How many miles will a 2002 Saturn SL last?
NHTSA holds 19 owner complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 7 past 150,000 and 3 past 200,000. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 131 complaints on this model year, 80 of them with a mileage, and half of those mileages are at or under 59,736 miles; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 80 complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL that list mileage, the middle half came between 34,000 and 90,000 miles; 19 (24%) came after 100,000 miles, 7 (9%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2002 SL last?
The 80 mileages owners gave run from 48 to 252,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 34,000 miles, half at or under 59,736, three quarters at or under 90,000 and nine in ten at or under 142,000; 19 (24%) came after 100,000 miles, 7 (9%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2002 SL wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 61 of the 80 came at or under 100,000 miles. The 19 past that mark show the 2002 SL still being driven at those mileages, not how many reach them: NHTSA's file counts complaints, not the vehicles on the road.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 48 miles |
| 25th percentile | 34,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 59,736 miles |
| 75th percentile | 90,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 142,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 252,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 19 (24%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 7 (9%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 3 (4%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 474 NHTSA owner complaints on the Saturn SL that list mileage came after 74,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Saturn SL last? →
Common problems with the 2002 SL
NHTSA's file holds 131 owner complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL. Owners named the electrical system most often: 43 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 86,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 43 | 28 | 87,000 |
| Power Train | 22 | 18 | 44,330 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 16 | 6 | 60,000 |
| Air Bags | 9 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Seats | 9 | 5 | 64,000 |
Of the 131 complaints, 20 report a crash, 5 report a fire and 15 report an injury (16 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 SL a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad SL: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 131 complaints, the 2002 ranks 9th of the 12 Saturn SL model years from 1991 to 2002 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1995 (355). The fewest: the 1991 (29).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 SL | 29 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1992 SL | 123 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 SL | 175 | 12 | 106,900 |
| 1994 SL | 286 | 16 | 117,000 |
| 1995 SL | 355 | 40 | 100,000 |
| 1996 SL | 287 | 49 | 95,000 |
| 1997 SL | 227 | 38 | 84,600 |
| 1998 SL | 168 | 38 | 66,000 |
| 1999 SL | 178 | 73 | 64,000 |
| 2000 SL | 148 | 59 | 57,714 |
| 2001 SL | 111 | 61 | 64,000 |
| 2002 (this page) | 131 | 80 | 59,736 |
2002 Saturn SL recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 1 recall campaign that names the 2002 Saturn SL (0 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 09E012000 | Apr 7, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2002 SL lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2002 SL.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 51 of the 131 complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: SL. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: SL.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2002 Saturn SL questions
How many miles will a 2002 Saturn SL last?
NHTSA holds 19 owner complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 7 past 150,000 and 3 past 200,000. Of the 80 complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL that list mileage, the middle half came between 34,000 and 90,000 miles; 19 (24%) came after 100,000 miles, 7 (9%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2002 SL that never had one.
What are the most common 2002 Saturn SL problems?
NHTSA's file holds 131 owner complaints on the 2002 Saturn SL. Owners named the electrical system most often: 43 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 86,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 131 complaints, 20 report a crash, 5 report a fire and 15 report an injury (16 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Saturn SL a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad SL: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 131 complaints, the 2002 ranks 9th of the 12 Saturn SL model years from 1991 to 2002 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1995 (355). The fewest: the 1991 (29).
How many recalls does the 2002 Saturn SL have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 1 recall campaign that names the 2002 Saturn SL (0 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2002 Saturn SL before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2002 Saturn SL.