Total Complaints
11 filings
SATURN LW200 · model year
11 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2002SATURNLW200 carries 11 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2002 LW200 is engine with 3 filings, followed by fuel/propulsion system (2) and fuel system, gasoline (2). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 14 investigation files overlapping the 2002 LW200. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
11 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 3 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 2 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
driving at 35 mph when engine stopped running and failed to restart. inspection determined timing chain had failed due to failure to keep tension. the timing chain tensioner on Ecotech 2.2 engines from 2000-2004 had tensioners which failed to keep the chain taught which lead to GM redesigning the tensioner. this problem was never recalled and consequentially this occurred in almost all of these engines and caused severe engine damage to pistons and valves, requiring a complete engine overhaul somewhere's around 100k miles on up. GM's new tensioner design solved this and the part cost a mere $50 yet no recall ever happened. I had to put a new engine in my Saturn and spent over 8000 dollars...
VEHICLE EXHIBITS A CONSTANT, STRONG GASOLINE SMELL ORIGINATING FROM REAR OUTSIDE AREA WITH NO ENGINE CODE AND NO LACK OF DRIVABILITY. *TR
Mileage: 145,000
RECALL 03033/03-C-06 IGNITION CONTROL MODULE WAS NEVER SERVICED. OWNED BY A 88 YEAR OLD LADY. MUST SOME KIND OF A REPAIR SCAM IN LA.
Mileage: 39,000
RECALL 03033/03-C-06 IGNITION CONTROL MODULE WAS NEVER SERVICED. OWNED BY A 88 YEAR OLD LADY. MUST SOME KIND OF A REPAIR SCAM IN LA.
Mileage: 39,000
RECALL 03033/03-C-06 IGNITION CONTROL MODULE WAS NEVER SERVICED. OWNED BY A 88 YEAR OLD LADY. MUST SOME KIND OF A REPAIR SCAM IN LA.
Mileage: 39,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN LW200. `THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT A FUEL ODOR WAS ENTERING THE VEHICLE FROM THE REAR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000. .....UPDATED 03/08/17 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE FUEL PUMP WAS LEAKING ON TOP OF THE GAS TANK AND RUNNING DOWN THE TANK. THE PUMP WAS REPLACED DUE TO A CRACK IN THE PUMP. UPDATED 03/13/17.*JB
Mileage: 90,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN LW200. `THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT A FUEL ODOR WAS ENTERING THE VEHICLE FROM THE REAR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000. .....UPDATED 03/08/17 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE FUEL PUMP WAS LEAKING ON TOP OF THE GAS TANK AND RUNNING DOWN THE TANK. THE PUMP WAS REPLACED DUE TO A CRACK IN THE PUMP. UPDATED 03/13/17.*JB
Mileage: 90,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN LW200. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SERVICE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE SAME FAILURE OCCURRED TWO OTHER TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AGAIN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000.
Mileage: 105,000
2002 SATURN L200. AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON FOR NO REASON, AND WHEN THE CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, THE AIRBAG LIGHT DIDN'T COME ON AND THE AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. *TA THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *JB
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN LW200. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE REAR DRIVER SIDE BRAKE LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V245000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 141,000.
Mileage: 141,000
TIMING CHAIN BREAK, CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. VEHICLE MANUFACTURED 09/01. NOT NOTIFIED ABOUT ANY POSSIBLE RECALL. *TR
Mileage: 160,000
Electric Power Steering Failure
Electric Power Steering Failure
OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLES STICK UNLATCHED
TIMING CHAIN BREAKS, ENGINE STALL
TIMING CHAIN FAILURE-STALL
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2002 SATURN LW200; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.