2008 SATURN OUTLOOK Complaints

WIRE HARNESS ON 2008 SATURN OUTLOOK HAS 'MELTED'. BEEN SEARCHING ON THE INTERNET AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A FREQUENT PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY SATURN OUTLOOK 2008 TO GO ONTO THE HIGHWAY. AS I ACCELERATED, THE GAS PEDAL/TRANSMISSION GOT STUCK AND THE RPM STAYED @5000 RPM FOR ABOUT 8 SECONDS DURING MY ATTEMPT TO BRAKE THE VEHICLE. ONCE THE RPM LET UP WE HEARD A LOUD THUMP NOISE AND THEN THE CAR WAS ABLE TO GET UNSTUCK. IT TOOK ABOUT 8+ SECONDS FOR THE BRAKES TO ACTUALLY TAKE OVER. THIS HAS OCCURRED AT LEAST 4 TIMES. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

2008 SATURN OUTLOOK WIREHARNESS FOR LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT BURNT AND MELTED TO THE HEADLIGHT. MELTED THE CAP THAT PROTECTED HALOGEN BULB AND THE CONNECTION. *TR

2008 SATURN OUTLOOK, PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT IS ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN. I REPLACED THE LIGHT BULB, AND USED THE CORRECT "BULB GREASE" IN THE SOCKET, BUT THE WIRE HARNESS THAT POWERS THE LIGHT BULB LOOKS TO BE TOO LIGHT IN GAUGE TO POWER THE HEADLIGHT. THE BULB WILL LIGHT SOMETIMES, BUT THEN GO OUT FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME, INDICATING A SHORT SOMEWHERE IN THE WIRING HARNESS. THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE HEADLIGHT IS OUT HAS INCREASED INCREMENTALLY OVER TIME. THE PROBLEM BEGAN ABOUT 7 MONTHS AGO, WHILE THE VEHICLE HAD ABOUT 34000 MILES ON IT, AND I HAD ASSUMED IT WAS A FAULTY LIGHT BULB. I NOW HAVE OVER 39000 MILES ON THE TRUCK, AND AM READING OF A SIMILAR PROBLEM THAT OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME VEHICLE ARE EXPERIENCING. I AM AFRAID THAT IF I BEGIN EXPERIENCING THE SAME LIGHT FAILURE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE, I WILL LOSE ALL VISIBILITY AT NIGHT. WITH 39000 MILES NOW ON THE TRUCK, I AM OUT OF WARRANTY, AND DREAD SEEING THE COST OF A REPLACEMENT WIRE HARNESS, AFTER HAVING REPLACED THE BULB THROUGH THE WHEEL WELL. *LN

OVERHEATING OF LOW BEAM HEADLAMP WIRING CAUSING MELTING OF PLASTIC COMPONENTS. HEADLAMPS WILL LOOSE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION AND ALL LAMP LIGHT WILL BE LOST. *LN

PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT BECAME INOPERATIVE, WIRE HARNESS REPLACED DUE TO REPAIR DESCRIPTION OF "MELTING". NO INCIDENT FOR APPROX 9 MONTHS. DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT BECOMES INOPERATIVE INTERMITTENTLY DURING DRIVING. HAND ADJUSTMENT OF WIRE HARNESS TEMPORARILY ALLOWS HEADLIGHT TO FUNCTION. PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT BEGINS TO FAIL IN SAME INTERMITTENT WAY AS DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT. LOSS OF HEADLIGHT WHILE DRIVING, DRIVING BECOMES HAZARDOUS. *TR

HAVE REPLACED PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT BULB 3 TIMES IN TWO YEARS. AFTER LAST REPLACEMENT LASTED TWO DAYS I GOT UP INSIDE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY (AN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TASK) TO SEE THAT THE WIRING INSIDE THE SOCKET WAS MELTED AND BURNT AWAY. I SUSPECT THAT THE WIRE SHIELDING LEADING TO THE SOCKET WAS NEVER THERE, FROM THE FACTORY. IT APPEARED THAT THE WIRE WAS LEFT UNSHIELDED AND ARCD OUT AGAINST THE METAL SOCKET RETAINER. THE PLASTIC COMPONENTS ARE ALL BUT MELTED AWAY FROM THIS GROUNDING. I WENT TO THE GM DEALER I MADE PURCHASE FROM AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THERE IS A "SERVICE ADVISORY", BUT NO RECALL. FURTHER, I'VE WAS TOLD THAT THEY ARE SEEING "A TON" OF THESE. I WAS TOLD OF DISASSEMBLY OF THE FRONT END TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. LASTLY, THE COST MIGHT EXCEED $300. THIS IS AN UNREASONABLE EXPENSE FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE AS SIMPLE AS CHANGING A BULB. I AM LEFT WITH NO RECOURSE BUT TO ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE WIRING MYSELF WITH THE BEST PARTS I CAN FIND. I CAN ONLY WONDER WHAT THE OTHER HEADLIGHT IS DOING UNDER THERE. I FEAR THAT THE FIRE HAZARD IS REAL AND TANGIBLE. I HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT SATURN'S REPUTATION WAS OUTSTANDING FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPERIOR PRODUCT ENGINEERING. BUT WE LOYAL SATURN OWNERS SEEM TO BE ON OUR OWN NOW. AT LEAST THOSE OF US WITH MILEAGE OVER 36,000 MILES. WHAT I WOULD LIKETO SEE IS GM STAND BEHIND THIS PRODUCT WITH SUCH AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT AS HEADLIGHT SAFETY AND POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD. *TR

2008 SATURN OUTLOOK WIRING HARNESS ON HEADLIGHT OVERHEATED AND HEADLIGHT NO LONGER WORKS. ALREADY HAD AT SERVICE CENTER TWICE. PAID FOR REPLACEMENT HEADLIGHT WHICH WENT OUT A DAY OR TWO LATER; THEN PAID FOR A DIAGNOSIS. ALREADY PULLED OVER TWICE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR HAVING HEADLIGHT OUT. *TR

PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT OUT ON THE 2008 SATURN OUTLOOK. WENT OUT ONE DAY, A FEW DAYS LATER STARTED WORKING AGAIN. NOW IS OUT FOR GOOD ON "LOW BEAM" WILL WORK FOR "HIGH BEAMS". *LN

ONGOING INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG. DASHBOARD "SERVICE AIR BAG" WARNING LIGHT ACTIVATED. FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR LIGHT SHOWS 'OFF' EVEN WHEN AN ADULT IS SITTING IN THE SEAT WITH THE SEATBELT ON. SATURN DEALER FINALLY REPAIRED PROBLEM AFTER 4 SERVICE VISITS. DEALER REPLACED SEAT CONNECTOR, AIRBAG WIRING HARNESS, & PASSENGER PRESENCE MODULE ASSEMBLY. PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE RESOLVED. *TR