Why Do Saturns Suck...

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Guest, Oct 22, 2004.

  1. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I liked my Saturn better this morning than this afternoon... When the
    thing played FORD! I've never seen anything like this before on any
    vehicle I've ever had over the years since the early 70's.

    I've had cars play dead before, but not with the cause this one had.

    This 2000 SL1 is the first vehicle I can recall ever having a side
    mount battery terminal battery and it will be the last one if I have
    any choices at all in the next vehicles I get. I've had top mount
    terminals work loose and have poor connections.

    Once I figured out what the problem was, after thinking it was a short
    that had drained the battery, because sometimes the lights on the dash
    would flicker on when the problem first materialized as I turned the
    ignition key, I was under the hood poking things checking fuses and
    uttering pleasentries as I went. I tug at the terminal cables to see
    if they were loose and the red side pops off the battery ! Beautiful
    ! Dead Saturn ! AKA F.O.R.D. !

    The only "luck" in any of it is that the terminal went south in the
    parking lot of a video store that has a "Advanced Automotive" parts
    shop across the street...and I happen to have a took kit with enough
    odd sized items in it to get the damned connectors freed.

    I used a Safeway shopping cart to take the leaking battery in a
    cardboard box I fished out of a nearby pile over to the parts store.
    $57.66 later I'm back in business except I need to douche out the
    engine compartment with baking soda and water to neutralize the
    battery juice that's leaked out into the plastic tray under the
    battery...and who knows where else.

    Before heading to the Autoparts store I foolishly went to an even
    closer Sonoco gas station (just the other side of the video store
    parking lot) and got quoted a rip off $89 plus tax and "installation"
    for a battery from them - and the nub even had the balls to tell me
    the car would have to be brought in to his repair bay to get the
    battery put in...to which I replied if the car could move I'd not have
    bothered him... Off to the part store ! What a prick...or idiot !

    May the Saturn god be appeased and keep this one rolling a long time
    before it next decides to play FORD !
     
    Guest, Oct 22, 2004
    #1
  2. Guest

    Blah blah Guest

    Your a F$%@ing IDIOT! Boohooo side mounted battery post! Gee yeah that
    hasnt been the NORM for the past 2 decades! Oh and by the way Saturn
    doesnt make batteries. Next time you want to bitch about a battery email
    Exide or shove it up your a$$ so we dont have to hear your UNRELATED BS
    RANTINGS.

    Hey I know! Lets blame car manufacturers when a piece of road debris
    shreds our tire! Lets blame our car manufacturers when a tree falls on
    our car!

    moron...
     
    Blah blah, Oct 23, 2004
    #2
  3. Guest

    projecti Guest

    When a battery does that it's normally the terminal was in far too tight
    and stripped the soft contact. If it was the original battery, that would
    be amazing it had lasted that long, anyway. I've always had more trouble
    with top mount than sides. But Why Do Saturns Suck? Mine's had the
    engine, manual transmission, clutch, belt tensioner, and badly leaking
    valve cover gasket replaced. Next up, power window motor and exhaust...
     
    projecti, Oct 23, 2004
    #3
  4. And the battery on the Saturn is easy to undo. It's a standard 8mm
    bolt. I think you need a 10 to get the cover/strap thing off, though.

    Anyway, I found after a few batteries that replacing the bolts isn't to
    bad an idea, and they're easy to get anyway. Better than dealing with a
    chewed up one.
     
    Philip Nasadowski, Oct 23, 2004
    #4
  5. Guest

    marx404 Guest

    Um, heeres some more "good news" for ya. Saturn doesnt make the batteries.
    If it was the oem battery it is an AC Delco which I agree sux. They leak
    like sivs. I just replaced my leaky battery. Replace it with a Diehard or an
    Optima and you are all set. The old Delcos in the 1st gens were good, Delco
    has dropped the ball on quality since 2000.
    marx404
     
    marx404, Oct 23, 2004
    #5
  6. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Sorry to burst your bubble you puke - the battery was Delco and that
    is nothing but GM by a different set of letters...

    I suppose I have just been fortunate enough not to get a "normal car"
    since 1972 - because I have not had a side mount battery mobile in all
    that time. What are you some punk 20 something ?

    Take your sorry ass whine about my Saturn unhappiness and shove off -
    it looks like you are the " F$%@ing IDIOT!" from where I'm typing...

    A POS is a POS even if YOU own one.
     
    Guest, Oct 23, 2004
    #6
  7. Guest

    Blah blah Guest

    And again you still dont get it. Gee yeah a nearly 5 year old battery
    fails...SUPRISE! You better start catching up on car care knowledge
    before you aimlessly rant and missplace blame. If you came in here
    asking, why did my battery post fail, or why are the post mounted on the
    side instead of being another asshole venting flames maybe just maybe
    someone would of responded more "POLITELY" and you might have learn
    something from it. But if you want to be ignorant take it someplace
    else.
     
    Blah blah, Oct 24, 2004
    #7
  8. Hmm...Saturn's and lots of FWD cars/vans have side mount batteries and
    Saturn has been that way for oh....14yrs. Also Delco has been it's own
    company for close to 6yrs now. GM spun it off just as Ford and Chrysler did
    their parts divisions a decade or more ago. It cost too much to own your
    own parts division any more.

    Jim
     
    Seamus's Stuff, Oct 24, 2004
    #8
  9. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Sorry dipstick - I don't recall going vulgar in my original post...

    I've had several failed batteries over the years and NONE were due to
    the terminal falling off the thing till this piece of junk design
    battery failed.

    To me it is a doink such as your self that is showing they "Don't Get
    it" and have no clue.

    The battery is from a vendor to the vehicle vendor - they are both
    root causes of the problem - the vehicle vendor used poor design (but
    cost effective to them) designed equipage. Your dim little mind
    probably has a problem grasping that Corporate AmeriKa is more than
    willing to use low quality and cost parts to sell you something that
    will drain your wallet further down the road...

    Blah Blah Blah to you to DS. Click elsewhere if the water is too hot
    here.




    Is it better to Snipe or be Sniped ?
    TheSnipeAtdisplace-MindspringPeriodCom < AntiSPAM spelling
     
    Guest, Oct 24, 2004
    #9
  10. Guest

    Terry Guest

    I had the same problem a few weeks ago with the battery setup in my 2000
    Saturn L series wagon.
    This vehicle has very low mileage (around 40K), always garaged. One day I
    inspected
    the battery, the corrosion was built up so bad it was falling off in chunks
    around the engine-
    I'm not arguing against replacing the battery after 5 years, but I agree
    w/the original poster,
    the design is so cheap that the ring that holds the hot wire to the terminal
    is just a washer!
    Battery acid had actually ruined this ring, it fell apart in my hands...I
    replaced the battery
    and all the damaged parts, which was an expensive repair. The whole setup is
    just cheap junk!

    Terry
     
    Terry, Oct 24, 2004
    #10
  11. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Spinning off a parts division is just a way to dodge tax and inventory
    costs as well as play balance sheet games for stock valuations - A
    simple look under the hood shows that the "separate company" is really
    still the same thing it was before the spin off.

    I have yet to see any Autolite parts in an "enemies'" new products...
    Likewise AC/Delco

    As to there being many vehicles with this design battery in them - No
    dispute about that at all from me - it just makes all the more
    understandable to me all the people telling me how common the failure
    is (I just was lucky enough to never run into it before because all
    the vehicles I've had were top terminal battery types and that battery
    form appears to die from plate flaking long before the terminals can
    rot out - if they ever do). A battery failing from internal shorting
    from plate flaking is no surprise to me. I've had several die of that
    over the years - but a chunk falling out if a battery is a total shock
    ! (pun intended)




    Is it better to Snipe or be Sniped ?
    TheSnipeAtdisplace-MindspringPeriodCom < AntiSPAM spelling
     
    Guest, Oct 24, 2004
    #11
  12. Guest

    BANDIT2941 Guest

    I've had were top terminal battery types and that battery
    Yeah, or that battery form also dies when you get in a crash and your hood
    shorts the battery out and it explodes!

    Thats why they came out with the side terminals. I've never seen any problems
    with them. Likely the battery terminal was tightened too tight. And besides, if
    the battery was 5 years old, you have nobody to blame but yourself.
     
    BANDIT2941, Oct 24, 2004
    #12
  13. Guest

    Ed Tackett Guest

    Happened to me. Pos side terminal cracked at teh housing on my 2002 leaked
    battery acid on my AC lines and Wiring harness. It was a mess. I fixed it no
    biggie nuetralized the acid and away we go. That being said you should sell
    your Saturn and find another car to buy. It looks like no matter what you
    will not like the car. Loose the stress.

    n/t

    DK666
     
    Ed Tackett, Oct 24, 2004
    #13
  14. Guest

    Blah blah Guest

    The ranter is ignorant and wants to stay ignorant, that is the only
    point he has made. Dont be like him and instead learn something about
    the problem and how to address it rather than going off in a tirade of
    ingorance. (read on if you wish to "learn")

    The design is not "cheap". If anyone had any real experiance with
    batteries they would know 90% the problems lay with the owners, not
    everyone else they try to blame.

    Problems with the old Top post designs are similar if not more
    plentiful. I have dealt with many top post batteries that leaked around
    the post. The Top Post batteries get just as corroded up... I get a
    bunch of top post batteries that dont make any connection at all without
    wire brushing them. (hence why they make wire brushes specific for top
    post batteries) The clamps on those stupid things break and crack all
    the time from being over stressed. The wires tend to break where they
    clamp do to vibrations and melt from high amperage soon after.

    The only problems with Side post batteries that I have seen have been
    contributed to no one "lubricating" them or keeping them clean. Whenever
    you get corrosion or a bad connection on any battery the amperage spikes
    going through those areas and they get hot enough to melt the lead and
    debond the plastic (hence where the leaks come from). I've also seen top
    post batteries with the post nearly boiled off. How is that better?

    Something as simple as putting "Vaseline" on the mounting/clamping
    surface every couple of years can prevent that. If you have been keeping
    up with what I have been saying you should now know the failure isnt the
    battery but those who fail to maintain them. If this is to much for
    anyone to do then might I suggest a shopping cart as a means of
    transportation?

    For further battery care information, for the people smart enough to
    read, goto google and do some searches on battery care. Pretty soon I'm
    just going to start ignoring these complete idiots that keep coming to
    ignorant baseless conclusions... Especially ones with no automotive
    education/training backgrounds that think they "somehow" know more.
     
    Blah blah, Oct 25, 2004
    #14
  15. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I think that was why they started putting plastic short sleeves over
    the top terminals years ago...

    The side terminal on the Saturn I had my problem with did not have any
    shielding on it's terminals - of course it's saving grace is that most
    of the stuff around it in the engine compartment was plastic to start
    with so it would only like short if it got a hood crunched into it -
    what a thought the same thing that would short out an unshielded top
    terminal battery...Hummm And which way do you suppose the battery
    twists as the front end folds up on itself in a front end collision...
    Sorry bad baked beans again

    As to the battery being old being my "fault..." I only know that the
    sleaze Saturn dealership that sold it to me in April THIS year (2004)
    said the battery was fresh and fine... So much for Saturn being
    anything but as low ball as the rest of the business.




    Is it better to Snipe or be Sniped ?
    TheSnipeAtdisplace-MindspringPeriodCom < AntiSPAM spelling
     
    Guest, Oct 25, 2004
    #15
  16. Guest

    Terry Guest

    Hah, 90% is probably accurate, maybe higher...seems like nowadays
    most people want to completely ignore what's under their hood for 200K
    and then complain when something goes wrong....but I still say that
    terminal design is not durable, in my case it fell apart after less than
    39K.
    Seems in that respect not to be a great improvement over the old top-
    mounted terminals-- the old car I drive ('68 camaro) has never had that
    problem. Maybe it's just easier to SEE corrosoion starting on those
    terminals--
     
    Terry, Oct 25, 2004
    #16
  17. Guest

    BANDIT2941 Guest

    The side terminal on the Saturn I had my problem with did not have any
    My 95 has a cap that goes over the positive terminal. Besides, even with side
    post unshielded, its much more likely to crunch a hood down into a top post
    then a side post. Which way does the battery fold in a front end collision? If
    the front end collision is severe enough to where something hits the battery
    and makes it fold under, the car is going to be junk and the driver is going to
    be dead, at which case it doesn't matter.

    I didn't realize the battery was new. As such, I would guess the tech
    overtightened the terminal(s).
     
    BANDIT2941, Oct 26, 2004
    #17
  18. Guest

    BANDIT2941 Guest

    The wires tend to break where they
    Not to nitpick, but you mean the resistance(therefore heat) goes up when you
    get corrosion. The corrosion is a poor conductor, there for resistance and heat
    goes up.
     
    BANDIT2941, Oct 26, 2004
    #18
  19. Guest

    lobsterdevil Guest

    Same leak problem here today on my '02 SL2 - suppose I should have
    taken the "36 month battery" much more seriously...it lasted 38 months.
    Couldn't tell there was a leak at all until I unscrewed the positive
    terminal - or more correctly gave the terminal 1/2 turn before the post
    broke off inside the old battery. Fortunately the battery acid was
    contained in the tray - baking soda and water doing the trick right
    now.

    What irks me is that my other Saturn ('01 LW300) had just about the
    same problem 6 months ago. And I thought it was just a fluke. So it
    goes.

    OD
     
    lobsterdevil, Mar 10, 2005
    #19
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