What are some problems that occur with this car?

Dear runner5-- I actually have one of these Saturns myself. It has over 155,000 miles on it. I have it because it refuses to die. My daughter was going to donate it to charity a year ago, but I took it instead. Since then I use it to drive my dogs around. It is also one of the few remaining places where I can smoke a cigar legally. I have had a few problems, like the heater and the muffler, but the engine is a workhorse (although very loud when cold). The transmission makes some odd sounds at times and I expect that will be the first major component to go. Go to www.carcomplaints.com and they will verify what I have said. Don't spend a lot of money on it and you should be okay. Good luck from Bovan.

Why, when I start the car it will not idle....unless I keep my foot on the gas pedal it dies instantly. Can only drive it by 'feathering' the gas pedal all the time?

Hey helpmeplease; i have that same issue. I actually have to start my car in Neutral with my foot on the break, then "Bogart" it into gear with my foot on the gas. Makes for a lot of peel outs, but it does the trick. I've been told by many it's the idle (aka throttle) control sensor. Good luck.

the only problem I've had with my Saturn 1997 Sl-2 is that it isn't very strong. I got into a fender bender... well that's what it was for the other car (Volvo... enough said). My whole bumper, side panel, hood, and lights were gone, 1,200 $$ in damage.

My '97 SL-1 is about the same mileage as bovan's, and the only real problem I've had is a sour alternator. If you get it or any Saturn into any kind of wreck, there will be a LOT of body damage (the doors and quarter-panels are all fiberglass and the bumpers are plastic) but the frame is a solid steel roll cage, so you're pretty safe in a major pileup. Believe me, I used to work at a Saturn dealership. We had a few come through torn to pieces, but the driver and passengers had barely a scratch. If you do the regular maintenance, it really will refuse to die (we had early '90's models coming in for oil changes with 300,000+ miles that purred like a kitten). They might not be powerful, but they're cheap and worth the money, especially the 10 gallon gas tank. And I highly recommend a manual transmission over an automatic-cheaper maintenance and repair. They just plain last longer, too. By the way, I used to hate Saturns with a passion before I had this car.

Engine problems. Suspension Problems. Steering problems. Self Destruct problems. I swear to god i saw one of these driving the opposite way and the back end was on FIRE! HAHA. Dude buy a honda like everyone else.

I have been selling Saturns for 3 years now as an auto dealer and with 24 years mechanics under my belt one would have to be a fool to buy any timing belt interference engine Hondapail over a timing chain indestructable rustproof simple to fix car. When Saturn built a car to teach Honda how things should be done they certainly did it. Unfortunatley they did not see the big picture that if you buld a car to last so lomg to look so good after 20 years it is hard to increase sales. with GM's mismanagement something had to go and the car that made the brand that made the least amount of money had to go. So folks if you are a novice in regard to mechanics 101 buy an Saturn and you will be safe AS EVEN A BAD SATURN REVIEW AFTER TAKING THE FEW FLAWS INTO CONSIDERATION IS A GOOD REVIEW. You can't argue great engineering when comparing Honda to Saturn when in 2006 Honda replaced timing belt inplosion engines with a chain.....Like a Saturn hmmmmm. makes ya think

This topic is 6 years old...

I have a 2001 Saturn SC2 with 139K miles on it, roughly. It has been shifting very hard lately. Love the car, dual over head cam, 16 valve, excellent gas mileage, enough said. I don't want the problem to escalate, hoping for a little advice.

Is there a GSR for automatic vs manual?Will an automatic GSR make a manual check engine light come on? Will it make it idle like a vacuum leak.?

I have an 01 SC2, I was gonna get rid of it for a year or so, power steer, altenator, engine idle. It was ALL to do with the Serpentime belt and the idler arm. It make the car like new again, REALLY, will do 65 m/h no prob

The main problem is oil consumption, they all do it and sometimes it's severe. The single cam engine have issues with head cracking but it's less than 5%. The automatic transaxle has its valve body go out first, that is the hard shifting or refusal to shift into 1st or reverse. The manual transaxle can have the carrier cross pin come out which destroys the transaxle case, again this is pretty rare. Overall they're extremely reliable just keep oil in it.

From my personal experience, you simply cannot purchase a more reliable car than Saturn for the money. I purchased a used 1996 SC2 back in 1999 and drove it for 9 years with no major problems whatsoever. The car was Totaled in 2006 (with me in it) as I was at a red light and rammed by a Porsche traveling at around 30-40 miles per hour by a woman not paying attention and who did not once apply the brakes- testimony to the fact that not only was this car reliable- I also walked away from the accident unharmed (the lady in the Porsche was taken away in an ambulance from what I suspect was mostly her being in shock from the impact). As the search for a replacement vehicle began, I knew in my heart I wanted another Saturn- Lo and behold, about 10 -15 days later I found another 1996 on a car lot- this time the 4 door version. This car was a godsend, literally. It was 11 years old with only 67,000 miles on it! Well, here we are 2014, 6 years later and another Saturn with no major problems whatsoever! In my 15 years experience of driving 2 Saturns I will put this car against any as far as reliability- you simply will not find a better car for the money- THANK YOU SATURN!!!

I bought a 01 SC2 for $3400 in 2011. Had 100K on it. Gets 36-37 highway mpg. Couldn't be happier. My son will probably get it when he goes to college. Should last for a long, long time.

Ahhh, good for you 01sc2, I bought mine new. Great car, just lately the oil change guy pointed out that there was a left front spring broken, they wanted to replace the 2 front springs and shocks and give it an alignment for $1000, I went to my guy who did the springs for 100 labour and 140 for the springs. It was broke about 8" into the coil spring, I'm in Toronto Canada and this winter was hard and a lot of potholes in the roads that are hard on the front wheels. My revered mechanic said I didn't need shocks or an alignment. I had a power window stop working. I just sprayed it with compressed air into the area around the window button and it works. Mines got 85000 kilometers which is roughly 53000 miles. That serpentine belt was a killer app solution, I was ready to look for another car, after the belt install it became a new car,,,,, no engine oil burning, ac works good, the heater selection rotator wouldn't change from feet to feet and head or to defrost, the black knob wouldn't turn, my guy put some goo somewhere under the center dash and gently massaged the knob on the dash and then it would turn from far right to far left' The car is a dark blue and I washed it on this sunny day and the car looks great. Had it 14 years, my mechanic said the tranny would outlive me. No other probs. Good luck to all, you're helpful to me

Yeah, the serpentine belt is my next project. I live in MN, had a slip/fall - concussion and neck injury. My old change place advised me to get it replaced before the winter. Luckily, it made it through the winter. But I'm not experiencing any of the issues you were. Just needs an extra quart or less betwwen changes. Mine is the "bright blue metalic". When washed, it looks brand new. Only one little chip in the black pillar on my side. It is cool to have such a reliable, GREAT mpg, good looking car that is 13-14 yrs old. I've attached a photo of a car exactly like mine.

That is the same colour as my car, I am gonna do a spring clean-up on mine and will send you a pic. I feel the problems I have had are little things, as long as the air con, tranny and engine don't act up we're winners. I'm getting better gas mileage now that it's warming up. thanx for you info 01sc2

Alex Ur an idiot... Just because a post is 6 years old doesn't mean nobody else can post... These are here to help people... I've seen u post "this post is?" So many times... What do u do go around finding old posts and bashing on people... Instead of spending all Ur time online and bashing on people do something productive!

Yup. All I do is bash. Not like anyone benefits from my input. Time to get back to turbocharging my car.

The problem with your Saturn not idling while at a stop or in neutral can sometimes be fixed, I know this is going to sound stupid, by replacing the water temp sensor. They are fragile and crack easily. Takes a few minutes to get the old one out and the new one in, they are fairly cheap, and it fixed the problem on my 97' SL1. Also the motor mounts and tranny mounts wear out around 150k miles. Replace those to keep problems minimal. Fuel filter is along the driver side front fender inside. Took me about 30 minutes to replace. Idle pulley bearings went out at the 200K marker. Take a nut and bolt off replace pulley and while you are at it replace belt. Hard shift tranny is a valve body on the top of the tranny. Best to get someone experienced to fix this due to small parts. Valve cover gasket is the only gasket to blow on mine. Replaced it and all was fine. Doing most of the work besides the valve body by myself parts were about $500 maybe a little more. Car had to be put down at 250K marker because it came from up north and the salt had destroyed he underside of the car beyond repair. If it had not been for that it would still be going strong today. Keep up the oil and other fluid changes, keep up the tune-ups all on a regular schedule and these cars will last you forever. Not too mention at 250K marker it was still getting 35MPG and more on hwy.

Thanks Tom,,, a few things I will watch out for. A lady backed out of a driveway and into my drivers door, funny, hers was a newer SUV Saturn, it was a hard hit. The door just popped out and is a little scuffed, the mirror was knocked off, my mechanic glued it together and glued it on for $100. Replacements were 300 from a wrecker. Lately I had to get the the front sway bar replaced (used for 180 cause they're not in stock) and 2 front lower control arms, Those rubber grommets were bad, am in Toronto, Salt on roads in winter. I like the car. It's a met blue SC2 2001

I love this car. I've got a 2002 Saturn SL2, manual transmission with 195k miles. Mechanic says the wheel bearings are bad & the catalytic converter is about to break. But this is the first major problem I've had since I replaced the clutch at 100k. (I replaced two clutches on an old Dodge Shadow with the same mileage) So does it make sense to put the money in it?

from 1995 - 2001 there was a problem with the stick shifts on the manual 5 speeds. an easy fix for any DIY'er but the plastic bushing costs anywhere from 19.99 - 24.99 to replace. mechanics may charge you anywhere from $50 to $100 for labor even though it will take them approx. 5 - 10 mins to fix. lol but true.

I've had a 96 Saturn SL2 since 1998 when I bought it with 30K. It now has 155K on it. I have really loved this adorable little car and fully intend to drive it until something major goes. Here's my list: 1) Cat Converter got plugged up around 50K. You had to gun the crap out of her to accelerate. Took it to Saturn in Knoxville and they replaced it for FREE! 2) Coil pack went bad around 75K which I easily replaced for $30 3) Alternator went at 100K. I think it was because my valve cover gasket was leaking oil down the motor and oil was soaking the alternator. I ripped the battery out of my IROC and limped the Saturn home on battery power only. Replaced valve cover gasket and an alternator I got at Pull-A-Part for $25. 3) the Crank Position sensor went out at 120K. No spark. It's on the backside of the motor and hard to get to but a new one was $10. 4) Coolant started draining out each time the car would shut down and cool. Water pump seal had gone bad at 130K. It's a tight squeeze but doable for anyone at $30. I did a new thermostat also for $10. 5) Around 140K the clutch started chattering and I KNEW it had to be the pressure plate so I started shopping around for mechanics. Cheapest estimate was $1,150. SCREW THAT! It turns out the clutch can be done for $90 and the motor stays IN the car. It's no easy job though! Of course I've done all the usual wear and tear maintenance such as brake/rotor replacement. Put a new muffler on it and new serpentine belt. AC was recharged about 8 years ago, still works great. Oh yeah, I had the shifter thingy break under the shift handle. I jury rigged that easy by drilling into the metal boss, tapping in some threads and putting a bolt and washer in there to hold the linkage together. Piece o cake, working on these wonderful little Saturns!! ;-)

02 SC2. good car for me, had it 14 years, 100k on , that's 65,000 miles, (Canada),,,, serpentine belt was a good fix, they wanted to change power steering, altenater, water pump, nobody mentioned the belt, that was the prob. Lately I had front end probs. front lower control arms, sway bar (used cause you can't buy a new one), new springs. It's those rubber grommets that get distroyed, Excel-G strut and KYB strut mount. I made some mistakes with people I delt with people that made the prob worse, my cost came to nearly $2000. The overcam engine is good, no oil burning, everything works, hmmm, 14 year old rad might blow, a/c works good, windows good, tranny good. No more long trips, the third door is handy for picking up groceries and p/u people for dances. Maybe I irrationally love the car, wanna drive it till 2020, the older ladies I dance with think it a sports car.

Im looking at a 1995 Saturn 5speed says only thing wrong is it idles fast and that its the air intake control valve. Anything I should know before I buy?

I have a '92 SC Coupe and had an '02 L200 sedan which I promptly sold. That year they failed on the climate control module. It would blast heat until it got a couple of degrees higher than the setting, then blast the air conditioning to cool it down. Was told by the regional director, "It is operating in the manner in which it was designed." I had another issue with it where it wanted to run forward when stopped at a light. Turned out that the O2 sensor was bad... Both of them. Fixed those and it ran better. Still sold it because of the climate lack of control. Repairing the '92 since after 24 years the interior is starting to dry out and crumble to dust.

@Alex - regardless of how old the post is, since these cars are still around, the postings will still be helpful for people who bought the cars new (like me) and those who have bought them from a prior owner. If you have tricks and tips for Saturn repairs, I look forward to seeing them.

I've had 2 SL1 Saturn's ... My first 1 was a single cam 1.9.. Had head gasket issues when I bought it.. I just put some head sealer in it and ran for bout 2 days and... After that drove the car all over put about 15,000 moles on it... I am now on my second SL1 THIS TIME IT'S THE TWIN CAM 5 SPD WITH 380,000 ON THE BODY.. WE JUST GOT DONE A MONTH AGO PUTTING A DONOR ENGINE IN IT AND I'VE BEEN DRIVING PROBLEM FREE SINCE THEN....MY NEXT CAR WILL BE A SATURN Vue 4cyl 5 speed but waiting till this one wears out.. If it Ever does.!! I used to hate Saturn's..with a passion.. But till I've owned a couple I'll never say a bad word about them again.!!

I have a 2001 sc1 manual with 214k and my wife drives a 2002 sc2 automatic... I hated Saturn's...until fate brought them my way I paid $750 for my 2001 back in 2014 best investment ever

I bought a 1992 Saturn SC Coupe as a factory order. It has outlasted the Plymouth it replaced, the Ford Escape that was my second car and the 2002 Saturn L200 Sedan that I hated from the start. It has over 250,000 miles on it, with the original clutch lasting for the first 125,000 miles. Other than redoing the 24 year old interior that is wearing with age and use, I've done the normal maintenance and repairs. Recently, two issues cropped up - the shifter cable broke (pricey fix since they had to order one from a supplier) and it isn't passing emissions. Valves and sensors seem to be working but other than replacing the complete exhaust and hoping for the best, I need some experienced thoughts on what else to check. (I already did the injection cleaner, dry gas, high octane fuel,etc. Runs great, just running fuel rich)

There's an older post in here about the carrier cross pin in the manual comes out I have a 97 sc2 I bought at 166,000 miles about 170,000 it happened to mine blew a hole right through the bell housing area. I seen another post said his has been shifting hard mine did after about a 1000 miles of drive time then 3000 miles of hard shifting then it shot that pin through the transmission . I paid 1,300 for it I now have around 2000 in it and it's still a turd bad experience with it and probably won't buy another one. I did replace the transmission which you have to drop the whole under carriage to do but it barely has any power the front end is screwed up I replaced the strut on the side that is giving the most problem. I'm going to put 2 new fully assembled struts on it and see if that helps if not I'm driving it till it won't drive anymore.

My friend won lottery and gave me his 2001 sc2 DOHC (vin 7) has 153k on it the owners before him completely neglected the car so when i got it i had to replace the shock/strut/spring assembly, wheel bearings and hubs, ball joint/control arms, tie rods inner and outer, cv axels, an alternator 1200$ so far doing all work myself beside all wheel alignment after that the tranny/engine is acting up its burning oil at an alarming rate the motor mount are bad has a cooling issue an a possible bad port 2 rod a bad crank shaft bearing which makes the harmonic balancer shake which causes the tensioner pulley to go out every 6 months til i rebuild engine an tranny the brakes are starting to fail i have 30% front brake power an 40% rear losing 30% somewhere but despite the list of the bad parts from neglect i love my sc2 an will never get rid of it plan on fully restoring the car an getting a long life out of it even with problems it outlasts my friends cars

What colour is your Saturn? Thanks for the info on your car. Mine only has a brake issue. I've had 3 rotor/pad replacements over the last 4 years, they all whine or scrape depending on if it's winter or summer. When it rains up here the car looks brand new. 100K on it. Thanks for your info toedoe

I bought a 1992 SC2 Coupe a few months ago 122K miles. The previous owner is a mechanic, and cared for it well before he had to sell it. Aside from some rough driving, hard shifting (it is 24 yrs old) is a good "A to B" car. about two weeks ago, we got a lot of rain, and I had filled up the tank prior to the downpours. When moving from idle to 1st, the car could not stay lit, and would die. After feathering the gas, I was able to get back to 30, 40, then 50; but anytime I reached a light, and slowed to less than 10, the car wanted to die. This also only happened after a good 20 minutes of driving; especially after car was turned completely off, and sat for a few minutes. Car always started, but very intermittent between idle & 1st gear. Thought it was slug gas, put in some HEET; that seemed to clear it....but it is happening again. Have already filled tank with new gas, and problem still ocurring....

I bought an 02 sl2 had no problems till my ignition went out bout I can't figure out what's wrong

I have a 2002 SC2 manual and I had trouble with hard shifting as well. I just took the center console off and sprayed WD-40 all in the linkage. That was a couple of months ago and it still shifts like butter. Quite the easy fix.

I LOVE MY SATURN!!! Manual...2001 SC1...350,000 MILES!! Bought it with 70,000 miles a long time ago and NEVER A MAJOR PROBLEM. ( except vacuum manifold issue years ago!) I think this car is from the planet "Saturn!" It keeps going and going!

Amazing just 9 years ago and people are still replying. Is this man alive? Lol. Anyway I am 21 years old and I drive a 1995 saturn sl1 gold sedan. I always wanted that car since I was 2 legit when my grandmother bought the car. So many childhood memories in that car and Everytime I drive it I have flashbacks of my grandmother driving it and my late brother. It never really fully drove alot mostly a point A to B when my grandmother had it. Mines is pretty cool because it was the last year they made them 1st gen body style however it was the first year they began the 2nd Gen interior. So pretty much its a first gen interior mixed with a second gen. I love it. It has been in the family for 18 years and only has 98,684 miles on it! Wtf? And Im hearing people say thier 2002 saturns and 1997 saturns have 163,000 miles on thiers. Unique if you ask me. I will never get rid of this car unless the transmission goes out. I do have a selonoid problem alittle bit when I put it in reverse but that's it. Mines is a point A,B, and can be a C car. Very dependable to drive on the turnpike. I wouldn't however enjoy putting that many miles on it on the turnpike.I drove that thing up to palm beach and I live in plantation. About an hour drive. Very smooth man. Cars in good shape alot of people comment that my car is clean. Usually when I show them my car the first thing they say is "omg the interior is soo clean." I'm like wow the interior gets more attention then the exterior lol. But I love my car and I'm going to drive it until it goes out or if God forbid it gets into an accident. My next car will be a 93 buick century. Or it just might be a second car I don't know more than likely it will because my saturn runs great! When I first got it I had to redo the headliner because the orange foam was exposed...I also had to restore the hubcaps cuz originally when my brother drove it he had universal ones put on it. But I wanted the car original so I did some tweaks...fixed the hubcaps, headliner, and restored the door trims. And I put seat covers to match the interior. I have in the front plain brown..exact color as the center console versus the back bench seat baige. It really looks like oem saturn seat covers! I love it. By the way nobody may not read this but you know what. That's how much I love my saturn. Sitting down on my bed in pj's writing for 30 mins means alot.

I had a 1995 Saturn for years. Ran great good mileage. Was up worked it up over 200k thought I was going to hit a million. The fan for the motor went out. Like an Idiot I took it to a so called reputable chain. They are all thieves. This one was Firestone. Still had the stock alternator in it with zero problems. The guy told me he would not touch the fan unless I had a new alternator put in. In the end the bill was around 500. He probably just wanted mine for his car. The new alternator died in a year and the fan died 2 months after that. Find your own mechanic. They hire bums off the street to work at this large chains. Do year later had to get another alternator put in, had some belts changed, new motor mount all for a good price. The car was running like a champ but 2 weeks later we had a storm and it turned in to a boat because of a clogged drain in the road lol. My car before that the mechanic actually was freaking out and asked my friend and I if we new how to get the belt off. We were kind of shocked. Then he started pounding the gas pedal after an hour of him trying to get the belt on. I told the manager to tell him to stop. Then smoke flys out and this retard comes out and says I found the problem. You have a blown head gasket. The manager refused to even drive it off the lot. They are all thieves.

Boy! How glad I am to come across this thread! When I was 19 years old back in 2004, I bought my first ever car which was 1999 saturn sc2 and I absolutely love it! Raced that car with similar sports car of a different make and have always won. Also, if it wasn't for that car, I'd be dead long ago according to many reckless drivers out there and the saturn's responsiveness is why I am typing this now. Never had major issues with that car until I was 24 years old, my ex roommate needed a car for work (pizza delivery) or he can't pay rent so I thought it won't hurt. To this day, I still have no idea how he cracked the transmission. Yes, I cried when I had it junked. Fast forward 9 years later, here I am after having 2 cars after that saturn, my itch for another sc2 gotten bad so I bought a decent shape but doesn't run 2001 sc2 for only $400 knowing the engine and tranny is solid so I bought it, towed it and is in the shop. Fuel pump, sparks and valve gasket repair. 120k miles on it. I'm totally looking forward driving it again! (btw, I hate driving except in that car)

Thats Great!!! Glad your getting another!! When someone reared ended me a couple years ago I thought it would be the end for me and my Saturn. The damage wasnt worth the cost of the car and I settled for next to nothing but kept it. Even after being severely rear ended...it kept on going and going. (but looked really bad) I looked for another Saturn SC1 or 2 but only wanted a stick! "Im stuck on sticks". So much more fun to drive (for me) and I think it is why mine is lasting so long. ..Anyway Couldnt find a stick...or a car I trusted....so I paid for the damage ..replaced the back fender and fixed the trunk....Passed the "salvage car" test...and we'[ve been running steady ever since. (except for usual worn replacement parts which is understandable) My car is approaching 350,000 miles..(346,000) . Still running steady,,,air ice cold, shifts great. ...Engine steady.... Oh...radiator leak about 6 months ago...didnt get a new radiator...did hesitatingly put a little silver stop leak but there has not been any problem since.!! Im amazed with this car. If it ever severely breaks down ...I dont know what I would do. I may just settle for a bike!! lol Good Luck with your new (old) Saturn!!

I am going to throw my Saturn a Big Birthday Party when it hits 350,000 miles!!! Having all the cars in the neighborhood HONK "HAPPY 350th and maybe get it an interior makeover!! Maybe we will even make it to 500,000!! LOL

Oh yes, dolphindeb, you are not wrong on the car. I recall sitting in saturn shop (now long nonexistent) and they had Polaroid photos of the owners of same line all over the wall with 300k and 400k miles on it. At first, I thought it was just a sales pitch until I owned it. Ah. yes. That stuff does last. Hold on to your baby. They don't make it anymore. Parts are common, thankfully. 500k may be a realistic goal for you. I'll be honking for you for sure.

About 6 months ago I bought a 2002 SC2 with 185,000. It is the 1.9 DOHC / 5 speed. I have enjoyed the car in the short time I've owned it. Gets around 32mpg, does use some oil. However here in the last month it has developed a clattering noise. Not all the time though. You can only seem to hear it when accelerating to switch gears. At first it was noticeable at around 3500-4000RPM's now in the last week it is doing it at around 2500RPM's. Can anyone shed some light on what the issue may be? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

RighteousWorks, I own a 2000 SC1 and I had the same problem a while back. For me, it was the motor mounts. You can search “replace Saturn sc2 motor mounts” on YouTube and look for a video by a guy called richpin06a. Great video, that’s what I used to fix mine. Hope this helps!

RighteousWorks ok so if the sound is in the head under valve cover most commonly over cylinder 3 (inner pass side piston) then id be doing a compression test on all cylinders u should have 190psi in all cylinders the problem you describe has happened on both of my sc's an it starts as a bad/burnt/stuck compression ring which wont let the intake and exhaust valves open completely which is the rattle if not fixed fuel builds up on piston then when you hit the pedal to the floor it tries to compress the liquid fuel an liquid does not compress so it cracks the piston an death is imminent and inevitable hope its not that but at minimum you should bore scope down the spark plugs

Best economy car ever made. The Japanese garbage can’t even come close. I have 4 of these. My 97 SW1 automoatic has 249k. My 95 SL2 automatic has 246k. My 95 SW1 manual has 215k and my 95 SL2 has 180k. I can get over 50mpg on the manual transmissions cars. And even though they are very light they get around amazing in the snow whe you have snow tires installed.

It's 2018 and I'm about to get a 94 SL2. I think this is going to be one of the oldest mentions on this thread. Archaic. Most of you have talked about 95-01 Saturns. Is there a reason for that?

Cause this thread started as a 3rd gen sc thread an developed into this lol

The 94 and earlier has electric seat belts that run on tracks. They fail and are a pain, but I’ve converted them to the anchored style like 95 with used parts from a junkyard.

My Saturn 1996 had its trailer arm rust through and break just now (May 2018), the first problem after the faulty installation of brakes, by a mechanic that advertises as honest and reliable. Not, apparently. The trailer arm holds the rear wheel fixed horizontally, but allows it to move vertically. When it breaks usually when a pothole or a speed bump puts a horizontal force on the wheel, you may hear a metallic bump when the rear wheel shakes back and forth, from a rough road or braking or accelerating. If you suspect this, put the gar in gear (I have an SL manual) and try to turn the back wheel: you shouldn't be able to. The trailing arm is easy to unbolt from the bottom of the chassis. The two bolts are 18 mm. The trailing arm that is still intact should be easy to unbolt: the nut is 22 mm. In my case it was really difficult to hold the part where the weld had rusted (?, in any case broken): I had to use a large pipe tool to hold the metal ring that goes against the rubber damper before the rusty nut came off. Not bad for a car that has 305,000 miles (almost 500,000 km) and still gets 37 mpg. I feed it oil and gasoline, and it seems to be happy enough.

'01 SL1. My "little red plastic car" is my darling. My mechanic jokes that when he has it on the lift he can see the word "Playskool." 150,000 miles & the only $$ I've spent on it (besides normal maintenance & wear) is last year when the A/C compressor went. However, it just had its first trip on the hook last week and we're stumped. It started, ran as usual, and then just died. I thought it was the fuel pump or filter, my guy thought electrical since the pump wasn't connecting & the fuel gauge reads "E" (I just filled it.) While in the shop the battery died (he thinks he left it on). He charged the battery & Viola! it started. It started when I came to pick it up,and then just died. Same "E" on fuel. I'm not giving up on it. We will find out what's wrong & fix it. I refuse to give up on this car, and reading all of the testimonials above, I see no reason to.

I have a 95 sl1 with 208k miles. Bought it for $500. Was rode hard and put away wet. Ac didn't work, fixed that by cutting the bad section out (low side) and replacing with break line and compression fittings. New mirror, needs tires yet. Just replaced the rear sway bar $100. New plugs, coolant flush. Oil went to 10w because of milage. Driver's seat springs are broken, windshield is cracked. Massive gouges in trunk. Headlights are secured by machine screws. Front radio was missing. All the radio wires were cut, replaced those. Put new rear speakers in and rewired. When I would hit the high beams the dash and radio would turn off, ran a relay line from the cig lighter. Troubles opening rear door. Troubles latching the trunk. No headlinner. No dome lights. License plates are zipped tied on. No plastics in the radio area. Had purple tint. Removed that. Crappy stickers everywhere. Removed those. Just had it towed because I couldn't shift it 50 miles from home. Turns out the shifter linkage bushing fell out. Shop said I should scrap the car because it would cost $1000 to fix. I said FU, I towed it home on a dolly. Ordered a new steel one from eBay. $30. All in all, I love the little crap box. I call it "Da hoopty."

I found a 2000 sl with 126K for a $1000 the discription says it burns oil anybody know the fix and is it a good deal

I think you could still get some mileage out of it. I have an 02 SL2 with 195K, and it burns oil too. Adding a bottle of Bestline to full synthetic really reduced my consumption.

I have three Saturn SL's ('97, '98 and '00). Why? Well, I figured I transfer some of the parts and/or tires when one of them dies. So far, none has. Problems? Yes, but not many. The 2000 (with 124K) had a bad intake manifold gasket that caused the engine to idle high (about 1600 rpm). That fixed it. I also had a bad (leaking) water pump. Fixed that. I am 59 years old and have owned 70 cars. I am certainly not a GM or Saturn fan, but I think they accidentally got these cars (SL1 & SL2, 1997 thru 2001) right! One major complaint though is changing the oil filter... on either engine. It doesn't matter if it's the SOHC or DOHC; changing the oil filter is pain in the ass. It is in a very bad location and near impossible to see. Throw in the fact that the transmission filter is located nearby and is of the type that looks just like a common oil filter and you have a situation just begging for mistakes to be made. Oh yes, there is one more common problem... the "chattering power door locks". Replace just the driver-side switch and it will almost certainly fix them all. P.S. There is one more goofy thing about this car. The rear-defroster "timer" is located in the "chime module". If your rear defroster doesn't work and it's not the fuse, relay or switch it is most likely the defroster timer. The "chime/timer" module is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. While it is not too hard to find (located on the driver-side, opposite the inside fuse panel) ...getting a new one is! I luckily located one (used at that). But darned if I can find another one anywhere. And I mean, anywhere! But let me say again... overall, these were/are very reliable cars. Reverend Ray

All of you that have issues with high oil usage try changing the pvc valve it stopped my high usage on a 2000 sc2. went from a quart a week to maybe a quart every 1 to 2 months

I just bought a Saturn Sc2 Coupe off my mechanic who recommended it to me. Was't really thrilled with the looks of it at first but once I drove it (handles sharp turns like a champ) and made a few tweaks, it has become one of the best little cars i've ever owned. Super fun to drive! Sits low and just hugs the road. Has 155,000 miles and drives perfect. No problems so far whatsoever. I'll upload a photo soon...

I have a 2002 SC1 w manual trans. It has 175,000 miles on it now. Still runs strong! Bought it 2 years ago for only $2000 Only had to replace the Water Pump and belt Tensioner! This is my 2nd Saturn. My first was same year, an SL1 Auto. Kept that one for 12yrs before the A/C went out. Transmission was an expensive fix($2300) That one had 278,000 miles.Between the 2 cars, get the manual! Less problems with much more zip!

I have a 01 SL a coworker gave me. Told me it shifts hard but after doing some research it was the motor mounts. The engine jumped side to side before. Now after replacing the mounts it jumps front to back and still shifts hard. Anyone have any ideas?