NHTSA Complaint #10184302 — 2002 SATURN LS

ON FEBRUARY 24, 2007 AT ABOUT 3:30 PM, WE WERE HEADING EAST ON HIGHWAY 509 IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON WHEN THE CAR JUST LOST POWER & DIED. WE WERE COMING AROUND A CORNER AND MADE IT TO A NARROW SHOULDER & WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY SO THAT CARS COULD BARELY GO AROUND. WE HAD SEVERAL NEAR MISSES WHILE WAITING FOR THE TOW TRUCK SINCE THE SHOULDER WAS NOT VERY WIDE & WE WERE STRANDED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A MILD CORNER. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART AND WE WAITED FOR A TOW TRUCK. WHEN WE FINELY GOT THE VEHICLE HOME, I CALLED SEVERELY LOCAL MECHANICS TO SEE IF THEY WOULD KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. MOST TOLD ME THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THE TIMING CHAIN & INSTRUCTED ME ON HOW TO CHECK. ONCE THE COVER WAS OFF, IT WAS CLEARLY VISIBLE THAT THE TIMING CHAIN WAS GONE. I WAS THEN TOLD THAT MY WHOLE ENGINE WAS NOW PROBABLY GONE. THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE SITUATION FOR US TO BE IN DUE TO SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE LASTED MORE THAN 57,000 MILES, THE TIMING CHAIN. *JB