NHTSA Complaint #10294605 — 2001 SATURN LS

MY 2001 SATURN SL200 HAD EXTREME VIBRATION AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WHILE ON A LONG TRIP OUT OF STATE. THIS CAR IS DRIVEN BY MY COLLEGE AGE STUDENT. CAR ENGINE WAS JUMPING, IDLING VERY ROUGH, AND LOSING POWER. FORTUNATELY, SHE DID MADE IT BACK TO COLLEGE SAFELY. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO SATURN OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND PLUGS, WIRES AND SPARK PLUG CASSETTE WERE REPLACED DUE TO A MISFIRING DIAGNOSIS. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PICKED UP, IT STILL RAN ROUGH. I RETURNED TO DEALER AND THEY SAID VALVE COVER AND ENGINE WERE DIRTY. ALSO, THEY SAID TIMING CHAIN SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS SLIPPING. I WAS NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS AUTOMOBILE. WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THE SATURN TIMING CHAIN RECALL, THEY STATED THIS CAR WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. TO ME, DRIVING THE CAR, IT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE A TIMING CHAIN PROBLEM. SATURN CHARGED ME AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT TO DO ALL THE ABOVE WORK (OVER $900.00). I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS CAR SHOULD BE ON THE RECALL LIST, SINCE SATURN CONTINUED TO MAKE CARS WITH THE EXACT DESIGN AFTER FEBRUARY 2001. I BELIEVE THAT GM IS TRYING TO GET OUT OF REPAIRING AN EXTREME SAFETY ISSUE FOR THIS CAR. THIS CAR IS A POTENTIAL DEATH TRAP. THE FIRST IN SERVICE DATE OF THIS VEHICLE WAS JUNE 2001, SO I CAN ALMOST CONCLUDE THAT THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED DURING THE RECALL TIME FRAME. IF NOT, SHORTLY THEREAFTER. I AM SURE THERE WERE ADDITIONAL CARS MADE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AFTER GM'S CUTOFF OF PROBLEM VIN NUMBERS. MY CAR NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. *TR