30th Jan 2006, 12:00

The false odometer readings given by the BCM, once fixed, will return to the actual mileage. The "actual" mileage is still being recorded and will not affect the odometer once the BCM is fixed. It will not affect the resale of the car.

2nd Feb 2006, 18:39

I've been having an amazingly bad time with my Saturn to the point where I don't think I'll ever own another one. When I'm driving down the road my horn starts honking, my lights start flashing, my trunk opens and my doors lock and unlock themselves. It used to just do it every once in a while, but in the last few weeks it has started doing it incessantly to where I have to unhook the battery for a little while to make it stop. It's actually sitting in my driveway right now unhooked because it was going crazy all the way home. I had to pull out the fuse to the horn so it would quite honking non stop. I'm afraid I'm going to get shot when it starts honking at the wrong person.

I know it's the BCM that needs to be replaced, but it seems like an expensive fix for my 2001 L300 car with mileage in the early 100,000's.

23rd Mar 2006, 19:59

This is an update. I took my 2000 L-series to the dealer to fix the BCM after reading all the very informative comments on this site. It cost around $500 just like I expected. I'm happy, but the miles logged were not being recorded somewhere within the computer system. The dealer had to estimate it and adjust the odometer.

8th Apr 2006, 01:07

I also have a Saturn LS1 that has some of the very same problems that that seem to be consistent with the Body Control Module. I would think that the unit needs to be replaced with a new unit, but where is it located in the vehicle?

My keyless entry remote will synch and lock the doors and activate the passive security system, but will not unlock the doors or the trunk. After the initial synch and entering the car, I cannot stop along the way and lock the car with the key pad.

Is anyone else replacing their cruise control fuse every three or four months?

The car runs still runs good after 110K mile. Road noise is a little louder, but I didn't pay for a Mercedes E Class of the same year. I can deal with it.

17th Apr 2006, 09:09

To answer the previous comment, the BCM is located behind the glove box in the dash. Not terribly easy to get to, and since it needs to be flashed by the dealer, it's worth having them put it in. Your door locks and other electrical gremlins will clear up once replaced.

27th Apr 2006, 08:31

I am right at 90.+++ miles, and for the last twenty thousand miles, the power locks would work only sporadically. On Monday morning the gear would not go into position. So I opened the gear box and flipped up the shift lock. The Service light and the airbags lights went on, and as I drove to work, I noticed that the gas gauge was stuck at empty. Over the next thirty six hours, the dash lights went out, followed by the odometer and trip meter. Last night on Wednesday, my gas door that wouldn't open. At first, my thoughts were that it was an electronic failure. After reading your comments, I am convinced that it has to be the BCM. Fortunately, the Saturn dealer is down the street from where I live. I hope they can give me a ride home while they fix the car.

27th Apr 2006, 15:17

Guaranteed to be the BCM... your symptoms are a perfect example. They can range from wacky door locks to honking the horn at random while driving down the street! Once fixed, it'll be cleared up and back to normal.

2nd May 2006, 11:24

OK on the 14th of Apr 2006 at 15:50 I wrote a small comment on my car. Now I am back again, but with another problem, Well now my 2000 Saturn ls v6 is having even bigger problems. Now my car is going down the road making a whisteling noise, I know its not the belt or brakes, but something inside the motor. I was thinking its the timing gears inside that little black cover needing changed (bearings), if anyone knows plz help!!!

Albany G.A.

3rd May 2006, 07:44

The V6 model uses a timing belt that should be replaced (along with the water pump) at 100,000 mile intervals. Get the service history for the car and make sure it's been done if it has that many miles on it, otherwise you're on borrowed time. A whistling noise may be due to a vacuum leak too. Although it sounds like it's a haul, it might be worth a trip to the dealer. This is a unique engine.

As for erratic shifting, it's likely due to the MAF sensor. The MAF gets contaminated over time and throws off the computer that controls the transmission's shifting patterns. This is a relatively cheap part and you can put it in yourself with just a screwdriver.

3rd May 2006, 12:38

Why would a car intended for the mass market have a "unique engine"? Just more proof GM doesn't know what it's doing, including taking Saturn upscale with fixed prices. Yeah, I'm really in the mood to plunk down nearly $30K for a Saturn Sky Redline. Please.

4th May 2006, 08:13

Well, from a marketing standpoint, I'd have to agree. Using the L81 V6 (which was very expensive to produce) was probably a mistake for GM, as the profitability from the car went way down. The only other vehicles sold here that used this engine was the Saab 9-5, the VUE (02-03), and the Cadillac Catera.

For those of us that have the V6 L, it's a fantastic engine. It makes great sounds and much more power than the numbers indicate. Yeah, it's a little more $$$ to service, but to me it's worth it. But from a marketing perspective, a North American-made (the L81 was British) V6 would have been more appropriate.

26th Jul 2006, 13:43

I have a 2000 Saturn L-series wagon. After replacing the battery the odometer read 694978. Prior to this, for quite a while in fact, the automatic lock on the driver side in the back seat didn't work and the light that indicates which gear I am in only works when the headlights aren't on. (Very similar to other posters.)

I replaced the door lock mechanism myself (part cost about $80) about three months ago. It worked for about a day and is back to not working.

Today I had the BCM replaced. It costs about $380. I gave the dealer an estimate of the mileage and they put that in to the new BCM. According to the dealer, there is a record of the mileage in the engine control module and the actual mileage is calculated as the average of the BCM and ECM. They can't retrieve the ECM reading and just put that in. As long as the two are close, there is no need for denoting that the odometer reading is inaccurate. I was within 100 miles (in about 89,000), so the odometer is only off by 50 miles.

The new BCM did _not_ fix either of the other two problems but it did put the odometer back to normal.

Frustrating that I had to pay $400 just to change the battery. Perhaps my last Saturn.