1993 SATURN SL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 169 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (29 complaints · 17.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 24
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 14
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1992 →
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 SERVICE BRAKES appears in 29 of 169 owner complaints (17.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 29 complaints, 17.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 29 · 17.2% · 5 crash reports ENGINE: 21 complaints, 12.4% of reports ENGINE 21 · 12.4% · 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 19 complaints, 11.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 19 · 11.2% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 19 complaints, 11.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 19 · 11.2% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 9.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 · 9.5% · 4 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 12 complaints, 7.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 12 · 7.1% · 2 crash reports AIR BAGS: 7 complaints, 4.1% of reports AIR BAGS 7 · 4.1% · 7 crash reports STRUCTURE: 7 complaints, 4.1% of reports STRUCTURE 7 · 4.1% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 4 complaints, 2.4% of reports VISIBILITY 4 · 2.4% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 119 complaints, 70.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 119 · 70.4% · 20 crash reports 7 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)
SERVICE BRAKES 29 17.2% 5 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 21 12.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 19 11.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 19 11.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 9.5% 0 crashes · 4 fires
SEAT BELTS 12 7.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 7 4.1% 7 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 7 4.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 4 2.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 119 70.4% 20 crashes · 7 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 May 1993. 1995-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 1995-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 1995-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1996-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1997-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 1993 Jul 2017 Recall campaign 93V094000 ◆ Recall campaign 93V094000 Recall campaign 93V132000 ◆ Recall campaign 93V132000 Investigation PE93022 ● Investigation PE93022 Investigation PE94079 ● Investigation PE94079 Investigation EA95003 ● Investigation EA95003
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 15
1995-Q2 Owner reports 13
1995-Q3 Owner reports 8
1995-Q4 Owner reports 4
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q3 Owner reports 8
1996-Q4 Owner reports 5
1997-Q1 Owner reports 8
1997-Q2 Owner reports 4
1997-Q3 Owner reports 5
1997-Q4 Owner reports 6
1998-Q1 Owner reports 3
1998-Q2 Owner reports 6
1998-Q3 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 9
1999-Q1 Owner reports 4
1999-Q2 Owner reports 4
1999-Q3 Owner reports 3
1999-Q4 Owner reports 3
2000-Q1 Owner reports 4
2000-Q2 Owner reports 4
2000-Q3 Owner reports 6
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 2
2001-Q2 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 5
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 5
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 93V094000
Recall campaign 1 93V132000
Defect investigation 1 PE93022
Defect investigation 1 PE94079
Defect investigation 1 EA95003
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 93V094000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    AN ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT BETWEEN THE BATTERY CABLE ANDTHE STARTER HOUSING CAN RESULT IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.
    Remedy:
    INSPECT AND, IF NECESSARY, ADJUST THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE TERMINAL SO THAT IT DOES NOT CONTACT THE STARTER SOLENOID HOUSING.
    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 169 complaints · page 1 of 7

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