1997 Saturn SC1 problems
Owners have filed 98 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Saturn SC1. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 16% of complaints. Next are seat belts (15%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 98 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 46,000 miles 15 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 15 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 46,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Saturn SC1 with enough data (48 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
When driving at 50 MPH and upon making a normal stop brake pedal traveled to the floorboard, causing extended stopping distance, and resulting in vehicle running into a field over a railroad. Vehicle was totaled.
When driver crashed hiead-on into a telephone pole, the seat belt did not lock, causing driver's head to hit windshield. Also the air bags did not deploy until after driver was thrown back into the seat from the impact. Driver's head, knees and wrist were injured in the crash. The vehicle had been totalled. Please provide any further information.
After stopping and parking the vehicle the reverse gear would not work. This problem has happened over fifty times since july 2003. Once the vehicle cooled down the reverse gear would work properly. The dealer examined the vehicle and determined that a new transmission is needed.
Dt*: the contact stated the passenger's seat belt retractor jammed. The vehicle was taken to a dealership and the dealer determined the retractor needed to be replaced. There is a NHTSA recall, # 97v161000 concerning the seat belts: front: retractor. The vehicle is not included in the recall due to the VIN. No repairs were made.