RoadVitals

2002 Saturn S-Series 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.
3
Latest Jan 27, 2008
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.
0
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 May 11, 2004

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2002 Saturn S-Series. 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 1–3 of 3

Transmission
Filed Jan 27, 2008

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN QUESTIONED SINCE NEW DELAY SHIFTING INTO REVERSE ,DOWNSHIFTING ERRATIC AND SHIFTS HARD SOMETIMES FLUID HAS BEEN CHANGED BUT TO NO AVAIL. *TR

NHTSA ID
10216204
Incident
Jan 26, 2003
Transmission
Filed Nov 8, 2007

THE 2002 SATURN SL2 DOES NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE AND WHINES WHEN STARTED AND UNTIL RUN FOR AT LEAST 15 MIN. CALLED SATURN CORP. AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NEVER ANY MENTION FROM OTHER CONSUMERS. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS WITH THIS CERTAIN VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10208469
Incident
Nov 7, 2007
Mileage
108,520 mi
Transmission
Filed May 11, 2004

I OWN A 2002 SATURN SL PURCHASED IN JUNE OF 2002 WITH ABOUT 51K MILES AT THE TIME OF THE PROBLEM IN LATE MARCH. THE CAR IS A STANDARD TRANSMISSION. I WAS DRIVING MY SON TO SCHOOL IN THE MORNING WHEN I SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER TO THE WHEELS ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO OPERATE. I WAS ON A STRAIGHT ROAD, AND WAS CRUISING AT 45MPH WITH NO SHIFTING AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. UPON HAVING THE CAR TOWED TO THE LOCAL SATURN DEALER IN DANBURY, I WAS TOLD THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY HAD "COME APART" AND SINCE THE CAR WAS OVER 36K ,WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE CLUTCH WAS REBUILT BY THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THE PARTS WERE NOT RETURNED TO ME. I HAVE COMPLAINED TO SATURN CORP TO NO SATISFACTION. IN MY OPINION, THERE IS NO WAY A CLUTCH SHOULD SIMPLY COME APART AFTER ONLY 50K MILES AND LESS THAN 2 YEARS SERVICE. I HAVE DRIVEN STANDARD TRANSMISSIONS FOR MUCH OF MY LIFE, AND HAVE NEVER REPLACED THE CLUTCH OR TRANSMISSION. THE CAR JUST PRIOR TO THIS PURCHASE HAD NEARLY 200K MILES ON THE ORIGINAL CLUTCH, AND MY OTHER CARS WERE STILL RUNNING AT OVER 125K WITH THE ORGINAL CLUTCH WHEN I TRADED THEM IN. DRIVER WEAR & TEAR SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE. THE CAR HAS BEEN REGULARLY SERVICED BY THE SATURN DEALER. NO FLUIDS WERE PRESENT OR NOISE PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT WERE NOTICED. I CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE MOST OF MY DRIVING IS HIGHWAY (APPROX 125 MILES/DAY) AND THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER COULD HAVE BEEN HIGHLY DANGEROUS IN SOME SITUATIONS. THANK YOU ALLOWING ME TO VENT MY FRUSTRATION.

NHTSA ID
10072423
Incident
Mar 29, 2004
Mileage
51,000 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 .