What breaks most · 1992 to 2001 model years
Saturn SW problems by year
Owners have filed 209 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Saturn SW across model years 1992 to 2001. Three years stand out: 1995 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 1997 for electrical system complaints and 1994 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints. The quietest years are 1992, 1999 and 1996.
- Years to check closely: 1995, 1997, 1994
- Fewest complaints: 1992, 1999, 1996
- Complaints on file
- 2091992 to 2001, all trims
- Worst year
- 199536 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 319 fires · 32 injuries · 1 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 90kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 16Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Electrical system (1) | |
| 27 | 1 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (6) | |
| 30 | 11 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (9) | |
| 36 | 5 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (9) | |
| 20 | 1 | 0 | Engine and cooling (6) | |
| 31 | 1 | 0 | Electrical system (8) | |
| 27 | 4 | 0 | Engine and cooling (6) | |
| 16 | 4 | 1 | Air bags (4) | |
| 15 | 2 | 7 | Engine and cooling (4) | |
| 6 | 1 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (1) |
What fails on the 1995 Saturn SW
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 25% |
9 | 2 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 22% |
8 | 1 | Shop all engine and cooling parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Seats | 17% |
6 | 3 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 14% |
5 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Unknown or other | 8% |
3 | 0 | — |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 6% |
2 | 0 | Shop all fuel system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 6% |
2 | 0 | Shop all suspension parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 6% |
2 | 0 | Shop all body and structure parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
While driving the consumers brakes failed, the pedal bottomed out about one inch above the floor, took vehicle to dealer but they couln't find any problems. Nlm
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While driving 40 mph the engine failed without warning. The service dealer states the ignition coil pack had malfunctioned. *nm the vehicle was being driven on the highway when the incident occurred. *sc
-
Vehicle was experiencing problem with overheating whenever a/c was being used. Also , this problem caused vehicle to jerk when applying brakes. Vehicle been in dealer shop on several occasions, and problem still occurring. Please feel free to provide any further details. *ak
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Saturn SW years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1995, 1997, 1994 carry the most filings on the Saturn SW. The 1995 alone has 36 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Saturn SW problem?
On the 1995 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 9 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Saturn SW problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Saturn SW complaints that include mileage is about 90,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.