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2002 Saturn Sl

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2002 Saturn Sl do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 171.5.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

81 reports with mileage · 50 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 43 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

20 crash reports5 fire reports15 injury reports

What owners actually said

131 reports
211,795 miles · Jul 20, 2015
Electrical System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILED. THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS REPLACED ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 211,795. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WOUL…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILED. THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS REPLACED ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 211,795. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL EACH TIME. UPDATED 08/19/15*JB ALSO, THE STARTER WAS REPLACED. UPDATED 11/19/15.*JB

NHTSA ODI #10735168

Mileage unknown · Jul 3, 2015
Electrical SystemSteering

THIS VEHICLE IS A DEATH TRAP THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING, CAN NOT START, WHOLE STEERING COLUMN IS LOOSE, KEY COMES OUT DURING DRIVING. ...UPDATED 09/22/15 *BF

NHTSA ODI #10731864

77,000 miles · Mar 2, 2015
Electrical System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE KEY EJECTED FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO RUN IN THE ON POSITION WITHOUT THE KEY IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE MAN…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE KEY EJECTED FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO RUN IN THE ON POSITION WITHOUT THE KEY IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000.

NHTSA ODI #10691605

44,330 miles · Oct 10, 2014
EnginePower Train

SATURN IS AN L200 SERIES/THERE WAS ONLY THE LS ON YOUR LIST.NUMEROUS OCCASIONS OF ENGINE STALL WHILE TRAVELING AT ALL SPEEDS. CALLED SATURN/SAID VIN NOT ACCEPTED? LIVE IN FLORIDA KEYS/HAD TO GO TO MIAMI & GET TAIL LAMP FIXED/ONLY LASTED TWO WEEKS (THIS WAS BEFORE ENGINE STALL) & CALL TO SATURN. AM 69YR OLD FEMALE/AFRAID TO USE …

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SATURN IS AN L200 SERIES/THERE WAS ONLY THE LS ON YOUR LIST.NUMEROUS OCCASIONS OF ENGINE STALL WHILE TRAVELING AT ALL SPEEDS. CALLED SATURN/SAID VIN NOT ACCEPTED? LIVE IN FLORIDA KEYS/HAD TO GO TO MIAMI & GET TAIL LAMP FIXED/ONLY LASTED TWO WEEKS (THIS WAS BEFORE ENGINE STALL) & CALL TO SATURN. AM 69YR OLD FEMALE/AFRAID TO USE CAR/PAID FOR ALL SORTS OF REPAIRS/MODULES/SENSORS???AND MORE. NO ONE IN KEYS TO REPAIR VIA GM - SATURN SAID MIAMI ONLY. ROUNDTRIP OVER 200 MILES. AFRAID TO DRIVE/CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER CAR/MUST JUNK AND, OFCOURSE, SATURN SAID VIN # NOT UNDER RECALL FOR ENGINE OR ELECTRICAL. IS THERE ANY WAY TO RECOUP DOLLARS I PAID FOR ANY REPAIRS ON THIS CAR??? SO MUCH MORE THAN I AM LISTING HERE......THANK YOU NHTSA. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10643802

Mileage unknown · Oct 6, 2014
Air BagsElectrical System

WE HAVE A SATURN SL1 THAT HAS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM THAT THE CARS ON THE IGNITION RECALL LIST HAVE. THE KEY COMES OUT IN ANY POSITION - THE WHEEL LOCKS UP AND WE CAN'T GET IT TO UNLOCK - WE LIVE IN A RURAL AREA AND OUR ROADS ARE VERY ROUGH. WE FEEL THAT THE KEY MAY MOVE FROM THE RUN POSITION WHILE WE ARE DRIVING THE CAR AND …

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WE HAVE A SATURN SL1 THAT HAS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM THAT THE CARS ON THE IGNITION RECALL LIST HAVE. THE KEY COMES OUT IN ANY POSITION - THE WHEEL LOCKS UP AND WE CAN'T GET IT TO UNLOCK - WE LIVE IN A RURAL AREA AND OUR ROADS ARE VERY ROUGH. WE FEEL THAT THE KEY MAY MOVE FROM THE RUN POSITION WHILE WE ARE DRIVING THE CAR AND THE ENGINE WILL TURN OFF AND WE WILL BE IN GREAT DANGER. WE HAVE CONTACTED GM AND THEY SAID THAT SINCE THE CAR IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST - THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO....WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD INVESTIGATE THIS SITUATION. OUR CAR HAS BEEN SITTING IN OUR DRIVEWAY FOR 3 MONTHS, BECAUSE WE ARE AFRAID TO DRIVE IT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME -- AWAITING YOUR EARLIEST RESPONSE. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI #10641820

105,619 miles · Sep 29, 2014
Electrical System

KEYS COME OUT OF IGNITION DURING USE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10639765

110,000 miles · Sep 23, 2014
Service Brakes

I RECENTLY PURCHASED MY SATURN AND REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS IT WAS FINE THEN AFTER 200 MILES THE BRAKES STARTED GRINDING THEN WOULD STOP. CHECKED THE CALIPERS THEY WERE FINE HAD TO REPLACE THE ROTORS AGAIN DUE TO THE GRINDING BRAKES WERE FINE. 2 WEEKS LATER SAME THING THEN STOPPED IT STARTS AND STOPS GRINDING WHEN IT W…

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I RECENTLY PURCHASED MY SATURN AND REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS IT WAS FINE THEN AFTER 200 MILES THE BRAKES STARTED GRINDING THEN WOULD STOP. CHECKED THE CALIPERS THEY WERE FINE HAD TO REPLACE THE ROTORS AGAIN DUE TO THE GRINDING BRAKES WERE FINE. 2 WEEKS LATER SAME THING THEN STOPPED IT STARTS AND STOPS GRINDING WHEN IT WANTS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10638585

114,000 miles · Sep 8, 2014
SteeringCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. WHILE COMING OUT OF A LEFT TURN AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND EXCESSIVE FORCE WAS REQUIRED TO STEER THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE CONTACT TO DRIVE INTO A DITCH, OVER A LEVEE, AND CRASH INTO A PIPE. ONCE THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP, THE CO…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. WHILE COMING OUT OF A LEFT TURN AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND EXCESSIVE FORCE WAS REQUIRED TO STEER THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE CONTACT TO DRIVE INTO A DITCH, OVER A LEVEE, AND CRASH INTO A PIPE. ONCE THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP, THE CONTACT NOTICED THE IGNITION KEY WAS ON THE FLOOR. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE AND WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 114,000.

NHTSA ODI #10631621

115,000 miles · Sep 6, 2014
Steering

SPOUSE AND I USE CAR. THE VERY FIRST TIME THE OCCURRENCE HAPPENED, WAS WHEN PARKING CAR INTO DRIVEWAY, I WENT TO TURN OFF CAR IGNITION AND ACCIDENTALLY HIT KEY RING, AND THE KEY FELL OUT OF THE IGNITION, WITH THE CAR IN PARK, YET STILL RUNNING. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING THE CAR, THE CAR IS STILL RUNNING AND THE KEY …

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SPOUSE AND I USE CAR. THE VERY FIRST TIME THE OCCURRENCE HAPPENED, WAS WHEN PARKING CAR INTO DRIVEWAY, I WENT TO TURN OFF CAR IGNITION AND ACCIDENTALLY HIT KEY RING, AND THE KEY FELL OUT OF THE IGNITION, WITH THE CAR IN PARK, YET STILL RUNNING. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING THE CAR, THE CAR IS STILL RUNNING AND THE KEY EASILY SLIPS OUT OF THE IGNITION. ALSO, ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, WHEN TRYING TO UNLOCK THE STEERING WHEEL, THE KEY WILL NOT TURN WHILE IN THE STEERING IGNITION. WE WOULD HAVE TO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL MANY TIMES WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY TURNING THE KEY MANY TIMES TO UNLOCK THE IGNITION. ONE DAY SOON, IT MIGHT NOT TURN. YES, WE KNOW THE ADVISE IS TO USE ONLY A SINGLE KEY, NOT ONE ON A MULTI-KEY RING. HOWEVER, WE BOTH HAVE USED OTHER CARS FOR MANY YEARS, AND NEVER HAD SUCH DIFFICULTY OR FREQUENCY OF PROBLEMS AS THIS SITUATION. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10631281

90,000 miles · Sep 5, 2014
Electrical System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN SL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY WAS REMOVED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS ON. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000...UPDATED 10/06/14 *BF

NHTSA ODI #10630977

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.