Car key locks up in ignition, wont turn or come out. Cable to park mechanism wont disengage. Has happened multiple times, today it took 40 minutes of jiggling steering wheel,key, brake shifter to disengage to get the car started.
The worst 1998 Saturn SC problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Transmission4
- Engine3
- Brakes2
- Acceleration1
- Airbags1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Transmission4
- Engine3
- Brakes2
- Acceleration1
- Airbags1
- Electrical1
- Locks1
- Steering1
- Tires1
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Technical service bulletins for the 1998 Saturn SC 5
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This service bulletin revision provides a repair procedure to Remove Debris from Evaporator Case,...
- This technical bulletin provides a procedure to reprogram the media disc player with the latest...
- Vehicle Recalls
- Expanded Availability for Remanufacture and Return (R&R) Electronic Control Modules
- Vehicles built after and including WZ150315 may exhibit a dome lamp that is either inoperative, working...
1998 Saturn SC fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.9L 4‑cyl | FWD | 21-24 | 31-36 | 25-28 |
What 1998 Saturn SC owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The tire that I believe is faulty, ran low on air for a little while, then I aired it up - everything was fine until I tried to go into town one evening and it felt like I was riding on my rim. It sounded awful. Once I was stopped at a street light, I opened my car door and there were pieces of tire just sitting underneath my car and under the tire. So I finally pulled into a gas station, sure enough, I was riding my rim. I came to conclusion that my tire was debeading, and I was sold a possible faulty tire.
Button popped off emergency brake handle, rendering emergency brake inoperable.
As I'm pulling away from a stop sign, I go to shift into 2nd gear & it's as if my manual gear shifter is not attached to anything. I am now not in any gear , unable to shift into gear, & left coasting across a 4 lane, 2 way street. Also, both front seat seatbelts only retract about half way, and it has been that way from at least 17000 miles.
Car overheated on 4 lane highway. Had to pull over while cars were driving by. Replacement of head gasket at 101,000 miles. Car is still not working properly as head was replaced and now a ping had developed. 8jb
While driving at any speed vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. Driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. However, mechanic could not duplicate the problem.
While the vehicle was parked consumer noticed fluid leaking from underneath. Consumer was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the cylinder head needed to be replaced due to crack inside of the engine.
Manuel shift handle disengaged from transmission cable on floor when shifting. Car was unable to be shifted to lower gear to cross highway safely .
Air conditioning unit stopped cooling.dealer wanted to trouble shoot@$80.00/hour. Haynes service manual said to check fuse .replaced diode @$4.00 and fixed myself. Manual transmission whining in 2nd and 3rd gear. Checked transmission dipstick and transmission fluid was low. Added fluid and anything over 1 quart poured out. Had transmission shop check it out for blown seal and they found internal metal fracture in transaxle inner case caused by shear pin movement. Saturn issued service manual notification in jan.1998. Dealer and saturn are no help. Vehicle only warranteed 3 years or 36k even though this has been a known problem since 1997. Saturn blames owners for their bad engineering and does not stand behind their crappy vehicles
While driving vehicle was in a frontal collision, but none of the airbags deployed upon impact. Vehicle was totaled. Please provide more details.
Compare the 1998 Saturn SC
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Questions about the 1998 Saturn SC
Is the 1998 Saturn SC reliable?
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the 1998 Saturn SC, fewer than a typical SC model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1998 Saturn SC?
Transmission and drivetrain, with 4 complaints. Next is engine (3).
How many recalls does the 1998 Saturn SC have?
No recalls on record.
What gas mileage does the 1998 Saturn SC get?
Official estimates for the 1998 Saturn SC range from 25 to 28 mpg combined. The most efficient version (1.9L 4-cyl, FWD) gets 21-24 city and 31-36 highway.
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