Saturn victims- post here!

Thousands of Saturn stories like this!

My wife bought a new Saturn. When Saturn Corp discovered that her car
had a casting flaw in the engine's cylinderhead (causes the head to
eventually CRACK)- they did not notify her about getting a replacement
head but allowed her to continue to drive the car OVER the warranty
period- until the head cracked on a cold winter road! Boy was that FUN
for her!

This "quality" car company is not run by quality people!

Saturn HIDES epidemic flaws from its customers.

For epidemic Saturn problems. email:



(this is some of what they receive):

http://www.lemonaidcars.com


GM's Saturn: a 'Dead Man Walking'
GM's Saturn division is in serious trouble due to chronic powertrain
problems, that its recent purchase of Honda engines won't cure.

Japanese and South Korean competitors have been proven to offer far
better quality for a slightly higher cost. Even GM's less pretentious
models, like the Cavalier and Sunfire offer better quality and value
for the money.

Saturns have exhibited a plethora of serious mechanical problems,
which GM has masked by setting up extended warranties applicable to
original buyers. Owners of used Saturns say they are treated like
they're from some other planet.

Engines and Trannies

In a March 2000 Customer Satisfaction Campaign letter (No: 00-C-09)
sent to dealers, GM admits that the Saturn 2.2L 4-cylinder engines
"were produced with internal engine components that may fail
prematurely." GM says it will replace the engine at no charge with no
mileage or time limitations, in addition to providing a loaner vehicle
or paying rental costs.

Faulty CVT automatic transmissions forced GM to halt production of the
Ion Coupe and Vue during the first quarter of 2004; almost 200,000
units were affected. Saturn owners say the transmission hesitates at
low speeds, causes the engine to surge, and makes grinding noises.
Automotive News reports that when the CVT was introduced on late-2002
models, it had been delayed a year due to problems with inconsistent
machining of parts, the hydraulic pump, and the software."

Saturn's ads are far better than the company's cars and Vue SUV (Vue
service bulletins show serious powertrain defects). Don't go anywhere
near a new or used Saturn unless you're armed to the teeth with a
comprehensive extended warranty.

also- search Google groups-keywords SATURN MISTERFACT

SATURN CAR ENGINES ARE JUNK
Saturn has made over 100,000 engines with casting flaws in the
cylinder head. This flaw causes the head to CRACK- usually just after
the warranty expires. When that happens, Saturn won't pay for the
replacement (big bucks!)

That's the way Saturn does business. When they finally discover an
epidemic flaw in an untested design and hundreds of thousands of
flawed cars have gone off the assembly line into the customer's hands-
They wait as long as they can to announce the problem so they can get
as many of those cars OVER the warranty period as possible- to cut
their losses! I got socked with a $3800 loss.Saturn witheld the
information on this engine head flaw from its car owners for at least
three years before making the announcement.

from Saturn internet message boards:

"Son_Worshipper" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> On May 23, 6:11 am, "marx404" > wrote:
>> Yup, unfortunately, your ODO is on the way out. It is controlled by
a
>> tiny
>> plastic gear that was poorly designed by Saturn which breaks in '93
'94
>> models commonly. It is not easily accessible, it's back in the gauge
>> cluster. It can be replaced, but it is expensive. Best not to touch
it
>> while
>> the car is moving, that's how many break.
>>
>> --
>> marx404
>
>
> Go to odometergears.com to get replacements. There
> are 2 gears. They are $25 each. It's usually the smaller one that
> breaks. It is a good deal of work to remove the cluster, the
> speedometer unit, the odometer, and finally, the gears. Replace both
> and get it over with. Don't buy a used cluster to fix this problem.
> I have bought 2 and been given 1. The gears were broken in every
> one. I suspect your gear is in the process of losing a tooth. I
hope
> this helps.

More Cheap Construction on Saturns


Aluminum heat shields over the catalytic converter, entire exhaust
pipe and muffler are NOT bolted to the underbody but are RIVETED. The
rivet heads quickly rust out around the shield and the shield comes
off.
You would have to drill out the rivet body, tap it and insert your own
bolts and washers to hold the shield on. A lengthly process.

The only cure on rusting rivet heads is to slap on high temperature
grease around each head every year to keep them from rusting out.
Don't expect Saturn to take 15 seconds to do it at the assemblyline!


Here's mo
Many SATURNS have PLASTIC rear STABILIZER LINKS (2)! They FREEZE UP
only in one or two years after new. The cheap grease drips out or
evaporates out of those ball joints.The ball joints in those links do
not have grease fittings-so you can't keep them greased! Instead of
paying big bucks for new links-tell your mechanic to INJECT GREASE
UNDER THE RUBBER PROTECTIVE CUPS - It's another important part under
the frame MADE OF CHEAP, UNSERVICEABLE, UNGREASEABLE SEALED CRAP!
You can do it yourself by buying a small POLYETHYLENE PLASTIC (NOT
GLASS) hypodermic syringe (without needle), filling it with grease -
put a small hole (with a sharp nail) into the rubber cup; insert the
syringe and inject the grease. It might be better to inject the grease
at the top of the cup without having to put a hole in it, but that
small hole has never affected the durability or integrity of the cup
in my experience or even let any dirt in.

The resonator (exhaust system) develops CRACKS easily. Don't let the
Saturn dealer tell you that you need a new $250 resonator! Chances are
you can get it welded up for $10 to $20. WE DID!

Cheap steel (rusting) muffler straps are common in Saturns. They rust
out in as little as ONE YEAR! You can paint the strap with high
temperature paint and lightly coat it with high temp grease. The heat
on the muffler is well below the flashing point of the grease. Do not
use regular low temp grease.

FRONT BALL JOINTS! Like all of Saturn's ball joint CRAP- they also
SEALED . Tell you mechanic- to cover grease OVER those cups to keep
dirt out. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE! When a SEALED ball joint goes bad-
the ball wears out and the front end of your car can fall to the
pavement at 70mph! Many of Saturn's ball joints are non-grease, and
DRY. Call NHTSA (1-800-4249393)and demand they OUTLAW SAELED BALL
JOINTS IN CARS! Contact your congressman. There should be NO WARRANTY
LIMITATIONS ON ANY FRAME OR DRIVE TRAIN PART- INCLUDING ENGINE FLAWS-
IN ANY CAR. These parts all are SAFETY ISSUES. A worn front ball joint
is a safety issue. These ball joints should have a grease fitting so
they can be MAINTAINED. Car companies can make enough money selling
non-safety related parts- clock, panels, new styling every year,etc.
We are talking about FLAWS in SAFETY RELATED parts- not normal wear
and tear on parts which can not be avoided- example: brake pads,
hoses, etc.)

MORE SATURN HORROR INFORMATION TO FOLLOW!

You can copy this email and take it to your dealer.

Your knowledge of possible future problems may prompt the dealer to
give you HIS OWN WARRANTY in addition to the standard one.
Email me for details on other and new Saturn problems or email me
your Saturn horror story or information on other epidemic Saturn
problems. I'll see they get posted everywhere.



PROTECT YOURSELF. Go to the NHTSA website and look for service
bulletins issued on Saturns. Copy them off and take them to the dealer
so you can show him the FACTS when you negotiate a LIFETIME WARRANTY,
ESPECIALLY ON THE DRIVE TRAIN- THE MOST COSTLY AND SAFETY RELATED PART
OF THE CAR (in addition to the brakes, frame, gas tank straps and
steering!)




To those (mostly dealers and Saturn execs)who can't deal with bad news
about SATURNS:

go work for a QUALITY car company that makes quality cars!

In article .com>,
says...
> Thousands of Saturn stories like this!
Yawn...<snip>

12 year old girls whine less than you.

hehe, thats funny. But let's not feed this troll please.

--
marx404

On Wed, 30 May 2007 21:00:56 -0400, "marx404" > wrote:

>hehe, thats funny. But let's not feed this troll please.
MAYBE it was down a quart of oil!.

We now have our 2000 Saturn LS2 for sale. These comments relate to the
article.

We did NOT have any problems witht the power train; the quad cam V6 (made in
germany by Opel/Saab) is very reliable along with the 4T40E transmission.
Absolutely no problems with these components.
We did have a few electrical system glitches which may be traceable to the
collision which caused the write-off before we purchased the car.

As for asian engines: Used Honda engines are in short supply due to their
high failure rate here. Saturn engines from cars destroyed in accidents are
usually recycled in the steel mill, as there is very little demand for them.

About sealed ball joints: Our old '95 Chevy with over 275,000km has sealed
ball joints. We replaced one this past winter; the other original is still
good.

These are our experiences,
David

In article .com>,
" > wrote:

> Vue SUV (Vue
> service bulletins show serious powertrain defects).

I didn't get past the initial evaluation although
I generally like the VUE.

However they didn't hold a full sized spare and the current Hybrid model
doesn't even have a spare.
Deficient designs, backed by GM.

On May 30, 11:52 pm, "David" > wrote:
> We now have our 2000 Saturn LS2 for sale. These comments relate to the
> article.
>
> We did NOT have any problems witht the power train; the quad cam V6 (made in
> germany by Opel/Saab) is very reliable along with the 4T40E transmission.
> Absolutely no problems with these components.
> We did have a few electrical system glitches which may be traceable to the
> collision which caused the write-off before we purchased the car.
>
> As for asian engines: Used Honda engines are in short supply due to their
> high failure rate here. Saturn engines from cars destroyed in accidents are
> usually recycled in the steel mill, as there is very little demand for them.
>
>Aluminum block and head engines are not recycled in a steel mill.

No demand for Saturn engines? Why? Maybe no demand for the entire
engine but certainly is a big demand for cylinder heads and engine
parts.

On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:52:03 -0700, "
> wrote:

>On May 30, 11:52 pm, "David" > wrote:
>> We now have our 2000 Saturn LS2 for sale. These comments relate to the
>> article.
>>
>> We did NOT have any problems witht the power train; the quad cam V6 (made in
>> germany by Opel/Saab) is very reliable along with the 4T40E transmission.
>> Absolutely no problems with these components.
>> We did have a few electrical system glitches which may be traceable to the
>> collision which caused the write-off before we purchased the car.
>>
>> As for asian engines: Used Honda engines are in short supply due to their
>> high failure rate here. Saturn engines from cars destroyed in accidents are
>> usually recycled in the steel mill, as there is very little demand for them.
>>
>>Aluminum block and head engines are not recycled in a steel mill.
>
> No demand for Saturn engines? Why? Maybe no demand for the entire
>engine but certainly is a big demand for cylinder heads and engine
>parts.

And what Honda engines are in short supply? The only ones which might
be a little hard to find are certain high performance engines which
are in demand for conversions.