SATURN Complaints

AT ANY RATE OF SPEED, THE ELECTRIC ASSIST STEERING MOTOR WILL SHUT OFF LEAVING THE DRIVER TO USE BRUTE FORCE TO STEER THE CAR RIGHT. THE STEERING WHEEL "LOCKS" TO THE LEFT AND THE CAR WILL NATURALLY DRIFT THAT DIRECTION, REQUIRING ADDITIONAL FORCE TO HOLD THE CAR WITHIN THE DRIVING LANE. *TR

ON 6/13/11, WHEN I WAS LEAVING FOR WORK I STARTED MY CAR AND IMMEDIATELY MY PWRSTR MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD AND COULD NOT HARDLY TURN THE WHEEL. CALLED THE DEALERSHIP CAUSE I RECEIVED A BULLETIN LETTER. I BROUGHT THE CAR IN ON 6/14/11, THEY SAID THEY PUT IN A NEW PS MOTOR. ON 11/6/11 THE PWR STR CAME UP AGAIN. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THEM ON 11/7/11, THEY SAID I NEEDED A NEW STEERING COLUMN AND COST WAS $897.WHICH THEY SAID THEY REPLACED. ON 11/15/11, THE SAME MESSAGE APPEARED AND COULD NOT STEER THE WHEEL. THIS IS AFTER SUPPOSEDLY THEY REPLACED THE PS MOTOR AND STEERING COLUMN. GOING BACK TODAY 11/16/11, TO SEE WHAT CRAP THEY ARE GOING TO TELL ME.WHY DOES THIS KEEP ON HAPPENING?? GM NEEDS TO FIX THE PROBLEM NOT PUT A BAND AID ON IT, BEFORE SOMETHING SERIOUS HAPPENS, AND EVIDENTLY THEY ARE NOT. BY THE WAY HOW DO I KNOW THEY ARE ACTUALLY DOING THE REPAIRS, IF THE PROBLEM KEEPS COMING BACK AND THE SERVICE ADVISOR IS SO MEAN. PLEASE HELP!! THERE IS A VERY BIG PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS AND WE & ARE FAMILIES ARE BEING PUT AT RISK EVERY TIME WE DRIVE THEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 SATURN OUTLOOK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS WERE INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE SHE WAS INFORMED THAT THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT WAS MELTED. SINCE THE HEADLIGHT SOCKET WIRING HARNESS FAILED, IT CAUSED THE HEAD BEAM LIGHT TO FAIL AND THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED THAT THE FAILURE COULD RESULT IN AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE CURRENT AND THE FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 65,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

SATURN ION IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME RECALL AS NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 09V419000. THE VEHICLE IS REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF NY SO IT DOES NOT FALL UNDER THE RECALL. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT MATTERS WHAT STATE THE VEHICLE IS REGISTERED IN? IT'S A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

THIS VEHICLE WAS 6 CYLINDER MODEL WITH AWD. IT HAS A STANDARD 5 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT (SLIPPED) COMPLETELY GOING UP A LOW RISE. AFTER STOPPING AND STARTING UP AGAIN, IT WORKED AGAIN FOR ANOTHER FEW HUNDRED YARDS AND THEN WENT OUT AGAIN JUST AS WE WENT INTO AN INTERSECTION. WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OVER AND CALL FOR A TOW. A TOTAL REPLACEMENT OF THE TRANSMISSION WAS REQUIRED AT CONSIDERABLE EXPENSE. *TR

I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT I HAD TO HAVE THE STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY REPLACED 3/7/11 AND THEN ON 11/15/11 I HAD TO HAVE THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT REPLACED IN THE SAME YEAR. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME IF A RECALL WAS MADE ON THESE PARTS? *TR

THE CAR'S HEADLIGHTS AND INSTRUMENT LIGHTS SHUT OFF. WARNING LIGHTS SUCH AS "CHECK ENGINE", "ABS", AND "THEFT LOCK" ALL CAME ON AFTER PARKING THE CAR. THE HORN WOULD NOT SHUT OFF, I HAD TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY TO GET HORN TO STOP. ATTEMPTED TO START THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND WHILE RECONNECTING THE BATTERY THE HORN CAME ON AGAIN AND THE LISTED ABOVE LIGHTS STAYED ON. CAR HAS BEEN UNRELIABLE AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE!!! *TR

STARTING IN MID-OCTOBER, MY 2007 SATURN AURA BEGAN SHOWING SIGNS THAT THE SHIFT LEVER WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. MY CAR WOULD NOT ENGAGE IN PARK WHEN THE LEVER INDICATED IT WAS IN PARK. THE CAR WOULD ACTUALLY DRIFT FORWARD AS IF IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. I CALLED THE NEAREST SATURN DEALER AND WAS TOLD TO TAKE THE CAR TO A CHEVY DEALER IN CASE IT WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE CHEVY DEALER HAD MY CAR FOR OVER A WEEK TO DIAGNOSE AND FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY DETERMINED THAT THE SHIFTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THAT IT WOULD NOT BE COVERED. THEY HAD TO ORDER THE PART AND WAIT FOR IT - IN THE MEANTIME, I WAS PAYING FOR A RENTAL CAR. AFTER THE SHIFTER WAS REPLACED, THE CAR SHOWED THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM THE VERY NEXT DAY AFTER I PICKED IT UP. THIS TIME, THE CAR NOT ONLY DID NOT ENGAGE IN PARK PROPERLY, BUT IT WOULD NOT START AGAIN WHEN IT WAS IN PARK. THE CAR DID START IN NEUTRAL. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE CHEVY DEALER AND THEY TIGHTENED A CABLE AT NO CHARGE. THE DAY I PICKED IT UP, I DROVE IT STRAIGHT TO WORK AND IT WOULD NOT ENGAGE IN PARK, AND IT WOULD NOT START IN PARK OR NEUTRAL. MY CAR HAD TO BE TOWED FROM WORK. FINALLY, THE CHEVY DEALER REPLACED THE SHIFTER CABLE THAT WAS NOTED TO BE A PROBLEM ON THIS WEBSITE. THIS HAPPENED THE DAY AFTER I FORWARDED THE LINK ABOUT THIS PROBLEM TO THE DEALER. THE CABLE WAS REPLACED AT NO CHARGE; HOWEVER, I THINK I PAID FOR A NEW SHIFTER UNNECESSARILY CONSIDERING THE REPLACEMENT OF THE SHIFTER DID NOT IMPROVE THE PROBLEM. *TR

VEHICLE PULLED WHEN BRAKING. SYMPTOMS STARTED ON A MONDAY AS A LIGHT PULL. MORE NOTICEABLE ABOVE 50 MPH, AND NOT NOTICEABLE BELOW 35. BY THURSDAY MORNING, PULL WAS SEVERE ABOVE 50MPH. STAYED TILL AFTER 6:00 AT NIGHT TO AVOID TRAFFIC. RIDE HOME WAS "ENTERTAINING" AS STEERING WHEEL DID NOT ALWAYS GO BACK TO "CENTER" WHEN GOING STRAIGHT. I THOUGHT I NEEDED A STEERING RACK UNTIL I INSPECTED THE VEHICLE ON SATURDAY. MY INSPECTION SHOWED THAT FRONT SUBFRAME (A.K.A. ENGINE CRADLE) FAILED WHERE THE "PASSENGER SIDE LOWER CONTROL ARM REAR BUSHING WAS ATTACHED". A SIZABLE PIECE OF FRAME RIPPED OUT, WITH BUSHING STILL ATTACHED TO LOWER CONTROL ARM. RUSTED PERFORATIONS IN SUBFRAME VISIBLE APPROXIMATELY 6" BEHIND WHERE FRAME FAILED. TWO SETS OF RIMS (SUMMER AND WINTER) WITH NO "DINGS" TESTIFIES THAT VEHICLE NEVER EVEN HIT A CURB IN 170,000 MILES. 4 CYLINDER, SO NO EXHAUST NEARBY TO "WEAKEN STEEL". BAD CHOICE OF CORROSION PROTECTION IN A CRITICAL PART OF THE FRAME, AND/OR UNDERSIZING OF STEEL THICKNESS TO ACCOMMODATE FOR CORROSION IS MY ESTIMATE OF "FAILURE MODE". CONTACTED DEALER AND NO REPLACEMENT PARTS AVAILABLE. WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE, VERY DISAPPOINTED IT FAILED THIS WAY. LAST VEHICLE I JUNKED WAS A 17 YEAR OLD 1973 OLDS. EVERYTHING BUT THE SUBFRAME INDICATED I'D GET ANOTHER 5 YEARS OUT OF THIS VEHICLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AS THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE STEERING WHEEL HAD BECOME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED WHO ADVISED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 113,926.