Jennifer
Pittsburgh,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, June 27, 2004
I just want to say that I have seen this before. If someone is not familiar with Saturn vehicle, they also do not realize how important maintenance is. We have customers who have 200K+ miles on their Saturns and we see them regularly for maintenance mostly. We also have many customers still driving Saturns from 91, 92, 93, etc. Saturn's engines have a timing chain. It is imperative that oil changes are done at the proper interval to PREVENT this type of damage (which is why it's called PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE). I tell customers to make sure they are doing this whether they are coming back to the dealer or elsewhere. A $30 oil change is like a small insurance policy. 10k miles is way too long to wait for an oil change--I wonder how much longer you would have went on that oil change if the car did not die first... The chain needs proper lubrication. When the oil is not changed, it will become thick like tar or sludge. This can cause the timing chain tensioners to stick or break. When this happens, the engine may jump time and cause extensive damage. Just checking the oil level will not prevent this. Just because the oil is full does not mean the oil is still good. It also does not show that the oil filter (if old and not changed) may be plugged not letting oil get through, hence causing the engine to starve for oil. 9 times out of 10 lack of maintenance is the issue. I am wondering if Jo at least has documentation or receipts for oil and filters--that may help your case a little I think. One other thing--the engine light is mainly emissions related.
Marie
Durham,#3Consumer Comment
Tue, May 18, 2004
I bought a brand new saturn in 1996, got it serviced at saturn and tire king every 3 - 5k miles. At 45,000 miles with no warning while driving to work the engine ceased. Of course just outside the warranty and saturn were unwilling to stand by their product. So I fixed it, got a replacement engine from saturn with 17k miles. Exactly two years later and only 15k miles on the replacement engine, the exact same thing happens, driving to work and the engine ceases, told by saturn that it needs a new engine. Not only that, a saturn employee called me at home to ask if I am willing to sell the car to him personally so he could fix it up and pass it on to ?. I have all the service records and it was done by reputable mechanics, if you can call saturn that. I am happy to say that I am actively dissuading people from buying a saturn and have successfully done that in a few cases. Hey, you got to start somewhere. In summary a saturn with two engines at 61k miles, and awaiting a third.
Cory
San Antonio,#4Consumer Comment
Wed, May 05, 2004
Most people change their oil at 3000 mi or 5000 mi or at the most 7500 mi in rare cases. 10,000 miles is really stretching it. Just checking your oil doesn't do anything for the engine. Why do you think they call them idiot lights? Also, did you purchase the vehicle from Herb Chambers or is he just the one who is giving you the bad news? It sounds like your problem is with Saturn. I wonder how many times you changed the oil, once every 32,000 miles or more often or did you just check it. There is no excuse for rudeness though. The little engines they are putting in the new cars are nowhere near as rugged as the older ones and you can't get away with skipping on the maintaince the way you use to, they run much faster and hotter. Good luck.