7th Apr 2005, 07:56

My wife and I own a 2000 SC2 twin cam Saturn. After reading the reviews I now realize that we are heading for a world of hurt. Each time we make a 350 mile trip back to our hometown, I have to put at least a quart of oil when we get there and another quart to get back home.

I haven't brought up this issue with the dealer since they are useless unless I want to give them money. We are saving our money in anticipation of the day when this machine will finally blow up; we'll leave it on the side of the road and buy another brand.

In the far off hope that this problem will be addressed by a higher authority, I will make my best effort to note my disapproval with anybody that will listen.

A Saturn owner nevermore!

20th Apr 2005, 18:56

I have a 1994 Saturn with about 130,000 miles on it. The engine has been running smooth since my last oil change & tune-up, but suddenly as I was leaving work, my engine seized up. There were no previous warning signs - it just died. I guess I can't complain too much, since I got 11 years and over 100,000 miles out of it. I never monitored the oil consumption too closely - but I always changed the oil every 3000 miles. The fluids were OK at the time of the engine seize. I did have to replace the oil seal a few times - I think that is the weakness in the Saturns. I was originally planning on getting another Saturn, but after reading all of these comments on this website, I may easily reconsider.

1st May 2005, 23:50

I bought an SC1, 1999. I have found the same problem, that often I was required to top up the oil each time between oil changes. I have been faithful with the maintenance and oil changes for the car. It is a commuter vehicle. Today, as I was leaving I heard a clunk. It seems the engine has dropped and part of the top where the bolts are has fallen off and one of the shafts has been sliced right off. It is presently leaking oil like a tanker. I have to date been very unimpressed with Saturn's treatment and service - to the point where I refuse to do business with an authorized Saturn dealer. This is my first new car and obviously a huge mistake.

13th May 2005, 15:26

I own a '96 SL2 with a auto trans. I got the car with 65,000 miles, shortly thereafter the alternator went bad. With 92,000 miles currently, I haven't had any other troubles with the car. Oil consumption was right at 1 quart per 3,000 miles when I first got the car, currently it is a little worse, around a quart every 2,500 miles.

I was considering buying another used Saturn, but after reading the multiple accounts of the engines locking up with no warning, I'm having second thoughts.

27th Jul 2005, 13:18

I bought a 96 Saturn SL2. I have had the car for 8 months. When I first got it I had to change the transmission in the car. I replaced it only to have problems with it losing power. I replaced the battery in the car and solenoid. A few months ago I had problems with the oil light coming on. I then change the oil. Last week the car had trouble starting up and overheating. I changed the thermostat and replaced the plugs. The 1 cylinder contain oil so I added an adapter to the 1st plug and pulled the car into a mechanic.

He informed me that the pistons were misfiring and ruining my plug. He informed that I would need a new engine that will cost me 1200 for a used one and 700 labor.

I am fed up.

No more for me.

31st Jul 2005, 00:11

I bought a 99 Saturn SW2 with 28000 miles in 2004. The car had been dealer maintained. The engine seized suddenly and without warning during a down-shift while exiting the freeway. The oil had been changed by the dealer 3000 miles ago and the car now with 41000 miles needs a replacement engine. I bought the car based on a reputation of reliability and safety after reading the other comments I am regretting not seeing this web page in 2004.

23rd Sep 2005, 10:58

I have a 1998 SC2. I bought it used with a branded title. Up until recently it has been a good little car. About two months ago I had to get the radiator replaced. I was scheduled to get the 02 sensor replaced next week. Then last night as I was leaving a parking lot, my transmission went out. One second I was pulling out of the parking lot, the next second I was flooring it and going nowhere. I got my repair man to look at it and he said I was ****ed, and not in a good way. I was thinking that because the car had been totaled that was the reason the transmission failed. Oh yeah, I also recently noticed that it was burning oil. After reading everything here on this site, I think I'm gonna just sell the car, and go back to Toyota, I've had a couple of those over the years and have never had this many problems.

21st Oct 2005, 06:44

I have a 1997 sc2 1.9 twin cam. I got my car in 2003 with 95,000 miles on it. About six months later it started burning oil badly. Now it has 117,000 miles and it burns about 5 quarts a week. I've also put 3 new transmissions in it. But even with all these problems my next vehicle will be a Saturn. I was wondering though if any of you knew a website or a store like Jc Whitney where I could buy a new motor. If any of you know can you email it to me thank you. carnell420@yahoo.com.

7th Nov 2005, 12:16

I have a 96' Saturn SC2 and well... I really can't complain about the car, I purchased it used with 96,000 miles on it, currently it has 203,000 miles on it, and still running strong. It does consume quite a lot of oil, especially if you use like 10W30 or 10W40 in it. I began using 20W50 Castrol in the engine and now I get about 1000 miles to a quart of oil which most car manufactures consider that to be OK. Of course the harder I run the car the more oil it consumes. Truthfully the car has been the absolute most reliable car I've ever had. All I've ever done to it is replace the engine mounts, tires, front brake pads, driver side window regulator and outer tie rod ends. Although I know other people to have had Saturns with fewer miles than mine and had far worse problems.

9th Nov 2005, 09:54

I own a 1997 SC2 and it currently has about 93,000 miles on it. I have had it for about 6 or 7 years. I feel that all that I do is fill it with oil. I also have another problem and I am hoping that someone else does too. My car has days when it just does not feel like starting. It just starts intermittently and it seems like sometimes it is due to the weather. I had not paid too much attention to it in the past, but this last year was a little ridiculous. It was literally every other day and then it became every other time I started my car. I had taken it in to three different people, included Saturn, 8 times in the course of 6 months. I took it to Saturn 3 times alone. They, of course, had no clue what was wrong with it. On top of that, every visit that I had ranged anywhere from $300 to almost $1500. This is so lame. My dad of course stepped in and called Saturn and talked to some regional manager. So we maid a claim on it, and when we took it to the dealership to have it looked at AGAIN, we told the mechanic the claim number. We were told that the regional manager was supposed to take a look at it, and of course never did. I feel cheated. Anyone else have a similar problem? I would really like to get down to the bottom of this.