[X]
Write ReviewJump to 
8
Helpful
Votes
Votes
Saturn Complaint - Timing Change - timing chain
timing chain - Complaint
The following is the complaint that I sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
I was driving home at approximately 9:30 PM on a very busy highway(RTE 695 - THE BALTIMORE BELTWAY) and was approaching the intersection of Interstate 70 when my car (Saturn 2000 L-Series) cut out with NO warning - no "idiot lights" - nothing. I was almost rear-ended by a semi and was fortunate to coast to the shoulder without and accident. Fortunately a Maryland State Police Vehicle stopped and provided flares for more visibility while I awaited a tow to the Saturn Dealership. My complaint is similar to a pending NHTSA case (PE06-006) in that the source of the failure is attributed to a timing chain that skipped. The Dealership refuses to recognize this wide spread problem as does Saturn Headquarters in Tennessee. They offer no mitigation to the $3,200 estimate for repair. If circumstances had been different, i.e., going up hill, rain or snow, I and my family could have been seriously injured in this Saturn with this KNOWN defect that DIED on the road with absolutely NO warning. Does someone have to die in an accident before this known defect is corrected? - end of complaint to NHTSA
I urge anyone who has had this happen to file a complaint with NHTSA (www.nhtsa.dot.gov) to help build a case to cause a recall. Additionally, file a complaint with you State Attorney General's Office... MAKE NOISE or Saturn will continue to cover up this defect and we, the consumer, will foot the bill for their error.
I was driving home at approximately 9:30 PM on a very busy highway(RTE 695 - THE BALTIMORE BELTWAY) and was approaching the intersection of Interstate 70 when my car (Saturn 2000 L-Series) cut out with NO warning - no "idiot lights" - nothing. I was almost rear-ended by a semi and was fortunate to coast to the shoulder without and accident. Fortunately a Maryland State Police Vehicle stopped and provided flares for more visibility while I awaited a tow to the Saturn Dealership. My complaint is similar to a pending NHTSA case (PE06-006) in that the source of the failure is attributed to a timing chain that skipped. The Dealership refuses to recognize this wide spread problem as does Saturn Headquarters in Tennessee. They offer no mitigation to the $3,200 estimate for repair. If circumstances had been different, i.e., going up hill, rain or snow, I and my family could have been seriously injured in this Saturn with this KNOWN defect that DIED on the road with absolutely NO warning. Does someone have to die in an accident before this known defect is corrected? - end of complaint to NHTSA
I urge anyone who has had this happen to file a complaint with NHTSA (www.nhtsa.dot.gov) to help build a case to cause a recall. Additionally, file a complaint with you State Attorney General's Office... MAKE NOISE or Saturn will continue to cover up this defect and we, the consumer, will foot the bill for their error.
Comments:
Posted by ibdami21 on 2006-05-18:
A skipping timing chain on a 6 year old car? Well, a poor design would allow this to happen. Good luck fighting GM to issue a recall! Hopefully no one has to become seriously injured to wake them up!
Posted by glc on 2006-05-18:
Fortunately, no one was hurt. Regarding a recall, most car manufacturers suggest timing belts be changed at 60-80K miles, and if your vehicle is 6 years old as stated, your probably near or at that mileage, decreasing the responsibilities of the manufacturer, if any.
Posted by KenPC on 2006-05-19:
How many miles are on this car?
Posted by Doc J on 2006-05-19:
Jay-I don't see anything in the post that says she didn't do the maint. Maybe she didn't. Maybe she did, but "Mr. Goodwrench" forgot to take care of this. I have multiple cars and depend on both my dealer and I to keep up with service. Dying shouldn't be a penalty for letting routine maintenance lapse. Yes, it will take a death or two for the problem to be addressed.
Posted by timdrum4him on 2008-08-17:
I just got done talking about this with a friend of mine. The timing belt should be changed around 60-80k. And yes it does cost about 3200 but if you have a haney's manual ($50) and buy a timing belt (around $40) you could install it yourself. If you can read you can avoid 3200. Saturn are great cars but just like any other car they have to be well maintained. Every car has its shortcomings, esp if you don't stick to a maintainance schedule. Your lucky, if you were going faster you could have chanced the pistons being damaged and then be paying for a new engine.
Do youself a favor, make sure your on top of the maintainance and do it yourself if you can. I love my saturn!!
Do youself a favor, make sure your on top of the maintainance and do it yourself if you can. I love my saturn!!
Posted by surferbabe on 2008-10-07:
The 4 cyl 2.2 Vue engine uses a timing CHAIN, not a belt. The timing chain is supposed to last the life of the engine. I just purchased a 2003 Vue with this engine and twice it has died while I was driving it, once on a highway access ramp late at night and once in the middle of a busy intersection at rush hour.
The first time, I was told it was a fusebox failure. Replacing the fusebox allowed the car to start and drive normally.
The second time, which was this week, the dealer I bought the car from (a Subaru dealer, as it had been traded to them for a new Subaru) is taking it more seriously and investigating the vehicle's history. Come to find out the car had this happen to the previous owners twice before they dumped it on the Subaru dealer, who unsuspectingly allowed me to buy it. Safety and performance checks showed the car to be running fine, as it does *sometimes*.
My chain hasn't broken yet, just slipped, causing the vehicle to lose power and fail to restart. I am anxiously waiting to hear how the dealer who sold me this used car is going to handle the repairs, which I'm sure will be very costly. It's not their fault someone decided to dump their problem car on them without disclosing that it had issues.
I already spoke with the Saturn dealer who serviced the car after the two incidents when the prior owner had it. They say that they did not realize it was the timing chain, either. First time they replaced the battery; second time a board near the fusebox. Both times the car worked fine after the repairs. I am concluding that shutting down the electrical system of the car and restarting it somehow resets things so the car can start and run a while longer, until the chain slips again.
Please don't be so quick to assume that someone isn't maintaining their car properly. In cars with timing chains, there is no protocol for replacing it unless you're changing the engine. And in my case, this happened to me with a car I'd driven less than 200 miles, and again after 300 more miles. I've had it less than a month.
The first time, I was told it was a fusebox failure. Replacing the fusebox allowed the car to start and drive normally.
The second time, which was this week, the dealer I bought the car from (a Subaru dealer, as it had been traded to them for a new Subaru) is taking it more seriously and investigating the vehicle's history. Come to find out the car had this happen to the previous owners twice before they dumped it on the Subaru dealer, who unsuspectingly allowed me to buy it. Safety and performance checks showed the car to be running fine, as it does *sometimes*.
My chain hasn't broken yet, just slipped, causing the vehicle to lose power and fail to restart. I am anxiously waiting to hear how the dealer who sold me this used car is going to handle the repairs, which I'm sure will be very costly. It's not their fault someone decided to dump their problem car on them without disclosing that it had issues.
I already spoke with the Saturn dealer who serviced the car after the two incidents when the prior owner had it. They say that they did not realize it was the timing chain, either. First time they replaced the battery; second time a board near the fusebox. Both times the car worked fine after the repairs. I am concluding that shutting down the electrical system of the car and restarting it somehow resets things so the car can start and run a while longer, until the chain slips again.
Please don't be so quick to assume that someone isn't maintaining their car properly. In cars with timing chains, there is no protocol for replacing it unless you're changing the engine. And in my case, this happened to me with a car I'd driven less than 200 miles, and again after 300 more miles. I've had it less than a month.
Note: All comments are reviewed by a moderator before being published. Please be sure to read our guidelines before commenting.
Company Reps: Post your company response!
