Owners have filed 116 complaints on the Saturn SW, covering 1995–2001. The system named most often is Service Brakes (18 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1997, 1998; cleanest: 2001, 1996, 1999. 14 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Saturn SW
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 116 SW complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 18 Read
The contact owned a 1997 saturn sw. While driving 40 mph, the brake pedal was depressed, but failed to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the emergency brake was applied, but also failed to stop the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The air bags deployed, but the contact sustained…
I bought a 1995 saturn from precision tune auto. The car was supposed to be cleaned, and wiring fixed. No mention of seat problem. Though there has been some failure with top part of seat, to fall back for some reason. Front seat. Trouble with car. Bad gas mileage, engine sounds like valve trouble, no power on hill,…
When the consumer applied the brakes the wheel shakes due to warped rotors. The rotors had been cut at 22000 miles because of the same problem. Consumer believes that the rotors were defective
Engine And Engine Cooling 13 Read
Backing out of driveway engine catches on fire. Very sudden. No indication of upcoming problem. Car under warranty. Total loss
Stress induced cracking of exhaust system resonator outlet end plate
While driving at highway speed the engine shut down causing lost of power steering. Consumer was able to coast to the side of the road. Dealer notified said crank shaft position sensor is defective. Ts
Power Train 12 Read
Vehicle was in park. While walking away gear some how jumped into reverse and began to roll backwards towards another vehicle. Saturn has been ocntacted. *ak the manufacturer could not find any mechanical cause for the incident
Intermediate shaft/carrier bearing assembly failed at relatively low miles. I am trying to determine if this specific failure is common so owners can be notified and avoid this costly and serious repair
Vehicle stalls when stopped at lights
Electrical System 12 Read
I called saturn of eatontown, nj reporting an electrical problem with the ignition and door bell alarm-it rang constantly. I was told by the service manger not to worry, use a little cw spread; 3 days later, the steering column and ignition caught on fire. Saturn is refusing to honor safety recall TSB # 97-c-02, dated…
The contact owns a 1997 saturn sw. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, smoke started to emit from the ignition after the key was inserted into the ignition switch. The contact immediately removed the key and towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the…
The contact owns a 2001 saturn sw. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the key released from the ignition switch. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cylinder lock and the key needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of…
Seat Belts 8 Read
Dt: contact stated when latching the rear driver side seat belt it will not retract to secure the occupant. As the occupant leaned forward the seat belt continued to loosen. The service dealer said the retractor needed to be replaced. The seat belt was used under light to normal conditions
At a safety check for seatbelts, 3 of the seatbelt retractors in were found to be inoperative. Only front passenger seatbelt retractor works
Seat belts will tighten while switching lanes or when increasing speed. Consumer cannot move around to check traffic behind her. Has been to dealer who said that belts are working as designed. Please add additional information
Fuel System 8 Read
The contact owns a 2001 saturn sw2. While driving between 20-25 mph over a speed bump, the fuel tank detached and was dragging on the ground. The contact looked underneath the vehicle and discovered that both brackets were rotted off of the fuel tank. One bracket fell off completely. He called the dealer to inquire…
Letter on behalf of constituent (nc) the defective fuel tank vent valve on her 2000 saturn sw1, dealer claims there was no recall. The consumer stated the vehicle would not take gas. She went to an auto repair shop and they printed out a recall and advised her to take the vehicle to the dealer
Rpms do not always return to idle after removal of accelerator pressure. The rpms at random times, remain at 1800 to 2200 as indicated by the tachometer. The engine is also noisy when coming to a stop. Consumer has to shift from drive to neutral when coming to a stop, but rpms still race from 1000 RPM to 2200. Normal…
Visibility 8 Read
While driving in warm temperature windshield will get film on inside without any warning. Dealer/manufacturer aware of the problem, no solution yet. *ak
Windshield wiper blade does not come within 6 inches from the end of the windshield which may cause visual difficulty, and may result in an accident. Currently at dealer. Please provide further information
Front power window regulator failed, replacement failed also. Yh
Air Bags 7 Read
My husband and daughter (age 4) were involved in an accident on july 27, 2000 in our 1999 saturn sw1. They were sitting at a red light when they were rear ended at approximately 40-45pmh. Upon impact niether airbag deployed. I'm not sure if they were supposed to), but the major concern was that the drivers seat…
The automobile in front of me slammed on their brakes, I slammed on my brakes and my chest hit the steering column. The airbags did not deploy
Heavy frontal impact. Both front air bags did not deploy
SW years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2000 | Electrical System,engine,fuel/propulsion System | 2 | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 1996 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 3 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 89 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.3 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 1.3 hides a worst series at 4. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the SW?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1997, 1998 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which SW years are the cleanest?
2001, 1996, 1999 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Saturn SW have?
116 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2001. Of those, 14 describe a crash and 3 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.