NHTSA Complaint #10267978 — 2002 SATURN LS

MY 2002 L200 HAS 92,000 MILES. I WAS DRIVING 70 MPH ON A CROWDED 5 LANE INTERSTATE IN THE FAR LEFT LANE WHEN MY ENGINE SUDDENLY STOPPED. THERE WERE NO STRANGE NOISES OR SMELLS INVOLVED, NOR WAS THERE ANY SMOKE. THE RPM METER WENT DOWN TO ZERO. THANKFULLY, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WORKED FINE AND SO DID THE BRAKES. I PUT ON MY HAZARD BLINKER AND WAS SOMEHOW ABLE TO COAST MY WAY OVER TO THE SHOULDER. IT IS A MIRACLE THAT NO ONE HIT ME. THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT THE TIMING CHAIN HAD BROKEN AND THAT IT HAD POSSIBLY ALSO DAMAGED THE VALVES, SO I WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. THE COST TO REPAIR WOULD BE ABOUT $3500. THAT IS ABOUT THE SAME AS THE VALUE OF THE CAR, SO I HAD A DIFFICULT TIME DECIDING WHETHER TO DO THE REPAIR OR SELL THE CAR AS IS. THE JUNKYARD OFFERED ME $150 + FREE TOW. I KEPT HEARING FROM DIFFERENT MECHANICS THAT IT IS VERY RARE FOR A TIMING CHAIN TO BREAK. I DID SOME FURTHER RESEARCH LOOKING FOR A REPLACEMENT ENGINE AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T EVEN KEEP THE ENGINE FOR THIS MODEL IN STOCK BECAUSE THE TIMING CHAIN BREAK HAPPENS SO OFTEN. THEN I FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE 2001, BUT NOT 2002, EVEN THOUGH THE 2002 HAS THE SAME DESIGN FLAW. I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE IT. AT A MINIMUM, I FEEL THAT SATURN SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED ME THAT THIS WAS A CONCERN FOR MY MODEL OF CAR, EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T DO A RECALL. FLYING DOWN THE HIGHWAY IS THE WORST TIME TO FIND OUT ABOUT SUCH A DEFECT. HAD I KNOWN, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE BEEN PROACTIVE. PLEASE EXTEND THE RECALL TO AVOID ANY FUTURE DISASTERS. *TR