Latest Saturn horror story

a horror story about saturn
I tow my saturn behind my r.v. the dealer never told me I had to
balance and rotate my tires. every 6000 miles.
the transmission was destroyed they told me it was my fault. I sued
them in small claims court and a few days before the court date they
refunded me the $3500.00 I paid to have it reparied.the dealer in
roseville
ca. was absolutely no help, customer service told me too bad. so I had
to sue them.it was amazing how fast they settled when they were served
with small claims court papers. I did it all on the internet from my
home in auburn ca. . the total cost was $27.00. (certified return
receipt.filing papers etc) I have 37000 miles on it and am on my
third set of tires. so my advice after trying to deal with these
people do not fight them take them to court,. until they change
management, think twice before buying a saturn. I will not go into all
the details but you can email me at

kenneth oelrich





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My tires were very good after 50k ... I rotated them at 20k and 40k ... no
problems ... Great car!!!! Roy, 98 SL2

 

Huh?

Standard text in ANY car owner's manual - do not tow the car on all 4
wheels. In fact, it's bad for any car out there, and murderous to any
*automatic* transmission car.

Because the transmission doesn't get lubrication when the motor's not
running - the engine spins the tranny's oil pump.

The simple fact is, and RV heads absolutely hate hearing this, but the
only safe way to tow a car is either with a dolly that keeps the drive
wheels off the ground, or with the halfshafts out. Spinning the
transmission via the drivesshaft for hours on end at high speed, without
the engine running to keep the pump going, will destory ANY automatic
out there, and is bad for most manuals too.

No car company covers dammage from intentional use. I'm failing to see
how this is a 'horror story'....

 

We regularly tow our "chase vehicle" behind our large trucks, and we ALWAYS
idle the engine while it is being towed...even if it is for hours at a time.
No problems on a cheapo Mazda pickup.

As far as your tire problems...what does THAT have to do with the price of
tea in China? It sounds like you either got some bad advice or NO advice on
the proper way to tow your saturn behind your RV. Based on what I see
around the country, Saturns are a pretty popular car to tow behind Land
Yachts.

R.

 

Yes. This keeps the transmission lubricated. I'm guessing automatic
here? An automatic can be destroyed towing it with the motor off. With
the motor on, it pretty much thinks it's in neutral all day - the front
pump is pushing lube through the system.

Then again, after thinking about it, do the gears turn at all in a
manual in neutral with the engine off? If not, that's bad for them too
- since it's the spinning gears that splash the lube around.

In any case, proper towing is the key - and running the engine does the
trick here. No manufacturer I know of would do a tranny replaccement in
or out of warrenty for someone who improperly towed a car (and the
manual says what the proper methods are!)

 

http://www.saturn.com/saturn/contactus/customer/faq/features/index.jsp?nav=4210&page=3
http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/dinghytowingguide/04dinghytowing.pdf

 

Good idea to keep the engine of the towed car running. It is not so much
lubrication as the sustained hydraulic pressure that keeps the auto trany
from getting damaged. With the engine off, the clutch packs all drag and
will wear out. With engine on, the pump is circulating fluid for cooling and
will hold the clutches in the correct sequence.

 

Please read what the saturn in fargo has to say.

http://www.fargoweb.com/saturn/tow.html


Paul

 

Actually the Saturn S-Series cars were designed to be pulled without having
to put it on a trailer of any type. Though the note did not say what type
of Saturn the person had. If they had a L-Series then they abused the car
and tough luck. The L-Series was NOT designed to be pulled without a
trailer holding it up.

Jim

 

Now click on "New Models" and you'll see it only covers the
cars that were new for 1998. IE, the S series. (Hey, mine
is a 1998 S series... SW2)

Apparently they need to update their web site..

-DanD

 

The horror story happens because the facts are hidden IN FINE PRINT
somewhere in the middle of the owners manual! Besides- common sense
says that when any car is put in NEUTRAL the wheels are dis-engaged
from the transmission. So why should the trans be affected at all? We
all see cars being towed with 4 wheels on the pavement and conditioned
to believe it can't hart any car! So thanks for the information but
don't expect Saturn to put a bold sticker on the dashboard informing
owners of this!

 

The horror story happens because the facts are hidden IN FINE PRINT

Well maybe you should RTFM manual, dipshit!!!!!

Why should the trans be affected? Its common sense to me that it *IS* affected.
Maybe you're just a stupid ass?

 

The only reason many people (like me) buy a Saturn is because (for most
older and some new models) they CAN be towed 4-down according to the Saturn
and will still be covered under warranty. RTFM!

The transmission pump in many Saturns is spun by the wheels and not the
engine. There are several other vehicles that operate this way and can be
towed 4-down, many other vehicles allow it under limited speeds/mileage
because they are either designed very well and/or get a low level of
lubrication without the engine running. For those vehicles that don't get
enough circulation, you can install an aftermarket "lube pump" from the
likes of Remco Towing.

As for the suggestion made in another post to tow with the engine running,
that's just plain dumb! If the engine doesn't overheat from poor air flow,
the power steering pump doesn't fail from fighting the turning wheels, there
is always the chance of it slipping into gear and push both vehicles off a
cliff.

 

RTFM. Duh. It's not Saturn's fault for you not reasing your manual.

No, that's not how car transmissions work.

Because it's still being spun by the wheels. And it's not recieving
full lubrication because the front pump isn't running. Unless the front
pump in an automatic is running, the transission is not being properly
lubricated. In a manual, unless the engine's running and spinning the
gears, there's no splash lubrication to the needle bearings on the
various shafts. Shafts which spin regardless of if the transmission's
in gear or not.

I see soccer moms weaving through traffic in their SUVs while yapping on
phones al the time. This doesn't mean it's a good idea, or safe.

Why would they? Nobody else does. But, if you look in the manual, it
clearly states how you should tow the vehicle, and what conditions apply.

Simply reading the manual will give the answer. It's not Saturn's fault
if the owners don't read and follow the manual.

 

....now say what you really mean! (grin)

Happy Halloween all...

 

"common sense says that when any car is put in NEUTRAL the wheels are
dis-engaged from the transmission."
No. Common sense says that when the car is in neutral the wheels are
disengaged from the engine not the transmission.

 

Very True. I just got my new 2004 ION 3 last tuesday. No matter how
boring it was, I read the manual cover to cover, plus all the warranty
information (what's covered what's not) and the service schedule. It's
only common sense. And to address the original poster (I don't
remember which car he had was it an SL or an ION?), the ION manual
section 4 pgs. 31-33 has pretty specific instructions on towing for
the various transmissions. The manual transmission car is the only one
that can be towed with 4 wheels on the ground and it gives specific
instructions on how to do it with pictures and everything, it's hard
to miss, certainly not fine print. I quote "Five Speed Automatic and
VTi: Your vehicle was not designed to be towed with all four wheels on
the ground"

 

...now say what you really mean! (grin)

LOL.....this guy really is a dipshit and very annoying. Nobody should pay for
his own stupidity but himself. Just because he's a stupid ass doesn't mean he
has to degrade Saturn all over the place.

You too.....

 

Isn't he the one who promotes illegal splicing of power cords, too?

 

With the key off, the miles don't add up on the car's odometer.