2002 Saturn SL consumer reviews

My 2002 Saturn SL1 has had no mechanical problems since the day I bought it. The Service Engine Soon light has been on since about a month after I bought it, but a lot of cars have that problem. This car has given me no trouble.

Great little cars. I have a 2000 SL1 Manual Transmission with 245,000 miles, a 2002 SL2 Auto Transmission with 215,00 miles. I love these cars so much I bought each of my kids their own when they got their driver licenses. So I've also owned a 1996 SC2, 1996 SC1, and a 97 SC2. Great safety ratings with front driver and passenger side airbags. The cars are really easy to work on. The auto transmissions have a screw on filter like an oil filter, so doing a transmission fluid change is an easy job. The polymer panels don't rust. My 2000 got hit by a hit and run driver in the parking lot. I found a fender to replace it at a junk yard, same color match and you can't tell it's a replacement. All of my cars get 32+ mpg and the 2000 gets 40 on long trips.

Saturn SL2 was fun to drive, 30 mpg city and 37-39 mpg highway. Very low maintenance. Also great on snowy roads.

I've owned manual transmission Saturn SLs since 1992 and all of them up to my current 2002 SL1 have been wonderful from both a maintenance and mpg standpoint. I regularly get 30 mpg on my daily commute which was combination city/highway driving. Long trips on the highway give around 44 mpg, which considering the cars cost and the fact it's not a hybrid is pretty amazing (why can't GM produce these engines in a new model now?). The one dark spot in my Saturn experience has been the Automatic Transmission on my 2002 SL1. It started having severe shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear and I took it in to the dealer. They tightened the input shaft bolt and rebuilt the valve body, but I was back again with hard shifting. Next they replaced the solenoids and solenoid backplane, but this did not restore the transmission to its original smooth shifting. The dealer was soon to be closing due to GM's decision to discontinue Saturn and they said they'd done everything they could think of. I ended up getting the transmission replaced at a reputable transmission shop and even with a rebuilt transmission it does not shift like it did even at 90K (now at 112K). My father also has a 2002 SL1 and is having horrific Automatic transmission problems even after getting a rebuilt transmission. I highly recommend buying any Saturn SL with a manual transmission - you won't be disappointed, but if I could do it again I would've stayed away from getting an Automatic!

I bought my Saturn SL new in April 2002. It now has 138,000 miles and still runs as good as it did new. The car was cheap to buy, but has been bullet proof reilable. Not a fast car or super comfortable, but it makes up for that in economy and reliablity. No doubt this car will go 250,000 miles.

I have had my Saturn for 5 years now and it has 125,000 miles on it. I think this car is great for an economy car. 2002 is the last year of the true Saturns before GM took over and ruined them. I plan to keep this car for years because I know that I can trust it. It has decent safety ratings, good reliability ratings, and is fun to drive. I change the oil every 5000 miles and other than that there have only been small repairs here and there. Very affordable, trustworthy vehicle that I would recommend to anyone.

We bought our Saturn new in July 2002 only replaced the battery tires and serpentine belt. It only has 43,000 miles but it's been a great car only regret was not buying 2 from the dealer. I have gotten as high as 40 miles per gallon with the 1.9 litre automatic.

Bought my SL2 18 months ago with 44K miles on it for $4200. Now at 54K. Only things outside of routine maintenance have been a muffler and a $30 engine sensor (which I replaced myself in 10 minutes). It may be a basic economy car, but I love this darn Saturn more than any of the vastly more expensive cars I've owned in the past. It's simple, no nonsense design makes it easy to service, maintain, and modify. The polymer body panels keep the car looking great, even though it's 9 years old now. These cars are also very durable....others have clocked over 500K miles on theirs. These S-series Saturns have their faults, but if you need a good, basic used car, and can find an S-series Saturn with low mileage, GET IT. I can't think of a better choice.

This is my second saturn 2002 SL 5 spd. My first one was great and my second one is even better. Very dependable, affortable, and awesome MPG! 32-33 is the lowest city I have ever gotten and 40 MPG on the highway! I would recommend this car to anyone, I just wish Saturn was still around to make more reliable cars...

This is my first car and I have been driving it for 5 years now. Bought it at 50,000 miles for $5400. It now has 90,000 miles. This car has amazing gas mileage (getting 38 mpg highway) and has been very reliable (starts in -20 degree weather). However, it will overheat when idle for more than 5 minutes and is absolutely AWFUL in ice and snow. Other than that, great car!