SATURN Complaints

RIGHT HEADLAMP BURNT OUT OCTOBER 2009. HAD REPLACED BAD BULB AND THEN FAILED AGAIN IN NOVEMBER 2009. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THEY REPLACED THE HARNESS AND BULB DUE TO HARNESS BEING MELTED. NOW RIGHT HEADLIGHT FAILED AGAIN 10-22-11. THIS IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN IN THAT YOU CAN'T JUST SWAP OUT THE BULB BUT YOU HAVE TO PULL OFF THE FRONT BUMPER JUST TO REPLACE THE BULB. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *TR

MY PASSENGER HEADLIGHT DOENS'T WORK REPLACE HEADLIGHT (NOT AN EASY TASK) STILL DIDN'T WORK. CALLED THE DEALER THEY SAID WOULD HAVE TO TAKE OFF THE BUMPER TO REPLACE THE LIGHT. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHOULD NEED TO TAKE THE CAR TO DEALER FOR REPLACEMENT OF A LIGHT. HAVE READ ABOUT THE SME PROBLEMS PEOPLE SRE HAVING WITH THERE LIGHTS. THE HARNESS APPARENTLY BURNED OUT AND NOW IT WILL COST A SMALL FORTUNE TO GET FIXED SINCE I'M OUT OF WARRANTEE. PLEASE LOOK INTO IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO HAVE THE LIGHT TO GO OUT WHILE DRIVING. THANK YOU. THINK THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL TO HAVE THE HARNESS REPLACED. THANKS *TT

THE POWER STEERING IS FAILING NEARLY EVERY TIME THE CAR IS USED. IT FAILS WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE CAR IS STARTED. MAKING TURNS REQUIRES A LOT OF EFFORT IN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. THE CAR CAN STILL BE DRIVEN WITHOUT THE POWER STEERING, BUT ONE WOULD HARDLY CALL IT SAFE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC BUT THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS BUT WOULD HAPPEN MORE OFTEN WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THERE WAS A CONCURRENT INVESTIGATION UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: EA11014 (STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM) THAT COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,343.

PASSENGER SIDE HEADLAMP WIRING HARNESS FOUND MELTED DURING HID LAMP REPLACEMENT. THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD. IT APPEARS THE MELTED WIRE WAS DUE TO A DESIGN\MANUFACTURING DEFECT IN THAT THE WIRING GOING TO THE HID HEADLAMP NEEDS TO BE MADE FROM A LARGER GAUGE. ALSO, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SLACK IN THE BULB ASSEMBLY TO EASILY REPLACE THE BULB. *TT

THE LITANY OF PROBLEMS WITH THIS UNSAFE AND UNRELIABLE VEHICLE IS LONG AND VARIED. MULTIPLE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS, ELECTRICAL ISSUES, LOSING POWER WHILE DRIVING, ETC.. GM AND SATURN KNEW OF THESE ISSUES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES CONCERNING THE VTI TRANSMISSION, YET THEY CHOSE TO CONTINUE TO PUT THE PUBLIC AT RISK BY DENYING THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES TO CORRECT THESE PROBLEMS. THE ONLY REAL WAY, IN MY OPINION, TO MAKE THIS RIGHT IS TO FULLY RECALL AND REPLACE THESE VEHICLES. THIS CAR HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A NIGHTMARE SINCE I BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW IN LATE 2003 AND CONTINUES TO BE A HAZARD. PLEASE FORCE GM TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND GET THESE CARS OFF THE ROAD BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. *TT

THE HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME IN THE EARLY EVENING, REDUCING MY VISABILITY AND THE ABILITY FOR OTHERS TO SEE MY VEHICLE. FORTUNATELY, IT WASN'T NIGHT YET AND I WAS STILL ABLE TO NAVIGATE HOME, HOWEVER HAD IT BEEN JUST AN HOUR LATER IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY DARK AND SIGINIFICANTLY MORE UNSAFE FOR THIS INCIDENT TO HAVE OCCURRED. THE WIRING HARNESS IS A KNOWN DEFECT BY GM AND STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO REMEDY IT. THIS CAN CREATE UNSAFE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR SATURN OUTLOOK DRIVERS. *TT

THE SHIFT CABLE FAILED WHEN I PARKED THE CAR IN A PARKING LOT. WHEN I GOT BACK INTO THE VEHICLE IT WOULD NOT START. I OPENED THE HOOD AND CHECKED THE ENGINE. I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR AND TURNED THE KEY TO THE ON POSITION. I SHIFTED THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND TRIED TO START THE CAR AGAIN. THE CAR STARTED AND I SHIFTED IT BACK INTO PARK. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR TO SHUT THE HOOD AND THE CAR BEGAN TO ROLL BACKWARDS. I WAS ABLE TO GET BACK IN THE CAR AND APPLY THE BRAKE. I THEN SHIFTED THE CAR BACK TO NEUTRAL AND APPLIED THE PARKING BRAKE. THE CAR WAS NO LONGER READING ACCURATELY ON THE SHIFTER. WHEN SHIFTED TO PARK, THE CAR WAS IN REVERSE. *TT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SATURN OUTLOOK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EXTERIOR HEADLIGHTS WERE REPLACED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE WIRES HAD MELTED, CAUSING A SHORT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE DEFECT RECURRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

OUR CAR HAS A VERY STRONG GASOLINE SMELL. WE WERE TOLD BY A NON GM DEALER THAT IT'S THE FUEL PUMP AND THAT THERE IS A RECALL. THE GM DEALER HAS TOLD US THAT THIS IS A "STATE SPECIFIC" RECALL AND THAT THEY ARE EXEMPT FROM FIXING IT IN ILLINOIS. *TT