2002 saturn l300 v6 excessive tire wear and engine problems the oil drained into the radiator and the whole engine had to be reworked all hoses sensors and radiator had to be replaced the valves and lots of other head work had to be done. We have had to have it aligned 3 times in 18,000miles and 60,000 mile tires last about 12-18,000 miles before being told they are hazardous and have to be replaced. The new oil sensor replaced with the engine rebuild now is leaking again and we have to replace it again. Rear brake lamps blow out constantly and even burned the wiring and plastic frame.
Saturn LS tire blowout problems
16 of the 1,458 owner complaints about the Saturn LS describe tire blowout or tread separation, most of them for the 2002 model year.
- owner complaints
- 16
- worst model year
- 2002
- typical mileage
- 80,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l200. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle shut off without warning. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and the mechanic noticed that the timing chain failed and caused the engine to blow out. The contact called the manufacturer regarding the failure, but nothing has been resolved. She feels that the vehicle is unsafe because there is a recall for the 2001 l200 regarding the timing chain. The current and failure mileages were 80,000.
The blinker / light handle on the left hand side of the steering wheel, which also controls the bright lights. When I turn the blinker on either turning left or right, the bright lights come on, and causes the blinker electrical wiring to arc and cause a small fire in the steering column area, which emits smoke into the cabin of the vehicle, also an odor of burning wires. At one point there was a small fire in that area, which caused me to have to pull over and blow out manually (do not have a place for a fire extinguisher in the vehicle). Ever since that day, it has done this, arcing and causing the smoke in the cabin. One time only has it flared up with visible flames and it did not destroy the vehicle, nor caused any other damage of any sort. However it still does cause the arcing in the wiring and cause the smoke to fill part of cabin.
2002 saturn l200 left front tire blewout causing extensive damage to the vehicle. *kb the tread completely came of the tire.
Dt: contact was in a motor home and it was towing saturn vehicle. The right front tire blew out, causing extensive damage to the right quarter panel, fender, wheel well, and pushed out the bumper. Also caused tie rod damage. In addition,there was damage to the hub and hub cap. Would need a new wheel alignment. Called aaa, and they put on a spare tire. Drove to a walmart in florida where the tire was originally purchased, and the service department did not why this happened. They replaced the tire, took pictures, and sent tire off to goodyear. Walmart replaced tire but goodyear refused to pay for other damages. Goodyear contacted consumer, and said lack of air in the tire was the cause of tire blowout. They would not pay for damages. Goodyear, douglas touring, size p195/65r15 . *ak
Driving to work when power seat began moving forward on it's own. Then seat switch started smoking a lot. I then pulled over exited vehicle and had someone notify fire dept in west brookfield ma. I then disconnected battery fire dept removed switch and inspected seat to make sure it was not on fire. The switch itself was toasted the wiring to the switch was fine, also the fuse to the seat did blow out. I will contact dealer for replacement switch. I also do have the burnt out switch.
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!
I had a blowout on the rear, driver-side tire. When I took it to the tire shop to get a new one, the technician had to replace both rear tires due to wear on the inside of both rear tires. They advised me to get an alignment. The alignment shop found out about a servive bulletin #00-t-72a issued in july 2002 regarding a problem with the rear suspension. Both the rear tires lean in at the top. I took the car to the saturn dealer to get it fixed, but they told me that it was not a recall and it would not be repaired free of charge. I want to know the difference between a recall and a service bulletin and why a service bulletin is not considered a "defect" in the vehicle. There were no injuries caused, but if the tire had blown out during my out of town trip the night before there could have been or even worse. The inside of both the rear tires was so worn that both were showing the steel belts. Thank you, louise a. Leader
I own two 2001 saturns, an l300 and a lw300, both purchased at saturn of silver spring. Both of these cars have eaten rear tires on a regular basis. The dealer maintained that I didn't rotate tires enough. I previously never had a fwd car that ate rear tires. Fortunately I regularly prematurely replaced tires before cupping LED to blowouts. I believe that the fix outlined in service bulletin number: 00t72a the federal safety agency item number: 633545 should result in a manufacturer recall before someone gets killed in an accident as a result of this obvious defect.
I was driving on the interstate and my steering wheel began to shake. I just thought that I may need an alignment and did not think much else about it. About 10 to 20 minutes later my tire blew out. There is a large gash almost on the side of the tire and it looks like the rubber separated from the metal almost all over the tire.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Saturn LS tire blowout
Which Saturn LS years have tire blowout or tread separation problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2002 (7 complaints), 2000 (6 complaints) and 2001 (3 complaints).
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