IllustrationWHILE DRIVING 10 MPH ENGINE STALLED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ENGINE BEARING WORE OUT COMPLETELY ON ONE SIDE. AS A RESULT, THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
1998 Saturn Sw
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Saturn Sw do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 20.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sw 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: 4 of 27 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.
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
4 crash reports1 fire reports2 injury reports
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
6 reportsVEHICLE BURNS OIL PREMATURELY. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE STALLED. *AK
ENGINE RUNS ROUGH AND STALLS. SOMETIMES SES LIGHT COMES ON, SOMETIMES NOT. VEHICLE WILL NOT START. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR TO THE DEALER 8 TIMES IN 2 YEARS AND THEY ALWAYS "FIX" SOMETHING--SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERYTIME, BUT THE SYMPTOMS ARE THE SAME EVERY TIME. DEALER SAYS THERE IS "NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR" AND THAT THE PROBLEM IS…
Read full complaint
ENGINE RUNS ROUGH AND STALLS. SOMETIMES SES LIGHT COMES ON, SOMETIMES NOT. VEHICLE WILL NOT START. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR TO THE DEALER 8 TIMES IN 2 YEARS AND THEY ALWAYS "FIX" SOMETHING--SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERYTIME, BUT THE SYMPTOMS ARE THE SAME EVERY TIME. DEALER SAYS THERE IS "NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR" AND THAT THE PROBLEM IS DIFFERENT EVERY TIME I BRING IT IN. SEVERAL TIMES THERE HAVE BEEN NO CODES STORED TO INDICATE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS-THEREFORE, ACCORDING TO THE DEALER-"THERE IS NO PROBLEM". I DON'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!! I AM TIRED OF TAKING THE CAR IN FOR THIS PROBLEM, IT HAS MOST RECENTLY BEEN IN ON OCT. 12, 2000 , DEC. 1, 2000 , AND DEC. 21, 2000---EVERYTIME I REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEMS AND ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, EVERY TIME IT IS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS VEHICLE CAUSING THIS PROBLEM TO CONTINUE. I HAVE ALL THE REPAIR RECORDS.*AK
BACKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY ENGINE CATCHES ON FIRE. VERY SUDDEN. NO INDICATION OF UPCOMING PROBLEM. CAR UNDER WARRANTY. TOTAL LOSS. *AK
VEHICLE STALLS WHEN STOPPED AT LIGHTS.
Official 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.