2001 Saturn L200 from North America - Comments

I own a Saturn L2 Station Wagon which broke a timing chain on Sunday, 10/29. We were traveling on the FL turnpike going about 70 mph when the car just lost power and power steering. We managed to get off the road and call for assistance. Had to be towed 80 miles to the tune of $300.00 and then get the car to the dealership in our area. They inform me the engine is blown and needs to be replaced. They offered an used engine with 23,000 miles on it (my car only has 53,900 on it) for $4100.00 w/6month warranty or new engine at $6900.00 with 3yrs/36,000 mile warranty. This car has been serviced at the dealership at all the required times. Iam now worried about my mom who is 79 and bought a Saturn the same year as mine.

I bought a Saturn based on the supposed safety of the car. All the airbags and side curtain airbags and dent resistant doors in the world will not protect you when the car just stops on a major highway in 80mph traffic. I will never buy another Saturn car. I am outraged that so many others have the same problem and no one at Saturn seems to acknowledge there is a problem.

Okay... so I wrote a few months ago about my timing chain failure. It ended up bending 12 valves so ended up getting all of the valves and the timing chain replaced... a $2400 repair. Luckily my engine was not harmed in the process. I had my car towed to a private mechanic before reading any of the posts on this website and others because I honestly had no idea what the problem was. After the car was taken apart and the diagnosis made, I contacted my local Saturn dealer who said "there is really no guarantee that we can help you - but we need to see your car first". I was basically told that if I was at all to get any assistance from Saturn, that I'd have to pay another towing fee, keeping in mind that I may not even be given discounted repair fees, and if at all it'd be less than half because that's what's happened in the past. With the hundreds of dollars I had already invested in labor, I opted to have the repairs done with my trusted private mechanic. I am still working on a letter to corporate, which I doubt will get a response. I'm so sick of my 2001 Saturn LS-2 that if I were not in college and could afford another car, I'd drop this piece of crap in a heartbeat.

My Daughter has a 2001 L200 that she bought from me that has 73,000 miles. The last 6 or 8 thousand miles there has been a ticking noise from the engine. I thought it was a sticky lifter, but now after reading about the timing chain problem, I am worried the ticking could be chain related. Did any of you that had the timing chain problem, especially the person with the hole have any engine noises before the break? We also have the Blower issue and I replace the relay, but I am now hearing a bearing going in the blower. I was going to replace with a used one, but after all the issues now will need the $240 new one. I am worried about her driving this after all the problems.

I had the hole in the valve cover. I had no warning noises from the engine, just a surprise oil spray. Engine seemed to run smoothly until and during the event.

You can add yet another to the list! I was driving on the Interstate Sunday evening when my timing chain broke. I called the Saturn dealership and was told that it may be a loose cable on the battery! I was traveling 70mph when mine broke and I had my 7 and 8 year children with me. Luckily, I was near an off ramp and was able to pull over. I am shocked that Saturn has done NOTHING about this problem! My car is still in the shop being fixed, so I don't know what the estimate is yet. I WILL be reporting my issue as well!

Our 2002 L200 had the timing chain break while driving home from visiting relatives for Thanksgiving. We were on a busy turnpike when it just stopped.

We had it towed 60 miles to a Saturn dealership, and they are sending a warranty specialist to come look at it and determine if it was caused by us not taking proper care of the car and having our oil changed frequently enough... which we have.

Really not encouraged by the comments on this website. I was VERY surprised when I found out they were going to try and make us pay for it, even though it was under warranty, so I got on-line to see if anyone else had this problem, and I am blown away at the amount of people this has happened to.

It's time for someone to take some responsibility instead of passing on costs to the consumer for a faulty product. We bought the extended warranty... I hope it proves to be helpful.

Hi all.

Looking at everyone who is in the same boat really does not make me feel any better. My car is at the dealer right now and I am talking to the Saturn customer service Dept. They told me that they have never heard of this happening before. So to help them see the light I printed over 200 different times this has happened so far (that I could find). If anyone wants to email me at jnoti@cox.net with other stories that would be helpful too.

Two months ago, My Saturn L200 with under 75K miles wouldn't start. Mechanic determined that it skipped time and I had to adjust the timing. This cost me $1K. Just last week the same has happened, but this time, valves have been bent and I need the entire timing assembly replaced. This will cost me $2K.

I am very concerned with the safety of my family driving this Saturn L200 because the timing mechanisms don't seem to be reliable. Add me to the list of people that think there should be a general recall.

My mechanic's opinion is that the engineering of the timing system could be faulty. With all of the common problems that I've read here, I don't find it difficult to agree.

Bill@NewFave.com.

You can add me to the list. On Saturday, 01/06/07, the timing chain broke on my 2001 Saturn L200. It also damaged all of the surrounding parts, and bent a few valves. I only have 58,000 miles on the car. My mechanic said this should not happen, and suggested that I contact Saturn. His estimate was $2500.00.

Saturn wanted me to have the car towed to the dealership at my expense, which is 30 miles away, for a "Saturn diagnosis" to determine if they would consider doing anything. I considered this to be a big gamble. Now after reading all of these comments, I consider it a HUGE GAMBLE! Why won't Saturn acknowledge the problem and take care of it. This was my first and last Saturn.

I am also a timing chain survivor. I own a 2001 L200 and mine went out while driving in a rural area with my teenage daughter, so towing it was $$$. However, I was one of the lucky ones, and it went out without tearing up the valves. Still cost $1200 to have it fixed, and a week at the Saturn dealer. Now I have a sensor going out that tells the engine when to shift. That will cost another $1100, although the part itself is just $130. Seems they have to take out the entire transmission to replace the little sensor. I also had to replace the turn signal since my bright lights were coming on & staying on, (yep, had to replace a battery too.) That was a nice $130. I had a computer go out on it a little over a year ago. $2200. Oh, and I had to replace both tail lights since the assemblies were faulty. The dealership didn't bother to tell me until AFTER I had already paid, that they were under warranty. So now I'm waiting on a reimbursement. I love my car, but I can't see buying another Saturn if these are just a few of the problems they have. Now I know why I've always bought Nissan & Toyota.

I have a 2001 Saturn L200 and so far have been lucky aside from dead batteries. The first one lasted 3 years, this one 2 years. Based on the posts on this site, I am wondering if I should be proactive and get the timing chain replaced before I have the same issue of it breaking that others have had. Does anyone know how much that would cost?

Hey everyone.

I own both a 2003 L200 with 53,000 miles and a 2003 L300 with 66,000 miles. Thanks to your comments I'll be taking the L200 to the dealership this afternoon and have them check the timing belt and oilier per the Saturn advisory.

So far I have not had any major issues with the vehicles besides a few blown tires (I'm sure they're related to my driving habits).

I do have the standard issues of the dashboard light controller causing flickering (with both vehicles) and the AC/Heater causing the headlights to pulse (also with both vehicles) but these are known cosmetic issues due to Saturn's choice in electrical hardware and configuration.

When I used to work for Austin PD, we called Saturn vehicles 'rubber cars' due to their ability to take extremely hard hits and come out with very little damage to the vehicle or its occupants.

Overall I'm very happy with my Saturn vehicles. No vehicle is perfect and flaws in manufacturing are almost guaranteed.

Add me to the list. Just last night, my timing belt went out on my 2002 LW200. With only 49,000 miles, I wasn't pleased to begin with, but am even less pleased after reading all of this.

I'm currently waiting for the "Saturn Adjuster" to come by my dealership to give the OK on a full engine replacement since metal shaving were found in my oil. Supposedly, this is required on any extended warranty repair above $1000...riiiight.

Luckily, I purchased the extended warranty and the dealership service manager seemed confident that it would cover the engine replacement. However, if GM hasn't addressed the design flaw in the 2.2L, I'm worried that a new engine will only buy me another 49,000 miles and not correct the problem to begin with.

In any case, the response from GM to everyone on this board is ridiculous. It's this kind of behavior and attitude that is causing the decline of the American auto makers, and they have no one to blame, but themselves.

Add me to the list also. My wife's 2001 LW200 with 80,000 miles on it left her stranded with a broken timing chain. The local service center diagnosed the problem and called the nearest Saturn dealer for information. The dealer told him that the 2.2 was not an interference engine. So he proceeded to spend the time and my money to replace the chain with the new and improved chain kit. Got the chain installed and had no compression. I am looking at replacing the motor with a used 50K miles for $1700 or even more to do the valve job or new head. This car has been nothing, but a disappointment and I (and anyone I can convince) will never buy another Saturn. Guess I should have bought a Honda.

Add me to the long list. My 2000 LS2 with less than 57,000 miles died on Friday because the timing chain blew. It bent the valves, etc. so now I have to replace the motor. Thankfully I made it to work before it completely died, but it would not restart again. Reading some of the stories I am glad it didn't. My car is at a mechanics who has offered to put in a used motor for about $700 less than the Saturn dealership offered to do the same thing for. The service guy said he had only ever heard of one other timing chain breaking on a Saturn in 6 years, yet knew without me telling him that the valves would be bent and the motor would need replacing. Hmmmm. Makes you wonder how many he really knows about. I will report to the NHTSA.