IllustrationFRONT SEATBACK RECLINER IS EXPERIENCING SAME DEFECT AS MENTIONED IN RECALL 99 V 045 000. BUT THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL DUE TO VIN. *AK
1994 Saturn Sc
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1994 Saturn Sc do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 23.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sc years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 3 of 51 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Seats. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Seat Belts. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
8 crash reports1 fire reports5 injury reports
Seats complaints
21 reportsCONSUMER STATES THAT DRIVER SEAT WILL RECLINE WHILE DRIVING. NLM
SEATBACK COLLAPSED THROWING CONSUMER INTO THE REAR SEAT. A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED ON SIMILAR MAKE/ MODEL. HOWEVER, THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK *ML
WHILE DRIVING IN THE LOCAL AREA VEHICLE WAS REARENDED, AND DRIVER'S SEATBACK COLLAPSED. ALSO, DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. CONTACTED MANUFACTURER AND WAS NOT ABLE TO HELP BECAUSE OF EXPIRED WARRANTY. *AK
THE DRIVER'S SEAT FAILS TO REMAIN IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION IF PRESSURE IS APPLIED TO IT. THE SEAT IS NOT LOCKED IN TO POSITION & CAUSES CONCENTRATION PROBLEMS WHEN DRIVING.*AK
WHILE DRIVING AND IF PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR FOR MORE SPEED, SEAT BACK REST WILL COLLAPSE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN 30 TIMES, VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSIIIP, AND CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. *AK
BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEATBACKS ABRUPTLY SLIPPED INTO THE RECLINING POSITION UPON ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. (IT WAS KIND OF FUNNY WHEN IT WAS THE PASSENGER SIDE FIRST, NOT SO FUNNY WHEN THE DRIVER'S SEAT STARTED TO DO IT.) ON 12/31/98, I PAID OVER $300 TO HAVE BOTH SEATS REPAIRED. I TOLD THE SATURN DEALER THAT THIS SEEMED HI…
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BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEATBACKS ABRUPTLY SLIPPED INTO THE RECLINING POSITION UPON ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. (IT WAS KIND OF FUNNY WHEN IT WAS THE PASSENGER SIDE FIRST, NOT SO FUNNY WHEN THE DRIVER'S SEAT STARTED TO DO IT.) ON 12/31/98, I PAID OVER $300 TO HAVE BOTH SEATS REPAIRED. I TOLD THE SATURN DEALER THAT THIS SEEMED HIGHLY UNUSUAL AND DUE TO A FAULTY PART. I WAS ASSURED IT WAS NORMAL "WEAR AND TEAR." NOW THE SAME YEAR (1994) SATURNS HAVE BEEN RECALLED, BUT MY DEALER SAID MY CAR IS NOT WITHIN THE "VIN RANGE." I THINK IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT THIS IS A COINCIDENCE OR DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. I FEEL I AM DUE A COMPLETE REFUND ON THE AMOUNT PAID FOR THE REPAIR. *AK
EA98017, SEATBACK FAILURE: THE SEATBACKS ON DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDES ARE BROKEN. DRIVER'S SEAT HAS RECLINED BACK SEVERAL TIMES WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE . DEALER IS NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THOS VEHICLE. *AK
WHILE DRIVING DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SEAT LATCH LOCKING MECHANISM RELEASED, CAUSING THE SEAT TO RECLINE BACKWARDS. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
Official recalls
199V045000 · Seats
Mar 12, 1999
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. SOME FRONT SEAT BACK RECLINER GEAR TEETH MAY WEAR EXCESSIVELY THROUGH REPEATED USE, AND COULD CAUSE THE SEAT BACK TO SLIP PARTIALLY REARWARD WHEN FORCE IS APPLIED.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THIS HAPPENS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, IT COULD CAUSE A LOSS OF CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SEAT RECLINER MECHANISMS.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
4RQ00005 · Front Seat Back Can Recline Or Collapse
Opened Feb 16, 2000 · Closed Aug 19, 2000
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seats:front Assembly:recliner
No summary supplied.
EA98017 · Seat Back Failures
Opened Jul 31, 1998 · Closed Mar 16, 1999
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seats
IN ITS LETTER DATED MARCH 5, 1999, GENERAL MOTORS STATED THAT IT WILL RECALL 136,300 MODEL YEAR 1994 AND 1995 SATURN VEHICLE (ALL MODELS) BUILT BETWEEN JANUARY 1994 AND AUGUST 1994.DURING THIS PERIOD, SATURN'S SEAT SUPPLIER MANUFACTURED RECLINER ASSEMBLIES WHICH WERE OUT OF DESIGN SPECIFICATION, ALLOWING THE FRONT SEAT BACKS TO RECLINE OR COLLAPSE INADVERTENTLY.TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, SATURN DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BACK RECLINER ASSEMBLIES.SEE NHTSA'S SAFETY RECALL FILL 99V-045 FOR DETAILS.
EA95003 · Cruise Control Failures
Opened Feb 24, 1995 · Closed May 31, 1996
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Equipment
THIS INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTED HTE FUNCTIONAL ABERATIONS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SUBJECT CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM.MOST OF THE MALFUNCTIONS INVOLVED FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM TO PROPERLY REGULATE VEHICLE SPEED WHEN ENGAGED, FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM TO ENGAGE, OR SELF-DISENGAGEMENT OF THE SYSTEM. THESE PROBLEMS WERE INVESTIGATED AND STEPS TAKEN BY THE MANUFACTURER TO REMEDY THEIR OCCURRENCES.SERVICE PROCEDURES WERE ISSUED FOR VEHICLES IN USE, AND A DESIGN MODIFICATION MADE FOR NEW VEHICLES.NO CONFIRMED ALLEGATIONS OF FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM TO DISENGAGE UPON COMMAND WERE IDENTIFIED.IMPROVED QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURES AND DESIGN MODIFICATIONSIN THE SYSTEM WERE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE A MORE CONSISTENT LEVEL OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCE.THE DETAILS OF THESE FINDINGS AND THE RESULTING CONCLUSIONS ARE CONTAINED INTHE SUBJECT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS CLOSING REPORT.A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT TREND WAS NOT IDENTIFIED AT EHIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
PE94079 · Cruise Control Failure
Opened Nov 7, 1994 · Closed Feb 24, 1995
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Equipment
There is no summary currently available