AI DamageSaturn S-Series Coupe: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Saturn S-Series Coupe across 7 model years: 12 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
| Year | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) | YouTube repair videos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What fails most often
- 1 Tires 25% of all complaints
- 2 Steering 17% of all complaints
- 3 Air bags 8% of all complaints
- 4 Electrical system 8% of all complaints
- 5 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 6 Powertrain 8% of all complaints
- 7 Seat belts 8% of all complaints
- 8 Seats 8% of all complaints
- Tires: 3 complaints (25% of all).
- Steering: 2 complaints (17% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 1 complaints (8% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Engine and cooling: 1 complaints (8% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 12 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Air bags | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Dt: the consumer's vehicle had a recall for the seat adjustment. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealership, and they had the consumer's mother sit in the seat. They adjusted the seat for her and the seat would not move, now it is stuck in that one spot and it cannot be adjusted to go any farther back.
Her driver airbag and passenger airbag didn't deploy even though the damage pulled in both sides of the front of her car, and the utility pole went 14 inches into the front end of her car.
The contact stated that the vehicle began shaking badly and made a whining noise. The dealer has not replaced the tires. The current and failure mileages were 124,000.
I have had a problem with my oil disappearing. It is not burning off, and the dealership has checked for leaks, which do not exist. I have taken my vehicle in more than 5 times over 1.5 years for this problem, and the dealership will not fix it since it is not more than 2 quarts of oil disappearing per 3,000 miles…
The car would not go out of first gear the shifter cable was broken at the center console. This nearly caused an accident as it was in have traffic. The replacement equipment is only sold by saturan and costs $300 for the cable assembly however only the cable connection is defective. I have the defective part.
There is a clicking noise coming from under the parking brake area. The vehicle had not been inspected.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Steering. Steering play, power assist, rack and tie rods after a wheel impact.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.