating in the L300? My fan blower went out last year, and now it just emits hot air even when the unit is turned off.

Can agree to some of the comments on L300 2001 which I own too. The key is definitely extremely hot in ignition, asked the dealership (Sunnyvale, CA) they siad it's normal and as expected. Power steering is leaking, in-cabin break light bulbs burn out too frequent, battery dies for no reason - I've got the car in 2002 with the original new battery and already had to replace 2 batteries. Is there anything wrong with the electrical system in L300? I've got a Mazda Protege 1996 running the same original battery.

My fiance and I bought a 2001 Saturn L300 from a "buy here, pay here" place. The first year the car ran great. However, we have had nothing but problems for the last year.

It has been in ths shop more than 7 times in the last year. Our chief complaint everytime we take it in is:

1) That the car will turn over, but it won't start, and...

2) The car will start and then stall out for no reason.

Our latest repair was this afternoon. We took it in thinking it was the fuel pump, because that is what we were told at a muffler place. Saturn told us that was not the problem. Supposedly, the problem was with the mass flow ($172).

Two miles after leaving the dealership, the car stalled. We immediately took it back. They hooked it up to their diagnostics machine for a second time in that hour, and miraculously, a new code came up. Not even ten minutes later, we had to pay just over $100 to replace the crank sensor.

The check engine light is still on, and I noticed on their paperwork they wrote that we refused further repair. This is not true. We were never told of what else needed to be repaired until they had already given us the key.

I hate this car with a passion. I have two small children, and I fear for their safety in this car. It still is not fixed completely, and with the cost of parts alone, our money has been depleted.

I am in shock at reading all of these comments that sound as if I wrote them.

I bought an L300 '03 and have driven it 97K miles without trouble and doing the normal oil changes, tire rotation, etc... However since 4/06 I have replaced two fuel pumps and a throttle body assembly. The car started stalling WHILE I was driving down the road. This kept happening despite the repairs. The dealer can't figure out what is wrong with it, it now won't even throw a code that it previously stalled. I did just find the recall on the ignition module system. I've spoken to Saturn corp and yet no one has told of this recall...hmmm, ya think they don't want to pay for it. More later while I continue to fight the fight.

I just got the car back after Saturn telling me they don't know what's wrong and no more than a day later it stalled and won't start. FRUSTRATING. I think I'm heading to the BBB Auto Line. No more Saturn's for me.

Regarding the stalls when running, but no code shown - on my 2001 L300 it was the crank sensor that caused it. It was an intermittent problem which I reported many times before my dealership was able to diagnose it.

Currently I am fighting a different battle with my L300. It has a persistent Service Engine Soon light. I have so far replaced the EGV, the mass air flow sensor and repaired one vacuum leak, but the problem remains. The diagnostic tool shows a lean condition most of the time, but sometimes a rich condition. The trim numbers are all over the map and it sometimes shows an Air Flow sensor low voltage condition, even after replacing the mass air flow sensor. I can immediately tell if it is having this problem because the Traction Control light goes out.

The car performs properly, starts and idles OK and gas mileage appears unaffected. I and my mechanic are completely bumfoozled by this and I refuse to take it back to my Saturn dealership. Their prices are high and they mostly just want to sell me a lot of expensive standard maintenance items rather than addressing the very real problems I have had with this vehicle.

I own an L300 2001. I have many of the same problems as described above. I am currently having problems with my transmission (or so I think it's the transmission). I have taken it to two different mechanics. The first one said that he doesn't have any staff that know the Saturn well enough to diagnose it. He took it to a place where he knew there were staff that knew Saturns. They are telling me that it may not be the transmission, but rather the fuel pump. They can't be sure though because Saturn will not release all the specs they need to determine if it is the pump or not.

The suggested that I take it to the dealership. I'm hesitant to do so, but it seems I have no choice.

I've always thought of Saturn to be such a good company... apparently I thought wrong. They are just like all the other American car companies. I hate to say it, but I will never buy American again (much less a Saturn). I also have a Ford Windstar that I won't even begin to explain all the problems I've had...