How I spent my 100,000 km Service - 1996 SL2

I've followed Saturn's recommended service fairly closely since I got this
boat in the fall of '95. Probably never missed one but had them a little
earlier or later, depending on circumstances. After close to 10 years on the
road I'm still satisfied. My only beef is size, mainly getting in and out.
The old knees can be very sore and I have to lie down to drag myself inside
because the door opening are too narrow. (I had a Festiva once, practically
the smallest car on the road, and ingress and egress was much better, not to
mention hauling a box with a 27" TV!)

Anyway, Saturn noted the following after the 100,000 km service,(done at
104,330):

* Motor mounts sagged,but just within spec, $196.05 to replace.

* Oil leak at back of engine. They've mentioned this four times; I've never
seen a drop of oil on the floor. In fact, I cleaned the engine with the
garden hose and aerosol engine cleaner and it looked like new. I'm not
panicking.

* Steering gear leaking into boots, $653.63 with non-Saturn parts! A real
turd! However, no visible sign of leakage, so I'm not rushing into this.

* Four new tires, not surprising, since they came with the car.

* Muffler rusted through, although I can't detect it, $269.19. Not bad for
10 years.

And my stuck horn. Even though I found half a dozen places on the web
mentioning a '98 recall, they knew nothing about it, $172.23 to replace. I'd
buy a cheap one from CND Tire, but Saturn was clever enough to put the relay
on the horn, making it an oddball. I contacted Sixth Planet and they will
sell me a used one for $40, including shipping. Replacing it can be a bitch
without a hoist, but I've read that removing the headlight assembly will
open it up. I think Sixth Planet has a good reputation. What do you think?

 

6th Planet has an excellent reputation. AFA the horn goes, I
installed a set of Fiamms using the relay that came with the horn set.
They work fine.

Ken

 

snip

You should have got a SW

Our SW1 now has 238,000km.

Wait until they are a problem

Good, "if it aint broke don't fix it"

No opinion, not enough information, monitor it, do not run it out of oil.

We got 145,000 km. (approx.)out of ours but we ran them until they went
flat. Lots of people here do not like the stock Firestones but we got good
milage from them

You must be making a lot of short trips or live where they use a lot of
salt. Our strap rusted through but the hay wire repair seems to be working
well. No excesive corrosion on the muffler or pipes. Repair seems pricy to
me.

I would like more information on the horn failure. Our horn sounded while
we were driving on the highway, then stopped by itself. I removed the fuse.
I think this is not an uncommon problem and have heard several reports here.
I am curious about the recall. Do you know where I can get more info?

We also have no backup lights. I have tested the lamps, and wiring and the
switch tests ok. I suspect a bad connection at the switch connector. Any
comments from others?

Happy trails

 

Well, you've gotten good service from your Saturn. My mileage is pretty
wimpy for a 10-year-old car.

About the horn:

http://www.alldata.com/TSB/53/965310F5.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~egibbons/98C01.DOC

http://www.accidentreconstruction.com/news/feb99/020899.html

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/press/date/19990208/press003548.html

http://www.recall-warnings.com/auto-content-5354.html

About the muffler; 80% of my km are city to suburban driving, and we use
salt. Not as much as some places, but enough. This car's been much better
muffler-wise than other vehicles I've owned. Repairing mufflers was a
biennial event in those days, not to mention the semiannual tuneups.

I got nowhere getting my horn repaired on recall. They know nothing! I'm
going to call the customer service line in hopes I'll get some straight
talk. I could understand if the recall was over and done.... but not knowing
anything about it??