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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2001 Saturn LS Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
30about this part
Share
5%of 582 total for the year
Median mileage
90,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 30 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2001 Saturn LS, 5% of the 582 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 90,000 miles. 4 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I brake hard to avoid an animal in the road. When I stepped on the gas the car would not move. When I put it in park, the car would roll. Upon inspection, the frame had buckled, causing the cv joint to fall out. I did not hit anything or go off the road. All I did was hit the brakes and the framed collapsed in the area of right front a-arm.”

NHTSA complaint #10547547, filed 2013-10, 113,000 miles

“I was driving the vehicle down the freeway at 65 MPH when the battery light came on and shut off. Within the next minute the coolant light came on and shut off and then the car seized right there on the freeway. The car would not start so we had to have it towed. Once the shop looked at it they diagnosed that the tensioner had broke and the serpentine belt had melted. We are now looking at having to replace the entire engine.”

NHTSA complaint #10564422, filed 2014-02, 119,039 miles

“Car lost power on freeway at 60 m/hr. Car was towed to repair shop. Timing chain was found broken. Repair cost is estimated to be about $2000. Saturn dealer claimed that recall GM #06074 does not apply to my VIN. I must pay for all tow, repair costs.”

NHTSA complaint #10669153, filed 2014-12, 15,500 miles

“I own a 2001 Saturn l200, about two years ago I replaced my engine due to my timing chain breaking and causing internal damage. I recently had the same problem happen and need to replace the engine again. After researching this problem I found that their are many people with this problem. If Saturn knows this situation is such a big problem why cant they be made responsible? I just don't think its right that so many incidents are going unanswered.. Thank you for the chance for our problem to be heard.”

NHTSA complaint #10299779, filed 2010-01, 125,000 miles

“Good afternoon, I am a the original Saturn owner who never received recall information regarding my 2001 Saturn l series. I have experienced various problems that directly correlate to the recall listed below: recall 07v519000-pertaining to engine and engine cooling potential number of units affected: 20,514 summary: on certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.2l 4-cylinder engine, links in the engine's timing chain can separate. Consequence: if a timing chain link separates while the engine is running, the engine will stall and will not restart increasing the risk of a crash. …”

NHTSA complaint #10669411, filed 2014-12, 72,626 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2002265%
2001305%
2000257%

Other parts of the 2001 Saturn LS

Engine cooling
300 complaintsElectrical system
80 complaintsExterior lighting
51 complaintsEngine
41 complaintsSteering
29 complaintsSuspension
29 complaintsFuel system
24 complaintsBrakes
22 complaintsAir bags
16 complaintsOther or unknown
13 complaintsVehicle speed control
12 complaintsEquipment
11 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2001 Saturn LS

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology