2002 Saturn LS: sudden loss of power

Filed Sep 24, 2019 · Brakes, Engine · 175 miles · CA

Vehicle was in motion at 30 MPH on city street, engine completely stopped working with loss of power steering and power brakes. Coasted vehicle to a side street & stopped. Had car towed to a mechanic. We were quoted $1700 bill to repair due to broken timing chain. Researched recalls and found that the federal safety agency had a recall #07v519000 for 2001 saturn l100. This seems grossly shortsighted on the part of the federal safety agency, as there have been dozens of duplicate complaints. This prompted the state of north carolina consumers council to issue a defect petition for 2000-2003 saturn l series with the 2.2l engine with the federal safety agency. It is surprising how little effort the federal safety agency has made in light of the scope of this problem.

Filed Oct 10, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 164,155 miles · CA

I lost power at highway speeds and at full throttle there was no acceleration. It made a loud boom like a backfire and a large piece of material that looked fiberglass matting and rocks blew out of the exhaust. The car accelerated fine for about 15 miles then started to bog down again. Shut off vehicle and tried to restart unsuccessful, waited a few hours then car restarted with no issues ran vehicle off and on over a three day period, that is when it started malfunctioning again with very rough idle, almost dies, extreme loss of power w/almost no acceleration at full throttle. Contacted mechanic the vehicle resonator was expanded to the point of splitting the seam, he removed the resonator to find all the fiber packing gone and the resonator packed with what looked like rocks. He stated the bits that looked like rocks were part of the catalytic converter packing that had been heated above the limits of the material. The disintegrated material made a blockage in the resonator not allowing the exhaust gasses to flow he checked for tsb's and recall campaigns and found camp # 03v231000 action # 03033 recall # 03-c-06 (electrical system ignition control module) and camp # 07v519000 action # ea06009 recall # 06074. (eng. Timing chain) called gm recall center given case #8-2430110427 per brandy she is getting many calls on this, she shows only the recall 03-c-06 only and she is to deny any additional claims even though they replaced the part with the same part that was recalled to begin with. Investigated recall # 06074 and found that did not include the 2002 saturn l series however per my mechanic both recalls are contributing factors with the outstanding issues with my vehicle. The car is unsafe to drive. The 2002 saturn l series should not be on the road and it shouldn't take an accident or a death before you people decide to recall these vehicles.

Filed Dec 30, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 15,500 miles · CA

At 60 MPH on freeway the timing belt broke. I lost power and control of the car. It cannot be started. Since the repair cost is too high (more than $2000), and my VIN is not included in the gm recall #06074, I had to junk the car. *js the car is dangerous to drivers. Gm is not willing to recall all 2001 l200. However, due to so many complains of the same problems from drivers of the 2001 saturn l200 (whose cars are not included in the recall) the federal safety agency should force gm to recall all 2011 saturn l200.

Filed Apr 14, 2014 · Electrical · KS

My car began by running with the ignition key being able to be pulled out while running. I never knew when it was going to start or not. When the vehicle stopped u would be stranded and lose power because the power steering would lock up. I also had the expense of a new key and many tows the cylinder swich and housing were a huge expense around 500.00 with the labor and tow.

Filed Mar 21, 2012 · Engine · 85,000 miles · TX

Driving on us hwy 290 at approx 70 MPH, vehicle totally lost power. Was able to pull over to shoulder, but we were nearly 50 miles outside of houston. Vehicle would not restart. After $350 of towing and diagnosis fees, informed that the timing chain has failed, causing catastrophic failure to the engine. Now I find out that there were recalls issued on this same engine for 2001 saturns, and only a tsb on the 2002 models indicating a need for a new oiler for the timing chain.

Filed Sep 10, 2011 · Engine · TN

My car showed no warning of any problem. Started to work lost power. Coasted to a safe place at a business. Was told timing chain had broken and I needed a new engine. It will cost $2600.00 to repair. Also there has been a problem with headliners sagging.

Filed Aug 10, 2011 · 79,024 miles · MO

Timing chain broke. Complete loss of power and destruction of engine. No noise or warning beforehand. Traveling in center lane of three lane interstate highway during afternoon rush hour traffic. Lucky to make it to shoulder without accident. Could have easily been injured or killed if stopped on roadway. After reading about the investigation, I'm appalled that no information has been sent by gm suggesting a replacement of the chain tensioner and oiler. I could have done this myself. Instead, I spent $2000 for an engine.

Filed Jun 29, 2011 · Electrical · 125,000 miles · NY

I own a 2002 saturn l 300 6 cylinder 3.0 engine car. In june 2010 I had a throttle body issue withmy car (reduced power, check engine, service engine lights). I took it to a repair shop and it was diagnosed with a throttle body issue. I purchased the throttle body from gm directly and had it installed at an outside mechanic. Not knowing the electrical issues and computer programming issues around this car, I let the outside mechanic do the installation not know all the computer programming issues around this part. About a month or so later I continued to have issues with the same error messages, but this time I brought it to gm, where they diagnosed a wiring issue. Since then I have had it back to gm 5 more times replacing the entire wiring to the throttle body, the electronic control module, and on may 2, 2011 another trip to have the computer re-programmed to sync the new ECM to the throttle body. This past week I began getting an error message (service engine light) for the throttle position sensor. I called gm directly and opened a complaint case number and brought the car back tot he gm dealer now for the 6th time. The prior visits to gm they have told me they won't honor any guarantees because the original throttle body replacement was done at an outside mechanic shop. I can see that holding weight the first or second visit back to gm, but now this is the 6th visit back and they still have yet to completely fix the electrical issues on my car. I have spent over 3,000.00 trying to get this right to no avail. And I am somewhat stuck since I cannot afford to buy a new car.

Filed May 24, 2011 · Engine · NC

When turning onto morganton road in fayetteville nc (high traffic area due to proximity of the mall) and attempting to accelerate, with traffic speed at approximately 25 MPH, there was a pop followed by the car losing power. With no power it was extremely difficult to get the car off of the main road and into the bank parking lot. Once the car was towed home a mechanic checked out the car and advised that the timing chain was the problem. The car is still sitting in the yard waiting to be repaired due to the cost. After researching I believe this to be the same problem as other saturn owners. The may 2002 l-series are equipped with the same faulty timing chain equipment as those vehicles included in the recall.

Filed Apr 13, 2011 · Engine · 120,000 miles · WA

While driving 60mph in my 2002 saturn l200 lost all power on the I-5 freeway. I was somehow able to coast to the shoulder. I then had my car towed to a local shop. They said that the engine had a timing chain failure, and they may also need to replace the cylinder head and pistons. This is very unsafe. Lucky it happened to me and not my younger sister who is inexperienced with situations as above. There was a recall for the 2001 saturn l200 with the same 2.2l engine for timing chain problems. I don't know why they didn't include the 2002-2003 years as they all use the same defective parts from the factory. Please issue a recall. We do not need anymore close calls as this one. I have serviced the engine oil every 3,000 miles since new. I even have receipts for proof.

Filed Feb 24, 2011 · Engine · 83,000 miles · VA

Driving along highway 610 in montgomery county, va at approximately 45 MPH before a large, sweeping turn, my 2002 saturn l200 lost power. Power steering and power brakes were lost and the car headed towards a guardrail. I was able to pull the parking brake and skid to a stop just outside of the ditch. The timing chain broke, at 83,000 miles, catastrophically. A recall on the same engine and timing chain configuration was issued on 2001 saturn l200s, but for no apparent reason not on the 2002 saturn. Complete loss of power unexpectedly with routine oil changes and maintenance is very dangerous and caused me to loose control of the vehicle.

Filed Jan 3, 2011 · Engine · 105,000 miles · MI

Timing chain failure resulting in loss of power. The car would not restart. Fortunately the problem occurred at the end of a freeway entrance ramp where a wide shoulder was available to pull over and stop.