Horn Assembly problems of the 1996 Saturn SL2

The contact owns a 1996 Saturn Sl2 sedan. On March 16, 2008, the horn started to blow without warning. The circuit breaker was disconnected to stop the horn from blowing. The national service center stated that the recall did not apply to the VIN; however, they later stated that they had no record of the recall. An independent mechanic replaced the horn. The mechanic stated that the motor in the horn was defective. The VIN, recall number, and engine size were unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 120,000.

1996 Saturn Sl2. Horn turns on by itself and won't turn off, had to unplug it. Have spoken to many people on the internet with the same problem, some of the people had the horn short out and cause a fire. I've almost been run off the road a few times because I couldn't honk the horn when someone was changing lanes and didn't see me. Very, very dangerous. Many people had to replace their horn more than 3 times.

I replaced my brakes and rotors today. The mechanic wanted to show me the mess that they were. I looked at them and he pointed out how unusually destroyed the inside pads are. He said he rarely sees anything that bad. The horn works when it wants to. The key gets stuck in the ignition and some days I really have to work hard to get it out or get the steering wheel to release so I can turn the key. Also the exhaust system is just hanging on before the rust overruns it.

Recall 98-v307. Saturn refuses to reimburse me for a repair that was outlined in this recall campaign due to the fact that my vehicle falls outside the VIN range. If you look at the recall documents, it shows vehicles all around my VIN but not my VIN. I had the two parts in question replaced 5/20/03 due to the fact that the exact same symptms described in the recall occured to my vehicle. The horn would sound with no one around. I finally had to disconnect the horn manually. I do not know exactly when it failed but I had it fixed on that date.

The vehicle experienced the same defect as stated in recall number 98 v 307 000, however the vehicle identification number was not included in the recall.

The horn had to be replaced 4 times.

Horn failed as in NHTSA recall campaign id #98v307000. Dealer denies VIN part of recall. Nhtsa web site lists "z" for Saturn model, which does not exist. Dealer required me to pay for replacement of horn.

1,2,3. Brakes have been a constant problem on this vehicle. First known problem was about 08/99 when dealer found pitted & blistered rear brake rotors. Replaced them "as a favor" since car was still under warranty (less than 36,000 miles). I had complained about lower gas mileage and feeling like car was "dragging" and had been told earlier that there were no problems - use a lower gear. In June, 2000, I noticed that my right rear brake disk was glowing red after a 36 mile freeway drive. Later, when I was able to get under the car, I found that the parking brake actuator on the driver's side rear caliper was frozen in the "on" position. Wd40 and muscle freed it, but it had to be left off at all times. The dealer found the disks to be warped, caliper ruined and front disks also warped. Pads were not terribly worn on the front. I have routinely gone 50,000 on pads in previous calls; the rear pads on this car had less than 15,000!! again, dealer implied it was my fault and not a defect by Saturn. #4. Speed control - device began erratic function - sped up and slowed down without warning; at times wouldn't turn on. Dealer fixed under warranty, but no notice of this problem. #5. Ignition switch - started having difficulty in turning on or fully off (locked position). First told by dealer it must be jammed with key shavings-if key shows brass color, must be replaced. Dealer found that there was a groove in the switch housing-due to use of a "heavy key chain by previous owner". I paid 50% - looks like cheap, soft metal housing-design flaw. #6. Horn failed without warning at around 26,000 miles - 3 1/2 year old car. Replaced under warranty. I wonder what will fail next - all of these could have led to an accident.

Horn assembly failed in same manner as recall, Saturn claims this vehicle not part of the recall.

Difficulty accessing horn buttons in emergency situations, buttons are too small.