5.5

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
16,157 miles

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problem #7

Mar 282005

SC1 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 75,999 miles
Drove the car 2 weeks, defective crank shaft, banging in the motor, I can't drive my car. Want Saturn to replace defective part.

- East Wakefield, NH, USA

problem #6

Aug 092003

SC1 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • miles
I bought my Saturn in may of 1999, at 20,000 miles. It was previously a lease vehicle. At 73,000 miles, the engine started to burn over 2.5 quarts of oil every 3000 miles. The car was under warranty and the engine was rebuilt. At approximately 150,000 miles the engine started burning again. I have to have my oil changed every 1500 to 2000 miles now. I have been told, by multiple mechanics, that this is a common problem with the Saturn SC2S. I've also had the ignition replaced. I started having problems with starting it up at about 45,000 miles. Every time I started it up, it would take a while to turn over, until one morning when I tried to go to work, it wouldn't start up at all. I have also been through 3 alternators and three batteries. I have taken good care of my car and have never had these problems with cars I have had prior, that have been twice as old, and almost double the mileage. Of course, those cars were not GM products. I think I will go back to my pervious brand.

- Owings Mills, MD, USA

problem #5

Jul 142003

SC1

  • miles
While driving, the motor mounts collapsed without warning, causing consumer to lose control of vehicle almost hitting 3 pedestrians.

- Massapequa, NY, USA

problem #4

Jun 172003

SC1

  • miles
Rainy days vehicle shuts down. Dealer notified. Please provide the technical diagnoses of cause leaking.

- Miramar, FL, USA

problem #3

Jan 212003

SC1

  • 37,100 miles
Vehicle has only 37,000 miles on it, engine is dead. Will cost over $3000 for new engine. This car has been in for numerous repairs, many problems, and most were never fixed. I approached the dealership in summer 2000 about going to arbitration re: Having vehicle replaced, and they refused to provide the area representatively name and number. I got it anyway and filed a complaint. Dealer promised to rectify all issues, and repaired several problems, which have all recurred (and worse) since the warranty expired. Problems have included electrical, fuse malfunctions (windows, locks, cd player, sunroof), air conditioner leakage, engine stalling, engine overheating, trunk leaking, etc. Now engine has completely frozen. I have taken good care of this car, with regular maintenance and will never buy another GM product again.

- Hamilton, OH, USA

problem #2

Jan 202001

SC1

  • Manual transmission
  • miles
Vehicle stalled on five occasions while driving. Been into dealer shop on two separate occasions, and unable to locate cause. The problem was found to be as a faulty crank angle sensor and battery. Later on, the same vehicle was reparied for motor mounts and steering pump problem.

- Massapequa, NY, USA

problem #1

Nov 191998

SC1

  • miles
While driving our Saturn SC2 at approximately 30mph we heard a loud explosion and the vehicle stopped moving. My husband and I exited the vehicle to see what the problem was. The only sign at that time that something was wrong with the vehicle was that there was fluid leaking from underneath the car. We had the vehicle brought back to the house to see what was wrong. My husband looked underneath the car and found a large hole in the rear of the transmission. We then called Saturn service and asked that the vehicle be towed. When the vehicle was looked at by a member of the Saturn service team of Saturn of greenfield, Wisconsin they said they had only seen this problem one other time and that they would have to call in a specialist. When I contacted them on the morning of Saturday Nov. 21, 1998, they said they would not be able to pay for the repair. The reason bieng that we had to have caused it. Their explanation is that this type of problem only occurs if you get stuck in snow or mud and quickly shift your car from drive to reverse several times causing the transmission to blow. However on the date of this transmission failure there was no rain to cause mud and no snow. On the date of Nov.19, we were told that if we had been going at a higher rate of speed we could have lost control of the car therefore possibly causing an accident and that we were lucky that did not happen. This brings on a question in my mind if we could have been going at a higher rate of speed how could this only be caused by being stuck in snow or mud and shifting from reverse to drive quickly several times? I would also like to note that we had previously had our vehicle in to Saturn of greenfield on Nov. 3, 1998 for an oil change and a noise in the engine. When the car was looked at they said that the motor mounts had collapsed and needed to be replaced. I feel that this was a minor remedy to keep from repairing a major problem. We have been advised by a lawyer to take pictu

- Milwaukee, WI, USA