2001 Saturn L200 from North America - Comments

I want to encourage everyone that had a timing chain issue with his or her Saturn to write to the NHTSA. When my chain broke last December (on a 50 MPH 2-lane highway), I wrote to the NHTSA to complain. Just this week (March 2 2007), the NHTSA responded for a request for additional information. They stated that the case has been re-opened do to the growing number of reported chain failures. They are especially interested in chains that broke while the car was on the road. (GM maintains it is not a safety issue as the chain usually breaks at start up.) While it cost ~$2500 to fix our car, I am more concern with the safety aspect. We came close on being hit when our chain broke. We need to give the NHTSA enough information to force GM to fix this problem before someone gets hurt or worse. The NHTSA web site is http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

Add me to the list of timing chain problems, 2002 Saturn L200, 4 cylinder. Driving along and power cut out. It is in the shop right now. I still don't know if I will need a new engine. I will admit I have 111,000 miles on the car, so maybe I should not be surprised. What is surprising is how much $$$ it is going to cost to FIX it!

mcrase01@yahoo.com

On March 29, I was sitting in my 2001 Saturn L-100 waiting for traffic to clear. I stepped on the gas and the engine revved up as usual, and the car accelerated almost to highway speed. At about 45 mph, the car completely lost power and I coasted it to the side of the road. The problem? You guessed it, timing chain failure. I will be going to the local dealership on Monday, but I have very little hope that the problem will be solved to my satisfaction. I will be keeping you all posted on the results of the visit.

OK. Yet another one. Friday morning my L200 wouldn't start - made a whirring sound and the engine didn't turn over. Had it towed to the dealer and same story.

1400 to take apart the motor and see what the damage is. JUST TO SEE WHAT IT IS. 4k to fix it probably.

They also said that it would be worth something as a trade in if I want a new car.

Fine. My car is paid for- I'm going to go there this week and sell it to them for whatever they want it as a trade.

I'm probably never going to buy a Saturn again.

This is the follow-up to the comment posted on March 31. I called the Saturn dealership, and they told me that it would cost me about $2600 CDN. I said no, they went on the internet and bought a used motor on eBay for $300 US. I then called the service department manager, and I told him very firmly, but politely how I felt about a $2600 bill. He said he would consult the Saturn rep and get back to me.

This morning I went into the garage and he told me that they would pay for the parts and I would pay for the labour, resulting in a bill of $1200 CDN. At that point, I let him know about the following points:

-I knew about the existence of the 2 NHTSA investigations into the Saturn timing chain failures. (DP05-008 is still open)

-I knew about the existence of the Saturn’s Technical Service Bulletin # 03-06-01-017 which informs dealers about the changes to the timing chain oiling mechanism and how this relates to my problem.

-I told him about the NHTSA statistics and thereby proved that mine was not the isolated incident that he claimed.

Doing all of this rebutted every claim that he had; he did try to tell me that it was faulty maintenance, that it was the inevitable result of wear and tear, all of that drivel.

One exchange was particularly funny:

Him: It is inevitable that with time things break in an engine, and yours has 138,000 kilometers on it.

Me: That is funny, because I remember that when I bought this car, one of its strengths was the fact that it has a timing chain, and I would never have to get it changed. Well, here I am, and you are telling me that I have to pay the labour to fix something that I should never have broken.

Him: Well, sir, I understand, and that is why we are offering you all the parts for free. After all, you know, you would be better to fixing in our garage rather than taking the chance of installing one from a scrapyard. It really is a good engine.

Me: Oh yeah, well why don't you go and try to start mine!

Him:... Well, I will talk to the Saturn rep again.

He did and he got back to me, and now, they have decided to swallow some of the labour and charge me $500 CDN. It's better than $1200, and I will take the deal, but all in all, it is still a kick in the pants.

If you are going in to negotiate a repair bill, be well prepared, bring all of the statistics you can find, and make sure that they know that you know. then, they cannot deny the problem or weasel out of it, and they may give you a better deal.

Good luck.

Dean.

Oh and by the way, if you want an engine recovered from a wrecked L-200 with about 60,000 miles on it, e-mail me at dwill@aei.ca. We'll talk!

Great job on talking the dealer down to C$500. That's really not too bad. Certainly, the problem shouldn't have happened, but the dealer at least took some responsibility for it. You've made out a lot better than most with this situation.

April 14, 2007

This will be short. Read any of the aforementioned horror stories and it would be the same as mine. My 2001 L200 Saturn with 54,000 miles had its timing chain go yesterday and I have no idea of the cost of repairs as of yet. It went out at 40 MPH while driving in heavy traffic on Hwy 101 in Washington State. So far $116.00 tow bill. I will get on the phone on Monday April 16,2007 to start my round of complaints.

Update to March 31st and April 2nd.

Well, I finally got my car back yesterday, three weeks to the day since it broke down. They did indeed charge me a total of CDN$500.00 for the repair, and they changed two other components that needed replacing, for a total of CDN $677.00 tax incl. The interesting thing was the agreement that I also signed. It stated that it was a mutual understanding and that I would not be suing Saturn for the damage to the engine. It also stated that the damage was NOT a result of poor maintenance and that I could do nothing to avoid the problem. So, as I said earlier, when going in to talk to them, go in armed with this info. Do not tell them where you got the info about the agreement, as someone could come knocking on MY door, but I also believe that we should all be able to use this info to get our cars repaired.

They had to:

-do a leak down test (failed on all cylinders)

-remove the head (4 broken valves, 12 bent, all replaced)

-install the new timing chain and kit (the nylon timing chain guide was in at least three pieces. We found two of then in the oil sump.)

-send the head to a specialized garage to have the valves replaced and the head re-conditioned. (3 day turnaround)

-re-build the engine

-replace the head gasket

-remove the oil pan to remove the pieces of broken plastic and metal that were in there

-replace the crankshaft oil seal

-replace the accessory strap (oil contamination)

over 9 hours of labour

By the way, the final tally for the repair was over CDN$3600.00.

All in all, the cost of the repair was actually greater than the book value of the car, so I have to give them a thumbs up on this one. In spite of the fact that I did not have an extended warranty and that the engine had been off warranty for a very long time, my dealership, (Brossard Saturn Saab) ( (shameless plug!!) ) did indeed stand behind their product. It is just too bad that I had to jump through all of the hoops to get it done. My sympathies to all of you, and I hope that your stories finish even better than mine.

Ditto on another timing chain problem: 2000 Saturn LS1 @ 80,000 miles. In the shop with $1400 repair estimate and no help from Saturn.

My timing chain broke driving down a two lane highway May 11, 2007. There was no warning. The dealership has told me it will be $2300.00 to fix. Out of warranty. I definitely feel it is a safety issue. GM needs to warn and recall. My 2002 L series has less than 40, 000 miles. It looks like I am the latest in a long line of owners who have had this problem I will be contacting NHTSA this week.

I am yet another Saturn 2000 L Series owner with a failed timing chain at 46322 miles. It is very sad to see how GM's Saturn Division has turned their backs on an obvious design flaw that they created. We all bought their products based upon their track record of being honest and responsible. This is why my company car is a Nissan. GM, wake up, do the right thing and compete rather then complain. I don't have much faith that they will, but I wonder if they care?

What august company I find myself in - we had a failure while in operation at 84,700 while in Richmond on April 17, 2007 on our 2001 L200, bought new from Saturn of Fairfax in June 2001. It was the 2nd of what would become four Saturn purchases between 1999 and 2004. I was pulling out of a stop sign, when poof! Was told on April 19, 2007 by Saturn of Manassas that the chain is to be replaced at the 90,000 mile scheduled service, an interval not yet reached. The vehicle had a 60000 mile car-care/extended warranty plan on it - and it seems certain that Saturn knew of the problem well before that period expired.

Saturn, aside from being inept in the customer assistance center in Tennessee, has taken to offering a pittance of 15% off of a warranty price, still totalling some $3000. Their "area managers" won't give a last name and claim they have no supervisor. When pressed, they give up the name of the General Manager of Saturn Corporation. I had 9 pages of email thread on my case with them - they pretend to be a liaison between customer and local facility, yet they did a very poor job at that.

Their General Manager (Jill Lajdziak) will not answer letters, nor will the higher-ups at GM whom it was copied to - G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., Troy A. Clarke and Mark R. LaNeve. It has been four weeks since my four-page letter to Ms. Lajdziak was received by Fedex - nothing. I was so annoyed at the lack of response that I sent a fresh letter just to Mr. LaNeve yesterday by FedEx, and then heard him on the Sean Hannity show yesterday afternoon. (My only contact since then? A postcard from Saturn of Manassas on June 12, 2007 advertising new car lease rates!)

I have taken to blogging about my poor experience at http://dontbuysaturn.blogspot.com/, as I feel it is important that the story be told of how GM will not stand behind their product. I filed my own NHTSA complaint on May 18, 2007 after Saturn made its insulting offer.

I fear for the safety of my family in our remaining Saturn, a 2004 VUE AWD V6, for I have lost faith in Saturn and GM. I suppose the only upside is the 2004 year had a Honda engine and transmission. The whole situation, now 66 days and running, has put additional miles on the VUE, as well as the inconvenience of being down to one vehicle.

Rob McKeever, Manassas VA. robmckii@aol.com.

I've joined the club, and you all have my empathy. Timing chain failed at 80k two days ago. 2001 L200, which I bought used from Saturn almost three years ago with 39k on it. I tried to start it the other day and the chain beat the heck out of the top of the engine. Total repair cost: $2,900. Because it's a holiday week/weekend, I'm waiting for my return call. PLEASE--EVERYONE--make a complaint with NHTSA. I just got back last week from a trip to KY for a funeral and thank God this didn't happen on I-75 in the hills! After reading all these experiences, it is a miracle that no one has died.

Here we go again... I will not burden everyone with a long story... just read the past entries...It's the same story over and over again... This is almost criminal...2002 Saturn L200 broken timing chain while my 18 Year old daughter was driving through an interstate interchange. Same story as many others... Saturn and dealer denying any responsibility... are you kidding me... we all need to contact our State Attorney Generals and have something done about this... In the meantime NEVER buy a Saturn... especially from Saturn of Medford Massachusetts...

Just want to add to all the other posts. Saturn 2001 L200 Wagon 88k miles. Timing chain broke while I was traveling around 30 MPH. Lost power steering and brakes, but got it safely parked. Had chain replaced, but now told I have engine damage... extent being determined. Already posted an incident report on the NHTSA site. Never had a single problem other than battery replacement until today.