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I had NEVER been a General Motors fan, but this Saturn has been something else!! Thanks!
(By the way, the last time I checked, I'm still getting a little over 36 mpg on the highway!!!)
In the last two years, I have replaced the battery, the starter, and had my power steering fixed. My car idles heavy and shudders. For the last few months, I have had starting problems; it is much worse when it is a cold start. I turn the key and the engine will turn over several times and then start. Sometimes I have to let it turn over a few times, then turn the key back, wait a second, and turn it again. The stalling problems have started around the same time (maybe a little earlier). My RPMs dance up and down with no pattern. Sometimes while in neutral, the RPMs will be so low then slowly drop until the car stalls. In these cases, I have to rev the engine to keep it running. There will be days when it stops at every stop sign or stop light, and other days that it won't stall at all (though rare). Sometimes instead of just slowing until a stall, it will dance up and down from almost stalling to "normal" quickly. During this time the electrical is affected; as the RPMs drop, the lights dim, as the RPMs rise, the lights become brighter. This low RPM and stalling problem happens about 85% of the time I drive. About 15% of the time it's basically the opposite. My engine will run so hard that I can shift through gears and drive without using the gas pedal, and while in neutral the engine roars at about 4000 to 5000 RPMs. About a week ago my car developed a new problem with starting. I turn the key and it clicks a few times and stops. All the electric goes out and my clock displays CCCCCCCC (just a bunch of C's) momentarily and then goes out. At first I thought the battery was drained, but after a few tries, it started right up (with the usual several turn overs before starting). I've found that leaving the car alone for a while and then trying to restart works a good portion of the time. Another trick that sometimes works is pumping the clutch quickly several times.
With this plethora of problems, I just don't know what could possibly be the problem. Does anyone have any ideas, or has anyone had similar experiences?
Thanks, in advance!
:confuse:
You might scan Saturn Problems and Solutions to see just how common this is!
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ee9975d/10
Good luck. Sorry I couldn't figure out how to convert this to a link.
The next day the "service engine soon" light came on. When I drove it a little less than 5 miles and after coming into a driveway to turn around it stalled, this happened when I stopped and then slowly pressed the gas.. then.. "cauplunk".
Today I added transmission fluid because the level was below low. Thought that that would do the trick, but unfortunately not, and the "service engine soon" light is still on. The engine oil level seems fine. But I guess whoever had the car before me drove it with below normal trans fluid and mostlikly did permanent damage.
I have noticed that it does this sometimes, after I have stopped (it runs smoothly in idle) then press the gas then it stalls. And while driving the car gets jumpy around 30mph (since its a 4 speed automatic its probably 2nd gear?)
Keeping the car in "perf" or I guess "over drive" helps to slightly reduce these chances. It feels like it tries hard to switch into first and other certain gears (like a very poor stick shift driver) This is my first car that I've had for 3 days! and besides this problem I love the car it has good pick up and is quite sporty and fast considering its automatic.
Does this sound like a major transmission problem? or minor?
Has anyone else experienced this problem?
Please e-mail me.. need any help/advice.
Hate to ask, but how much is 'a little below blue book' for a ten year-old Saturn with 177k miles, anyway?
I'd be most concerned about the transmission. I spent ~$800 to have my local Saturn dealer this Spring to attempt diagnosis on funky shifting to eventually replace a shift solenoid. I read up on it quite a bit and sounds like they are a bit finicky but like most sensitive to maintenance. make sure you have your tranny professionally flushed and the trans filter replaced. If you need repairs I'd recommend a local transmission shop who has no doubt had experience on Saturns. I thought my dealer would have more expertise but I was wrong, they were crooks.
Beyond that I think they are fairly solid. Pretty good power on the twin cam engine, I had some engine vibration at idle the same time as the trans issues and a new upper motor mount (~$200) made it smooth as new.
For $400 I think it's a deal...
Needless to say I wasn't impressed with their diagnosis skills, especially with what's a common problem.
My question is how hard is it to swap this part out. I see u just pull the battery and tray, then take out a lot of bolts to the pan on top, so once u get in there is this something u just unbolt and replace and ur done...or is there a lot more to it???
I am lost and in need of advice. HELP!
I did some investigating, checking all the fuses and checking for loose grounds...
It turned out to be the negative terminal on the battery was loose. I didn't notice it until I went to remove the terminal before I dug into the bottome of the fuse box.
Once I tightened it up everything ran fine after that.
Good luck
Hopefully it's a module that can be unplugged....before I tear the dash apart, i wonder if anyone knows exactly where this moronic module is located and whether it's easily disabled/unplugged...or (horrors!) is part of the instrument cluster itself.
I have checked the ABS / brake fuses and all are fine. Any suggestions on where else I should look? Is it possible for the ABS relay to be bad if none of the fuse have burned out?
Thank you!
The car was bought primarily out of necessity and as a means of transportation to and from my place of work. Last Monday, whilst performing an overtaking maneuver I was shocked to notice a loud clattering noise coming from under the hood, at first thought I considered the possibilities, lifters, valve springs, the valves themselves, the timing chain tensioner perhaps even a valve had broken but that would have lead to an engine failure. I have tried to see where the problem exists and have been driving the car for almost a week in this condition. The rattling noise occurs mostly whilst driving and the car is in gear at low revs and around a reasonable engine RPM "gearshift speed" and most rarely in 5th gear, neutral, idle and reverse there appears to be little or no unusual sound. I have heard rumour from sources at Saturn that the tensioners can clog and cause an array of issues. I have looked inside the Cylinder head cover (valve cover) and nothing appears to be untoward so far as damaged moving or static parts goes.
My car has under 78k and is surprisingly nimble and efficient, I am so used to driving German automobiles and swore I'd never buy an American Domestic brand. Originally from London, England now I'm beginning to reconsider my driving options. Can anybody throw some light in my direction.
Sincerely. Alex. PA.
Did you ever find out the problem? I have a 98 that does the same thing and would love to know...
Is it possible to remove and replace the bulbs, or is this deliberately designed to be a "Saturn-service only" procedure?
Many thanks for your advice.
Khadijah: dvprivok@dcsc.gov