Last week, on a 600 mile trip, I began to notice that every 10 minutes or so, the tach would drop to 0, and the SES light & service (wrench) light would come on simultaneously for about 1-2 seconds, and then return to normal. Over the entire trip, this happened about 20 times. The car would show no signs of loss of power, and no lights illuminated at any other time. The remainder of the week, it drove normally, and no lights came on during short drives. I took it into the Saturn dealership yesterday and just as I pulled in the service entrance, my ABS light came on and the service wrench flashed. They diagnosed a failed Body Control Module (BCM) and promptly removed $423 from my pocket ($279 Parts, $144 Labor). The vehicle has 63k miles on it, and the warranty is out. Can I get a show of hands of others that have had BCM failures? Over the years, it seems this was a fairly common problem in the group, and I'm trying to figure out if I can get Saturn to take responsibility for the part if they are very prone to failure. -- Dana Port Kent, NY 2002 Saturn LW300 93 Jeep YJ - I4 - 125k mi. 90 Jeep XJ Ltd. - I6 - 145k mi.
I bought my '01 lw300 with 40K on it through saturn. About a week after I got the car, noticed that the ABS light did not come on at key on. They poo-poo'ed it and I held my ground (what the heck, I only got a 90 day warranty). Tech did find something questionable, showed it to the sales manager who grumbled and walked away (service cost came out of his commission). They did put in a new BCM and programmed it - all under warranty (whew). Now, if I can only fix the darn brake light that keeps going out (supposed to be a recall that never happened). Also, the rear dome light is intermittant. Looks like a harness problem. Oppie
That is good to hear, Thanks. Did you get a recall notice or did you take the first move? Any idea *what* the fix involves? At this point, I have the NY state inspection due next month, will likely have them take care of it all when I take it in. Oppie
I just took it in for an oil change and they told me they were going to do it. I didn't receive a letter like I did for the seat belt recall. They said they changed some brackets and circuit boards(?). I know they have had voltage regulation problems causing the socket area to melt if your brake lights are on too long, or something like that. Most of my driving up here in the Adirondacks is highway, so I don't use the brakes much. I believe your dome light issues could be due to the BCM, as it controls virtually all interior lights & switches. Rule out the wiring first, but if something doesn't make sense, it is likely rooted in the BCM. My suspicion is that the voltage regulation problems these cars have with pulsing headlights and instrument lights, hot turn signal switches, melting tail lights, fuel gauge problems, etc, etc, is either a result of faulty BCM's causing the voltage problems, or the various voltage problems are ruining the BCM's. I am going to hold onto my receipt for the BCM bill and pursue the issue with Saturn. -- Dana Rohleder Port Kent, NY "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country." - G.W. Bush, Sept. 6, 2004, Poplar Bluff, Mo.
I have a 2001 LW300 with ~74300 miles. Back in March '05 I had a crankshaft position sensor fail and had it replaced. Then in June '05 there were "issues" and I was told that the system was found out of calibration (which I had to pay ~$100 to recalibrate) and they did and engine oil flush. Then in Nov '05 (car is still currently at dealer being "repaired") I had the following all happen at once: BCM (body control module) failed, Mass air flow sensor failed, oil cooler leaking and a failed battery (which I bought from them Aug '04). The repairs for this last trip were estimated at ~$1600 (They were only going to replace the battery under warranty). When I expressed concern at so many items failing all at once they lowered the price of the oil cooler leak repair to $500 (was $960). Then I called Saturn and they "worked with the dealer" and lowered the total cost of repair to $992. However, I still feel that there is something fundamentally wrong with the car and that they are only repairing the symtpoms of a bigger problem. Otherwise, could someone explain to me how two sensors and a computer module fail on one car (that is 5 years old and at ~74300 miles) in less than a year? It's a stationwagon for crying out loud... not like I drag race it or take it off road! Ever since I've had the car I have numerous "SES lights" and service lights, etc. popping on every so often, mostly to be told that "It was just a misfire... we've cleared the codes and reset the system".... Bull. I think Saturn needs to address the BCM issues at the very least. Rockville, MD
