general problems of the 2001 Saturn LS - part 2

I have a 2001 l200 Saturn. My car has approximately maybe 120,000 miles on it. I went to a mechanic and he told me the timing chain is messed up. I contacted another mechanic to find out about the price. He told the price ranges from 1000-1500 dollars. Today I decided to see if I could find someone to repair this car at a much cheaper rate until I came across all these issues people are having with their Saturn timing chain.

Timing chain broke. Engine is freewheeling, interference motor, cylinder head damage. A new motor was needed. I was driving on a highway at about 45 mph. When it happened. I was luck there was a turn out. It was a two lane, curvy road.

Our 2001 Saturn has a broken timing chain and with little help from gm or the Saturn corp. Our local dealer is doing everything they can, but their hands are tied to an extent. Our car has just under 70,000 miles and we are the original owners and have taken care of the car. This has happened and we feel there needs to be some accountability from the manufacturer.

While driving a recently purchased 2001 Saturn l-series home the timing chain broke, ruining my engine and leaving me stranded. My date of manufacture is 10-2000, one month before the recall.

Loud tapping @ highway speed, towed to mechanic who said engine needs to be replaced. Online search revealed recall of 2001 l2 series Saturn for timing chain failure. I never received notice which would have prevented this damage, which mechanic says will be aprox $2000. 00.

Timing chain failing per my mechanic car occasionally chugs & sputters at stop light, typically when air cond in use nothing replaced or done yet due to cost & potential recall.

I have a 2001 Saturn l200 with the 2. 2 liter 4 cylinder with 73,500 miles on the odometer. It would not start,I had it towed to a Saturn shop where they called me back and sad it was a loose timing chain and the damages are anywhere from 2400 to 3000 dollars.

My car engine wouldn't turn over. Mechanic diagnosed it as timing chain broke. My mechanic advised me of a recall for this part for my car. I never received a recall notice. I called Saturn dealer to inquire about this recall. They told me it didn't pertain to my particular car even though my car is 2001 Saturn l-series model described in the recall notice recall number 06074. I was not satisfied with Saturns response to me . I told them this was a safety issue & they should take responsibility for it. I ended up paying over $900. 00 to get it fixed. I told Saturn I would be reporting this problem to you.

My 2001 Saturn, l200 series, stopped suddenly while driving. I had the car towed to a nearby Saturn dealer after I was unable to restart it. The dealers service department informed me that the my timing chain was broken and in the process, some valves were bent. I was led to believe by the dealer that it was probably due to a low quantity of oil. I was told that I needed another motor and the cost would about $2,900. 00. I told them that I was not in a position to have them repair the car and that I would have it towed to another location. Currently, the car is in the process of being repaired by an independent auto mechanic who informed me that my car's timing chain should not have broken, with only 88,000 miles. Also, he said that the car had sufficient oil (my last oil change in April, 2008) and that it had nothing to do with the timing chain breaking. At this time, he believes that to fix the car, he will need to repair the engine head, as well as the timing chain and several valves and replace oil and oil filter.

I was driving on the highway when my timing chain in my 2001 Saturn l200 went. I contacted Saturn and they said there is a recall for 2001 timing chain but not for my VIN #. It just doesn't make sense.

2001 Saturn l200. The timing chain broke in this car while my wife was driving it at 64mph. The result included 8 damaged valves and it will cost thousands of dollars to repair. I am trying to do the work myself because I cannot afford it. Even with me doing the work it is still very expensive.

I have a 2001 l200 series Saturn. I have had for 1 year. While driving over the weekend about 75 miles away from home, my car was on the interstate at a speed of about 65 miles per hour when it suddenly quit running. I was in the middle lane of the interstate and had to quickly change lanes and get the car off busy I-75. I had to tow the car home after learning that the car had a broke timing chain. My tow bill was 150. 00. I have no idea what it will cost to repair my car. I bought this car to help with fuel mileage.

My 2001 Saturn l200 failed to start due to a broken/damaged timing chain. The vehicle has 101,000 miles. I was disappointed to learn that this particular failure is well known on this vehicle, and in fact a recall was issued for certain vins in this same model year of vehicle. However, my VIN was not included. This damage caused me to incur $1900 worth of repairs. I was lucky that the issue occurred in my driveway and not out on the highway as some consumers have reported. Saturn and general motors are not doing their due diligence to help consumers repair their vehicles before problems occur and potential safety concerns arise.

The timing chain failed while my wife was driving on the hwy at 50mph. Fortunately she was able to coast to the side of the road. Upon hearing about the Saturn recall for the same problem, I submitted mt claim to Saturn for reimbursement. They called me about a week later to tell me that my claim was being processed. About a week ago they called to tell me that my claim was denied. I requested but have not received written confirmation of that denial. I suspect that the denial was based on the fact that my Saturn was manufactured in 09/00 and the recall was for cars manufactured from 11/00 to 02/01. I request that the recall order be expanded to include the date that my car was manufactured.

Crankshaft position sensor failed causing immediate loss of engine power, power steering and power brakes. Failure occurred with any warning and could have caused a serious accident.

My timing chain broke while driving down zkinsie Ave in racine WI. I was traveling at 35 mph when the car just died. I lost pwr steering and pwr braking and had to wrestle the steering wheel in order to get out of the intersection and coast to the curb. I'm just glad there was no semi-truck following close behind me.

Timing chain failure, vehicle died while driving on highway. Had repaired to the cost 3k. Now car is not shifting and is sitting in driveway, waiting to be hauled to a transmission shop.

I drive a 2001 Saturn l200. It has about 60,000 miles on it. My car was taken in to a tire shop to get new tires. The maintenance man went to turn on the car and the key would not turn. We ended up calling Saturn and, at first, they said it was a worn key and that we could come in and they would make us a new one. So we did that, and the key still wouldn't turn. We had the car towed to the dealership and they said it needed a new ignition cylinder and housing. We went to pick up the car and the maintenance guy turned the car on and it started up fine. He turned it off to do some paperwork. He got back into the car, turned it on, and all it did was "spin. " they came out to tell us that the timing chain broke. Now they are trying to make us pay for it, even though it wasn't in our possession at the time. I just got through reading about all the other cars of the same type that have had the same issue, only I was lucky that the car wasn't moving. More parts didn't get damage. Also, I would have had to get on the highway to come home. I'm pretty sure my car stopping on the highway during rush hour traffic due to something that is breaking in many of the same cars is a safety hazard. No parts have been placed so far, though I was told that only the timing chain would need replaced.

In 9/2007 I was driving my 2001 Saturn l200 on a city street, pulling out onto a busy street near a school. The car lost power and died. I was able to pull to the side of the road. I had the car towed to a local mechanic who stated that the timing chain separated and damaged the valves etc. And the car needed the engine replaced. I agreed to let the mechanic replace my ruined engine with a newer, but used, engine, as it was all I could afford. Recently I discovered the recall of Feb '08, and my vehicle falls within the range of recalled vehicles. However, when I tried to get reimbursed, gm claimed my car did not actually fall under the recall because the issue was attributed to a small part that apparently my car did not have. From the information I have gathered on the internet, I am not the only one who has faced this issue. I am requesting that the recall be expanded to include all cars in the range. Regardless of the small part issue, my car met the same repair issues - timing chain separating and destroying the engine.

Timing chain on my 2001 Saturn l200 broke with no warning at about 90,000 miles. I was driving at about 15 miles an hour on a city street. I was able to pull over safely after losing all power. After reading many, many posts about problems with Saturns of the same year/model with the 2. 2l engine, I felt I needed to report that I also experienced the chain breaking while driving. The mechanic stated that the chain "bunched up" bending several valves and breaking a piston resulting in the need to replace the engine. The car had been serviced on a regular basis. I did not drive the car for 5 months due to another issue that was not affected by nor had an affect on the timing chain issue.

In June of 2007, my husband and daughter were traveling to los angeles, when our 2001 Saturn l200 (with only 65,714 miles) stopped running on the freeway outside of santa barbara, CA. That morning the car started, drove off fine and gave no warning of anything going wrong, until the car's engine immediately stopped and fortunately they were not involved nor the cause of an accident. The Saturn was towed and the mechanic informed us that it needed a new engine as the timing chain broke. Upon calling Saturn we were informed that the car was no longer under warranty, and they would not pay for the new engine. We did file a complaint with the Saturn customer care center. We incurred a $3,000+ repair bill before having the engine rebuilt. After further investigation, we had learned that the '00-'03 l series were being investigated by the NHTSA and consumer affairs. We filed a complaint with the consumer affairs , but not with NHTSA as our year, make and model was currently under investigation. Yesterday, we looked at the NHTSA site to see the outcome of the Saturn l200. Again after contacting Saturn they stated that the recall did not affect our VIN.

On Monday, July 9, 2007 my car had problems cranking, and then had problems taking off. My husband took the car to our local mechanic and was advised that there were problems with the timing chain. I have now had a very expensive car repair bill to have to foot. At this point, because of the unreliably and safety issues, I have now purchased a new Honda that I can depend on. From the hundreds of listings I have found online I do see that this is not unique to my car but there are many, many others with the same problem. I have always had my oil changed every 3,000 miles and believe this to be ridiculous.

The contact owns a 2001 Saturn l200. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly stopped on its own. The vehicle was pulled over and towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the cause of failure was a faulty timing chain. The contact notified Saturn and discovered that this is a common failure among Saturns. He feels as if this is a manufacturer defect that should be repaired. The current and failure mileages were 103,000. Updated 02/01/08.

Timing chain failure at 23,600 miles.

The timing chain broke after only 31,000 miles on a 2001 model Saturn l series.

Traveling on rte 27 south in avon park florida engine died with no warning. I was able to coast to the side of the road and get vehicle towed to alan jay Saturn in sebring. After three days of waiting they told me the timing chain had broke and would cost $1000 to fix. I was told it was an unusual occurrence. I find this not to be the case. They replaced the chain then told me some valves were bent and would cost $1600. 00 more. I was almost in an accident due to the sudden loss of power. It was fortunate I was able to make it to roadside.

Catalytic converter failure.

The timing chain on my 2001 Saturn l200 broke, which caused the pistons to stop working, which totally ruined my engine. I only have 36,000 miles on the car! there was no warning that anything was wrong, my car stopped running while I was driving it. Luckily I had not entered the thruway yet. I had to have my car towed and repaired. It cost me $2,479. 50 to have this repaired. If I had been driving on a more crowded street or the highway, I could have been seriously hurt, as well as anyone around me. I contacted Saturn because several people that deal with cars, say this should not have happened with the low mileage. I did call the cops because I ended up in the middle of a school zone in a no parking area. I did cause terrible traffic congestion. The tow truck came and took the car away before the police showed up.

- the contact stated that on the evening of 12/29/06 vehicle would not start. The contact stated that the week before he was having problems accelerating the vehicle. The contact called the mechanic and he pushed the vehicle to the auto shop. The mechanic informed the contact that the timing chain broke. The contact stated that the mechanicwas replacing the timing chain, and then he will be able to tell if any valves were bent. 8ak.

I was traveling on the interstate @ a speed of 70 mph when my car just suddenly died. I had my two children in the back seat and was lucky that I was near an off ramp. My car was towed to a mechanic who said that the timing chain had snapped and that it had bent all of the pistons. The total cost of repair was over $1600. 00. I later found out about the recall and was upset to find out that my VIN was not included. Saturn said it must have been a coincidence that my car was affected by the same thing that the recalled vins were affected by. Saturn needs to recall all cars that the timing chain were used in. This was not a coincidence!.

Timing chain separation and failure at highway speed. Caused much engine damage with repair cost at $1,800.

Timing chain failure on my 2001 Saturn Ls 200 at highway speed. I understand this is not an uncommon problem.

Wife's car. . . She noticed a noise,took to mechanic. . . Timing chain broke. Damage to pistons. . . . Reported to (geico mechanical breakdown insurance) inspector came out said lack of oil changes. Wanted records. . . I do all oil changes. Many incidents reported on internet. Tech service bulletin 03-06-01-017. Saturn says only for dealerships to read . . . Saturn l200 with 63000 miles.

On August 4, 2006 my 2001 Saturn l series sedan did not start. As the Saturn dealership is 20 miles away, I had my car towed to a local auto repair shop. I was informed that the timing chain on the vehicle and gears were defective. The mechanic and myself thought this was odd as the car has only 49,145 miles on it. Luckily, I was not driving the car when this failure occurred, although I could have been. I researched this problem and found there is an ongoing investigation concerning this problem in my type vehicle. I contacted Saturn and was told there would be no reimbursement as this was not an open recall for my car. The cost to repair this defective part was $940. I have had the gears and timing chain replaced and still have the defective parts.

The car would start rocking when waiting for a light. It would loose power at low rpms and eventually the whole head had to be replaced because the Saturn service center in clarence did not tell us to check the timing chain. Typically I travel on expressways and a blown engine could have caused a multiple car crash.