2000 Saturn SL problems
Owners have filed 202 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000 Saturn SL. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. After that come electrical system (15%) and transmission (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 202 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 14 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 74 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 | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 14 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 12 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 11 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 17 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 74 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 60,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 74,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 14 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2000 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Saturn SL with enough data (133 complaints in that window). 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.
Hit mountain head on and car rolled and air bags did not deploy. Rear tire and drum broke off car while doing 50 mile per hour
I was traveling on the freeway at 75 MPH (speed limit.) the truck in front of me hit the brakes. I applied my brakes as I should have had enough distance to slow down enough. My brakes locked-up and I slid into the pick-up truck in front of me at about 65 MPH. The seat belts worked, but the air bags did not deploy. My car was totaled. I was injured and taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Had to replace transmission casing had a bad leak wiring harness from ignition caught on fire putting me and my families life at risk rattles real bad in rear portion of car heater quit working