1997 SATURN SL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 218 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (31 complaints · 14.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 29
  • Fires 9
  • Injuries 28
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1996 →
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 31 of 218 owner complaints (14.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 31 complaints, 14.2% of reports ENGINE 31 · 14.2% · 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 30 complaints, 13.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 30 · 13.8% · 7 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 23 complaints, 10.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 23 · 10.6% · 2 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 19 complaints, 8.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 19 · 8.7% AIR BAGS: 15 complaints, 6.9% of reports AIR BAGS 15 · 6.9% · 10 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 15 complaints, 6.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 15 · 6.9% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 10 complaints, 4.6% of reports STRUCTURE 10 · 4.6% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 9 complaints, 4.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 · 4.1% FUEL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 3.7% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 8 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 154 complaints, 70.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 154 · 70.6% · 26 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)
ENGINE 31 14.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 30 13.8% 0 crashes · 7 fires
SEAT BELTS 23 10.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 19 8.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 15 6.9% 10 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 15 6.9% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 10 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 4.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 8 3.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 154 70.6% 26 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 Oct 1996; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 1997. 1996-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 1999-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2000-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2000-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2001-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2002-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1996 Apr 2016 Recall campaign 97V138000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V138000 Recall campaign 97V155000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V155000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000
  • Campaign 97V138000 was reported 179 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q4 Owner reports 5
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 5
1997-Q3 Owner reports 6
1997-Q4 Owner reports 5
1998-Q1 Owner reports 3
1998-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 5
1998-Q4 Owner reports 5
1999-Q1 Owner reports 17
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 15
1999-Q4 Owner reports 5
2000-Q1 Owner reports 14
2000-Q2 Owner reports 10
2000-Q3 Owner reports 11
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 6
2001-Q2 Owner reports 10
2001-Q3 Owner reports 4
2001-Q4 Owner reports 6
2002-Q1 Owner reports 6
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 7
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 4
2003-Q3 Owner reports 6
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 5
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 4
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 4
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V138000
Recall campaign 1 97V155000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

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 →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V155000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPAIR THESE VEHICLES.
    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 218 complaints · page 1 of 9

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