Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with saturn

Where can I buy reasonably cheap, reliable air filters for my 1997 Saturn SL2?

RobotHeart — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:10:25 -0800

Where can I buy reasonably cheap, reliable air filters for my 1997 Saturn SL2? I would prefer to walk into a store where I can talk to someone. I live on the border of Cuyahoga and Lake County near Cleveland, Ohio, if anyone wants to give region-specific advice. My car drinks oil a bit because the seals on the engine are getting old. I used to get my air filter checked every time I went for an oil change, but now I find it needs oil every 2k miles or so and the oil doesn't seem to be thickening, so now I top off the oil myself and go for professional changes a little less often. So I figure I should have a couple of filters around, too. But I don't know much else about cars. I can tell you I recently had to have my muffler, muffler strap and catalytic converter replaced (in a really good experience at Rainbow Muffler in Willoughby Hills -- seriously, ask for Ed, you'll love him), so I'm betting my air filter is pretty disgusting by now.

Why are there no Saturn 5 rocket plans?

micklaw — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:31:48 -0800

Why was NASA made to destroy all copies of the Saturn 5 rocket plans before funding of the space shuttle was approved?

Should I get a new car?

jenfu — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:48:43 -0800

Should I keep my Saturn that suddenly needs quite a few expensive repairs or get a new car? I have a 2000 Saturn SL1 automatic. I've had few problems since I bought it used five years ago, but I also haven't taken the best care of it either. I have gotten the oil changed regularly but haven't had a good tune up in probably over a year. Maybe even two.

Suddenly, it has many issues. I just dropped $280 getting a variety of small things repaired. Then this last weekend, I had to replace the front brakes and they found a host of additional problems. The fuel pump needs to be replaced pretty badly, which will cost about $600 including some other work that needs to be done to clean some other area of the car out to make the fuel pump work better. Then the top engine mount is broken, a small oil leak is forming and a few other things that will cost another $500 - $600. Just FYI, I'm taking it to the dealer, which is probably a bit more expensive than other options but on the other hand, seems trustworthy.

I'm just about to make my last payment! I'd been looking forward to a time with no car payment, but now I'm wondering whether I should just buy a new car. (Looking at the Honda Fit.)

Any advice? Anyone who has a Saturn who can give me an idea of how well they do as they age? Is this just a fluke or will the car continue to be a money pit at this point?

Thanks much!

How can I get Saturn to take this potentially dangerous car off my hands.

Becko — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:35:06 -0800

Car systems randomly shut down a week and a half after purchasing it. How can I get the dealership to take it back? On January 15 I bought a used 2003 Saturn ION from my local Saturn dealer. Tonight my fiance and I were driving it back to our home town (an hour and a half drive) when suddenly all of the systems in the car just shut down. The gauges all went down to zero, the antilock brakes and power steering stopped working, all the various lights came on- oil light, seatbelt light, emergency brake light. We were on the highway and so we took the next exit and thought maybe turning the car off and on might help. (It works with computers and this seemed to be a computer issue). However, when we tried to turn the car back on it wouldn't start. The engine would turn over, but it would immediately die. After about five tries we were able to get it started again by hitting the gas at the same time as turning the key.
We took a chance and drove it to the nearest Saturn dealer. On the drive over the systems kept turning off and on. For most of the drive the gauges weren't working, but they would randomly turn back on. The garage was closed but the sales floor was open. They had us pull the car into the garage and said they'd check it out tomorrow morning. However, despite the extended warranty we purchased, we were told we are going to have to pay diagnostic fees and perhaps other fees. When we had brought the car in, the guy didn't seem that surprised by the problem. He was more surprised that the car didn't just shut off because apparently the 2003 model will just randomly shut down without warning.

I plan on taking a trip to the Saturn dealership where I bought it (both my parents and my fiance's parents offered to come with). We had a 150 mile/3 day window where we could have returned the car no questions asked. Basically I'd like for them to expand that window and just take the car back. What is the best way to get the results we'd like in this matter?

tell me a tale..

Industrial PhD — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:53:00 -0800

AutoFilter: In your experience, is it worth the higher price to take your vehicle to the dealer for routine service than a third party? My question is basically, is there any measurable difference in the quality of work or service that would make the higher price of taking a vehicle to a dealership for service rather than a third party place like a Midas or Pep Boys, etc. I know it's rather subjective, but any experiences you can share on either side is appreciated.

Bonus points if you have any Saturn stories.

What could cause a grinding sound in a '99 saturn?

the ghost of Ken Lay — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:56:37 -0800

What could cause a loud grinding sound in a '99 saturn? I bought a used saturn a couple of years ago and its always made a grinding sound when accelerating. Its pretty loud and more than a few people have commented on it. I've put almost 20k miles on with this sound. It currently has 83k. I swear I've let a mechanic drive it for unrelated reasons once and he didnt even mention it (I might be confusing this with a different car).

Its a loud grinding noise coming from the right hand side of the car clearly from the engine compartment. It can be intermittent. I usually hear it in first and second gear, but also have heard it in third gear. If I let off on the accelerator it tends to go away or it just grinds much more quietly and intermittently.

I'm worried its the transmission, but I dont have any slippage or any other issues. I've recently replaced the transmission fluid as dictated by the maintenance schedule and havent noticed any difference.

I'll probably take it to a mechanic soon, but would like to be a little informed before going through the repair process. That is if it even needs repairs. Could it be something like a CV joint? Or the engine? Maybe this car is just loud? Its the sc1 with the wimpy 100hp engine.

Saturn in Virgo, UGH!

Carnage Asada — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:21:06 -0800

Saturn in Virgo. I'm a Virgo. Everything out there says this is going to SUUUCK. What can I expect? What can I look forward to? Thanks in advance :).

Saturn President's Day Sale TV Ad Song

jspierre — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 14:33:03 -0800

What is tha name of the song in the new Saturn commercial for President's Day? There is a song that sounds like a remix of the traditional U.S. Presidential Suite song on the President's Day commercials for Saturn that are running right now. Does anyone know what the title is and who's the artist of this remix?

Saturn '98 SC2 idling problem after highway driving

Java_Man — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:07:59 -0800

Why does my '98 Saturn SC1 have odd idling problems after more than an hour of highway driving (i.e. it sometimes revs high, sometimes it drops to nothing and stalls)? According to the mechanic, the car's onboard computer shows no signs of trouble. Outside of this, it does not exhibit any other kind of issues. The stalling I could deal with, but the revving is problematic. At toll booths, I really have to hold down the brake to prevent it from lurching (or throw it into neutral, of course).
It has been tough to have it diagnosed because it only happens after an hour or more of driving at 65mph.

How do Saturn's rings stay distinct?

nightengine — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:31:47 -0800

How do Saturn's rings stay distinct? I realize that shepherd moons are responsible for keeping some rings from spreading out, but does that hold true for the dozens (hundreds?) of distinct rings you see in photos? That seems unlikely, since these objects would be large enough to observe. I must be missing something--with my admittedly dim recollection of physics--since otherwise, wouldn't the ring system become one undifferentiated disc without some external influence?

aa.metafilter.com

alan — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 15:00:09 -0800

After sitting un-started for about two weeks, my car won't start. What should I do before fleeing to the AAA? I recently moved from a city where a car was a "necessity", to a city where you don't often need one. So, my Saturn SL-2 (model year 2000) sits in the same on-street parking space most of the time, with me starting it once a week as Car Talk has taught me to.

Unfortunately, I'd let this little weekend ritual slip for at least a week, maybe longer, and when I went to start my car this afternoon, it would crank, but never start/catch. The cranking also sounded much scrathier than it normally does.

So, being a mostly clueless american car owner, I did one of the new things I know how to do. I checked the oil. It was low! I bought three quarts of oil (5W-30) and added then one at a time, checking the dip stick between quarts until I was at the magic "full" line.

I then let the car sit for 10 minutes and tried starting it. The cranking sounded less scratchy (although that may be my imagination), but it still wouldn't catch.

Before I go running to the AAA, I thought I'd ask is any of the resident gearheads had any advice.

Are Saturn cars any good?

redteam — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:05:10 -0800

I want to buy a used station wagon in Los Angeles, California. I'm a Japanese car guy through and through but I can't seem to find anything that's not too old. There are a few Saturns, though. I heard they're alright. Are Saturn cars actually any good? I'm going to take a look at a 2000 Saturn LW1 wagon (automatic). Anyone have any experience with this car? Are Saturns good at all? Seriously, buying a non-Japanese car scares the hell out of me. Am I doing the wrong thing here? Is this car going to explode into a million pieces at 100,000 miles? Feel free to recommend alternatives, as well. I'm definitely going for a station wagon.

What are the chances that my clutch will go completely in the next three weeks?

mygothlaundry — Tue, 17 May 2005 06:55:26 -0800

My mechanic just told me that my 98 Saturn wagon (125,000 miles) needs a new clutch. Nothing dramatic happened; I just brought it in for a pre road trip checkup. The clutch has been getting stickier & stickier, and sometimes it's very hard to wrench it into first gear, but it's drivable. He said he had no way of knowing when it would go completely, but it definitely was going to need to be replaced soon. Since inspecting it involves pulling the transmission, you might as well commit to fixing it altogether. I have two questions. Here is my dilemma: I'm supposed to be driving to NY on Friday (roughly 900 miles.) Should I scramble to get this fixed or should I just leave anyway? First of all, what happens when a clutch goes? Is it life threateningly bad or does the car just coast to a stop? And second, what are the chances that the clutch will keep on working for a long time anyway, just getting stickier? Keep in mind that this is going to cost about $800 I will have to borrow. Help soon please! I don't have long to make up my mind whether to try to get this done now or gamble on waiting and taking my road trip.

how to re-attach plastic panel in Saturn interior?

amtho — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 07:13:06 -0800

My friend has a 1995 Saturn (as do I). For some reason, the plastic paneling in part of the interior, around the doors, is falling away from the frame. It looks pretty bad. What's the best way to re-attach it? Is there some web site with tips on how to do stuff like this? And should I worry that this will happen to my car too?

This is happening on both sides of his interior, particularly around the front and top of the door windows. It's the plastic paneling, not the cloth "head liner". I'd like to be able to do something nice for him, but need a clue.

Question number 8596

untuckedshirts — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 19:49:34 -0800

I was stop and go driving for about an hour today (hanging flyers for my job; the car's a manual transmission '95 Saturn) and after I finished I was heading back to the store when I hear a pop and my stick shift is just wobbling around. I still have to hold the clutch to start the car but it is stuck in second gear so I can get it going but only drive 10-15mph. What in the hell just happened?

Question number 3937

COBRA! — Tue, 16 Dec 2003 07:27:13 -0800

Found out last night that my car (96 Saturn with 108k miles) has a leaking head gasket, which will set me back about $1200. Before I spring for the repair, I want to be confident that the car will stick around long enough to be worth it. How long can you reasonably expect to keep a car on the road? Is this a sign that she's crossed the line into being an unreliable money sink?