Latest Saturn horror story

My tires were very good after 50k ... I rotated them at 20k and 40k ... no problems ... Great car!!!! Roy, 98 SL2

Huh?

Standard text in ANY car owner's manual - do not tow the car on all 4 wheels. In fact, it's bad for any car out there, and murderous to any

Because the transmission doesn't get lubrication when the motor's not running - the engine spins the tranny's oil pump.

The simple fact is, and RV heads absolutely hate hearing this, but the only safe way to tow a car is either with a dolly that keeps the drive wheels off the ground, or with the halfshafts out. Spinning the transmission via the drivesshaft for hours on end at high speed, without the engine running to keep the pump going, will destory ANY automatic out there, and is bad for most manuals too.

No car company covers dammage from intentional use. I'm failing to see how this is a 'horror story'....

We regularly tow our "chase vehicle" behind our large trucks, and we ALWAYS idle the engine while it is being towed...even if it is for hours at a time. No problems on a cheapo Mazda pickup.

As far as your tire problems...what does THAT have to do with the price of tea in China? It sounds like you either got some bad advice or NO advice on the proper way to tow your saturn behind your RV. Based on what I see around the country, Saturns are a pretty popular car to tow behind Land Yachts.

R.

Yes. This keeps the transmission lubricated. I'm guessing automatic here? An automatic can be destroyed towing it with the motor off. With the motor on, it pretty much thinks it's in neutral all day - the front pump is pushing lube through the system.

Then again, after thinking about it, do the gears turn at all in a manual in neutral with the engine off? If not, that's bad for them too

- since it's the spinning gears that splash the lube around.

In any case, proper towing is the key - and running the engine does the trick here. No manufacturer I know of would do a tranny replaccement in or out of warrenty for someone who improperly towed a car (and the manual says what the proper methods are!)

Good idea to keep the engine of the towed car running. It is not so much lubrication as the sustained hydraulic pressure that keeps the auto trany from getting damaged. With the engine off, the clutch packs all drag and will wear out. With engine on, the pump is circulating fluid for cooling and will hold the clutches in the correct sequence.

Please read what the saturn in fargo has to say.

Paul

Actually the Saturn S-Series cars were designed to be pulled without having to put it on a trailer of any type. Though the note did not say what type of Saturn the person had. If they had a L-Series then they abused the car and tough luck. The L-Series was NOT designed to be pulled without a trailer holding it up.

Jim

Now click on "New Models" and you'll see it only covers the cars that were new for 1998. IE, the S series. (Hey, mine is a 1998 S series... SW2)

Apparently they need to update their web site..

-DanD

The horror story happens because the facts are hidden IN FINE PRINT somewhere in the middle of the owners manual! Besides- common sense says that when any car is put in NEUTRAL the wheels are dis-engaged from the transmission. So why should the trans be affected at all? We all see cars being towed with 4 wheels on the pavement and conditioned to believe it can't hart any car! So thanks for the information but don't expect Saturn to put a bold sticker on the dashboard informing owners of this!

Well maybe you should RTFM manual, dipshit!!!!!

Why should the trans be affected? Its common sense to me that it *IS* affected. Maybe you're just a stupid ass?

The only reason many people (like me) buy a Saturn is because (for most older and some new models) they CAN be towed 4-down according to the Saturn and will still be covered under warranty. RTFM!

The transmission pump in many Saturns is spun by the wheels and not the engine. There are several other vehicles that operate this way and can be towed 4-down, many other vehicles allow it under limited speeds/mileage because they are either designed very well and/or get a low level of lubrication without the engine running. For those vehicles that don't get enough circulation, you can install an aftermarket "lube pump" from the likes of Remco Towing.

As for the suggestion made in another post to tow with the engine running, that's just plain dumb! If the engine doesn't overheat from poor air flow, the power steering pump doesn't fail from fighting the turning wheels, there is always the chance of it slipping into gear and push both vehicles off a cliff.

RTFM. Duh. It's not Saturn's fault for you not reasing your manual.

No, that's not how car transmissions work.

Because it's still being spun by the wheels. And it's not recieving full lubrication because the front pump isn't running. Unless the front pump in an automatic is running, the transission is not being properly lubricated. In a manual, unless the engine's running and spinning the gears, there's no splash lubrication to the needle bearings on the various shafts. Shafts which spin regardless of if the transmission's in gear or not.

I see soccer moms weaving through traffic in their SUVs while yapping on phones al the time. This doesn't mean it's a good idea, or safe.

Why would they? Nobody else does. But, if you look in the manual, it clearly states how you should tow the vehicle, and what conditions apply.

Simply reading the manual will give the answer. It's not Saturn's fault if the owners don't read and follow the manual.

...now say what you really mean! (grin)

Happy Halloween all...

"common sense says that when any car is put in NEUTRAL the wheels are dis-engaged from the transmission." No. Common sense says that when the car is in neutral the wheels are disengaged from the engine not the transmission.

Very True. I just got my new 2004 ION 3 last tuesday. No matter how boring it was, I read the manual cover to cover, plus all the warranty information (what's covered what's not) and the service schedule. It's only common sense. And to address the original poster (I don't remember which car he had was it an SL or an ION?), the ION manual section 4 pgs. 31-33 has pretty specific instructions on towing for the various transmissions. The manual transmission car is the only one that can be towed with 4 wheels on the ground and it gives specific instructions on how to do it with pictures and everything, it's hard to miss, certainly not fine print. I quote "Five Speed Automatic and VTi: Your vehicle was not designed to be towed with all four wheels on the ground"

LOL.....this guy really is a dipshit and very annoying. Nobody should pay for his own stupidity but himself. Just because he's a stupid ass doesn't mean he has to degrade Saturn all over the place.

You too.....

Isn't he the one who promotes illegal splicing of power cords, too?

With the key off, the miles don't add up on the car's odometer.