Most common 2001 Saturn LS problems
Share of the 582 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Saturn LS complaints by model year
Best LS years: 2000. Compare all years →
2001 Saturn LS recalls (7)
Engine and engine cooling
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.2l 4-cylinder engine, links in the engine's timing chain can separate.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the timing chain free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2008. Owners May contact Saturn at 1-800-972-8876.
Exterior lighting › Brake lights
On certain sedans and wagons, the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.
Remedy: Dealers will install two new tail lamp reinforcing socket adapters and sockets free of charge. The recall began on October 17, 2005. Owners May contact Saturn at 1-800-972-8876.
Electrical system › Ignition › Module
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 2.2l l4 (l61) engines, a failure of the ignition control module May cause deterioration in idle quality, reduction in overall engine power, and the vehicle May be hard to start.
Remedy: Dealers will (1) replace the ignition control module, (2) replace the ignition control module and spark plugs, or (3) replace the ignition control module, spark plugs, and update the powertrain control module…
Air bags › Frontal
On certain passenger, sport utility vehicles and Mini vans, some of these vehicles have a passenger air bag that was manufactured without a check valve pin. An air bag without the check valve pin could produce increased pressure at the onset of the air bag deployment and reduced pressure afterward.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger air bag. Owner notification began December 16, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive…
Air bags › Frontal
Vehicle description: passenger, sport utility vehicles and minivans. The passenger air bag inflator modules were built without the correct amount of generant, which produces the gas that fills the air bag. Some were built with a double load of generant and some were built without generant.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the passenger air bag module. Telephone calls were made to owners on January 29, 2001. Follow up owner mailing began on April 17, 2001.
Power train › Automatic transmission › Gear position indication (PRNDL)
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transaxles. Some of these vehicles were assembled with the transaxle shift cable clip missing or improperly seated. Without the clip, the cable can slip out of its bracket and the transaxle lever would not move along with the shift lever.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the transaxle shift cable retainer clip to verify proper installation and, if necessary, replace the clip and adjust the cable to specifications.
Show 1 more recall
Air bags › Side/window
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with a side impact air bag system. The air bag system has a lower side impact safing sensor threshold than specified. Because of this reduced threshold, there could be an inadvertent deployment of the side head curtain air bag with severe slamming of the door.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the inflatable restraint sensing and diagnostic module assembly.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 8 possible defects involving the 2001 Saturn LS:
Timing chain breaks, engine stall
On May 22, 2008, theoffice of defects investigation (odi) was petitioned by the north carolina consumers council (nccc) to broaden the scope of safety recall 07v-519, which was conducted by general motors corporation (GM) for model year (my) 2001 Saturn l-series vehicles equipped with the l61 2.2l engine and built during a 4-month period from November 2000 through February 2001 (dp08-002).
Timing chain failure
On December 12, 2005, odi received a defect petition (dp05-008) requesting the investigation of timing chain failures that could cause stalling in Saturn vehicles equipped with the 2.2l (l61) engine. Odi opened pe06-006 on January 24, 2006, with 24 vehicle owner complaints that alleged a broken timing chain caused the vehicle to stop operating.on April 12, 2006, odi received information from general motors (GM)…
Inoperative tail lamps
General motors has decided that a safety related defect exists on certain model Saturn sedans and wagons.the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.this can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake or tail lamps (including the center high-mounted stop…
Headlamps flicker off and on
This pe was opened based on six odi complaints that headlamps flicker off and on, and two odi complaints that the switch is hot to the touch.the investigation has found no occurrences of headlamps going out.the complaints are due to sporadic dimming (flickering) of the headlamps as a result of variation of the voltage to the headlamps.GM has shown that a 1.5 -2.0 voltage drop occurs when other electrical devices are…
Timing chain failure - stall
In a November 7, 2007 letter, general motors (GM) notified odi that it had determined that a safety defect existed in certain model year (my) 2001 Saturn l-series vehicles equipped with the 2.2l 4-cylinder (l61) engine built from November 2000 through February 2001.the defect could result in engine stall while driving with no restart.
Timing chain failure-stall
On June 6, 2006, odi opened an investigation of timing chain failure resulting in engine stall while driving with no restart in approximately 20,514 model year (my) 2001 Saturn l-series vehicles equipped with 2.2l engines (l61) built from November 2000 through February 2001 (ea06-009).the vehicles built during those months exhibited higher failure rates than similarly equipped vehicles built before and after.GM…
Timing chain failure
Analysis undertaken in response to the petition identified 26 complaints alleging timing chain failures in my 2000-2003 Saturn l-series vehicle equipped with the 2.2l l4 engine.most complaints of timing chain failure reportedly resulted in a sudden loss of engine power and stalling.odi also noted that certain my 2002-2003 Saturn vue and my 2003 Saturn ion model vehicles with the 2.2l engine vehiclescovered by a…
Inoperative tail lamps
On January 25, 2005, a safety defect petition was received by the office of defects investigation (odi), requesting an investigation of inoperative tail lamps on my 2000-2002 Saturn l-series vehicles.the petitioner alleges a defect in the design and assembly of the tail lamp assembly circuit board and light socket contact.the petitioner identified 47 vehicle owner questionnaire's (voq's) associated with the alleged…
What 2001 Saturn LS owners say
Engine & cooling all 339 →
Recall bulletin #06074a ,timing chain engine stall. I called gm,and gm arbitration and they said I have no recallcs. This car only has 28,700 miles on it!! My Vin fits the criteria of the recall,and I went to the dealership and they confirmed it,but GM does not acknowledge it! page 4, dealer recall responsibility-all. 2nd paragraph Dealers are to service All vehicals subject to this recall, regardless of milage,age of vehical,vehicle, ownership as of Jan ,2008. I'm the 2nd owner,and there is no documentation that this recall was preformed, 2 others were repaired. I have the car fax for this vehicle. My repair shop said it will cost @ $ 1000.00 to repair it. I'd be happy with a repair or a restoration check from Gm. I started a "Gm service request claim" # 9-7361453168. They never called me back,they canceled/ closed the request and did not approve the recall!! …
Car is 2001 Saturn l200 with less than 100,000 miles and the timing chain broke as the car was pulling into the driveway. My VIN is not covered by the timing chain recall issued by GM, so I now have a completely unusable car which is rated in good condition other than the timing chain unless I want to spend the 1000 plus to fix it. GM/NHTSA issued recall number 07V519000 for other similar saturns in year and model for the timing chain, why not all of them in the same years? After speaking with GM and researching the part number, my chain was built in the same wilmington delaware plant with the manufacture default diagnosis as the other recalled timing chains belonging to other 2001, 2002, 2003 Saturn l series cars. …
Electrical system all 80 →
My daughter [redacted] was the passenger and [redacted] was driver. The kids went for drive and were found the next early morning around 6 am. The car was so burned and destroyed the kids could not be identified, and all who were there questioned the straight tire tracks without any correction or over correction in the steering of tire tracks, no braking in the county road tracks, and with fracture and damage of the skull area we later were told that the air bags never deployed! The tracks were approx 150 yrds long and went at an angle of perfection gradually pointing towards a ravine that would end both of the kids lives. We sent a forensic specialist to look at car 2 months later and was told to save our money on full report because the specialist said the car was so destroyed he couldn't make heads or tails as to a case against GM. …
A short circuit of some sort in the the headlight/turn signal switch caused a small electrical fire. While driving, the dashboard indicators showed that the daytime running lights and high beams were turning on and off on their own. When the car was turned off, the daytime running lights remained on. After a few moments, I began to smell the odor of something burning and smoke began to come out of the steering column. The smoke subsided only after I pulled the fuses on the two headlamps. The fuses did not break the circuit on their own -- the headlights did not go out until I pulled the fuses. I then called the Saturn roadside assistance hotline and asked them how to completely turn off the electrical power to the entire car (to prevent anything else from catching fire) but they were of little help. …
Lights all 52 →
A short circuit of some sort in the the headlight/turn signal switch caused a small electrical fire. While driving, the dashboard indicators showed that the daytime running lights and high beams were turning on and off on their own. When the car was turned off, the daytime running lights remained on. After a few moments, I began to smell the odor of something burning and smoke began to come out of the steering column. The smoke subsided only after I pulled the fuses on the two headlamps. The fuses did not break the circuit on their own -- the headlights did not go out until I pulled the fuses. I then called the Saturn roadside assistance hotline and asked them how to completely turn off the electrical power to the entire car (to prevent anything else from catching fire) but they were of little help. …
Brake lights ceased to function. Car rear ended during early morning pile up on I-85 due to tire failure on car two positions in advance. Investigate cause of light failure and found melted/burned light socket area. Tried to repair then called Saturn for parts availability. Informed that there would be a recall in oct 05 but that I could purchase the new light assemblies myself and might be able to get reimbursement later. Cost over $350.00 per assembly! Unable to spend this amount immediately so I parked the car until the recall letter comes!
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2001 Saturn LS a good car?
Based on 582 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2001 LS rates average: 1.3× as many complaints as a typical year of the LS at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 Saturn LS?
The engine & cooling — 339 complaints, 58% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine. Next are the electrical system (80) and lights (52).
How many recalls does the 2001 Saturn LS have?
There are 7 recalls for the 2001 Saturn LS, the most recent from November 7, 2007 (engine and engine cooling). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Saturn LS?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2000. See the full Saturn LS years comparison.
At what mileage do 2001 Saturn LS problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 80,000 miles; 17% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.