The contact owns a 2003 Saturn L200. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 45 MPH, an abnormal whirling sound was coming from the vehicle and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact's wife was unable to restart the vehicle and with the assistance of a police officer, she coasted the vehicle off to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective timing chain which resulted in engine failure. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
2003 Saturn L200 engine problems
27 complaints (20% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 78,000.
- owner complaints
- 27
- of this car's complaints
- 20%
- typical mileage
- 78,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine5
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe1
- Exhaust system1
- Engine: gasoline: belts and associated pulleys1
- Engine: gasoline1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Saturn L200 engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Won't start 13Check engine light 12Stalling 11Engine failure 6
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Timing chain failure
On december 12, 2005, odi received a defect petition (dp05-008) requesting the investigation of timing chain failures that could cause stalling in saturn vehicles equipped with the 2.2l (l61) engine. Odi opened pe06-006 on january 24, 2006, with 24 vehicle owner complaints that alleged a broken timing chain caused the vehicle to stop operating.on april 12, 2006, odi received information from general motors (gm) concerning timing chain failures in approximately 412,000 model year (my) 2000 through 2003 saturn l-series and ion vehicles with 2.2l engines. Gm's response included 1,020 owner complaints and field reports concerning timing chain failure, including 228 that alleged the failure caused the vehicle to stall while driving.gm also provided warranty claim data that showed 1,902 subject vehicles receiving timing chain repairs, including 261 which indicated that a stall while driving resulted from the failure.the gm complaints, field reports and warranty claims that did not contain sufficient information to determine that a stall while driving occurred were provided in the category other.gm stated that the majority of these incidents probably occurred while the vehicles were parked since the timing chain is more likely to break during high chain load situations, such as engine startup.gm's data showed elevated failure rates in approximately 20,500 my 2001 l-series vehicles produced during a four month period from november 2000 through february 2001.over one-third of gm's total complaints and field reports (34.3%) and warranty claims (38.2%) involved l-series vehicles built during the 4-month period, which are only about 5% of subject vehicle production.the timing chain failure rate in the vehicles built during this range is over 10 times greater than the remaining subject vehicle population. For the my 2001 l-series vehicles built during the 4-month period, the 36-month failure rate for repairs involving stall while driving is slightly under one percent.however, if the incidents coded as other are added, the 36-month failure rate rises to nearly five percent for those vehicles.odi and gm are continuing to assess the number of complaints and warranty claims coded by gm as other that involve incidents of stall while driving.gm's statistical modeling of the failure data initially concluded that the failure rates were declining with age and mileage for any set of warranty data analyzed (e.g., stall while driving, other or combined).however, subsequent analysis showed that the failure rates are increasing. Based on the high complaint and warranty rates for timing chain failure in the 4-month production period for the my 2001 l-series vehicles, this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis to further assess the frequency of stall incidents due to timing chain failures in those vehicles (ea06-009).
PE06006
Timing chain failure
Analysis undertaken in response to the petition identified 26 complaints alleging timing chain failures in my 2000-2003 saturn l-series vehicle equipped with the 2.2l l4 engine.most complaints of timing chain failure reportedly resulted in a sudden loss of engine power and stalling.odi also noted that certain my 2002-2003 saturn vue and my 2003 saturn ion model vehicles with the 2.2l engine vehiclescovered by a technical service bulletin (03-06-01-017) that addressed timing chain design and service procedure changes, exhibited no complaints of timing chain failure.odi will grant the petition and open a preliminary evaluation to assess the frequency, trend, scope and safety consequences associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.refer to pe06-006.
DP05008
What 2003 Saturn L200 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. While starting the vehicle, the check engine indicator illuminated and an abnormal noise was heard. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.
I was stopping to turn right at a red light and my cars breaks stopped working. My car ran through the intersection, started violently shaking and then stopped. The car was still on but it would not drive. I turned the car off and tried to start it up 6 times and it wouldn't work. Then finally it started and I drove home. I went to start my car later that day and now it refuses to start. The battery light comes on, the car shakes, there's a very loud tapping/rattling sound, the ABS light flashes, the 'service engine soon' light is on. In the vehicle information section of this form, it asking me to enter the vehicles make, model and year. It's a saturn l200 2002 but it's not giving me an option for the 2002. Only the 2003.
Bottom engine 2 cells gone dealership m676 electrical system interior and exterior blew eengine
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. The contact stated that the air conditioner failed to blow cool air. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated a condenser and a clutch was needed in order to repair the vehicle. The mechanic also stated that if the vehicle was not properly repaired the belt would seize causing an engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 156,000.
Parked car and next morning went to start and car would not start. It would only turn n not start. Went to where bought it n they diagnosis timing chain was broke.
The car started making a funny noise as I was driving home. Thankfully I made it home but after I shut the car off it would not start again. Also my rear wheels wear on the inside due to the position of them I am going to have to have shims put in to keep the rear wheels from angling in.
Fuel is leaking at the nipple from fuel pump.
As I was turning into the gas station the timing chain and both tensioners busted the piston smashed all of the valves the engine would not restart and the vehicle was almost sideswiped.
I am mortified by all of the complaints of engine failure of the l200 series due to the timing chain and am even more devastated that there is no recall information on it. My car had 78k miles on it and did not start today. It was towed to a shop and they called me to inform me that it was my engine due to the timing chain. The repair shop also said that it was the 4th saturn with the same exact problem that they had seen this month. I am a college student without a car that is still making car payments living on my own. Saturn better be happy that it no longer exists, but gm better have some answers for me. There are recalls for the same problem for 2001 models, there are even more reported issues with later models. How has gm gotten away with this?
Questions about the 2003 Saturn L200 engine
Does the 2003 Saturn L200 have engine problems?
Owners have filed 27 complaints about the engine of the 2003 Saturn L200, 20% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2003 Saturn L200 engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 78,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Saturn L200 engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
Other 2003 Saturn L200 problems
Electrical 50Fuel system 18Lights 16Visibility 13Steering 11Airbags 8Transmission 8Brakes 7Suspension 7Body 5Acceleration 4Seat belts 4Locks 3Tires 3Wheels 1
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