The front right turn signal socket fused and ceased to work. (possibly an arc from nearby lightning). I have searched and had repair shops search - only to find that contrary to the promise general motors made to congress in the bailout and the agreement to close saturn -- they have ceased providing a safety feature for the car -- much less a vital part at exorbitant rates.
2002 Saturn LS lights complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 73, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving my car to work and leaving my street to turn onto a busy highway. I lifted the turn signal lever to indicate my turn and the blinker did not work. I tried the other turn signal direction and that did not work either. The hazard button did work. I instinctively use the turn signals and have heard a buzzing sound coming from the center of the dashboard, near the hazard button/switch. Blinkers work if I press the hazard warning light, use the turn signal and then depress the hazard button. Upon research on the internet it seems that the hazard warning switch may be the culprit. I've contacted gm customer service to notify them of this problem and am waiting for their reply. It seems that there has been a recall on this part for the 2000 saturn ls but not for my model and year.
I was driving my car to work and leaving my street to turn onto a busy highway. I lifted the turn signal lever to indicate my turn and the blinker did not work. I tried the other turn signal direction and that did not work either. The hazard button did work. I instinctively use the turn signals and have heard a buzzing sound coming from the center of the dashboard, near the hazard button/switch. Blinkers work if I press the hazard warning light, use the turn signal and then depress the hazard button. Upon research on the internet it seems that the hazard warning switch may be the culprit. I've contacted gm customer service to notify them of this problem and am waiting for their reply. It seems that there has been a recall on this part for the 2000 saturn ls but not for my model and year.
This can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp) or tail lamps. A following driver may not know when the brakes have been applied, and a rear-end crash could occur without prior warning. Campaign number: 05v245000 this item had been replaced yet the replaced item has the same fault 40,000 miles after the recall warrent.
2002 saturn l100, 148000 miles, primary safety concern is headlights will shut off spontaneously while driving at night. Other issues include spontaneous/erratic actuation of wipers, dome light, and door locks, as well as flashing of high beams and drl lamps. Also erratic instrumentation anomalies, e.g. "security" lamp illuminates and shuts off, "change oil soon" lamp flashes, all gages flick from zero to normal, etc.
Recall the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v245000. Component: exterior lighting brake lights. I had my recall service done on dec. 26 2005. On nov. 27th 2009. I got pulled over by the police. My rear running and brake lights were out. No ticket because I was close to home. Took it to a mechanic the next day to find out that both light bulbs were broke. Plastic melted down and hit the bulbs. Tried to replace bulbs but the melted plastic was in the way. I took pictures of the melted plastic. Went to saturn dealer to have them look at it and they said that a front driver side parking light was out and it had condensation under the lens. They said that shorted the rear lights. They replaced the bulbs by grinding the melted plastic out of the way. They said they did not but there was no way to get the bulb past the melted plastic. I took more pictures. So the lights work for now. But it won't be long before the plastic melts down onto the bulbs again. I do believe this has to do with the recall. It reads-on certain sedans and wagons, the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time. Not a burned out parking light with condensation under the lens. This could become very dangerous. No tail or brake lights! Tailgaiters! I now carry extra light bulbs and wait for the next melt down. Saturn has been no help. Just a bandaid.
Brake lights in the vehicle fail to work, checked both the bulbs and the fuses and both are fine. I believe it caused by the distorted sockets.
Headlights flicker at random times. I am the second owner purchased the 2002 model in 2003. This has happened for as long as I have had the car. I reported the problem to the dealership and was told this is a known problem, but it is normal / not major and nothing can be done to fix it. It is annoying and startling to me, especially when I am driving on a dark road. When it happens, I get an adrenaline rush and automatically fear there is a serious electrical problem and that the car might shut down at any moment. I have to remind myself that it is a known problem. I also worry that other drivers may interpret it as some sort of signal.
My upper brake lights keep burning out. I replaced 5 of these lights to get my inspection sticker. Right now only 2 are working. You can only get these bulbs at a saturn dealer at a cost of $7.00 each. I called the saturn dealer and they say that there is no recall on this. This is part of the brake light system and I can't afford to keep spending $7.00 each to replace them. I have also checked on the saturnfans.com web site and I'm not the only one who has this problem. I bought the car at saturn of norwood,ma. I think that it maybe a short somewhere.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l100. The contact stated that the turn signals do not work. In addition, the fuel pump cracked in the gas tank and caused fuel to pour out of the vehicle. He smelled fuel and noticed it "dumping" out of the vehicle, which alerted him to the failure. The dealer diagnosed the fuel pump as the origin of the failure. The manufacturer covered $300 of the $650 repair cost. The contact felt that the failure was a major safety issue. The current mileage was 62,394 and failure mileage was approximately 62,100.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l300. While driving the vehicle at various speeds, the exterior lights remain illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the switches for all the lights on the vehicle needed to be replaced. The check engine light was illuminated because the engine module computer needed to be replaced along with other sensors. The contact also stated that the oil housing failed. While getting an oil change at jiffy lube, the contact was informed that the oil housing screw was loose and the filter could not be changed. The current mileage was 82,564 and failure mileage was 500.
Rear tail light issues.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l200. While driving 20 MPH, the instrument panel lights and headlights flash and flicker randomly. The instrument panel lights flicker in the daytime and the contact noticed the headlights flickering at night. She has taken the vehicle to the dealer and was given a handout stating that it was normal. The dealer was unable to remedy the failure. She filed a complaint with chrysler. The current mileage was 49,700 and the failure mileage was unknown. The dealer stated that consumer hears a whistling noise upon acceleration, windows make chirping noise when rolling them up, and heater works intermittently. Updated 11/27/07
1)rear brake lights inoperative. 2)no consequences 3)saturn replaced lights sockets for rear tail lights according to the federal safety agency recall #05v245000 but refused to replace light bulbs which were shorted out by the defective sockets.
2002 saturn l-200 with head light switch problem customer states that the switch shorts out which causes head lights to come on and drain the battery**cc the consumer stated that his vehicle had a faulty headlight switch that shorts and causes the battery to go dead. At times the headlights would come on when the vehicle was parked.
Electronic controle computer shorted out. Stopped working at 92000mi. Alarm did not work, key fob did not work, transmission inter lock would not disengage, fuel gauge did not work, temp gauge did not work, no instrument lights, high beam lamp on pass. Side inop., flickering headlights and dash lights reported multiple times to saturn of abilene, tx. Told it's a known problem, but saturn doesn't know the fix. Saturn of temple reported there was a short under the fuse box on the driver's side which shorted out the bcm, horn, high beam and turn signal switch. Cost: $600 for issues brought to their attention multiple times while under warranty.
Rear brake light assemblies finally replaced via a bulletin. However, the center brake light assembly mounted up near the top of the window continuously has one of the center lamps inoperative, one time the lamp had just fallen out. It has been fixed 5 times by the dealership.
Rear tailgate brake lights burn out frequently. I have had car for 5 years and had to have several replaced over 4 times.
My husband and I own a 2002 saturn l300, of which I am the primary driver. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the "bright" indicator would appear sometimes when the daytime running lights were on. Then the daytime running lights would stay on sometimes for a few minutes after the motor was stopped. The lights always went out, and we thought it would be ok to wait until our next maintenance visit to the dealer to ask about the problem. Last week the lights wouldn't go off, so we made an appointment. We also discovered that if we pushed the light stick (the long switch that projects out from the steering column) slightly toward the dashboard, the lights would go out. We thought using this discovery and propping the light switch toward the dashboard would hold us until our appointment. However, the day before the appointment, the lights became more stubborn and the steering column became fiery hot next to the switch. There was also the odor of something burning. I parked the car and stayed home. The next day at the appointment, my husband was told that the service people see a shorting out of the light stick all the time with saturns. As a matter of fact, there was another car in the shop at that moment having the same repair work done. I am not an expert and don't know if this problem is dangerous. Any time there is a short in a car, I just assume there is an associated fire danger. However, I do know that if this problem is as common as the dealers service personnel say, then the public needs to be notified. I didn't recognize the problem when it began, and now believe that we avoided a fire from the short circuit.
Several times when transitioning from daytime running lights to normal headlights using the auto headlight function. The lights come on high beam and will not dim. The only action that will clear the problem is turn off the ignition and wait a few seconds. The dimmer switch then acts normally.
Dt*: the contact stated recall letter #05v245000 concerning the brake lights was received in december 2005. However, the vehicle was not experiencing any problems and was not taken to the dealer for immediate repair. Recently, the contact was alerted by another driver that the brake lights were not working. The vehicle was driven to the dealer for inspection, and the dealer installed two tail lights, reinforced socket adapters and sockets under the recall. Also, the dealer determined the brake light switch needed to be replaced, but this work has not been completed. When the vehicle was taken from the dealer, the cruise control no longer worked, the gear shift became difficult to shift into drive, and the parking lights and brake lights no longer worked. The dealer informed the contact these items failed as a result of the need to replace the brake light switch. Updated 05/30/06.
Dt*: the contact stated there was a the federal safety agency recall, # 05v245000 concerning the exterior lighting that was performed however; numerous electrical problems evolved since the repair. The dash panel lights intermittently illuminated while driving at various speeds. Although the ignition was turned off the headlights illuminated which resulted in a battery failure. The vehicle was seen by a dealer and the headlight high/low beam dimmer switch was replaced, but the problem persisted. Additionally, the vehicle stalled and was towed back to the dealer which determined there was a failure of the drive shaft and this was replaced. The ongoing electrical problems persisted and the vehicle was taken to the dealer to await further inspection.
Headlights flicker when break and clutch are applied. They also flicker when just normal driving. This is an intermittent problem.
Without warning, headlights flash in a strobe-like fashion. In addition to the momentary lack of light, one obvious highway danger is that vehicles could believe that they are being signaled that is ok to pull into your lane. I guarantee that someone is going to get hurt or killed by this defect.
Dt: the contact heard about a the federal safety agency recall 05v245000 concerning the brake lights. The contact's has not experienced the symptoms as indicated in the recall, but was interested to find out if his vehicle was included in the recall. He had not received a recall letter. He contacted saturn, and they informed him that this vehicle was included in the recall due to VIN. He has not taken the vehicle to a dealer, and no repairs have been made at this time. *ak the consumer was told the parts were not available. Updated 11/16/05.
We purchased a 2002 l-300 saturn new in february 2002. The left brake light stopped working recently, and the dealership in fort collins, co replaced the brake light assembly under warranty, and informed us that there was an upcoming recall on this assembly.
I purchased my '02 saturn l300 from a highly recommended local used car dealership here in florida mid may '05. It was close to closing time when the final papers were drawn so the salesman and I walked around the car and I noticed then that the left rear brake lamp was out. He told me that the parts dept was closed so to come back the next business day. I came back that monday and they fixed it no problem. Well a month or so later, on my way to work, I was pulled over by a state trooper and was told my left rear brake light was out. I informed her that I had just fixed it at the dealership so she gave me a warning and told me to fix it again. I set up an appointment with the dealership that day. While leaving work, I glanced into the windows reflection as I was backing up and saw that the light was working. I have been pulled over three times and all times was giving warnings. Is the next cop going to be so nice? It works when it wants to. I am always questioning whether or not its working. This is a $38 part. How many must I purchase? I did not know there was any kind of recall. The dealership did not notify me of any at time of sale. Is there anything I can do now? Also, a friend who owned a smaller version of the l-series said he had to replace his tires constantly. Also saying he dealt with continuous obnoxious road noise. Is that a discrepancy? I have had my current tires balanced and rotated twice since may. Is this a problem? The front two do not match the rear two. They were that way at time of vehicle purchase. Vehicle has 36,000 miles. I tried to match them but it's just to expensive. The cheapest tire I could find in size p215-55-r16 is $98...?????
Security system is failing. While driving, security light will flash on and off. When this happens, lose headlights, dash lights. Also causes fuel gauge and temperature gauge to fail. Had auto part store access on board computer. No errors found. Problem happened again. Was unable to car into gear. Had to let car sit for awhile. Tried to disable alarm system per handbook. No success. Another result of this is my odometer reset to 000000 miles and now loses miles when it does work.
This car has been nothing but trouble. I have had to have the drive shaft replaced, the motor mounts replaced, the tail light assembly replaced, the steering assembly replaced and I too have a problem with the dash lights dimming. The technicians at the local saturn dealership are nothing but rude. They dont fix the problems you bring the car in for and you end up having to take it back the next day or even sometimes that same evening for a repair that wasnt done properly. I thought this was going to be a good car but it has been constant trouble and is constantly in the repair shop.
My wife's 2002 saturn l-100 sedan had a taill ight out (left side). Replacing the bulb didn't fix the problem, money lost. When the dealership was contacted they claimed the whole light housing required replacement because of a known harness defect. The vehicle was no longer under warrenty, so we had to pay for the replacement (more money lost). But it's a safety device... What could we do?
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