1996 SATURN SL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 279 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (55 complaints · 19.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 50
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 44
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1995 →
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 ENGINE appears in 55 of 279 owner complaints (19.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 55 complaints, 19.7% of reports ENGINE 55 · 19.7% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 36 complaints, 12.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 36 · 12.9% · 8 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 34 complaints, 12.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 · 12.2% POWER TRAIN: 34 complaints, 12.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 34 · 12.2% · 4 crash reports AIR BAGS: 17 complaints, 6.1% of reports AIR BAGS 17 · 6.1% · 11 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 16 complaints, 5.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 16 · 5.7% · 4 crash reports STEERING: 15 complaints, 5.4% of reports STEERING 15 · 5.4% · 6 crash reports VISIBILITY: 13 complaints, 4.7% of reports VISIBILITY 13 · 4.7% STRUCTURE: 9 complaints, 3.2% of reports STRUCTURE 9 · 3.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 195 complaints, 69.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 195 · 69.9% · 42 crash reports 1 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)
ENGINE 55 19.7% 2 crashes · 2 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 36 12.9% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 12.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 34 12.2% 4 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 17 6.1% 11 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 16 5.7% 4 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 15 5.4% 6 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 13 4.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 9 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 195 69.9% 42 crashes · 1 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 Jul 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 1997. 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 1997-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 1997-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 1997-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 1998-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1998-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1999-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1999-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2000-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2000-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2000-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2001-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1995 Jan 2016 Recall campaign 97V138000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V138000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000
  • Campaign 97V138000 was reported 694 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 7
1996-Q2 Owner reports 5
1996-Q3 Owner reports 5
1996-Q4 Owner reports 16
1997-Q1 Owner reports 18
1997-Q2 Owner reports 7
1997-Q3 Owner reports 19
1997-Q4 Owner reports 12
1998-Q1 Owner reports 7
1998-Q2 Owner reports 6
1998-Q3 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 6
1999-Q1 Owner reports 7
1999-Q2 Owner reports 5
1999-Q3 Owner reports 3
1999-Q4 Owner reports 11
2000-Q1 Owner reports 6
2000-Q2 Owner reports 10
2000-Q3 Owner reports 7
2000-Q4 Owner reports 9
2001-Q1 Owner reports 8
2001-Q2 Owner reports 4
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 5
2002-Q1 Owner reports 8
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 8
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 5
2003-Q2 Owner reports 4
2003-Q3 Owner reports 6
2003-Q4 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 5
2004-Q2 Owner reports 4
2004-Q3 Owner reports 7
2004-Q4 Owner reports 4
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V138000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
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 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V138000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD RESULT IN THE PINION GEAR DISENGAGING FROM THE RACK CAUSING A LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE MANUAL STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY.
    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 279 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