NHTSA Complaint #739805 — 1995 SATURN SL

I BECAME AWARE OF AN OIL CONSUMPTION PROBLEM WHEN MY OIL LIGHT CAME ON WHEN THE CAR WAS 1000 MILES AND ONE MONTH EARLY FOR THE NEXT OIL CHANGE. THE COMPLAINT WAS DISMISSED BY SERVICE TECHS AT THAT TIME, EXPLAINING THAT "SATURN EGINES RUN HOT, AND THAT IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL TO USE ONE OR TWO QUARTS OF OIL BETWEEN CHANGES. ON A TRIP BACK TO VIRGINIA FORM NEW JERSEY, MY SES LIGHT CAME ON, AND I BEGAN TO NOTICE A FAIRLY LOUD TICKING IN MY ENGINE. WHEN I PULLED OVER I FOUND I HAD NO OIL IN MY OIL PAN. MY ENGINE COULD HAVE SEIZED ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY, AND THE OIL LIGHT NEVER CAME ON (I WAS ABOUT 500 MILES AND TWO WEEKS EARLY FOR MY NEXT OIL CHANGE). I HAD REGULAR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AT THE DEALERSHIP, BUT THE DEALERSHIP RECENTLY INFORMED ME THAT I WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A MASSIVE OVERHAUL OF MY ENGINE BEFORE I EVEN HAD 100,000 MILES ON IT. THIS SEEMS HIGHLY IRREGULAR FOR A VEHILE WHICH WAS IMPECCABLY MAINTAINED. I HAVE ALSO BECOME AWARE OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON OTHER INTERNET SITES. THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM, BUT IT IS A VERY COSLY ONE.*AK