1994 SATURN SL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 281 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (40 complaints · 14.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 48
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 40
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1993 →
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 40 of 281 owner complaints (14.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 40 complaints, 14.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 40 · 14.2% · 3 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 34 complaints, 12.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 34 · 12.1% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 33 complaints, 11.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 33 · 11.7% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 30 complaints, 10.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 30 · 10.7% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 25 complaints, 8.9% of reports ENGINE 25 · 8.9% AIR BAGS: 17 complaints, 6.1% of reports AIR BAGS 17 · 6.1% · 16 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 5.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 · 5.7% · 2 fire reports VISIBILITY: 12 complaints, 4.3% of reports VISIBILITY 12 · 4.3% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 8 complaints, 2.9% of reports STEERING 8 · 2.9% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 196 complaints, 69.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 196 · 69.8% · 44 crash reports 3 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 40 14.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 34 12.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 33 11.7% 4 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 30 10.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 25 8.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 17 6.1% 16 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 5.7% 0 crashes · 2 fires
VISIBILITY 12 4.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 8 2.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 196 69.8% 44 crashes · 3 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 Mar 1999. 1995-Q1: 35 owner reports 35 1995-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 1995-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 1996-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 1997-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 1998-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 1999-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 1999-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 1999-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2000-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Nov 1994 Apr 2016 Recall campaign 99V045000 ◆ Recall campaign 99V045000 Investigation PE94079 ● Investigation PE94079 Investigation EA95003 ● Investigation EA95003 Investigation EA98017 ● Investigation EA98017 Investigation RQ00005 ● Investigation RQ00005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 35
1995-Q2 Owner reports 14
1995-Q3 Owner reports 8
1995-Q4 Owner reports 6
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 9
1996-Q3 Owner reports 10
1996-Q4 Owner reports 6
1997-Q1 Owner reports 7
1997-Q2 Owner reports 6
1997-Q3 Owner reports 10
1997-Q4 Owner reports 6
1998-Q1 Owner reports 6
1998-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 21
1998-Q4 Owner reports 13
1999-Q1 Owner reports 9
1999-Q2 Owner reports 13
1999-Q3 Owner reports 11
1999-Q4 Owner reports 4
2000-Q1 Owner reports 5
2000-Q2 Owner reports 7
2000-Q3 Owner reports 8
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 5
2001-Q2 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 9
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q3 Owner reports 5
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 99V045000
Defect investigation 1 PE94079
Defect investigation 1 EA95003
Defect investigation 1 EA98017
Defect investigation 1 RQ00005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 99V045000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THIS HAPPENS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, IT COULD CAUSE A LOSS OF CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SEAT RECLINER MECHANISMS.
    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 281 complaints · page 1 of 12

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