2002 SATURN VUE Complaints

NO KNOWN CRASHES OR INJURIES. HORN ON VEHICLE STUCK IN ON POSITION AND CAN ONLY BE SILENCED BY REMOVING FUSE. DEFECT IS A POORLY DESIGNED CONTACT STRIP THAT IS PART OF AIR BAG ASSEMBLY. COST OF REPAIRS BY SATURN IS BETWEEN $800 AND $1,200 THUS CAUSING MANY OWNERS TO DRIVE WITHOUT A HORN OR PROPERLY FUNCTIONING AIR BAG. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN VUE. WHILE DRIVING 25-30 MPH, THE SERVICE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT INDEPENDENT MECHANICS AND EACH OF THEM STATED THAT A THROTTLE BODY CONNECTOR WAS NEEDED; HOWEVER, THE DEALER STATED THAT A DIAGNOSTIC COULD BE PERFORMED FOR THE THIRD TIME AT THEIR FACILITY IN ORDER TO ASSIST WITH THE REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 123,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 125,000. UPDATED 07/29/08 *BF UPDATED 08/07/08

OVER THE PAST YEAR, I HAVE HAD SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CAR JUST SHUTS DOWN AND WON'T START UP. I HAVE ALSO HAD THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT COME ON AND WAS LEAKING ANTI-FREEZE, WHICH I KEPT ON FILLING UP. ONCE IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND WHEN THEY WENT TO LOOK AT IT THE NEXT MORNING, IT STARTED RIGHT UP AND THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. ANOTHER TIME I LEFT IT AND WHEN I CAME BACK, IT STARTED RIGHT UP. IN BOTH OF THOSE INSTANCES, I WAS DRIVING LESS THAN 40 MPH AND WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SAFELY. THE 3RD TIME THAT THE CAR DIED, I WAS TRAVELING 65 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY DIED, WITHOUT ANY WARNING. I HAD JUST ENOUGH TIME TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND AVERT AN ACCIDENT. I BOUGHT A NEW CAR, BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS ONE AND IT HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY FOR 8 WEEKS. I RECENTLY HAD THE VUE TOWED TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID THAT I NEED A NEW TIMING BELT AND WATER PUMP. THEY ALSO SAY THAT I NEED TO HAVE AN I-BOLT PULLEY, BELT TENSIONER, ALTERNATOR, AND SERPENTINE BELT REPLACED. OTHER REPAIRS THAT ARE NEEDED ARE A FRONT SWAY BAR LINKS AND THE BEARING ON THE DRIVE SHAFT. THIS CAR HAS ONLY 92,000 MILES. *TR

I OWN A 2002 SATURN VUE, 4CYLINDER, FWD WITH APPROXIMATELY 86,000 MILES. EARLY THIS YEAR THE BODY CONTROL MODULE (BCM) ON THIS VEHICLE BEGAN PREVENTING THE DOORS FROM UNLOCKING PROPERLY. I FIRST NOTICED THE ISSUE WHEN MY KEY FOB FOR MY SECURITY SYSTEM BEGAN TO FAIL TO UNLOCK DOORS, CAUSING THE HORN TO CHIRP IRREGULARLY. I LATER NOTICED THAT IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS, UNLOCKING THE DOORS USING THE POWER LOCK BUTTON ON EACH OF THE FRONT DOORS WOULD NOT UNLOCK THE DOORS. WHEN I WENT TO MANUALLY PUSH THE LOCK, IT STICKS OR DOES NOT DISENGAGE THE LOCK, ESSENTIALLY LOCKING ALL PASSENGERS IN. AFTER CRAWLING TO THE BACK SEAT I AM ABLE TO PUSH THE LOCK BUTTON MANUALLY AND ESCAPE. MY FEAR IS THAT IN AN EMERGENCY, THE BODY CONTROL MODULE WILL SOMEHOW PREVENT ME FROM GETTING OUT OF MY CAR. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 SATURN VUE AWD. AT A LITTLE OVER 100,000 MILES, NOISE STARTED FROM THE FRONT DRIVE TRAIN. THE NOISE WAS LIKE CONSTANT HOWL. THE NOISE WOULD START AT ABOUT 30 MPH AND INCREASE AT HIGHER SPEEDS. IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO NOTICE THAT THE NOISE WOULD DISAPPEAR WHEN TAKING A FREEWAY RAMP TO THE LEFT. THE NOISE SLOWLY GREW LOUDER UNTIL AT 136,000 MILES THE NOISE HAD BECOME VERY LOUD. AFTER SOME INTERNET SEARCHING, THE NOISE WAS BELIEVED TO BE THE FRONT WHEEL BEARING. NORMALLY, FRONT WHEEL DRIVE WHEEL BEARINGS LAST LONGER SO IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE IT HAD GONE OUT. THERE WAS NO NOTICEABLE PLAY IN THE BEARING EITHER ON OR OFF THE VEHICLE. REPLACING THE BEARINGS ELIMINATED THE NOISE. I HAVE THE FULL SET OF SATURN SHOP MANUALS AND THE DIAGNOSTICS DID NOT INDICATE THAT THE BEARINGS NEEDED REPLACEMENT. AT LEAST ON INTERNET POSTING SAID AFTER TAKING APART AN OLD BEARING THAT SATURN HAD ELIMINATED A BEARING RACE. IF THIS IS TRUE, IT PROBABLY SAVED A FEW CENTS FOR SATURN BUT COST ME HUNDREDS. AFTER REMOVAL, THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING HAD NOTICEABLE NOISE JUST TURNING IT BY HAND. THE RIGHT BEARING WAS IN BETTER CONDITION BUT STILL PRODUCED NOISE ON THE VEHICLE. THE REAR WHEEL BEARINGS WILL PROBABLY NEED REPLACEMENT ALSO, SINCE NOW IT APPEARS THAT NOISE IS COMING FROM THE RIGHT REAR. *TR

UPON FILLING MY GAS TANK THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS COME ON AND STAYS ON--SOMETIMES TILL THE TANK IS HALF EMPTY--SOMETIMES COMING ON WHEN THE TANK REACHES HALF. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN VUE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND THE LOW POWER LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF COMPLETELY AND WOULD NOT RESTART AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING TIMING CHAIN FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 07V519000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 125,000. UPDATED 6/9/08 *CN UPDATED 06/09/08

I BEGAN TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ENGINE NOISE THAN NORMAL, LIKE A TAPPING NOISE. I HAD THE OIL CHANGED AS I DID REGULARLY AND WITHIN MANUFACTURERS RECOMMENDATION. LOCAL MECHANIC SAID IT WAS THE TIMING CHAIN AND TO CONTINUE WITH FREQUENT OIL CHANGES. CAR DIED WHILE TRAVELING AT 40 MPH LOCALLY ON THE WEEKEND, BUT COULD HAVE HAPPENED WHILE TRAVELING 65MPH ON MY WAY TO WORK IF IT WAS A WEEKDAY. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL IMMEDIATELY INTO A SIDE STREET AND HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO LOCAL GOODYEAR SERVICE CENTER. I'VE SEEN INTERNET POSTINGS CITING THE SAME PROBLEMS ON SATURN MODELS WITH THE SAME ENGINE. THERE MAY EVEN BE A RECALL FOR THE L-CLASS SATURN CARS WITH THE SAME ENGINE AND NOT THE VUE? *TR

THE CAR SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING. THERE WAS NO WARNING PRIOR TO CAR TURNING OFF: NO INTERIOR WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON PRIOR TO CAR STOPPING AND NO NOISES WERE HEARD PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. I WAS UNABLE TO START THE CAR BACK UP AND MOVE OFF OF THE ROAD. THIS CAR HAS ALL OF IT'S ROUTINE MAINTENANCE UP TO DATE. DEALERSHIP SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS SHOWS THAT IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE "CRANK SHAFT POSITION SENSOR." *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN VUE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE AND REDUCED POWER LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT CONTROL PANEL. THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY LOST POWER. THE CONTACT HAD TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL IN ORDER TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN FAILED. SHE HAS PICTURES OF THE FAILED COMPONENT. THE CONTACT FILED A FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 117,000. UPDATED 02/15/08. *LJ