Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Saturn L300 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
CAR STALLED WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC AND WOULD NOT RESTART. CAR ALSO FAILED TO START ON SOME MORNINGS AND ALSO AFTER FILLING AT GAS STATION. ITS SEEMS THAT THIS ISSUE CAN GO ON FOR SOMETIME BETWEEN THE TIMES IT HAPPENS. *TR
I WAS DRIVING UP A SMALL INCLINE, PREPARING TO STOP FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT, ENGINE BEGAN TO RACE, I COULD NOT STOP, BRAKES WERE FINE BUT ENGINE WAS RACING. I HAD TO PUT CAR IN PARK, CHECKED FOR BLOCKAGE WITH FLOOR MAT, THERE WAS NOT ANY. PUT 4 -WAY BLINKERS ON, SHUT CAR OFF. RESTARTED CAR AND IT WAS FINE. HAPPENED AGAIN ON FEB. 22ND THIS TIME TRIED 4 TIMES SHUTTING DOWN AND STILL RACED. HAD TO PARK CAR, UPON RETURNING 2 HOURS LATER CAR WAS FINE. I HAVE ALSO HAD TROUBLE STARTING CAR, STARTED IN JUNE 2014, IF IGNITION DID NOT ENGAGE WHEN KEY WAS TURNED CAR HAD TO SIT FOR 1/2 HOUR BEFORE STARTING. *JS
2004 SATURN L 300, 6 CYLINDER . MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING ON AND THE ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF, LOOSING ALL POWER AND ALL SERVICE LIGHTS APPEARED. HAD IT TOWED TO MY HOUSE. HOOKED UP A OBD SCANNER TO CAR. 8 CODES APPEARED. BCM/ECM MALFUNCTION.(4 CODES OF THIS), CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR (2 CODES OF THIS), ENGINE RUNNING TOO RICH (2 CODES OF THIS). I HAVE READ MANY CASES ONLINE THROUGH FORUMS, AND THIS SEEMS TOO BE A BIG PROBLEM. *TR
PROBLEM SYNOPSIS: WHILE DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS (65 MILES PER HOUR) THE VEHICLE LOST POWER, CAUSING THE "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" (REP) AND "SERVICE VEHICLE SOON" (SVS) LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE. UPON PULLING TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND SHIFTING THE VEHICLE INTO PARK, IT WOULD IDLE ROUGHLY UNTIL SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF. VEHICLE WOULD START IMMEDIATELY AFTER, WITH HIGH RPM AT IDLE AND HARD SHIFTS INTO GEAR. VEHICLE WOULD ONLY EXHIBIT THESE PROBLEMS WHEN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WOULD SHIFT GEARS, USUALLY BETWEEN 3RD AND 4TH GEAR. /// REPAIR HISTORY: A REPAIR SHOP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A FAILED ENGINE CONTROL MODULE, AND A NEW ONE WAS INSTALLED INTO THE VEHICLE. COST OF REPAIR WAS APPROXIMATELY $1,100. THREE MONTHS LATER (OCT. 2011), THE VEHICLE STARTED EXHIBITING THE SAME PROBLEMS. RETURNED TO THE SAME SHOP, AND REPAIRMEN COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM, SIMPLY CLEARING THE OBD-II CODES IN THE COMPUTER. VEHICLE EXHIBITED SAME SYMPTOMS ONCE IN NOVEMBER 2011 AFTER A RAIN STORM; NO ACTION WAS TAKEN AS VEHICLE DID IT ONLY ONCE. IN DECEMBER 2011, VEHICLE EXHIBITED SAME PROBLEMS FOUR TIME DURING A 25-MILE DRIVE. CODES REVEALED P0606, P0700, P1811. VEHICLE TO BE TAKEN FOR A THIRD TIME TO REPAIR SHOP TO GET THIS PROBLEM FIXED. *TR
MY WIFE AND I OWN A 2004 SATURN L300. MY WIFE IS THE PRIMARY DRIVER AND SHE REPORTED SEEING A WISP OF SMOKE COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. WE TOOK IT TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL SHORT. A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER MY WIFE REPORTED THE SAME WISP OF SMOKE. WE TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THEM REPAIR IT AGAIN. THE SECOND TIME THEY REPAIRED IT, THE TURN SIGNAL WOULD NOT TURN OFF WHEN THE WHEEL WAS TURNED. ALSO, THE WISP OF SMOKE IS BACK AGAIN. THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TIME INTO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. I AM CONCERNED BECAUSE I DON'T WANT IT TO START A FIRE WHILE IT IS BEING DRIVEN. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE OTHER ISSUES INCLUDING THE POWER STEERING RACK FAILING, THE WATER PUMP FAILING, AND THE PLENUM FAILING. THE CAR ONLY HAS 46,000 MILES ON IT AND MY WIFE HAS PUT ABOUT 13,000 IN 27 MONTHS. *TR
I WAS DRIVING MY 2004 SATURN L300 AT 55 MPH. THE CAR SUDDENLY CUT OFF. I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TRIED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND IT WOULD NOT START. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME IN A PARKING LOT APPROXIMATELY 3 OTHER TIMES. I TOOK THE CAR TO A MECHANIC AND HE SAID IT MAY BE THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN L300. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE LOW POWER AND ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER AND RESTARTED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ECM, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW AIR SENSOR AND THEY MADE THE REPLACEMENT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 82,000.
THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT BLINKED ON MY 2004 L300 SATURN IN LATE JUNE 2007. I TOOK IT TO THE SERVICE STATION TO HAVE THE COOLANT LEVEL CHECKED. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID IT WAS A LITTLE LOW BUT NOT BY MUCH. AFTER HE PUT MORE COOLANT IN, THE SIGNAL CLEARED FOR OVER A MONTH BEFORE IT CAME BACK ON AGAIN IN EARLY AUGUST. I TOOK IT BACK AGAIN AND THE SERVICE MANAGER SUGGESTED THAT THERE MIGHT BE A LEAK. THE SIGNAL CAME ON SHORTLY AFTER THIS VISIT AND REMAINED ON FOR A DURATION OF 30 MINUTES, WHICH PROMPTED ME TO MAKE A DETOUR AND HEAD TO SATURN TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. I TOOK IT TO SATURN AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT I HAD AN OIL COOLER LEAK. IT COST ME $802 TO REPAIR. THE CAR ONLY HAS 33,000+ MILES ON IT, AND I GET IT SERVICED ACCORDING TO SATURN'S MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE FOR THIS VEHICLE. *JB
MULTIPLE EPISODES OF CAR NOT STARTING AND STALLING. CAR ACTUALLY LOST ALL POWER AND STOPPED RUNNING WHILE I WAS DRIVING. CARS WERE ABLE TO SWERVE AROUND ME AND AN ACCIDENT WAS AVOIDED. I AM PURSUING LEMON LAW. AM VERY AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR!*JB
CAR WILL HESITATE AND STALL. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON THE CAR WILL AT TIMES NOT BE ABLE TO BE DRIVEN DUE TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILING AND CLOGGING THE EXHAUST SYSTEM
THE CAR HAS CONTINUED TO FAIL TO START. IT DOES NOT CATCH ON THE FIRST TRY. TODAY IT TOOK FOUR ATTEMPTS TO START. THE CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER TWICE AND THEY KEEP TELLING US THEY CAN NOT FIND ANYTHING. THE LAST TIME, THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED FOR OVER 2 HOURS. CAR TAKEN TO DEALER THEY KEPT SEVERAL DAYS AND FOUND NOTHING. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS CAR. I'M HOPING IT WILL NOT TAKE MY DEATH OR THE DEATH OF SOMEONE ELSE TO FIND THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM . *JB
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .