2001 Saturn LS problems
The 2001 Saturn LS has 708 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (48%) concerns engine. After that come electrical system (12%) and lighting (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 708 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 48% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 21
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 9
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 517 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 | 26 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 38 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 89 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 103 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 106 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 79 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 28 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 23 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 15 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Among the 517 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 80,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 87,000 miles (301 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 21 complaints mention a fire; 19 injuries reported; 9 deaths reported.
It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
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.
My daughter [xxx] was the passenger and [xxx] was driver. The kids went for drive and were found the next early morning around 6am. The car was so burned and destroyed the kids could not be identified, and all who were there questioned the straight tire tracks without any correction or over correction in the steering of tire tracks, no braking in the county road tracks, and with fracture and damage of the skull area we later were told that the air bags never deployed!
I have had constant vibration thru the steering wheel while driving at highway speeds. I have taken the car to my saturn dealership 4 times to have it repaired and is still an issue. This makes the car difficult to handle or manuver on the highway.
I was driving a 2002 saturn l-100 with 72,000 miles on it. I was stopped waiting for the traffic to clear, and when it did, I stepped on the gas to merge with the highway traffic. At about 45 MPH, the car stalled and I coasted it to the side of the road. I was unable to start the car, and had it towed. The mechanic told me that the engine had suffered a timing chain failure. I was lucky that there was little traffic, as I would have been unable to avoid anyone or anything had circumstances been different.