2003 Saturn L300 problems
NHTSA has received 62 complaints about the 2003 Saturn L300, and 21% of them involve lighting. Next are electrical system (16%) and engine (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 62 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 51 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 51 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl*the contact owned a 2003 saturn l300. The contact's attorney stated that a ford vehicle lost control and struck the contact's vehicle on the driver side. The contact's wife struck her head on the left side and her hair was caught in the rear view mirror. The seat belt failed to restrain her and she died due to her head injury. Her son, seated in the front passenger seat, was properly restrained and sustained minor injuries.
I just put gas in the car and about 20 mins later I asked my 11 yr old do you smell gas and he said yes and within seconds we had smoke everywhere this could have kiiled us.
After turning on my left blinker, smoke starting coming from the steering wheel. I had it repaired this morning at the saturn dealership. I overheard two other calls of the same problem. In fact, one of the service advisors told the customer not to use their blinkers.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 saturn l300. The contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit a sharp and abnormal increase in engine rpms when attempting to accelerate. In addition, the vehicle would also exhibit an unusually loud roaring but would not respond. As a result, the catalytic converter failed. The dealer advised the contact that they are aware of the failure but they could offer no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was approximately 133,000.
Ignition switch will not start the car. It is in the off position. I am having a new switch installed. I do not understand why this car part is not on the recall list. All other 2003 saturns are being recalled.