2002 Saturn SC problems
Owners have filed 45 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Saturn SC. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 27% of complaints. Next are air bags (13%) and engine (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 45 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 53,000 miles 32 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 | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 32 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 53,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 94,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Saturn SC with enough data (29 complaints in that window).
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 vehicle was in a head-on crash and none of the four airbags were deployed. My vehicle was a 2002 saturn sc2 ,and is now a total loss. It's VIN number is [xxx]. There were 4 people in the car and all sustained injuries, one serious.
On august 16, 2003 I carried the car to a midas location to have my brakes and alignment checked. Upon leaving they gave me an estimate saying I needed my rotors resurfaced, rear brakes serviced, and my front brakes serviced. Which came to a total of $148.21. So, therefore I called saturn, and had an appointment to have them check my brakes. On august 18, 2003 I took my car to the saturn dealership of columbus, and they resurfaced my rotors and stated that was all that was wrong.
On february 11, 2005 I was involved in a motor vehicle accident. I was at a complete stop and rear ended by a person most likely going about 45 miles per hour. I own a saturn sc1 2000. My seat went forward and then completely collapsed into the back seat. This is very significant for the following reasons. My 8 year old grandson typically rides in that very spot and if he were with me he certainly would have substained heavy injuries due to my weight and the speed in which the seat slammed backwards.
Almost from the start the steering column would lock up trying to start the car. Front and back lights have water inside, brakes have never worked right going all the way to floor with no air in lines. Sunroof also quit. Front driver door metal cracks when opening. Engine also looking like trouble.
Passenger airbag deployed while driving through a parking lot at approx. 15 MPH. Car went over a speedbump and airbag spontaneously deployed. No passenger was in the seat at the time. Vehicle ignition "locks" after key is removed, sometimes making it very difficult to turn key when starting car again. Key can also be remived while car is in motion without turning off the ignition.