1993 Saturn SL problems
Owners have filed 228 complaints with NHTSA about the 1993 Saturn SL. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. After that come engine (15%) and transmission (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 228 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 31 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 21 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 63,000 miles 16 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 | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 16 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 62,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 31 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 21 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 82% 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 1993 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Saturn SL with enough data (116 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
While driving in rain, applied brakes (ABS) which failed, another vehicle hit sl2(2nd crash); (1st crash occurred when consumer hit another vehicle which was making a u-turn, driver's air bag did not deploy.
Was driving along highway north and hit a vehicle in the center. The air bag did not deploy, resulting in an injury. Vehicle is in for repairs, and dealer is waiting to hear from general motors.
Consumer was backing out of a parking space, driving approximately 5-10MPH she was struck by another driver . When thrown against the seat belt, the the seat belt disconected and consumer was injured.
Consistent problem with engine check light/abs light, and battery light coming on and off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who indicated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. After the consumer left the dealer all the dash lights illuminated and the vehicle shut down.
Problems with the harmonic balancer having excessive run out causing improper serpentine belt alignment which created excessive belt wear. If problem is left unattended, serpentine belt/balancer can separate causing engine stall and loss of power steering which may cause accident. Contacted manufacturer but did not acknowledge a problem existed even though the balancer was redesigned. Balancer was replaced by the owner as a precautionary measure to prevent potential hazards.