When I go to rec.auto.makers.honda- I don't see all these kinds of horror stories. What gives?
It is very simple. Honda owners - typically teh younger ones - don't actually DRIVE their cars. They simply place big "powered by" stickers all over and add on spoilers and oversize gauges.
This bs from a guy who burns how much oil in his "jap car"? He seems to forget his post get archived.
Heh, you think Honda, toyota et all are so great, go ask about Toyota motor sludging. IIRC, Toyota STILL won't fess up to it. It's a known problem with a number of their engines. It's nasty and serious. It's an inherint design issue. They still are playing the blame game with customers... Or, Honda's POS 5 speed automatics - 2 recalls and counting for our family. Come on, it's 2005, an automatic should behave right and last 100,000+ miles, no problem. But, at less than 50k, the one in my dad's Honda is starting to make bad noises. Dealer says its 'normal', of course. This even after recall #1 on it. Apparently, Honda can't design a lubrication system for a geartrain that's swimming in tranny fluid. Oh, and is it too much to ask that a transmission use Dexron, as opposed to some $5 a quart special fluid? Oh yeah - replacing that timing belt has a fun surprise - $150 water pump that gets replaced with it. $150 for a fucking water pump - I thought Saturn bent you over. At least ours hasn't snapped yet. Or prematurely, which Hondas do. Nor has the pulley snapped off the camshaft like it did on a friend's Civic... Oh, and oil burning? 240,000 miles, mine still doesn't burn much between changes. So little I don't even bother checking the oil (yeah I know, bad habit, but this car's gonna be gone by 300k anyway). What I wanna know is how you guys all manage to burn so much oil between changes
Mister fags a crack head. I remember a post by him about how his honda or toyota or whatever was burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Of course he's not in the honda group pissing and moaning about that when its that special time of the month. Talk about a f***ing hypocrite. This morons missing one to many brain cells.
I wish I would have gotten this many responses when I had a real problem to talk about! PS: Take that as a joke, not an insult.
I'll just answer you f***ing crap with what other Saturn owners have to say! Patricia of Bath ME (9/15/03): Cylinder head cracked, Saturn is aware there is a problem but their position is, if it didn't happen in 6 years or 100,000 miles (whichever came first) I'm out of luck. Of course the local dealer will fix it for $1,800. I own a 1994 Saturn SW1 with 94,502 miles. The service bullentin came out in 1999. I believe that they knew it to be a defect in the parts they used and it should be fixed no matter what the age of the car. Of couse they would like the public to think that after their timeframe the car will never have the problem or by magic it will repair itself. If the only humans worked this way after 6 years all birth defects would just disappear. What a wonderful world it would be. All I have to say is -- dream on, Saturn. I can't wait to get the car fixed and trade it in for another car. Damage Resulting: Loss of my sanity, cost - priceless new engine $1,800, junk yard version $100, but it will take me a week or so to get the two engines out, never mind the time to figure out how to get it all back together and still have the car run. I have a full-time job and I'm the mother of an eleven-year-old, not much free time here to spare. I just knew I should have taken a shop class in high school, but at 50 I'm not to old to learn. I build Navy DDG's at Bath Iron Works -- fixing a car should not be as complicated LOL. It can be done, all right, but Patricia should buy a junker to drive around in while she has the Saturn spread out all over the garage. Tim of Hoover, AL (12/17/01): I own a '95 Saturn SL-1 which I bought new. In January 1999 (only months after the 3-year warranty expired), the cylinder head cracked. I took the car in to get it fixed. The sales rep who sold me the car told me that offically Saturn wouldn't admit fault, but if I made calls, I might get assistance with the repairs. I worked my way up the chain of command at Saturn and eventually they offered to pay for labor if I paid for parts. Later, when the company bulletin came out explaining a flaw in the mold of the cylinder head (which caused several to crack), they refunded me the remainder of the service bill. I was happy with this. However, in December 2001 the cylinder head cracked again. After calling customer service, I found that the original crack occurred at 52,700 miles. This new crack occured at 105,000 miles. This is almost exactly the same number of miles it took to crack the first head. When I took my car to Saturn, they noticed immediatly what was wrong with the car and called their area rep for a solution. They called me a day later offering to pay parts if I pay labor. To me, this was the same problem as before and I felt that Saturn should again be responsible for placing faulty parts in my car. They didn't see it that way stating that the bulletin authorizing replacement of the cylinder head was only good for one replacement. They also made it clear that they were under no obligation to offer the deal they were currently offering. Saturn stated that "nobody can predict the future". I explained to them that I could given that the pattern of the two heads cracking places the odds of another head crack happening at 150,000 miles VERY likely. Saturn ended our talks by stating that there is nothing more that can be done and that (paraphrasing) I should be happy that I am getting any assistance at all. They make cars whose heads crack twice in 6 years, and I should be happy? I don't think so. Jason of Ft. Mitchell KY (9/12/03): I bought a 95 Saturn SC1 with 100,000 miles and also purchased a one-year powertrain warranty to accompany it. After a few weeks of driving, I noticed oil consumption at the rate of about a quart every 400 miles. I took the car to the dealership, explained the situation, and showed them the warranty. After a period of monitoring the situation, I convinced the dealership to replace the motor. The new motor had 75,000 miles on it. It only took a week to notice the oil consumption - about a quart every 800 miles. Once again, I took the car to the dealership and flashed them the warranty. After another period of monitoring, they replaced the motor. This time the motor had only 50,000 miles on it and the oil consumption was minimal. However, that same motor is now up to about 75,000 miles and is using a quart every 500 miles. This is absurd! What is wrong with Saturn's motors? Steve of Richmond VA (8/8/03): My Saturn started burning oil at 72,000 miles. I had extended warranty to 75,000 miles. I noted this on the service ticket at 72,000 miles. The service dept. at Saturn did not offer to do an oil consumption test until the car got to 77,000 miles. Saturn Corp. will not cover the problem under the warranty even though the problem started while the car was still under warranty. I belive that: 1) The Saturn Warranty is not worth the paper it is printed on 2) Saturn does not want to stand behind their product. To rebuild the engine will cost about $1800.00 - but I have yet to find someone willing to do that type of work to the engine; a new engine will range in price from about $2600.00 - $3200.00 (labor included) Raquel of McKeesport PA (6/30/03): I purchased a 2000 Saturn LS1 in December 20001, used with 26,000 miles on it. When it got to 36,000 miles my engine failed. They claim an oil filter caused my engine damage. I had oil changes every 3 months but since it was not done at the Saturn dealer Saturn did not help with replacing my engine. The mechanic at the dealership stated that the timing chain slipped and cracked the cylinder head. Well, they gave me and estimate of $3,000 and that was no guaranteed fix. I spoke to Saturn headquarters and I was treated very rudely because I had bought the car used. Carole of Waveland MS (5/6/03): Engine Oil in coolant reservoir. Diagnosis: Crack in engine head. June 1999 letter from Saturn had notified me that this could happen to my engine, and told of "...Special Policy for cylinder head coverage for a period of six years from the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first." (My car exceeded the year requirement but only had 90,087 miles.) Company bulletin 99P01 explained a flaw in the cylinder head mold. No matter the years or miles, I don't think I should have to come up with big bucks to fix my car because their cylinder head mold was flawed. Saturn Customer Service in Tennessee offered $400.00 off the charge for fixing my engine. I told them that I thought the charge of $2700 was exorbitant and the $400 offer was an insult. Saturn of Slidell estimate to replace head and related parts is $2,748.19, covered for 12 mos or 12,000 miles. Estimate to replace with a rebuilt engine is $3,231.38, covered for 3 yrs or 36,000 miles. June 1999 ltr also states that time needed to replace a cylinder head is ten hours. In 1995 I was working when I bought my Saturn. I retired in 1998 on early, unexpected, disability retirement. I am 60 years old, single, and my income is poverty level. It would be a tremendous hardship for me to cover this cost. Regina of Blackburn MO (12/4/01): I bought a 1999 Saturn in April of 1999. On 9-9-00, I complained that it was burning oil. They did an oil consumption test and said it was only 1/2 quart every 1,300 miles and that, "Saturns burned a little oil." On 11-01-00, I returned with the same complaint. Another test was done and this time it burnt 1 quart, "still within normal expectations". On 1-27-01, I took it to Wal-Mart for an oil change and they told me it was 1 quart low and that it should NOT be burning any oil. Again I spoke to Saturn who said it was normal. On 2-24-01, Wal-Mart changed my oil and had me sign a disclaimer to change it as it was again 1 quart low. On 3-24-01, I had to sign the disclaimer again for the oil change. Wal-Mart suggested I push Saturn a little harder to make the car right. I spoke to Saturn but was told nothing was wrong with the car. On 5-4-01, I took the car to Saturn complaining that it now burnt 2-3 quarts every 3,000 miles. They continued to say it was normal but replaced a PCV hose. (This made NO difference in the amount of oil it was burning.) On 5-7-01, I contacted Ryan Laughlin of the Saturn plant in Tennessee. He said, "Saturns burn a little oil." I am paying an exorbitant payment for this vehicle and simply want it fixed. It is now out of warranty, knocks, gets poor gas mileage, has no power, and I cannot afford to trade it. Obviously, I keep up on the maintenence of this vehicle so they cannot possibly say it is my neglect or mistreatment. I am stuck with a car thar will soon blow a rod or crack a block and its value is 1/3 of what I owe. I can not rely on it to provide transportation, and I am so SICK of Saturn blowing me off as if I knew nothing about automobiles! I love the car. I JUST WANT THEM TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND FIX IT AT THEIR EXPENSE, NOT MINE. Andrea of Poughkeepsie NY (11/6/01): I bought my mom's Saturn from her in 1999. It is a 1995 Saturn SL 4 door model. It started to "lose" oil about 2 weeks after I bought it. Possibly it happened before that but my mom did not notice it. I brought it into the Saturn dealership multiple times without success. Finally, the last time it was in they informed me that they believed it was bad "o" rings in my engine and the repairs would exceed $2000. I have 3 people now that I know of with the same year/type car and the EXACT same problem. Last week I was in a car accident with my Saturn. It was a front impact accident that totalled the car and yet my air bags never deployed. I hit my head, although I had my seat belt on and thankfully was ok, no thanks to my faulty airbags. Sponsored Links I'll be posting more recent Saturn horror stories.
<many tales of woe snipped> A couple of things: 1. I have been reading news groups since circa 1990 and I have never seen so many narratives of woe with such similar details. The writing style is also similar in most of them. I'm curious as to how these narratives were collected. I know that people don't send me such stories out of the blue. 2. Why do you hate Saturns so much? Were you and/or a relative affected by a Saturn failure? 3. What is your purpose of posting with these stories? Trying to hurt Saturn sales? Don't bother, Saturn has done that all by themselves by dropping the SL series and introducing the Ion. 4. I have a 95 SW1. Bought it with 135K miles, now has 185K miles on it. Most dependable car I have ever owned. I don't think I have put $200 into it other than oil changes and adding oil. My only complaint is really the oil consumption. Hmmm, well I guess that is more than a couple of things, but ya know what they say: There are three kinds of people in the world, those who can count, and those who can't.
Me neither. I never get unsolicited saturn horror stories sent to me. I must not be special. *shrug*. His wife impaled herself on a Saturn gearshift lever. Pretty rough to have your wife leave you for a piece of plastic, not to mention one that doesn't even vibrate... He got tired of trying tell us how he knows better than the national electric code (even though he's clueless about it), thus instead of stories about failed electric wiring, it's stories about failed Saturns. *sigh* what am I doing wrong? My Saturn doesn't burn oil. I feel so left out No, there are 10 types of people in the world, those who know binary, those who don't.
Wow - you can Google....You know of course, that somebody can find something with every car....I'm sure somebody can dig up the horror stories on the web like these with every manufacturer of most products - not just cars - Gimme a break... I am not a Saturn lover nor hater....I have a 5speed 94 SL2 that was given to me with 120K miles 3 years ago. Now has 170K. Yes - it goes through a little oil, drips a little water on my left arm in the rain, (through what a suspect is a leak in the Sunroof), but oh well - As long as it passes inspection and doesn't leave it on the floor in the garage, one quart between changes doesn't kill me. Fixes to the car I've done are a starter, new tires and brakes. As I said, I don't love it or hate it as it's my commuter car and it does a good job getting me from home to job and back. It get's parked in the garage next to my F150 Lariat - Now we can talk about love... Scott
