2000 Saturn LS2, V-6 3.0 L, 68,000 Miles
I own a 2000 Saturn V-6 LS2 with an automatic transmission. I bought this vehicle used from a dealership in September of 2006. I had no problems with the vehicle until December of 2006. I had driven the vehicle to a nearby town about 45 miles away, I was running errands and the car was driving fine. Then as I tried to start the car it just suddenly wouldn’t start. It cranked but wouldn’t turn over. I tried many times to get it to start. I tried everything to get it to start, turned off all fans and radio, and it didn’t make a difference. I verified that it wasn’t a power issue. After some time of trying, the tow truck was already on its way, the vehicle turned over and we drove home. We took the vehicle immediately to our mechanic, as we were afraid it wouldn’t start again. Once we got there, I turned it off, and it fired right up again as it should. I tried this a few times. The mechanic said that maybe it was just a fluke and I took it home. It worked fine for several weeks, and then suddenly it wouldn’t start again. It was towed this time to the mechanics, the mechanic replaced the V-6 Main relay. He diagnosed it with a long crank and the car had a code for power loss at relay. The mechanic found a bulletin stating relay could be the problem, he checked and terminals for relay is ok and fuse is ok. He replaced the relay, cleared code and test drove the car, it worked fine. Then in February it acted up again, exactly the same as before. It seems like if the vehicle has a cold engine it will fire up every time, but if you drive it, turn it off and want to start it in the next few hours it won’t start. This is not the case every time, but most often.
In March I took the vehicle to our local GM dealership and asked them to diagnose the problem. My mechanic had read the codes over 10 times at this point and couldn’t come up with a consistent diagnose or code, it seems to have many different error codes. The local dealership advised that the mass air flow sensor needed to be replaced. They said that they tested the vehicle with some sort of equipment that said the car was moving, when indeed it was standing still. We took the vehicle from the dealership, we had the same problems, except now, it also stalls if the engine idles too long. Maybe just a few seconds at a red light or a stop sign, or it may run idling for close to an hour, but eventually it stalls.
We had the mass air flow sensor replaced as the dealership suggested. We are still having the same problems with the long crank and not starting, and are now having the constant stalling problem.
My mechanic said that he can’t fix it, as he can’t figure out what the problem is. The local dealership won’t work on it anymore, they say that reprogramming the computer won’t do anything.
Both mechanics agree that it is probably a problem with the main computer on the car, and that I need to take it to the nearest Saturn Dealership. This means towing the vehicle about 175 miles to the nearest dealership.
I am looking for any suggestions or things I could try to fix the problem without resorting to this extreme.
One thing to note. Right before this happened, while in the nearby town I jump started another car. I didn’t do it personally, but close friends did, and they insist everything went fine, and that couldn’t possibly be the cause of the problem, but I feel the need to mention it anyway.
I own a 2000 Saturn V-6 LS2 with an automatic transmission. I bought this vehicle used from a dealership in September of 2006. I had no problems with the vehicle until December of 2006. I had driven the vehicle to a nearby town about 45 miles away, I was running errands and the car was driving fine. Then as I tried to start the car it just suddenly wouldn’t start. It cranked but wouldn’t turn over. I tried many times to get it to start. I tried everything to get it to start, turned off all fans and radio, and it didn’t make a difference. I verified that it wasn’t a power issue. After some time of trying, the tow truck was already on its way, the vehicle turned over and we drove home. We took the vehicle immediately to our mechanic, as we were afraid it wouldn’t start again. Once we got there, I turned it off, and it fired right up again as it should. I tried this a few times. The mechanic said that maybe it was just a fluke and I took it home. It worked fine for several weeks, and then suddenly it wouldn’t start again. It was towed this time to the mechanics, the mechanic replaced the V-6 Main relay. He diagnosed it with a long crank and the car had a code for power loss at relay. The mechanic found a bulletin stating relay could be the problem, he checked and terminals for relay is ok and fuse is ok. He replaced the relay, cleared code and test drove the car, it worked fine. Then in February it acted up again, exactly the same as before. It seems like if the vehicle has a cold engine it will fire up every time, but if you drive it, turn it off and want to start it in the next few hours it won’t start. This is not the case every time, but most often.
In March I took the vehicle to our local GM dealership and asked them to diagnose the problem. My mechanic had read the codes over 10 times at this point and couldn’t come up with a consistent diagnose or code, it seems to have many different error codes. The local dealership advised that the mass air flow sensor needed to be replaced. They said that they tested the vehicle with some sort of equipment that said the car was moving, when indeed it was standing still. We took the vehicle from the dealership, we had the same problems, except now, it also stalls if the engine idles too long. Maybe just a few seconds at a red light or a stop sign, or it may run idling for close to an hour, but eventually it stalls.
We had the mass air flow sensor replaced as the dealership suggested. We are still having the same problems with the long crank and not starting, and are now having the constant stalling problem.
My mechanic said that he can’t fix it, as he can’t figure out what the problem is. The local dealership won’t work on it anymore, they say that reprogramming the computer won’t do anything.
Both mechanics agree that it is probably a problem with the main computer on the car, and that I need to take it to the nearest Saturn Dealership. This means towing the vehicle about 175 miles to the nearest dealership.
I am looking for any suggestions or things I could try to fix the problem without resorting to this extreme.
One thing to note. Right before this happened, while in the nearby town I jump started another car. I didn’t do it personally, but close friends did, and they insist everything went fine, and that couldn’t possibly be the cause of the problem, but I feel the need to mention it anyway.
May 10, 2007 at 12:50 PM