Saturn has a recall on tail light assemblies. I have a 2001 l series saturn. Bought it from olds dealer in helena mt. There are no saturn dealers in montana. I called the 800# in the recall letter and they said to go to underriner olds in billings, approximately 240 miles away. I bought it at an olds dealer two miles from my house. Seems to me they could authorize that or pay me a couple of days wages, gas, motel, per diem or have it fixed in helena!!! This is really stupid, because my taillights are defective and keep wiggling lose and I lose my brake and tail lights.
2001 Saturn LS lights complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 52, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Brake lights not working right. Right brake light housing is melting and my brake lights don't consistently work well.
Exterior lighting and engine coolant leakage inside of car. Car smoking.
Fyi - comment not a complaint the issue of the tail light going dim or just out. Saturn is aware of this issue and they are starting a campaign to replace the tail light on the 00-02 l series starting in october. If the taillight problem is causing to many problem - you local dealership at no cost replace with the same tail light, but you will still have to have your tail light replaced once the new design ones come in. Want more info - call saturn customer service 1‑800‑553‑6000.
Brake lights ceased to function. Car rear ended during early morning pile up on I-85 due to tire failure on car two positions in advance. Investigate cause of light failure and found melted/burned light socket area. Tried to repair then called saturn for parts availability. Informed that there would be a recall in oct 05 but that I could purchase the new light assemblies myself and might be able to get reimbursement later. Cost over $350.00 per assembly! Unable to spend this amount immediately so I parked the car until the recall letter comes!
The tail/brake lights on my 2001 saturn l200 work on and off, more often off than on. I have been to the dealer and was told that there have been many complaints about the same problem but since there was no recall issued for this that I would be charged at least $350.00 to make any necessary repairs. One of the service department employees told me that the tail/brake lamps were defective so I'm wondering why a recall has not been issued. How many complaints or accidents are required to have a product recalled. For over a year I was buying replacement bulbs and thinking that I didn't know what I was doing installing them when in actuality it's not the bulb at all, I'm wondering how many others have made my mistake.
1.) left bake light has gone out 3 times in last 6 months. Brought it in to a saturn dealer and they said there was a circuit problem on the tail lamp curcuit board. 2.) nothing yet, until I would get pulled over for a tail light out 3.) I have replaced the bulbs 3 times, that is not the problem. Saturn dealer said the only way to fix it is to have the curcuit board replaced, wich would roughly be $140
Tail lights do not work after repeated replacement. Noticed same models having the same problem
Left tail light has failed 3 times in less than 12 months. Now both tail lights and the dash (control panel) lights have failed simultaneously. Fuses checked & replaced but did not fix the problem. Also noticed that all gear indicator lights (except park) are lit up simultaneously. I can't afford any more traffic tickets for inoperable tail lights!
Tie rod end- drivers side. Lso have problem with left brake light- replaced bulb and keeps going out ignition switch locked up now engine and coil pack blown-- engine oil pressure light never came on to alert of impending problem.
While driving at any speed headlights were dim. This made it hard for the consumer to see clearly during nighttime. Dealership was notified, but did not see a problem.
Tail lights have been failing intermittently since jan 2002.
1) rear left taillight assembly has failed for the second time in less than a year. Right one has also failed within the year. 2) circuit board shorts out, resulting in no brake light in failed assembly when headlights are on.*ak 3)entire assembly must be replaced, roughly a $450 repair. Old part is with carmax on south blvd in charlotte, as they are making the repair today.
Passenger side brake light failed to light upon depression of the brake pedal. Dealer replaced socket with part sn 21019709. Firm belief that there is an inherent design flaw in this socket/tailight connection.
Rear tail lights on my 2001 saturn l100 have had problems. Gm recalled other products for similar problems. The bulb holders have been replaced 2 months ago and now the dealer has stated that the assemblies are in need of replacement. These assemblies are failing sooner than what is to be expected. I have been trying to fix the problem of lightbulbs intermittently working for about 1 and half years now. It seems apparent that the system used is inferior in quality.
Repeat tail lamp assembly failure. Circuitry at point where socket attaches has failed again, resulting in repeat replacement of tail lamp assembly. When the assembly fails, vehicle has no brake lights.
Smoke was coming from the steering column. Consumer pulled over, and the smoke extinguished on its own. Consumer took vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the hazard switch unit needed to be replaced.
For the past couple of weeks my wife's 2001 saturn l300 turn signals have been working and not-working intermittently. We heard about the recall, and think that the same and/or similar problem may be occurring with her vehicle.
Dealer found brake tail lights were defective. The lights would not work or dim when driver applied the brake. Dealer says this problem is inherent to saturn l series; apparently due to bulb not making contact with socket on circuit board assembly.
I personally don't own one of these vehicles, but have worked for the manufacturer of these vehicles. I worked for saturn for a couple years and have long since known there was a problem with the my 00-02 l-series taillights. Almost 100% of every l-series needs new taillights due to an electrical short. To add to the problem, saturn has not redesigned the taillights, they are just putting the same products back on the car. When this occurs, the customer feels the vehicle was taken care of, then a couple months down the road, one or both of the taillights don't work again.
The headlights, dashboard instrumentation, and dome light of this autobile are constantly dimming and brightening (flickering). This is making night time driving extremely dangerous. Saturn has issued technical information bulletin 04-08-42-001 in february 2004 stating that this is a "normal operating characteristic". I believe it is a present danger and could also be a sign of a complete failure of the electrical system.
Consumer stated that the brake lights had been replaced six to eight times. They will work for about two months and then they completely stop working. Consumer had to have them replaced. However, she took the vehicle to saturn. They will not work with consumer to find out what caused the problem. They just continued to replace the brake light assembly.
My brake, tail, and interior lights keep failling. I've replaced harnesses and other wires. I also have shaking of steering wheel and automatic locking system failure. Then I have trouble starting my vehicle and the service engine light comes on. Now I have other lamp (light) problems. I also have problems with my audio system where it will not allow me to use any of the buttons, whatever is playing that is what you hear until it decides to work again. My fuel efficiency is not good either, I'm having engine noises and exhaust problems.
Right rear tail light went dim, then inoperative. Electrical connectors holding bulb socket to the circuit board has corroded or weakened. Necessary to replace tail lamp assembly. Left side already replaced for a similar concern.
The tail lights would not come on when applied. Consumer noticed that both driver's side and passenger side tail lights will not work. Consumer drove vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the tail light switch needed to be replaced.
I was driving late at night and my headlights started to dimm almost to the point of going out and coming back on. It did it every 2 or 3 minutes for the entire time I was driving. I never had this problem before and I do alot of nite driving cause of the late hours I work.I took the car in for service and was told that they have had at least 100complaints of cars doing the same thing. They have a service bullitin about the lights "flickering". I advised that they don`t flicker , they go out and come back on. I was told by the service manager that they all flicker, the 100 of us are the unlucky ones that go out and come back on and saturn is ignoring the problem.the car was checked and no problems found. I was advised by the service manager to call saturn and complain. I did. Saturn told me to go to another dealership over two hours away for a second opinion.I called that dealership and was told by there service manager that I would be wasting my time to drive all the way up there, the problem can`t be solved .you can watch it do it and the computer says alls fine.saturn has no idea why it does it to some and not all.
Turn signal lever broken/ cracked at the base -- lever loose.
Tail light assembly is poorly designed. Tail light fails so that brake lights, including the center mounted brake light, are "on" showing the car brakes applied anytime the car lights are on. Cruise control fails to engage, or if engaged at the time of failure forces car to accelerate. If I reset the plug in brake bulb the failure goes away for approximately 1 week when the failure reasserts itself.
Brought car in for saturn "safety campaign" and for scheduled oil change and was told that one of my tail light assemblies was burnt out and needed to be replaced. *ak costly repair resulted from substandard parts, as seems many other people with this model of vehicle, who post on an internet message board are suffering from the same issue. Part replaced, old part not available.
Brake lights fail when all other lights are on (headlights, taillights). When lights are off - brake light will work. Tail lights keep shorting out due to design flaw of light housing unit. Pull bulb out, apply bulb grease, pull springs up, and reinsert. Works for a couple of weeks.
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