Hello all,
I'm new to this forum, a very happy owner of a Silver 2000 SC2 that I bought from an older gentleman quite a ways South from where I live. I was driving my car today and the "Service Engine Soon" light went on. I pulled into the nearest auto parts store and borrowed their OBD reader. After scanning, it registered with a P0172 code "Fuel Trim System Rich Bank 1". Now! Let me preface this whole thing with mentioning the fact that I made a mistake! My mistake was... not checking the oil level frequently enough. But hey, I'm human. I checked the oil and it was BONE DRY. .... I got a big jug of high mileage conventional oil and filled the oil up to the right level. Something I have been noticing quite often is the "Change Oil Soon" light has been coming on quite frequently.. I thought Jiffy Lube forgot to turn it off, but I think I may just have a vehicle that burns oil frequently. Moving on, another thing I noticed was that the radiator overflow cap was a little burned and the radiator fluid was dark green and looks like sludge. I suspect that the code went off because there wasn't enough oil in the engine and my antifreeze is not doing it's job... That's my theory. What do y'all think?

 

I think you'd better learn how to work on a car. You have a DOHC 1.9 engine and they're know oil burners. Check your oil at least once a week. As for the antifreeze, I THINK green is okay, but sludge is NOT. You need to flush it all out and fill it with the appropriate amount of the CORRECT antifreeze and distilled water mixture. Is the engine running hot? Or does your gauge even work? I don't understand that code because you have a 4 cylinder, not a V6. AFAIK, you only have one bank and not two. Clear that code and see if it comes back.

 

Hello,
Thank you for the useful information! This is my first Saturn SC2, and yes, I plan on learning more advanced skills for working on my vehicle. I can do basic oil changes, changing out brake pads, serpentine belt replacement (on my old GMC Safari), changing bulbs things of that nature. What I didn't know is that the engine in my vehicle burns oil, I was under a false impression that most vehicles can go 3000 to 6000 miles without needing an oil change, which is wrong. I have a follow up question. Do you ACTUALLY need a machine to change out the coolant like what they have at Jiffy Lube, Valvoline and other places? Or is there a way to change out the coolant without one?

 

Worry about the oil, don’t worry about the coolant. Get a handle on the oil use issue and stay diligent or you will walking home. I am not sure what coolant Saturn used in 2000, in 2002 they used Dex-cool which is orange. Verify the proper coolant for your car and have it flushed and the correct mix installed if you do not know how. If you have to ask then get it done professionally.
Enjoy your Saturn and welcome to the forum. Derf is our S car guru but we all chime in from time to time.

 

My SC2 has 160k miles on it, is there a brand that you or someone else recommends I use? Also, the coolant was a greenish color, so I guess I can Google coolant brands OEM or something like that to find out the best one to use.





I uploaded the photos from the OBD code reader if they help to diagnose the issue further

 

How long had you been driving when the light went on? It shows 158 degree coolant which is still in warmup mode. If the car was at temp the you may have coolant temp sensor issues or a thermostat that is stuck open. The coolant sensor and wiring pigtail problems are a known area of concern for these cars. Rich limit means your car is lean and the computer cannot add more fuel to make it run within design specs. Change the fuel filter and clear the codes and drive again. Report back and we will try to help. Buy a $100 code reader.

 

I had been driving for about 20-30 mins before the light kicked on. Thank you for the tip, the more I can prepare for/anticipate with this car, the better I can prepare myself for possible issues down the road. Thank you!

 

Welcome.

How much oil did you have to add from the 5 qt jug? None dry off the stick is about 1.5 quarts out of four.. get below more than 2 quarts and you greatly accelerate the issues which lead to oil burning. In this case making them even worse.

That red light on the dash that looks like an oil can with a drop coming out it's not a change oil light. It is a low oil pressure warning indicator, which comes on when there is not enough oil to build up oil pressure high enough to lubricate the entire engine. If this light ever comes on, either your oil pressure sender is bad or you really are incredibly freaking low on oil. You seem to fit into the latter category.

How many miles did you drive with this oil indicator light on or flickering on and off? This will be likely directly related to how much longer that engine will run.

The coolant from the manufacturer was orange. There are universal coolants of all different colors,
So I have no idea what coolant type is actually in your vehicle.

The fact that it is murky and dark makes me wonder if you do not have oil mixed in with the coolant.

When you check the oil, does the dipstick look like it has a milkshake colored substance on it as opposed to the clear Amber of the new oil? Another critical question regarding damage.

With the engine cold, if you unscrew the coolant reservoir cap, does it look as though there is a brown milkshake in the reservoir?. The dark burned appearance over the cap itself May indicate repeated overheating and the coloring of it may indicate that it occurred with oil mixed in with the .coolant.

Please post a picture of what is in the reservoir with the cap off from the top and the side of the reservoir.

P0172 is a rich code. Your car is supposedly running rich. This is verified by the ltft on your scanner reading - 200%. That means long-term fuel trim. The computer has pulled as much fuel as it can because the oxygen sensor at the exhaust manifold is reading little to no oxygen being generated during combustion.

What has likely happened is that the massive oil burning, possibly Soma before you bought the vehicle, has poisoned that front oxygen sensor such that it cannot read properly. Skitzy has no oxygen and tells the computer to add more fuel to the max. It's still sees no oxygen, and adds more fuel until it gets to the point that it can no longer adjust to get the mix of air and fuel correct and thus throws the code.

Do not yet spend money on replacing sensors. Figure out how much oil you are burning or losing per unit mile.

Is there oil on the outside of the engine block or coding the underside? You may be leaking and burning at the same time.

If you start the vehicle in your driveway and let it get up to operating temperature, where on the temperature gauge does the needle show? If you let the car run, the temperature will climb but does the car overheat or does it cool itself back down with the fan under the hood?

Sorry for the barrage of specific questions, but I have a fairly good hunch on what is going on, but I need the answers to the above questions in order to be sure or to determine that my hunch is wrong.

If you don't mind sharing, how much did you pay for this vehicle and did the owner tell you anything at all was wrong with it?