"How reliable is the 2002 Saturn Ls?"

"Based on 631 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Saturn Ls has a median complaint mileage of 75200 miles. The most common issue is Engine And Engine Cooling."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Saturn Ls?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Saturn Ls is Engine And Engine Cooling, accounting for a significant portion of the 631 total complaints filed."

2002 Saturn Ls: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 631 complaints

631

Total Complaints

75,200mi

Median Mileage

Engine And Engine Cooling

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

49,001 25th Percentile

75,200 Median Mileage

102,014 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine And Engine Cooling

Engine

Electrical System

Engine

Headlights

Fuel System, Gasoline

Exterior Lighting

Belts And Associated Pulleys

Power Train

Suspension

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ON MORE THEN ONE OCCASSION WHILE MAKING A TURN AT 10-15 MPH AND APPLYING BRAKES PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE, CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY CAUSE. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK"

"HEADLIGHTS WERE FLICKERING, THEY DIMED AND WENT BACK TO NORMAL SEVERAL TIMES. NO DASH INDICATOR INLLUMINATES. IT APPEARS AS IF THE CHARGING SYTEM OUITS AND RESTARTS. *JG *AK"

"HEADLIGHTS AND DASHBOARD LIGHTS FLICKER WHEN BREAK AND CLUTCH ARE APPLIED. THEY ALSO FLICKER WHEN JUST NORMAL DRIVING. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO EFFECT ANY OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS (RADIO, HEAT, WINDOWS ETC.). IT IS QUITE ANNOYING. I HAVE HAD THE CAR BACK TO THE ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine And Engine Cooling 93 complaints

25th: 70,250 mi Median: 85,207 mi 75th: 101,250 mi

Engine 73 complaints

25th: 57,603 mi Median: 74,979 mi 75th: 99,250 mi

Electrical System 62 complaints

25th: 64,000 mi Median: 84,984 mi 75th: 120,000 mi

Engine 43 complaints

25th: 80,125 mi Median: 114,500 mi 75th: 149,500 mi

Headlights 27 complaints

25th: 20,000 mi Median: 24,000 mi 75th: 58,100 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 52 CA: 50 NY: 47 PA: 45 IL: 42 FL: 39 TN: 30 MI: 25 OH: 24 NC: 23

Who Files Complaints?

27.9%

Original Owners

72.1%

Second+ Owners

Saturn Ls — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2000	544	77,500	Engine And Engine Cooling	12
2001	708	80,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	18

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28