NHTSA Complaint #10261693 — 2001 SATURN LS

I WAS DRIVING MY 2001 SATURN AND IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS RUNNING OKAY. I STOPPED AT MY DAUGHTERS HOUSE TO PICK HER UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT AND WHEN I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR IT WOULD NOT START. I HAD A MECHANIC LOOK AT IT AND HE SAID THE TIMING CHAIN WAS BAD. MY CAR HAS ABOUT 60,000 MILES ON IT. I CANNOT GIVE THE EXACT AMOUNT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE CAR IS SITTING AT SATURN OF BOISE. I HAD IT TOWED TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP, BECAUSE I READ ABOUT THE RECALL OF 2001 SATURN'S FOR TIMING CHAIN ISSUES AND THEY SAID THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP ME. WELL, THEY SAID IT WAS MY FAULT THE TIMING CHAIN WENT OUT OF IT, BECAUSE THE OIL HAD NOT BEEN CHANGED OFTEN ENOUGH. THAT IS UNTRUE, BUT MY HUSBAND CHANGES THE OIL EVERY 6000 MILES OR LESS, BUT I DO NOT HAVE ANY "RECORDS" SHOWING THIS BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE TO CHANGE THE OIL. THEY SAID THAT IT HAD PROBABLY SLAPPED THE VALVES, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT BROKEN SO I HAD TO GET THE ENGINE REPLACED AND THEY COULD DO IT FOR ONLY $3100. I AM HAVING THE CAR TOWED HOME AND WILL HAVE A LOCAL MECHANIC CHANGE THE TIMING CHAIN. I AM GLAD THAT I WAS STOPPED WHEN IT QUIT WORKING, BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR. MY LOCAL MECHANICS SAID THAT THE CHAIN SHOULD NOT HAVE GIVEN OUT SO SOON AS I ONLY DRIVE THIS CAR 8 OR SO MILES PER WORKDAY. *TR