IllustrationCOOLANT AROUND THE SPARK PLUG NEAREST THE TRANSMISSION, ENGINE OIL IS VISIBLE IN COOLANT TANK. INTERNET SEARCH REVEALED A CRACKED HEAD DUE TO FACTORY DEFECT IN HEAD CASTING. GM DID NOT ISSUE A RECALL! *TR
1998 Saturn Sl
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Saturn Sl do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 171.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sl 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: 38 of 168 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.
- Power Train. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Seat Belts. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
23 crash reports2 fire reports19 injury reports
Engine complaints
1 reportsOfficial recalls
0No 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.