Saturn Resurrected (For Now)
On the third try at diagnosing what the problem with the Saturn was, the dealership finally got it right. The part at fault was the crank position sensor, which would fail when the car started to warm up. Hence the sudden death on the highway and subsequent failure to restart.
The crank position sensor does not give a code to the check engine light when it fails. Nice design idea there. Especially since in my research about crank position sensors yesterday, I found out this is yet another known issue with the Saturn L-300 (and L series in general).
I need a comprehensive list of Saturn L-Series issues so that the next time the car dies I can give it to the mechanic and tell them to pick which it is. 
The Saturn is now safely in my garage, and I will be driving it to demo team practice in a few minutes, so it had better behave. And we’re back on the plan I outlined in yesterday’s goal post. Save $10000 for a new to us car, most of it in the first 6 months of the year. Then pay off remaining debt. On to the next thing!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
You can also: Stumble It! Bookmark Submit to Reddit Submit to Tip'd
January 3rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Congrats on the resolution! I feel your pain with the process.I got into a car accident right before christmas last year (not my fault), the car was totalled, I had to get a rental, it was around the holidays and it took a month to resolve with insurance, adjustors, and finding a new vehicle. And to add insult to injury, the rental was out of pocket until I eventually settle the claim (which will take a few years), which added to my debt burden. Car messiness is very stressful. Hope it works better for you in the future!
January 3rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Well, “test driving” before driving it home paid off. There must be good indie mechanics near you…Saturn seems such a waste of $$.
Anyhow, YEA!!. Back to “normal life”.
January 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I had a Jeep Cherokee a few years ago that had the same problem- it would stall whenever I went over a bump. Fun times.
Good luck saving for a new car! The transmission on one of our cars is dying, so we’re in the same boat.
January 4th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Glad to hear you got the Saturn back on the road. Hopefully, it will behave until you can get your new (to you) car fund saved up.
January 4th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I would do a websearch to find out if there were any technical service bullitens issued for your make/model of Saturn that involve a fix that has not yet occured for your car. If the answer is yes, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT YET HAD AN ISSUE WITH THAT ITEM YET, take it to your dealer with a copy of the printout in hand and get them to do the repair/replacement!
January 4th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
That sounds more like it!
Tell me, are they going to install your original computer, or have they taken care of that all ready? (Because the odds it was bad in the first place are incredible against.) Congrats on finally getting the problem solved. And I sure hope they’re not going to charge you for their original (BS!) diagnosis.
As for what Marcy said, yes, it is a good idea to look up TSB’s on known issues. However, most regular people only have access to NHTSA recalls, which were probably done while the car was under warranty. I’d simply suggest building a relationship with an awesome Saturn mechanic. They’ll be more than willing to share helpful info if you’re “friends.” You can also look up websites that will give you access to TSB’s for a one-time fee, usually $30.
January 4th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
@Chrysta - the computer was never replaced in the first place. The car was transferred to Saturn to decide what was wrong with it. After three tries they fixed it. I have a battery I didn’t need and a relay of some sort replaced that didn’t need it either, but they didn’t charge us for the relay or the actual problem (the crank sensor) since they told us it was fixed with the battery and it wasn’t. The car died on the Saturn person test driving it when my inlaws (who were picking up the car for us and driving it part of the way to Indiana) insisted on the tech taking it on a longer than 1 mile test drive.
I did get charged for the battery (which i doubt needed replacing). But not the rest of it.
I’d be nice if I knew an awesome Saturn tech, but the one that is in our town is um… well, let’s say they’ve had to refix things they did on more than one occasion. Not so helpful.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Illustration of local Saturn ineptitude - talked to friend on Saturday who had to have some work done on their Saturn (dif model). Local Saturn dealer who worked on it “forgot” to reattach one of the wheels - left off the bolt to I guess the axle? Wheel fell off while driving when made turn. Even tow truck driver was amazed at that.
Ah well. Saturn corporate is calling me again tomorrow. lol.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Hmm. Glad to see that you didn’t get off too badly. I can’t argue for the dealer wanting to replace your battery, as even if it doesn’t test “bad” it can outgas and cause a bad connection at the cables, which will unleash all kinds of havoc on the electrical system. They treated you fairly, which is what matters to me.
As for the wheel falling off, yikes! Our technicians are anal about torquing the wheels before a car leaves their bay–I make a point of not interrupting them to prevent a disaster like that from happening. Not torquing the wheel lug nuts is serious business.
Glad to see you came out OK, but sorry that you’re having trouble locating a decent independent mechanic.