Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1996 Saturn SC1 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 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
HORN STARTED BLOWING ALL BY ITSELF, I COULD NOT GET IT TO STOP , THEN AN ELECTRICAL SMELL (BURNING) . MY HUSBAND DISCONNECTED THE HORN FUSE AND BATTERY , INSPECTION OF FUSE SHOWED IT HAD BLOWN . AFTER WAITING A FEW MINUTES WE RECONNECTED THE BATTERY ALL OK, EXCEPT HORN DOES NOT WORK NOW. THIS IS THE SECOND SUCH INCIDENT WITH HORN, DEALER REPAIRED LAST TIME 2-20-2010. *TR
I PARKED MY 1996 SATURN SC2 ALONG A STREET AND WENT INTO WORK. WHEN I WAS HEADED OUT TO MY CAR A FEW HOURS LATER, I HEARD A CAR HORN THAT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO FAIL. I SOON REALIZED THAT IT WAS MY CAR'S HORN THAT WAS SOUNDING. I ENTERED THE VEHICLE AND TRIED TO QUIET THE HORN BY PRESSING THE HORN BUTTONS. NOTHING HAPPENED. I OPENED THE HOOD ON THE CAR TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANYTHING I COULD DO TO STOP THE HORN FROM SOUNDING. ALTHOUGH THE HORN WAS VERY WEAK BY NOW, IT WAS STILL SOUNDING. I DROPPED THE HOOD CLOSED, AND THE HORN STOPPED. WHEN I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR, I FOUND OUT THAT THE HORN NOW WOULD NOT OPERATE. I LATER CHECKED THE FUSE FOR THE HORN AND DISCOVERED THAT IT HAD BLOWN. I TRIED TO REPLACE THE FUSE, BUT EACH TIME I PUT A REPLACEMENT FUSE IN THE SLOT FOR THE HORN, IT IMMEDIATELY WAS BLOWN. I RESEARCHED THE SITUATION ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THE REFERENCE TO THE RECALL FOR THE HORN ASSEMBLY ON THE 1996 AND 1997 SATURNS. TO ME, THE CIRCUMSTANCES STATED ON THE RECALL ARE IDENTICAL, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT I RETURNED TO MY CAR BEFORE IT CAUGHT FIRE. SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO WERE WORKING ON A HOUSE NEARBY MY CAR SAID THE HORN HAD BEEN SOUNDING FOR SOME TIME, EVEN THOUGH I HAD NOT USED IT THAT MORNING. CURRENTLY, MY VEHICLE WILL NOT PASS INSPECTION FOR PENNSYLVANIA BECAUSE OF THE FAULTY HORN ASSEMBLY. *NM
THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH SATURN GENERALLY AND SATURN (GALLES) OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM SPECIFICALLY. 3 SEPARATE TIMES THEY HAVE WRECKED MY ENGINE! THIS HAS BEEN DUE TO OIL LEAKAGE INTO THE SPARK PLUGS AND THE VALVE GASKET COVER IS WARPED. THIS HAS YET TO HAVE BEEN CORRECTED PROPERLY BY SATURN. I HAVE NOW TAKEN IT TO ANOTHER MECHANIC WHO IS ABLE TO FIX IT CORRECTLY. IT HAS NOT CAUSED A SAFETY ISUUE...YET.*AK
THE BATTERY CABLES INSULATIONS SHORTED OUT BECAUSE IT RUBBED ON THE BATTERY BRACKET AND ENGINE. *AK *PH *JB
AUTOMOBILE WAS NOT RUNNING AND ENGINE WAS COLD, IT HAD ONLY BEEN BACKED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY INTO THE STREET. IT HAD BEEN SITTING APPROX 10 MINNUTES BEFORE IT BURST INTO FLAMES.*AK
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE UNDER MOIST CONDITIONS HORN WILL SUDDENLY GO OFF, AND CONSUMER HAS TO DISCONNECT BATTERY IN ORDER TO STOP HORN FROM OPERATING. CONSUMER STATED THAT IT WAS SHOWING SYMPTOMS OF RECALL 98V307000, HOWEVER MANUFACTURER INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ATTACHMENTS. *AK
4 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE OF VEHICLE, BATTERY FAILED AND WAS REPLACED, LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, THE BATTERY FAILED AGAIN AND WAS REPLACED, THIS HAPPENS EVERY YEAR. *SLC
WHILE DRIVING HORN ACTIVATED ON IT OWN FOR LONG TIME. THEN, WHEN STOPPING HORN WAS NOT WORKING, AND HAD TO BE FIXED. *AK
DESIGN OF SMALL HORN BUTTON IS HARD TO LOCATE WHEN NEEDED. NLM
ELECTRICAL FAILURE CAUSING MULTIPLE COMPONENT FAILURES.
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 .