Timing Tensioner Problems of Saturn LS

I took my car in for a tune up and found out the timing belt tensioner had gone bad destroying my motor.

See all problems of the 2000 Saturn LS 🔎.

I was driving the vehicle down the freeway at 65 mph when the battery light came on and shut off. Within the next minute the coolant light came on and shut off and then the car seized right there on the freeway. The car would not start so we had to have it towed. Once the shop looked at it they diagnosed that the tensioner had broke and the serpentine belt had melted. We are now looking at having to replace the entire engine.

See all problems of the 2001 Saturn LS 🔎.

The contact owns a 2001 Saturn l200 (n/a). The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning while ascending an incline. The contact inspected the vehicle and performed a diagnostic and found that the timing chain tensioner had separated from the cam shaft. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 51,000. Updated 06/18/lj the consumer stated there is a recall but, is being denied a repair under the recall. Updated 06/20/2013.

A strange noise sounded when I cranked the car to return home from the lake wales medical center (located about 15 miles from my home) after the car idled for a few minutes I was able to drive it home. When I drove it to the repair shop the noise got much louder. The repairman diagnosed the problem as noise from ting area due to tensioner pulley bearings; timing had jumped causing internal valve damage. Head work required: removed and replaced all 12 intake valves, ck'd and resurfaced both heads, installed timing belt kit, headset with bolts, camshaft seals, etc.

The contact owns a 2001 Saturn Ls. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph, the driver heard a pop and the vehicle powered off without any warning. The contact merged to the emergency lane and attempted to restart the vehicle and it failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing where the mechanic stated the timing chain needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign recall number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 53,116 updated 04/30/lj the consumer stated the vehicle had to be towed twice. The timing chain and tensioner broke. Also, four intake valves were bent, and two exhaust valves were bent.

Tl * the contact owns a 2000 Saturn Ls. The contact stated that while idling, the vehicle shook, the engine roared as the rpms decreased. The dealer reprogrammed the body control module, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer again and the timing chain, tensioner, and guides were replaced. The failure appeared to be remedied, but recurred a year later. The dealer stated that the timing chain could not be properly adjusted and was striking the guides, which produced the roaring sound in the engine. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.

While driving 55 mph the engine shut down. Safely steered car to shoulder of 2 lane highway. Tried to restart car. It would not restart. Had car towed to a Saturn certified mechanic. Mechanic found the timing chain had failed. Mechanic is not sure what failed first. (the chain, tensioner or oiler?) mechanic did state the chain guides did not seem excessively worn for the mileage of the car. Mechanic told me gm had problems with the timing chain, gear and oiler sets in this year make and model. Did some research online and decided to report this. We purchased this car new in 2001. Had it serviced every 3,000 miles at the dealer till warranty had expired. Serviced it my self from then on every 3,000 miles. From 36,000 to 157,000 miles we always used full synthetic 5w30 engine oil.

Timing chain failed on 2002 l200 with 111k miles on it. Car has been well maintained with no major defects or complaints. This was a very unsafe situation as the engine completely stalled and would not restart. I was able to maneuver into a parking lot safely without involving any other vehicles or pedestrians. The car is currently in the shop for repair and it has been determined that not only did the timing chain fail but the hydraulic tensioner has completely come loose and ended up in the oil pan. So far the repair, including the labor and chain kit, will run around $1500 if there is no other damage caused by the failure. I am having mechanic keep old parts since there is currently a preliminary evaluation underway. I want my parts available should they be needed. Since there was a recall on the 2001 model with the same engine and timing chain component I feel there should have been one on all models with this same engine/chain combination!.

See all problems of the 2002 Saturn LS 🔎.

My son was driving my 2000 Saturn Ls2 at 30 mph, when the car suddenly died and would not start. Upon further investigation, the was no compression when turning over the vehicle. My mechanic has told me that the tensioner arm holding the timing belt shattered. The timing belt on this vehicle had been replaced by the dealership 18 months prior. Luckily, my son was on a lightly traveled residential street at the time of the malfunction and was not injured nor were his passengers.

2000 Ls1 with approx 75000 miles started making a putting/fluttering noise. Took to dealer who stated timing chain cover had a hole from the timing chain due to the timing chain tensioner failing. Replaced the timing chain, chain cover, and timing chain tensioner. Work done according to statement. . . Chain, camshaft timing - replace. . . Chain pkg, gasket-en,seal asm, cover asm, oil change. Looked up info on internet after friend stated unusual that timing chain would fail under 100,000 miles.

2001 l300 Saturn 2. 2 l v6 timing belt tensioner seized while driving in late April 2008. Timing belt broke and engine jumped time and bent all valves according to Saturn of rt. 33, pennsylvania. Vehicle does not start, nor will run. Saturn dealership offered to change engine for $4500 and Saturn hotline offerred discount on new or used vehicle. No recalls were mentioned. Engine has 57-58,000 miles.

Car started to make loud rattling noise from the engine. . . I saw a small crack on the top of the cam cover about 4 in. Long. I went to a repair shop that I have used before and they said it was the timing chain hitting the cover!! this should never happened to a car with 61,000 miles on it ! I called and wrote to the mfg. In TN. And talked to the area mgr. And she advised bring the car to the dealer. I brought the car in and the service mgr. Said the chain tensioner failed and that caused the chain to hit the cover. The timing chain and all parts must be replaced $985. 00 + tax. The area mgr. Said there was nothing she could do for the repair cost that is a mechanical part and it just failed! I told her there was a recall for the 2001 yr. But mine was not included in the recall.

Time chain on an l200 Saturn (my 2002) after only 39,000 miles of usage. I had just parked the vehicle, and when restarting, the chain broke. Prior to this, I was hearing valve noise, but fortunately I pulled the automobile into a parking space. The breakage of the timing chain resulted in a complete destruction of the valves, chain, etc. And required full replacement and repair. This included the head, valves, chain, tensioner, sprockets, etc. Saturn indicated that a newly designed chain tensioner would be replaced during this repair and should prevent future failures. This redesigned part was supposed to correct a deficiency in oil delivery to the chain. Importantly, I had my vehicle serviced regularly by the Saturn dealer with all recommended oil changes, etc.

My car was paid off in may 2007 and the timing chain broke in November 2007. I brought it into the dealer about a year ago with poor fuel economy, rough idle in the morning, oxygen sensor failure and random cylinder misfire. The dealer could not isolate the problem. They pressurized the fuel system to check for leaks. Cleaned the injectors and charged me 150$. . . Did not help. They said it was probably a bad injector. . . Had the injectors checked and they were fine. Had the oxygen sensor replaced 3 times. Nothing helped. Turns out the tensioner on the timing chain was failing. The dealership never thought of this even though it is a very common problem on this motor. Well the problem persisted until the chain jumped and the car would not start. 1250$ is the estimate to install the updated timing chain kit not to mention the cost of a rental car, the time and aggravation caused by a Saturn design flaw. Ps. My car has 83,000 miles on it.

Not sure if I reported here already, but doing so again just in case. I own a 2001 Saturn l200 ("premium certified" pre-owned). It falls squarely within the date of manufacturer of the timing chain defect (my car was manufactured 2/01). I recently experienced the timing chain failure, to the tune of $2900 worth of repair cost. As written on the repair order, this was directly related to the tensioner (sp?) problem with the chain design. My failure happened upon starting my vehicle in my driveway; however, in my research about this problem, there are many, many people who experienced this while driving and it is only a miracle there have not been any deaths or serious injuries resulting from this defect (at least, not that we know of). My vehicle had 80k miles at the time. . . However, most of those miles were highway (long trips down south). I wonder whether it took so long for this to happen because I started my car less often that other people. In any case, I wanted to encourage a recall, since this is obviously a widespread defect and a dangerous condition not only to the owners of the vehicles, but to other drivers, as well. Search the web and see how many sites there are with stories of chain failure in this vehicle--I guarantee you will find hundreds--quite a large percentage for the short manufacturing period of this particular model, not to mention many other Saturn models with the same design. My date of failure is within a day or two--I don't have the paperwork with me.

2000 Saturn Ls timing chain failure. Engine noise from right front, dealer removed valve cover found piece of top chain guide missing. Dealer removed front cover and found chain to have excessive play. Replaced timing chain, guides and tensioner assembly cost of $846. 68 and later discovered no recall has been made other then with thousands of complaints of Saturn Ls and l-series sedans and wagons with bad timing chains and noise the only way to notice it failing is if you really pay attention to the car and the noise and can remain unnoticed to average owner and premature engine failure to result. Timing chain replaced at 72550 miles.

Engine knocking badly. Dealer listed cause as "weak timing chain tensioner"told it was not normal for the mileage (77468). Chain pkg cost $733. 86 (parts/labor) I've heard that there are many Saturns with this type of problem.

1) my car was operating normally until 8/26/06, when I noticed an oil leak. I discovered a 3" fissure in the valve cover, over the timing chain. 2) I removed the valve cover and discovered that the timing chain had ground away the upper guide and was working on "chewing through" the valve cover. The timing chain had not yet broken, but had it done so, I would be looking at over $2000 of engine damage. I was unable to drive the car until I repaired the timing chain issue. 3) according to a Saturn TSB 03-06-01-017, the original design of the oilier for the timing chain was ineffective. I have bought a "new design" timing chain kit from the dealer and installed it myself. I will keep all the old parts (guides, valve cover, chain, tensioner, etc. For a couple of months if the NHTSA wants them.

2002 Saturn l200 stopped working while driving 55 mph. The consumer had the vehicle to towed a service station. The next the day, the consumer was informed that the timing chain had broke. The consumer was told that the problem stemmed from a broken tensioner, which in turn caused the timing chain to fail.

Vehicle blew up, there no lights prior to the failure. Dealership said that the tensioner stopped the serpentine belt. After the car stopped the battery light did came on. Dealership said that the engine light would not come on because that was a mechanical problem not electrical. Dalso, ealership said that the serpentine belt shredded. Vehicle was serviced about one month prior to this and everything was fine.