RoadVitals

1999 Saturn S-Series Sedan Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
4
Latest Nov 23, 2004
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Aug 30, 2003

What this page shows

Our database holds 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1999 Saturn S-Series Sedan. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–4 of 4

Engine
Filed Nov 23, 2004

IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH OF 2003 I EXPERIENCED REPEATED STALLING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH MY 1999 SATURN. NO ONE, INCLUDING A SATURN DEALER, KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG. BY TRIAL AND ERROR, IT SEEMED THAT IF I KEPT THE GAS TANK AT LEAST HALF FULL I COULD AVOID THE PROBLEM. IT WASN'T THE BEST SOLUTION, BUT IT SEEMED TO WORK. BUT THIS PAST SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2004, IT STALLED AGAIN ON THE HIGHWAY. ON SUNDAY I DROVE IT AROUND TOWN AND IT WAS FINE. THEN TODAY IT STALLED AGAIN IN ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT AS TWO DAYS AGO. THE WORST PART IS THAT IT HAD ALMOST A FULL TANK OF GAS; THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE STALLING OCCURRED WITH THAT MUCH GAS IN THE TANK. IT NEVER HAPPENS ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK, ONLY ON THE WAY THERE. THE STALLING OCCURS AFTER I HAVE DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 65 MILES PER HOUR. THE CAR GIVES AN INDICATION THAT IT'S ABOUT TO DIE BY SHUDDERING. SO FAR I HAVE BEEN LUCKY THAT I AM ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER TURNING OFF THE CAR AND WAITING FIVE MINUTES, I CAN START IT UP AND CONTINUE MY DRIVE TO WORK, ABOUT ANOTHER 10 TO 15 MINUTES AWAY. IF I WAIT LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES, THE CAR STALLS AGAIN. I FEEL THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF I WAS UNABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. THE SATURN DEALER I TOOK IT TO IN 2003 DIDN'T SEEM TO CARE. *JB

NHTSA ID
10100380
Incident
Nov 22, 2004
Mileage
117,330 mi
Interior & seats
Filed Feb 19, 2004

A WIRE MELTED IN MY WIRING HARNESS BEHIND THE DASH BOARD. THIS STOPPED THE CAR FROM RUNNING. IF IT HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING, IT COULD CAUSE A CRASH DUE TO THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER OR COULD HAVE STARTED A FIRE.

NHTSA ID
10058512
Incident
Feb 16, 2004
Mileage
80,000 mi
AirbagsInterior & seatsSeat belts
Filed Nov 28, 2003
Crash reported2 injuries reported

DRIVER WAS REARENED IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT ON FREEWAY, DRIVERS SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK, DRIVERS SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY, AND DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BROKE, AND DRIVER WAS LAID IN BACK SEAT.*AK

NHTSA ID
10047714
Incident
Nov 13, 2003
Mileage
80,934 mi
Engine
Filed Aug 30, 2003

I HAVE COMPLAINED FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS ABOUT EXCESSIVE ENGINE NOISE BUT GOT NO MEANINGFUL RESPONSE UNTIL 48000 MILES WHEN A SERVICE TECHNICIAN (NOT AT A DEALER) FOUND THAT THE RESONATOR HAS A CRACK. CALLS TO EXHAUST SHOPS INDICATE THAT THIS IS NOT A RARE OCCURRENCE. ONE OF THE SELLING POINTS OF THE CAR WAS THE STAINLESS EXHAUST SYSTEM. SEEMS THAT WAS A MEANINGLESS POINT FOR THIS MODEL.*AK

NHTSA ID
10036891
Incident
Jul 30, 2003
Mileage
48,000 mi

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .