I was out of town for Thanksgiving this year. On the way back home, about 45 minutes after we started our trip we had a check engine light come on. I bought a code reader and it told me I had a misfire on cyl 4. The misfire was fairly obvious. I pulled out the number 4 spark plug only to find that the entire electrode was missing from the spark plug!!! Being out of town, on a holiday weekend I figured I could just get a new spark plug at an after market store.... WRONG!!!! These are special Platinum Plus plugs with a breech length so long it will make your head spin. I found the next longest one that would fit in the hole and drove home, mis firing all the way. Now back at home I have changed all 4 plugs ($11 something a piece), and at the recommendation of the service tech at Saturn the Spark control module ($270 something). I put the parts in and now I still have the same stinking problem. I think the original spark plug electrode may have done some damage bounceing around in the cyl, or more likely to the valve as it was leaving. Now I have no idea what to do with the damn thing except to take it to the Saturn dealer and see how much they are going to rape me for to fix it. I am trying to get warranty consideration, after all it is an '01. They have been very non commital about that on the phone however. I will never buy another 36,000 mile warranty car ever again!!!!!!!
I was out of town for Thanksgiving this year. On the way back home, about 45 minutes after we started our trip we had a check engine light come on. I bought a code reader and it told me I had a misfire on cyl 4. The misfire was fairly obvious. I pulled out the number 4 spark plug only to find that the entire electrode was missing from the spark plug!!! Being out of town, on a holiday weekend I figured I could just get a new spark plug at an after market store.... WRONG!!!! These are special Platinum Plus plugs with a breech length so long it will make your head spin. I found the next longest one that would fit in the hole and drove home, mis firing all the way. Now back at home I have changed all 4 plugs ($11 something a piece), and at the recommendation of the service tech at Saturn the Spark control module ($270 something). I put the parts in and now I still have the same stinking problem. I think the original spark plug electrode may have done some damage bounceing around in the cyl, or more likely to the valve as it was leaving. Now I have no idea what to do with the damn thing except to take it to the Saturn dealer and see how much they are going to rape me for to fix it. I am trying to get warranty consideration, after all it is an '01. They have been very non commital about that on the phone however. I will never buy another 36,000 mile warranty car ever again!!!!!!!
- cxmech, Haysville, KS, US