24th Jun 2009, 17:23

It's your heater core. I just had mine replaced. The part itself is expensive, and the labor even more so. Good luck!

8th Aug 2009, 15:59

I have a 2002 Saturn L300 and looks like the problems is starting to hit me. It's got 96,000 on it,and when you give it gas, it tries to quit. Sometimes it will clear up on its own, and then it starts all over. Anybody got any ideas?

12th Aug 2009, 20:43

2001 L300 - We just bought for our 17 yr. old. It has 115,000 miles on it. My son calls it his transformer. The car horn will suddenly honk while driving. He said that he is alert at all times and ready to smile and wave. The car locks will also act up at times. After starting the car the door locks will click several times as if trying to lock.

While driving, the service engine soon light will come on and the car will suddenly start to shift really hard. Turning the car off and waiting a few minutes, and then turning it back on currently solves the hard shifting, and the SES light is not on.

When he has locked the car and is walking away, the car alarm has also sounded. We have owned this car for one week and have not had it serviced yet. Anyone know what could be the problem?

19th Aug 2009, 08:43

I too own a 2002 Saturn L300. So far we have replaced 1,3,5 ignition pack and have had the curse of the wet passenger floor with the greasy substance I now know as antifreeze. Two days ago while driving the car doesn't seem to want to shift very well it wants to wind up before shifting. I have to lift my foot off the gas in order for this to happen. Does anyone know what this now maybe? I do not have any trouble light on regarding this?

28th Aug 2009, 07:33

Hello, I have recently purchased a 2001 Saturn LW300 and am looking for the major problems to look out for in 50,000 to 100,000 mile range. Anyone with any comments will be truly appreciated.

10th Sep 2009, 21:10

I think I was last here in Nov '08 trying to get an air conditioner problem fixed. I had a new problem recently which I just had repaired -- a crank sensor went bad about 2 weeks after having the 100,000 mile service work done by the dealer. The dealer was unable to diagnose the air conditioner problem without tearing into it at a cost of $600 for a new air conditioner clutch. From there they would be able to tell me what, if anything else I might need repaired or replaced. I opted to skip the AC work as I was already paying $1400 for the scheduled service (new timing thingy).

Now I have a new problem! As I was driving home from work today the lights on the dash started dimming intermittently. I've not had a working gas gauge since '03 and have always used my trip meter to know when to fill up. My miles were high so I stopped for gas. After filling up I noticed the trip meter was zeroed out and I didn't remember doing it. When I got down the road a couple of miles, I noticed I was still on zero. I also noticed that my radio had turned itself off and all my presets were gone. The clock still has the right time. I tried working the odometer/trip switch a few times in hopes that this would magically get things back on track. It didn't. But upon switching from trip to odometer, I noted that instead of the 101,400 miles I think I've put on the car my odometer says it's 694,978. I'm hoping this is a code my mechanic can use to fix this new problem in 2-3 minutes at a cost no greater than $30. Wish me luck.

Connie.

24th Sep 2009, 10:58

Wow! Should have found this site long ago. Bought a used 2003 L300 about 4 years ago. I now has 85K miles on it - used mainly for local driving and a few 6 hour drives per year.

When I first got it needed BCM = $500.00

O2 senors = $500.00.

Seemed all was okay. 2 days ago car is running fine - just pulled out of my driveway. 2 miles down the road the car starts losing power - as if the fuel pump was not working, but it would idle fine just couldn't get it past 10 mph. Engine light go on.

Called tow truck - took to my "car-guy" Says the computer test show Cat Converter. Remove O2 senors so I could drive it (very noisy) -- Tells me to go to a muffler shop. I don't tell them anything - they say it's the Cat Converters too -- all 3. Replaces the back on while I am there =$250.00 - engine light went out and was drivable, but found pieces of the front Cat Converter in the exhaust..

2 front Cats: $1,500

3 O2 sensors = 500

Mass Air Control = $300.

That should do it... right...

This guy tells me that the L300 engine is the same engine that GM used in the Catera Cadillac which had many problems!

17th Nov 2009, 11:26

I bought a 2001 Saturn L300 back in June and thought it was nice... it had leather seats, heated seats, good mileage, and it ran very smoothly.

The day after I drove it off the car lot, the service engine soon light came on. When I took it back they assured me they reset it and it came on when they changed the oil. It didn't come back on for a while and ran great for about a month.

It came back on and my mechanic ran a test and the computer sensor seemed to be the problem. He said it was no big deal... then my car refused to start. The starter was turning over just fine, it just would not start. My mechanic cleared the computer's memory and it worked perfectly... for about two weeks... turned out the light was on because I had blown a head gasket.

It seems hard for mechanics to pinpoint the problem with these Saturns, and they are harder to fix because they don't seem to be like every other car in the world under the hood!!

Good luck with your Saturn... I curse the day I bought mine!