I have been working on this "known" issue for some time with my dealership in Santa Rosa, CA. I own a 2001 L300. I was experiencing only flickering headlights and dashboard lights in the beginning, just before my 36K mile warranty ended. I notified the dealership and requested a fix. They gave me the corporate line - "This is a known problem and there is no fix. This is not a safety issue." Yikes. I think this is what Firestone said about their tires. The problem worsened to the point where I could reproduce it at will by moving the windows up and down, or putting any kind of load on the system. It even got to the point where my sound system would cut out for 1-2 seconds as I turn up my heat, roll up my windows, etc. My dealership recommended that I speak with Tennessee and let them know my dissatisfaction with the car and the electrical issues. They felt that I could somehow make an impact by talking with corporate CS. I foolishly believed them. What a waste of time! THE SATURN CORPORATION DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS. They could care less about the consumer. They (specifically someone name Shawndra) basically told me to get lost. I told her that I would take my business to another non-Saturn, non-GM car company and she did not care. I have spent over $60K on this line of autos and I will definitely not do that again. Anyway, I was so livid after the Tennessee phone call, I contact my dealership and demanded to escalate the problem to the next level of management. The short story: the area service manager took a ride with me and I demonstrated my problems. He decided to remove the battery cables, clean them, etc. He reseated the cables and VOILA, I have had no problems since. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH TENNESSEE. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR SATISFACTION WITH THEIR PRODUCTS. The dealerships seem to care a little bit more, but they spout the company line without applying a little independent, analytical thinking. I had talked about this problem for months before anyone actually proposed a fix. Doh! I believe this electrical problem constitutes a safety issue. The flickering of lights (headlights and dashboard) causes the driver to become distracted while driving at night. To believe otherwise, is negligence. Ultimately, someone will pay a price for this "known issue" and Saturn will pay too.
....sad you've had to go through all of this. Makes me wonder what kind of battle the dealer has had with corporate over the issue - did the dealer say it would reoccur X miles later? This might be a good indicator to look at another automaker the next time you're buying. The 04 Saturn's were rated a little behind the times (my paraphrase) in a new car buying guide I was browsing through recently. The VUE with the Honda V6 does sound neat - then again the Honda Element or CRV sound interesting too. I don't know what I'd buy in the car/suv market today. Hey, I still like the new Bug.
First, I'm sorry about the aggravation to which you were subjected, happy that your service dealer was able to resolve it, and an admirer of your persistence. Second (to be picky), I believe you meant to write "They could *not* care less about the consumer," assuming you meant to convey that they do not care at all. If they could care less, than they must care at least some! Third, I presume you meant to write "*Based on my experience, I conclude that* THE SATURN CORPORATION DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS." I had a recent experience with Spring Hill (Tennessee) that was much, much different. I submitted my problem to them via their web site. Fortunately for me, my inquiry was not picked up by Shawndra, but rather by Carolyn, who sent me an e-mail expressing sympathy and promising to forward my request on to an area manager at Spring Hill. The area manager contacted me in less than 24 hours (as Carolyn said he would) and made what I consider to be a reasonable offer to resolve the problem (for more details, search the newsgroup for posts by me -- there are not many and they all deal with this particular problem). Note to other readers of this newsgroup: I caution you to take with a small grain of salt claims such as "THE SATURN CORPORATION DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS" or "Saturn is wonderful." YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). - Steve Turetzky
Although it took several months of complaining to Saturn of Burlington, VT, my identical issue was finally resolved by replacing the alternator. But it certainly was like butting my head against the wall with Saturn. Three times I asked for a corporate contact to discuss the symptoms and I was never given a contact. Two other times I emailed Saturn Corp. and my emails were unanswered. I was told it was normal until I finally drove it in one evening with all of the lights pulsating and they could not deny it. After they saw it, they contacted corporate and a week later they authorized a new alternator. It has been 3 months so far with no problems. Unfortunately, I spent over 8 hours on the road between my house and the dealer an hour away, and 8 more hours in the waiting room waiting for service/repairs on this single issue, which could have been resolved the first trip if they hadn't dragged their feet. What is 16 hours of MY time worth?? A lot more than an alternator! Dana Rohleder 2002 LW300
There is a post on www.saturnfans.com that describes a very similar issue. It's in the L-series forum. The lady who posted is heading to arbitration over it. I wonder if her problem would be solved the same way as yours? Ken
