2002 Saturn LS: misfire or rough idle

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 Jun 15, 2013 · Engine · 137,000 miles · OH

Car over the time I have had it for the past 7 or 8 months has had a rough idle and now the car is hard to start. I suspect it is the timing chain going bad but my 2002 does not fall under the recall.

Filed Mar 11, 2007 · Engine · KY

My wife's 2002 l100 saturn sedan, began to idle rough, so I changed the spark plugs figuring it was a bad plug (I always kept up with maintenance on the vehicle, I am a qualified aircraft mechanic for the military, so I am mechanically inclined). The vehicle ran fine for a couple of days, then became extremely worse. The vehicle had a rough idle, low power and would stall. We had the vehicle towed to the lexington, ky. Dealership. Later the service rep. Called and said I have some bad news, the catalytic converter was bad and the ignition module, you have gone 3,000 miles over the warranty. I asked how does a catalytic converter go bad in less than 5 yrs. And under 100,000 mi.? The rep. Said I don't know but it is going to cost $3,000 to replace everything. I told him wait a minute, you all already changed the ignition modulator on the recall before. I contacted an out in town mechanic, who provided me with recall info about the bad ignition modulator, that when it fails it could/would damage the catalytic converter. I called the dealer back with this information and documentation provided to me from the mechanic I saw. Rep. Said we have changed three modulators before you came in with this problem, they seem to keep failing and you should call saturn's customer service line. I did and informed them what the mechanic told me and what the dealer informed me of. Saturn said they would contact me back after contacting their engineers. Saturn called back and said they would fix the repairs if I paid the deductible as if the vehicle was still under warranty. I paid $100 and asked what about this constant problem with the ignition module, they said when it acts up again call us back. So, saturn is avoiding the problem at hand which I was shocked because I was told they always back their products and appreciate their customers. I plan not to purchase a saturn in the future and have been advising others not to either.

Filed Aug 18, 2006 · Engine · MN

I was responding to an emergency call with my local fire dept when my 2002 saturn l series motor quit running on the main highway. It turned out that I am one of many that had the timing belt break without any warning signs. No rough idle or hesitations, piff it was dead. The motor has only 75000 miles. I can not afford to have saturn fix it nor want to give them the funds so I am having another mechanic fix it with still some high expenditures. Luckily I was not like some who had to replace valves and such. The chain fell to the lower area. The whole assembly needed to be replaced. Looks as if engineering or quality materials are an issue, not oil changes as it appears saturn is using as an excuse to avoid the issue.

Filed Nov 15, 2005 · Brakes, Suspension · 23,614 miles · TX · crash

While driving consumer her head a roaring in the front end. Drive shift caused consumer to wreck 2002 saturn. *ts the consumer noticed noise/vibration in the front end. The consumer has replaced several tires. When the brakes were applied the vehicle would pull to the left. An alignment was performed correcting the rear cam and setting the front and rear toe. A collapsed motor mount caused rough idle. The rotors and pads had to be replaced. The rear hub assembly had to be replaced twice. Left rear hub bearing had to be replaced. The front driver's side drive axle assembly had to be replaced.

Filed Jul 5, 2003 · Electrical, Fuel system · 25,000 miles · PA

I have a saturn l-series vehicle. Received a letter about a defect relating to motor vehicle safety-failure of ignition control module that may cause deterioration in idle quality, reduction in overall engine power and the vehicle may be hard to start.continued operation after such failure may lead to secondary failures of the catalytic converter, oxygen sensor and exhaust resonator. Failure of resonator failure may lead to an undercar fire without prior warning. The company states in the july 2003 letter, that parts availability is not sufficient to perform replacements at this time. Problem: I have had the above situation take place twice since I had the car. It starts out with a rough idle especially during damp and/or cold days. The power of the vehicle is extreme. It either seems to be gasping for fuel etc. Or the opposite has occurred, where the vehicle seems to have bursts of unusual power while on the highway.when the vehicle finally failed on the two occasions, it was hard to start, lost power, the fuel didn't seem to get through and the vehicle shook violently.trevose of saturn took care of the repairs at that time. I was told that " there is no guarantee it won't happen again. I was told to think about extending my current extended warranty, as it won't be covered if it happens after the current warrsanty runs out. Since those two times, I returned the vehicle to saturn in trevose again. I stated that the initial symtoms of lost power, rough idle in damp and/or cold weather was taking place. Both times I was told that it was checked out and nothing is wrong. I do not feel comfotrtable driving this vehicle. It happened twice without warning. Even though certain symptoms were present the times the failures took place, saturn did not take them seriously when mentioned to them. Since those two times, I have presented the symptoms to them, and they once again take them lightly. I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle.

Filed Jul 5, 2003 · Electrical · 22,000 miles · PA

Odi number is 10025456 already submitted complaint form. I want to clarify dates: faulty ignition module on 11/29/02 and 3/10/03. On 4/15/03 and 5/10/03 told by saturn of trevose that the rough idle that I feel and the loss of power that I feel cannot be duplicated. These were the exact symptoms that I felt before the ignition modules failed both times.told that this problem can reoccur at anytime, in particular in cold or damp weather. Please refer to first complaint form submitted earlier on 6/5/03.