← New search

2002 Saturn Sc

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2002 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

Other model years Selected 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

25 reports with mileage · 13 unknown

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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports2 fire reports5 injury reports

Power Train complaints

1 reports
Clear category filter
80,000 miles · Sep 25, 2008
Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

2002 SATURN SC1 LOST ENGINE--OIL IN COOLANT AT 80,000 MILES. THE MECHANIC THAT DISASSEMBLED THE ENGINE STATED THAT THE CAMSHAFT JOURNALS WERE WORN SO BAD THAT THE ENGINE COULD NOT BE RE-BUILT. REPLACED ENGINE 5 MONTHS AGO, LAST WEEK, AUTO TRANSMISSION STOPPED ENGAGING REVERSE GEAR. DISCUSSED WITH LOCAL SATURN DEALER WHO OFFERE…

Read full complaint

2002 SATURN SC1 LOST ENGINE--OIL IN COOLANT AT 80,000 MILES. THE MECHANIC THAT DISASSEMBLED THE ENGINE STATED THAT THE CAMSHAFT JOURNALS WERE WORN SO BAD THAT THE ENGINE COULD NOT BE RE-BUILT. REPLACED ENGINE 5 MONTHS AGO, LAST WEEK, AUTO TRANSMISSION STOPPED ENGAGING REVERSE GEAR. DISCUSSED WITH LOCAL SATURN DEALER WHO OFFERED NO HELP. THIS IS MY DAUGHTER'S CAR. MY CAR--2002 SATURN SC2 HAD TO HAVE AN ENGINE OVERHAUL AT 46,000 MILES DUE TO BURNED VALVES IN #2 CYLINDER. EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERED REPAIRS. OIL CONSUMPTION PRIOR TO OVERHAUL WAS EXCESSIVE (QT EVERY 1000 MILES--DEALER SAID NORMAL) MY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS AN INTERMITTENT EXTREMELY ROUGH DOWNSHIFT, WHICH WAS REPORTED TO SATURN DEALERS 4 TIMES WHILE IN WARRANTY. EACH TIME, THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. OUR FAMILY BOUGHT THE CAR NEW, AND RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN PERFORMED. AT THIS TIME, I FEEL THAT SATURN HAS SOME WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEMS WITH BOTH THE SINGLE CAM AND TWIN CAM ENGINES, AS WELL AS THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10243382

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.