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What is this discussion about? Saturn VUE, Saturn ION, Saturn L-Series, Saturn Relay, Electrical, Engine, Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, SUV

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#51 of 860 help! cracked head! by ernie303 Mar 22, 2001 (9:46 pm)
My 96 SL1 was just diagnosed by my mechanic as having a cracked cylinder head. Ouch. It has 106,000 miles on it. I haven't talked to my saturn dealer yet as to what can be done. Is this a common problem? How should I proceed? It seems too early for this problem to have occurred.   (It has been using oil and my alternator was replaced at about 90,000 miles.)
#52 of 860 How about a nation wide media blitz - Saturn Engine/Oil Problems by paula95sc2 Mar 23, 2001 (12:46 am)
There ought to be a warning posted on these cars to alert new owners about the oil related sensitivity/issues.   I bought a used 1995 Saturn SC2 less than a year ago. Brought it in to Saturn for service for it's regular maintenance and was told a year previously the car got a new engine. I thought, "lucky me", 5K later it blew a ring. Saturn told me I didn't change the oil often enough & it was my negligence that caused the piston to blow. On further research I found the car is now on it's 3rd engine (4th owner), total odometer reading is less than 80K. By the way, Saturn is "giving" me a 20% goodwill discount (the previous owner got a 55% discount to replace the engine) so it'll only cost me $4K for a new engine.   I plan to take this to my local consumer news advocate and also contact clarkhoward.com (a nationwide consumer action center) - maybe others should too. At minimum I think Saturn has an obligation to their customers (especially people who've never owned a Saturn) to disclose the engine's oil related issues. My last car was a Nissan & the engine died at 210K miles.
#53 of 860 by jjr8 Mar 27, 2001 (4:42 pm)
Jeremiah87...I have a 94SL2 with 71,000 miles on it and the same thing is happening to me. My car thunks when I put it in reverse. Saturn took a look at it and is predicting a total valve body replacement. No estimates yet on what this is going to cost but it sounds expensive. Anybody had this problem and had it repaired?
#54 of 860 1994 saturn with 42,000 miles driven daily by pirelli Mar 27, 2001 (7:24 pm)
Seat belt retractor gave out , front wheel bearing, altenator, timing belt, rotors, windshield wiper motor, i guess when you pay full list price highest dealer markup, you get what you deserve.
#55 of 860 1994 SL2 with 118,000 miles by rrobert Mar 27, 2001 (7:37 pm)
Replaced alternator and tires. Everything else is perfect. Runs great. Guess I got what I deserved.
#56 of 860 Does anyone love their saturn??? by cofc Mar 28, 2001 (9:18 am)
I've been doing some on-line research for my friend trying to help him decide about a car. He found a 96 Saturn SC2 coupe fully loaded with power win/locks/sunroof and leather. It does have a lot of miles on it for a 96, 110K. They guy wants 6400 for it. I thought that didn't sound too bad, and he porb can talk him down to at least 6K, which didn't seem too bad for a 96, but then after reading all these posts, I am wondering if I should tell him go by a corolla! Are most sat urns really this bad? And is the oil burning really a problem if you check it every time you fill up the tank with gas? Should he go for it? He's planning on taking it by the dealership if he gets really interested in it and getting it checked out. Any other advice.. should he just bail, or do you think this would be a good car that he will get 5 or so years out of?
#57 of 860 I have had great luck with them by rrobert Mar 30, 2001 (11:28 pm)
And the J.D. Power survey's and CR seems to bear this out for most people. I think a Corolla would ultimately be more reliable, but would cost more and wouldn't offer the bang for buck the saturn does. I have a 94 SL2 and a 2001 L300. Love them both, most trouble free cars I have ever had.
#58 of 860 Good car for the price by neiltek Apr 05, 2001 (6:42 pm)
My SL1 now has 156000 miles on it. At 125000 I replaced the engine after it locked on me, then at 145000 the tranny went. I'm fairly abusive on it and sometimes neglect the maintainance. The engine and tranny didn't set me back too badly. (a local salvage yard had parts from a wreck) It runs great now and I put about 75 miles a day on it, but my next car will be a late model BMW convertible.
#59 of 860 Would buy another in a heartbeat by t56gen3 May 09, 2001 (9:38 am)
My $.03 worth...... have a '92 SL2 auto with 171,000 miles on it. This car has had a rough life. Bought new in '91 by my mother, totalled 12 months later by mom (opted for repair instead, $13,000 later) (BTW, she plowed a concrete embankment at 65 mph, both front doors still opened freely and she walked away) She was/is very aggressive driver, and constantly runs back and forth from brake to gas (very hard on an engine and brakes). At ~90k my little sister takes over. Twice as bad a driver as mom, and her boyfriend drove the car most the time (I can imagine a 16 yr old driving the hell out of it, I found out later that he spent most of his time with it at redline). Neither one was very good about the oil changes (sometimes 10k between). Sis washed the car ONCE in year (no kidding). At 120k, I take the car (being the shade tree mechanic I am), give it a little TLC, and bring it back to life. At that point, it had gone through a couple sets of front brake pads (no surprise there, considering the drivers), radiator fan motor, coolant temp sensor, starter, and alternator. At 120k I replaced the tranny seal and fluid (for the first time!), oil and filter, timing chain, serpentine belt, struts, and gave it a bath and polish. (Many auto trannys have been known to go out when you wait that long to change the fluid, due to the lack of detergents over time, not to mention Saturn says to change it every 30k). It left me stranded one time (for the first time ever since the family bought originally) at the gas station at 135k when the fuel pump went out (not that uncommon, especially since mom and sis NEVER filled it up, only a buck or two at a time! It was always on "E" when they had it.) Since then, I have gone through another alternator (POS cheap remans are a waste of money, the factory ones are worth the cost and, as with most Saturn engine parts, are not real expensive, and will last 2-3 times as long), brake pads on the rear (at 140k for the first time), A/C compressor (which I could have prevented if I could have located a can R12 oil charge at the time), belt tensioner, and general maintenance (plugs, wires, throttle body cleanings, fluid changes, seat belt track lubrication, etc). The car is perfect for daily driving and commuting. I bought a '00 Alero (for sale, too, if anyones interested) because I wanted a bigger car, and I keep the Saturn around for shopping/errands (and for the girlfriend to drive). It has no door dings (love those plastic panels) and people have mistaken it more than once for being new (imagine that). The car is fully loaded, and everything still works fine (sunroof, no leaks, automatic seat belts, ABS brakes, etc). I plan to buy another as soon as my Alero sells. Anything that has been to hell and back three times and still idles PERFECTLY smooth at idle in gear with the A/C on at a light is great in my book). Did I mention that at 85k mom took the car in for really rough running engine? Saturn finds it to be stuck injector (again, no surprise, she never used additives to clean them). Since Saturn did not have the injector in stock at the time (and mom needed to get to work), the tech tried to clean it--just to hold till they could get one in (He didn't think it would last very long). At over 170k I am still on that same injector--never a peep out of it since (use that cleaner additive every 3 months or so). It says something to me about the quality of the components. Yes, it does use a little oil (supposedly the 92s were the most sensitive to the oil changes). We put 20-25k a year on this car, and I dump 0 to 1/2 quart a week in it. Feel free to email me with questions....... Hope this helps with some of your descisions! t56gen3yahoo.com (Sorry so long) P.S. I love ZAINO!
#60 of 860 Possible Trans Problem? by odyseeker May 11, 2001 (10:59 am)
My 97 SL2 with 40k has intermittently started to vibrate excessively as I'm just about to come to a stop. Wonder if anyone has had this happen and if it could be the trans since the vibration stops if I shift into neutral.

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