1992 Saturn SC1

Fatalities reported

Owners filed 15 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the seat belts. It has been recalled 1 time.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Seat Belts5
000
Seats › Front Assembly › Recliner2
101
Vehicle Speed Control1
000
Structure1
000
Steering › Linkages › Knuckle › Spindle › Arm1
101
Seat Belts › Front › Anchorage1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
000
Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood1
111

1 safety recall

Part 573 reports
Electrical System › Alternator/Generator/Regulator93V132000
Filed Aug 10, 1993352,833 vehiclesGeneral Motors Corp.

Defect. THE GENERATOR ELECTRICAL WIRING IS NOT PROTECTED AGAINST EXCESSIVE CURRENT FLOW WHICH MAY BE CAUSED BY AN ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE GENERATOR.

Risk. SHOULD AN ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT OCCUR IN THEGENERATOR, THE GENERATOR WIRING HARNESS WOULD EXPERIENCE EXCESSIVE CURRENT FLOW.UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, ENOUGH HEAT COULD BE GENERATED TO IGNITE SURROUNDINGMATERIALS. IF THIS OCCURS, AN UNDERHOOD FIRE COULD RESULT WITH OR WITHOUT THEENGINE RUNNING AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.

Remedy. THE GENERATOR WIRING HARNESS WILL BE REPLACED WITH ONE THAT WILL OPEN AS A FUSE WOULD UNDER CERTAIN EXCESSIVE CURRENT FLOW CONDITIONS.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Nov 26, 200716,000 milesOR

STARTED ENGINE IMMEDIATELY DIED! TIMING CHAIN BROKEN. SECOND TIME SINCE OWNED CAR. *TR

Structure
Filed Aug 7, 2001PA

HEADLINER FELL DOWN INTO MY FACE WHILE DRIVING...ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. *AK

Electrical System › Wiring › Front UnderhoodCrashFire1 injured1 killed
Filed Jul 19, 2001TN

AIRBAG FAILED ON FRONT IMPACT, FIRE STARTED UNDER PASSENGER SEAT IN FRONT,DRIVER TRAPPED, TOTALED CAR, DESTROYED BY FIRE IN SECONDS. VERY LITTLE DAMAGE FROM IMPACT.*AK

Seat Belts
Filed Mar 28, 2000DC

DRIVER'S SIDE AUTOMATIC SEATBELT FAILURE. *SLC

Seat Belts
Filed Jun 1, 1999VA

DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT IS INOPERABLE DUE TO BROKEN TRACK MOTOR. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK

Seats › Front Assembly › ReclinerCrash1 injured
Filed May 27, 1999GA

DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SEATBACKS BROKE WHEN VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A REAR END IMPACT. DRIVE RSUSTAINED INJURIES. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed May 17, 1999OH

SAMES VALVES BAD AGAIN AT 63000

Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System
Filed May 4, 1999IN

NO SUMMARY

Seat Belts › Front › Anchorage
Filed Feb 23, 1999NM

DRIVER'S SIDE LAP SEAT BELT STITCHING UNRAVELED WHERE THE BELT WAS FOLDED OVER. TOOK TO DEALER TO SEE IF IT WAS A PROBLEM. THEY STATED THAT IT WAS SAFE TO DRIVE WITH THE STITCHING UNRAVELED. HAVE BEEN DRIVING LIKE THAT FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. SAW ANOTHER PERSON WRITE TO NEWSPAPER AUTOMOBILE COLUMN WITH SAME PROBLEM AND REFERRED TO YOUR ORGANIZATION. I DECIDED TO SUBMIT MY PROBLEM WITH THE SEAT BELT TOO.

Steering › Linkages › Knuckle › Spindle › ArmCrash1 injured
Filed Aug 8, 1997KY

PREMATURE WEA ROF SPIDLE, CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL/ACCIDENT. ALSO SEATBACKBROKE, CAUSING SEAT TO FALL INTO THE REAR SEAT. *AK

Seat Belts
Filed Jan 29, 1997CA

HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE STICKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY, ON PASSENGER SIDE RIGHT FRONT BUMPER AND ALONG SIDE OF VEHICLE; AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT RETRACTOR ON PASSENGE'SR & DRIVER'S SIDE WORKS INTERMITTENTLY AT TIMES. *AK

Seat Belts
Filed Dec 16, 1996IL

MOTORIZED DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT ONLY COMES BACK HALF WAY TO CHEST WHEN DOOR IS CLOSED. *AK

Seats › Front Assembly › Recliner
Filed Nov 22, 1995CA

SEAT BACK FRAME INSIDE BENT, ALLOWING THE SEAT HALF OF THE SEAT BACK TO BEND BACK. TT

Seat Belts
Filed Jul 11, 1995OH

VEHICLES DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT TRACK IS INOPERATIVE. *AK

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Mar 6, 1995TX

THE CRUISE CONTROL QUITS WORKING ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, HAPPENS MORE OFTEN AFTER USING ACCEL BUTTON A FEW TIMES. INCONSISTENT. TT

15 of 15 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1994
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
200125200Routine
20008200Routine
199921000Routine
199839000Routine
199761300Routine
199639010Routine
199559100Routine
199482110Routine
199358210Routine
1992 — this page15111Fatalities reported
19916100Routine

Compare every SC1 year →

Reading this record

1 death reported in complaints filed with NHTSA.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Aug 10, 1993. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.