2002 Saturn SL Electrical system Problems

“When I removed the keys from my car it kept running. They keys have only fallen out twice, but I have since removed all the extras from the key fob. But the car should not continue to run after it has been placed in park and the key removed from the ignition. I know it is an older car and currently has 135,000 miles on it. I have had diligent maintenance performed on it since I purchased it new in 2002. The problem occurred when it had 45,000 miles on it and should have been replaced by GM, but I was advised it was a costly expense for me. Gm should replace the ignition at their cost.”

“At my last service visit, the repair tech recommended the repair/replacement of: 1 ignition housing bolt -- he stated that without this repair, the car could suddenly stop where it is and be unsteerable and/or undriveable . (lord help whoever's behind me on the freeway that day!) I've owned 5 vehicles -- manufactured by ford, chrysler, subaru and general motors -- nothing like this has ever happened before. It's also kind of scary to know that the only reason I'm aware of this problem is because I just happened to take my car in for an oil change! …”

“My son had an accident involving 3 other vehicles. The motor of the 2002 Saturn sl1 in which he was driving stalled as he exited the highway onto a service road. Once the engine stalled,he did not have the ability to steer or stop the vehicle. As a result, he struck 2 vehicles that were stopped at a red light causing a chain reaction. The second vehicle that he struck hit the vehicle in front of it. The airbags deployed in the vehicle my son drove. The right side of vehicle 1 sustained damage. The rear and front bumpers were damaged on vehicle 2. The rear of vehicle 3 is damaged. …”

“Vehicle caught on fire under the hood, near the battery, after having oil changed. Two parties have looked at the car and determined that the electrical system was faulty. The wiring near the battery was the affected area. The car was a loss with only 30000 miles on it. Saturn does not want to honor factory warranty. Also, Saturn found crack in the engine. They believe this crack could have caused the fire. No other inspector found this crack and I want to know how it got there. Saturn had no answers and were very nasty about my entire situation.”

“The key comes out of the ignition while running. There is also trouble turning the key in the ignition to start it. Similar to what can happen when the steering wheel locks, sometimes the key wont turn. This happens without the steering wheel locked and takes 20-30 tries before it finally turns over.”