1998 Saturn SL problems
Owners have filed 222 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Saturn SL. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 13% of complaints. After that come engine (11%) and brakes (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 222 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 13% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 26 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 32 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 66,000 miles 43 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 43 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 66,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 26 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 32 injuries reported; 2 deaths 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 1998 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Saturn SL with enough data (137 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 brother was killed june 24, 2005, in a single car accident. He was driving a 1998 saturn sl on an interstate in mississippi, the saturn went out of control, his seatbelt (which he always wore) and he was ejected from the car. Since his death, I've found on nhtsa's site almost 30 different complaints from 1998 saturn sly owners describing serious failures of that cars stability, brakes, steering, and air bags---all of which resulted in the car going out of control.
Caution: saturn automatic transmision may be dangerous if it hesitates and clunks into gear or downshifts inappropriately. Saturn's computer diagnostic system may not detect dangerous transmission control condition. Saturn corp. Policy on paying dealer for diagnostic work for warranty items may discourage dealer from further investigating possibly dangerous conditions.
The vehicle stalled intermittently while driving. The cam switch was replaced twice, the idle control was adjusted and the throttle was replaced yet the problem recurred. The vehicle lunged forward when the vehicle was shifted in reverse. The transmission was replaced.
While parking my 1898 saturn sl in a hospital garage, the shift lever went limp without warning. There was no way to operate the transmission. When I removed the console, I discovered that the plastic bushing that connects the manual shift lever to the shift cable was missing. There was no longer any connection between the shift lever and the cable to the transmission. The entire shift cable assembly had to be replaced to fix the problem.