2003 SATURN VUE Complaints

CALLED DEALER WHEN THE CAR HAD 60,000 MILES TO INQUIRE ABOUT REPLACING TIMING BELT AND WAS TOLD THAT IT DID NOT HAVE TO BE REPLACED UNTIL 80,000 MILES. CAR NOW HAS 69,000 MILES AND IS BEING REPAIRED DUE TO A FAILURE IN THE TIMING BELT AND AM KNOW BEING TOLD THERE MAY BE MORE DAMAGE IN THE VALVES DUE TO THE FAILURE. *JB

ON 11/19/2004 29,021 MILES. NOISE IN ENGINE AREA. SATURN REPLACED TRANSMISSION FLUID. WAS TOLD IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION. 9/12/2005 61,695 MILES. CAR WOULDN'T GO WHEN PUT INTO GEAR. ALL GEARS WERE TRIED. CONTACTED SATURN WAS TOLD TO GET IT TOWED IN AND THEY WOULD INSPECT IT. BROUGHT TO ATTENTION THAT THE LETTER I RECEIVED ABOUT THE VTI TRANSMISSION HAVING PROBLEMS AND AGAIN WAS TOLD IT WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE CAR TOWED IN. ALSO HAD TO RENT MY OWN CAR. WAS REIMBURSED BUT ONLY FOR A SMALL PORTION ON THE RENTAL CAR COST AND NOTHING FOR THE TOW. FINALLY GOT MY CAR BACK ON 9/21/2005. 5/31/2006 89,412 MILES. AGAIN CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. TOOK IT TO A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST AS I WILL NOT GO BACK TO SATURN. ANOTHER TRANSMISSION WAS PUT IN ANOTHER VTI AS NO OTHER TRANSMISSION CAN BE PUT IN THIS CAR. THIS ONE AT MY EXPENSE. 9/26/2006 105,000. CAR LOST POWER ON A CANYON ROAD HAD TO PULL OVER AND BE TOWED. WAS TOLD TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED AND WAS NOW RUNNING FINE. 2/8/2007 117,000 MILES. HERE WE GO AGAIN THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. WHEN WILL A RECALL BE ISSUED. HOW MANY PEOPLE NEED TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS UNSAFE AND SHODDY TRANSMISSION. PLEASE HELP. I CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER TRANSMISSION. *NM

TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT HIS 2003 SATURN VUE IS HAVING FUEL PROBLEMS. HE STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING HIS VEHICLE HE CONTINUES TO SMELL GAS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE HAS TO DRIVE WITH HIS WINDOWS OPEN BECAUSE THE FUMES ARE SO STRONG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THIS STARTED HAPPENING IN OCTOBER OF 2006, WHEN HE HAD THE FUEL INJECTOR REPLACED. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP THE DAY AFTER THE INJECTOR WAS REPLACED AND WAS TOLD THAT THE FUEL INJECTOR SEAL WAS NOT REPLACED PROPERLY. THEY REPLACED THE SEAL AT THAT TIME, BUT HE STILL SMELLS GAS WHILE DRIVING HIS VEHICLE. THE CONTACT HAS TAKEN HIS VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS BECAUSE OF THE FUMES AND THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH HIS VEHICLE. *JB UPDATED 02/27/07. *JB

HORN WAS ALWAYS HARD TO HONK. I HONKED THE HORN AND IT WOULDN'T STOP. I HAD TO REMOVE THE FUSE TO GET IT TO STOP. I TOOK IT TO SATURN AND THEY SAID IT WOULD COST $889 TO FIX. THE HORN AND AIRBAG ARE IN THE SAME MODULE. I'VE SEEN TOO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS AND I REFUSE TO HAVE TO PAY TO FIX A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. *JB

DAMAGE TO MY REAR DIFFERENTIAL CLUTCHES ON MY AWD 2003 SATURN VUE. THE VENT THAT LETS AIR IN AND OUT OF THE CLUTCH HOUSING WOULD ALLOW WATER TO ENTER AS WELL. WATER WOULD THEN MIX WITH THE GEAR OIL IN THAT CLUTCH HOUSING CASE AND CAUSE THE CLUTCH PACK TO "WHINE" OR "GROWL" ON A SHARP TURN. THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL ON THE 2003 SATURN VUE AND SATURN RE-DESIGNED THE VUE IN 2004. *JB

VTI TRANSMISSION HAS A PROPENSITY TO REDUCE POWER WHEN WHEELS SLIP. IF PULLING OUT INTO AN INTERSECTION, WHEN ENGINE RPMS DROP THERE IS A CHANCE FOR BEING BROADSIDED BY VEHICLES. WE'VE HAD SEVERAL NEAR MISSES. DRIVER IS NEVER QUITE SURE IF THE POWER WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SAFELY ENTER TRAFFIC OR CROSS INTERSECTION. THIS REDUCTION IN POWER CAN RESULT FROM A LIGHT DUSTING OF SNOW TO SLIPPERY CROSSWALK PAINTED LINES, TO DIRT, GRAVEL OR OIL ON ROADWAY. *JB

SATURN VUE HORN FAILURE DUE TO POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN. DEALER ADVISED THAT AIRBAG, HORN, AND HORN RELAY HAS TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE HORN RELAY IS THE SAME RELAY PART NUMBER AS THE REAR WINDOW WIPER - TRADING OUT THE RELAYS DID NOT CAUSE THE REAR WINDOW WASHER TO STOP WORKING, THEREFORE THE PROBLEM IS NOT IN THE HORN RELAY. THE DEALER DISCONNECTED SOME OF THE SYSTEMS, INCLUDING THE FLASHER, TO DISCONNECT THE HORN WHEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER TO UNPLUG THE HORN AT THE HORN RATHER THAN UNDER THE DASH. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THIS IS A DESIGN FAILURE BUT WANTS ~$800 TO REPLACE THE AIRBAG, HORN, AND RELAY. THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM BASED ON THE OTHER COMPLAINTS LISTED. I PURCHASED A SATURN STRICTLY BECAUSE OF SERVICE DEPENDABILITY --- AND APPARENTLY THAT IS NOT SUFFICIENT REASON TO REMAIN WITH SATURN NOW THAT GM HAS TAKEN OVER. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 60MPH ON THE INTERSTATE, THE VEHICLE OPERATED AT A REDUCED SPEED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER THE REPAIR, THE PROBLEM PERSISTED, AND THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER DETERMINED THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE SIZE OF THE ENGINE AND THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT ALERTED.

HORN STARTS BLOWING WHEN CAR IS PARKED AND OFF. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES. DEALER SAYS DEFECT IN THE HORN MODULE BEHIND STEERING WHEEL AIR BAG. DEALER SAYS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM BUT WILL NOT FIX AS A RECALL. THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME OVER $750 TO FIX. I DECLINED. *NM

THE HORN ON MY 2003 2WD SATURN VUE HAS MALFUNCTIONED AND IS NON-OPERATIONAL. ONE DAY, WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED AND TURNED OFF, THE HORN ACTIVATED BY ITSELF AND WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. THE HORN WOUND UP DYING COMPLETELY AND NOW THE HORN, RELAY, FUSES, AND WIRING ALL NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE HORN ACTIVATOR IS LOCATED INSIDE THE AIRBAG UNIT INSIDE THE STEERING WHEEL UNIT. THE HORN ACTIVATOR IS COVERED BY A COPPER PROTECTIVE PLATE WHICH DEFORMS OVER TIME DUE TO THE DRIVER HAVING TO PRESS EXETREMELY HARD ON THE HORN BUTTONS TO ACTIVATE THE HORN. WHEN THE COPPER PLATE BECOMES DEFORMED, THE HORN ACTIVATES AND IS UNABLE TO BE DEACTIVATED UNLESS THE MAIN FUSE FOR THE HORN IS PULLED. IN MY CAR, THE FUSE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE LOCATED AND PULLED IN TIME, LEADING TO THE UNIT FAILURE. NOW I HAVE NO HORN AND THE DEALERSHIP WANTS TO CHARGE $750 TO REPLACE THE UNIT. FROM WHAT I'VE READ ON SATURN FORUMS ON THE WEB, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR DUE TO A DESIGN DEFECT IN THE HORN UNIT. DESPITE THE FACT THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE (SOME MORE THAN ONCE), GM HAS REFUSED TO ISSUE A RECALL. *NM