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Saturn S-Series

1418 messages,  Last post on Sep 11, 2012 at 4:19 PM

You are in the Saturn S-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? Saturn S-Series, Sedan

Messages Page 97 of 143

#952 of 1418 1996 SL1 by pbagrat

May 29, 2002 (12:03 am)

UPDATE:
 
I just got the car back today. I had it towed Monday afternoon and got the car back at 3pm Tuesday. AT least they did it quickly. I had to pay a "deductible" of $500 since I was 6 months past the recall limit. I thought a recall was absolute, not subject to change by a manufacturer. Pretty sad the Saturn failed with a mere 73K miles on it! All of my Japanese cars have been driven over 150K with no problems at all (Owned a Mazda Protege, Toyota Tercel, and a Honda Civic). I could have pressed the issue with GM, but my wife needed the car and I didn't have time to fight a lost cause. She is going to buy a Honda Civic early next year and dump the SL1. BTW - The recall affects 1994-1996 models only from what I have read on the net. Saturn does not make this common knowledge to owners though.

#953 of 1418 Pete by claywaterfill

May 29, 2002 (7:27 am)

Glad to hear they fixed the problem in a timely manner. It is a shame you had such a problem at 73,000 miles--but you know any car can have problems at any time. You might want to reconsider the Civic purchase until you shop around a little more. From what I understand (and even Consumer Reports has downgraded their reliability ratings), current Civics are not the bulletproof wonders of the past. Apparently the 2001 models were so bad that Honda made engineering changes for the 2002 just to appease the critics--almost unheard of after only one year in a new design. Read the Civic thread as well--many unhappy campers from what I've read there as well. Maybe the new Corolla would be a good option? All new design, but they kept the bulletproof drive train from the previous model. Mazda is giving great deals on the Protege as well. Good luck to you!

#954 of 1418 Heads up! by pat

Jun 03, 2002 (3:51 pm)

The Town Hall is about to take on a new look in an effort to make content more easily searchable and accessible.
 
Have you seen the Letter from the Town Hall Manager on the Town Hall Welcome page? If not, you might want to follow that link to have a look.
 
And hang on to your seats. Change is never easy - for any of us - but resolving the Search problems we've had will be worth the pain.
 
Pat
Sedans Host

#955 of 1418 Rough Idle In SL2 or SC2? by ncsl2owner

Jul 04, 2002 (12:38 pm)

Hi,
 
I just bought a 2002 SL2 5-speed and have noticed a rough idle in it from the day I bought it until now (approx. 3K mi.). I asked the dealer to look at the problem with about 150 mi. on the car, and he said to wait until the first oil change at 3K and the idle would smooth out. Well, I did, and it didn't, so I asked the dealer to look into the problem and fix the rough idle.
 
According to the service tech at my dealership, and according to the Saturn helpline area manager, the rough idle is caused by sticky exhaust valves, but is completely normal and within specs for the SL2's engine. The official Saturn "fix" for the issue was for the tech to drive the car at 5K rpm for a few miles to reseat the valves. That didn't do a thing. When I called the customer care line, Saturn's response was that this is a totally normal feature of the 5-speed engine, and that there is nothing which they can do to fix it. I find this hard to believe, so I wanted to post here to see if anyone else who has an SL2 or SC2 (which have the same engine, as far as I can tell) has experienced this rough idle, too.
 
Also, if anyone could point me to some other Saturn forums where I can do further research on this issue, I'd be grateful.
 
Thanks,
Steve.

#956 of 1418 Steve by claywaterfill

Jul 05, 2002 (7:50 am)

My SL2 does not have a rough idle. Mine is a 1999 model, but I believe they have the same engine--changed in 1998, I believe.
 
You say it was like that the day you bought it? Was there any reason why you didn't test drive it before you bought it? It would seem strange that it drove smoothly on your test drive, then got rough after you signed the papers for it, IMO.

#957 of 1418 RE: Rough Idle response by ncsl2owner

Jul 07, 2002 (6:19 pm)

Well, at first we didn't notice the idle problem (guess we didn't stay in neutral at too many stoplights), but we noticed it the next day. We brought the car to the dealer to have some excess epoxy residue cleaned off the running board, and mentioned the idle then.
 
Thanks for the input.

#958 of 1418 '98 sw2 by rhouse

Jul 10, 2002 (12:24 am)

bought a new sw2 in nov 97 (98 model)
use mobile 1 always, changed every 3,000 mi.
it now has 73,000 and has been very reliable. the motor mount (upper) does have a problem, and i think it's due to heat transfer from head. i am
experimenting with fixits for this. there is no oil burning at all. i am getting a few rattles in the interior around dash. saturn has been great to me in san diego area, but saturn usa says there is no problem with motor mount. they should check & see how many people have to have them changed. i think most of the vibration is caused by this mount. mine typically last about 18,000 mi & then the vibration starts. oil breakdown is not a problem, its the acid that builds up in the oil that causes problems. i have installed pirelli touring tires in size 195 60 15. much more traction, but not the quietest or smoothest. this size has almost exactly the same circumference of 185 65 15. they dont rub & work well. i really like the car & have respect for the way saturn has treated me.

#959 of 1418 top engine mounts by 300silverbulit

Jul 12, 2002 (7:55 pm)

My 97' SW1 and 94' SL2 both needed new engine mounts. I think it is the engine is tuned for low end power. It pushes back on that mount at every input so it just wears out. Early models also went through altenators that had no air flow to them and would cook themselves to death. I just got rid of my 94' SL2 last week and it was really starting to use oil but ran quite well after a new water pump and belt tensioner last summer. It was just to cramped and low to sit in to keep. But the polymer body panels looked brand new.

#960 of 1418 motor mounts by rhouse

Jul 16, 2002 (4:20 am)

I got 2 springs from the hardware store, removed the mounts and cut a slight amount of the numbs
where they start to touch the metal. (more clearance). I then placed the springs under the
mount to raise it back to stock position. it works pretty well! not to brand new standards, but this eliminated most of the vibration! If you check the condition of the rubber of a new mount against a bad one, you will find that the rubber gets very soft. movement will breakdown rubber, but heat will do more damage. Torque is not the problem, it is in the design of the mount. Before I buy a new mount(3rd time), I am going to try to make an insulater to divert heat. I'll post how it works. Saturn is really letting us down by not doing something about this problem. They certainly have the resources to fix this weak spot, but continue to ignor it. A real shame!

#961 of 1418 Rust on frame by wenb

Jul 28, 2002 (10:02 am)

I am considering the Ion. I know that the engine is new. my concern is with the frame. Have alot of you had problems with rusting frames. If so was Saturn able to help you. I noticed a couple of post regarding rusty frames. Why consider the Ion. Well, GM has had time to work on the 4cly ingine Quad 4, Saturn 4 ect. Hopefully the Ecotech will be good.Because of the amount of computer control and sensors in cars, all makers are going to have thier share of lemons. I am hoping that Saturn has improved the spaceframe in the second generation. My main reservation would be a rust problem with the frame that hasn't been adressed. Any reports good or bad would be nice.

Messages Page 97 of 143

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