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6 Little-Known Facts about the Saturn SL Series

  • Thou shall not steal. Did you know that the 1995 model of the Saturn SL Series was regarded as 2003's most stolen vehicle? Also in the same year, the 1994 Saturn SL bagged the third spot in CCC Information Services' most stolen vehicle report. The Saturn SL Series became popular among car robbers because once the SL's key wears on the ignition and the doors, even a filed blank key can be used to open the vehicle and rev up its engine.

  • The original Saturn. Interestingly, the original SL was included in Saturn's S-Series, which was the first-ever vehicle series release by the Saturn division of General Motors. The term SL was used for the line's sedan offerings, while the SC label was assigned to the sports coupe version of the S-Series. All the vehicles in this series bore the Z-body platform, which was exclusively developed by Saturn's in-house team.

  • The Saturn signature. The use of a vehicle design called the "spaceframe" was unique to Saturn vehicles and a few Pontiac models. This particular design makes use of plastic or polymer for the Saturn vehicles' load-less side panels. These panels were said to have high resistance against dents. This particular feature has been Saturn's primary selling point since they released the S-Series in 1990.

  • Saturn in Asia. Saturn vehicles, particularly the SL Series, were not that famous in the Asian continent. In fact, Taiwan and Japan were the only Asian countries who imported Saturn vehicles. Taiwan imported the first and second generation SLs as well as the first generation SCs. Japan, on the other hand, sold right-hand-drive versions of the S-Series from 1996 to 2003.

  • Hello, goodbye. On the 30th of July 1990, the first Saturn S-Series vehicle was driven out of the assembly line in Spring Hill, Tennessee by UAW President Owen Bieber and former GM CEO, Roger Bonham Smith. This legendary Saturn S-Series vehicle had a tan interior and a maroon-colored exterior. In that same day, Smith bid farewell to his position as General Motors' Chief Executive Officer.

  • Lucky 10. In 2001, Saturn celebrated the 10th year anniversary of the SL Series' release and production through the 10th Anniversary Edition of the SL Sedan. This was a limited edition offering because only 1,000 Anniversary vehicles were produced. The special edition SL Sedan was built on the SL2 trim. The vehicle had a silver finish, and it featured a black leather interior, white gauge faces, black Saturn badges, and special floor mats with especially embroidered "Saturn 10th Anniversary" writings. It also came with a top-quality alloy wheels called the "Teardrop II."

  • Saturn on Saturn. Do you want to know the SL Sedan's weight in another planet? The ordinary Saturn SL Sedan has a whopping weight of 2,596.1 lbs. in Saturn!

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Saturn SL Series Articles

  • Saturn SL Series Problems

    17 January 2013

    Released in the fall of 1990, the Saturn SL instantly captured the interest of the American market with its unique Z-body platform and fuel-efficient engine. The Saturn SL is the sedan variant of the S-Series, which was the automobile company's first venture into the car manufacturing industry. Apart from the base model, which was only sold with a manual transmission, the SL Sedan spawned two successful trim levels-the SL1 and the SL2. Although the Saturn SL Series had a very successful run in the automobile market, present and future owners of the SL Series models should still be mindful of the following problems, which are very common in most SL, SL1, and SL2 models.


    Ignition

    One of the SL Series' most common problems is its ignition system. Some of the parts of the SL's ignition system are prone to premature failure, and one good example of this is the SL's clutch interlock switch. This switch is responsible for allowing the driver to start the vehicle without stepping on the clutch pedal. When this fails, revving up the vehicle will be impossible. Numerous car owners had to replace their SLs' faulty clutch interlock switch just to solve this starting problem.

    Another ignition dilemma involves the lock cylinder. Most SL vehicles suffered from faulty lock cylinders, which are the top reasons why car keys get stuck in the ignition. In addition to this, bad lock cylinders can also cause the engine to continuouSLy run even if the key was already removed from the ignition.


    Engine and cooling system

    Several Saturn SL owners complained about their vehicles' intake manifold gaskets, which tend to develop cracks after some time. Apart from causing the check engine light to illuminate, these damage in the head gasket also caused the engine oil to leak into the radiator tank. Oil contamination in the Saturn SL's cooling system caused frequent overheating and failure to start the vehicle. To avoid further engine damage, most vehicle owners decided to replace the broken gaskets. They also reported the said incidents to the manufacturer, but no recalls issued involving this problem.


    Safety

    Several safety recalls were issued due to problems involving various Saturn SL Series parts. More than 6,000 SL vehicles were recalled in the year 2000 because they all failed to pass the requirements stated in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards item number 301 in terms of "FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY." According to the reports, the problem has something to do with the vent valve on top of the fuel tank. These vent valves were poorly welded onto the vehicles' fuel tank assemblies. Failure to fix this problem could result in gas spillage while refueling or gas leakages in cases of rear-end collisions.

    In 1999, a safety recall was issued due to the faulty seatbelt anchorages of nearly 300,000 Saturn SL Series vehicles. Reports said that the seatbelt shoulder guide anchor bolts were loosely attached to the center pillar. This problem can cause the front seatbelt to fail in case the affected vehicle is involved in a road accident.

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