1992 SATURN SL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 122 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (26 complaints · 21.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 18
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 25
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1991 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 26 of 122 owner complaints (21.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 26 complaints, 21.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 26 · 21.3% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 18 complaints, 14.8% of reports ENGINE 18 · 14.8% SERVICE BRAKES: 16 complaints, 13.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 16 · 13.1% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 12 complaints, 9.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 · 9.8% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 6.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 6.6% STEERING: 4 complaints, 3.3% of reports STEERING 4 · 3.3% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 3.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 3.3% WHEELS: 4 complaints, 3.3% of reports WHEELS 4 · 3.3% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 3 complaints, 2.5% of reports SUSPENSION 3 · 2.5% · 3 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 78 complaints, 63.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 78 · 63.9% · 15 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SEAT BELTS 26 21.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 18 14.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 16 13.1% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 9.8% 2 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 6.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 4 3.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 3.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 4 3.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 3 2.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 78 63.9% 15 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 1992. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 1995-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 1998-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1992 Jul 2008 Recall campaign 92V098000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V098000 Recall campaign 93V132000 ◆ Recall campaign 93V132000 Investigation PE93004 ● Investigation PE93004 Investigation PE93022 ● Investigation PE93022 Investigation EA93016 ● Investigation EA93016
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 3
1995-Q2 Owner reports 10
1995-Q3 Owner reports 6
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 7
1996-Q2 Owner reports 6
1996-Q3 Owner reports 4
1996-Q4 Owner reports 4
1997-Q1 Owner reports 3
1997-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 9
1998-Q3 Owner reports 5
1998-Q4 Owner reports 5
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q4 Owner reports 8
2000-Q1 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 3
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 5
2001-Q1 Owner reports 4
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 5
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 92V098000
Recall campaign 1 93V132000
Defect investigation 1 PE93004
Defect investigation 1 PE93022
Defect investigation 1 EA93016
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V098000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THE GEAR SELECTOR INDICATES THE VEHICLE IS IN PARK ORNEUTRAL, IT COULD BE IN REVERSE OR DRIVE. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE CAR COULD STARTIN REVERSE OR DRIVE, OR MIGHT MOVE UNEXPECTEDLY, WHICH MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLECRASH OR INJURY TO PERSONS OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE, WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE VALVE BODIES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 93V132000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    SHOULD AN ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT OCCUR IN THEGENERATOR, THE GENERATOR WIRING HARNESS WOULD EXPERIENCE EXCESSIVE CURRENT FLOW.UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, ENOUGH HEAT COULD BE GENERATED TO IGNITE SURROUNDINGMATERIALS. IF THIS OCCURS, AN UNDERHOOD FIRE COULD RESULT WITH OR WITHOUT THEENGINE RUNNING AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    THE GENERATOR WIRING HARNESS WILL BE REPLACED WITH ONE THAT WILL OPEN AS A FUSE WOULD UNDER CERTAIN EXCESSIVE CURRENT FLOW CONDITIONS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 122 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources