SATURN Complaints

2008 SATURN OUTLOOK, 56,000 MILES, LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS GOING OUT. DRIVING AT NIGHT AND THE HEADLIGHTS ALL OF A SUDDEN WENT OUT. CHECKED ONLINE FORUMS AND HAVE NOTICED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. HAD TO USE HIGH BEAMS TO REACH DESTINATION AT THE SAME TIME I WAS SURELY BLINDING OTHER DRIVERS IN WHICH I BELIEVE IS A SAFETY HAZARD FOR ME AND THE OTHER DRIVERS. CALLED LOCAL DEALERSHIPS OF PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD THAT THE LOW BEAMS GOING OUT IS BECAUSE OF FAULTY WIRE HARNESS AND WOULD COST 237 DOLLARS FOR EACH HEADLIGHT 474 DOLLARS TOTAL. ALSO, THIS PROBLEM IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE LIMITED 100,000 MILE GM WARRANTY. IF THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AMONGST OTHER SATURN OUTLOOK OWNERS AND YOU NEED LIGHTS TO DRIVE AT NIGHT, THIS WOULD LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE HEADLIGHT PROBLEM IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE, MY 2006 SATURN ION DOES NOT START. IT SEEMS THE SENSOR OR CHIP IN THE IGNITION KEY IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE CAR AND THEREFORE, THE VEHICLE LOCKS AND WILL NOT START. IF WE WAIT 10 MINUTES, IT WILL USUALLY START. THIS HAS NOT BEEN FIXED YET. IT HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES AND USUALLY WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 20 DEGREES. *TR

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

I HAVE A 2007 SATURN OUTLOOK THAT I WILL BE REPLACING THE HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS FOR THE THIRD TIME ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. BOTH SIDES WERE REPLACED BY SATURN IN EARLY 2009 WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER WARRANTY. SINCE THAN I HAD TO REPAIR BOTH SIDES IN EARLY 2010. NOW ITS 2011 AND THE DRIVERS SIDE HAS GONE OUT AGAIN. THE WIRING HARNESS KEEPS MELTING SO I NEED TO FIX THEM EVERY YEAR. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN SINCE THEY SEEM TO GO OUT VERY CLOSE TOGETHER. GM DEALERS WANT TO CHARGE 400 DOLLARS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF ONE. IT TAKES ME APPROXIMATELY 4 HOURS TO MAKE THE REPAIR ON ONE SIDE DUE TO THE EXTENSIVE WORK INVOLVED IN GETTING TO THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. *TR

WITHOUT NOTICE, THE CAR WILL NOT START. THE CAR WILL START AND RUN LIKE IT WAS DESIGNED TOO, BUT AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN TURNED OFF, THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANTS WHERE THE CAR WILL NOT START AGAIN. THE BATTERY IS NOT DEAD, ALL THE LIGHTS, GAUGES AND HORN WILL WORK, BUT NO POWER GOES TO THE STARTER. AFTER A EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, TEN MINUTES OR MORE, THE CAR WILL START. THIS IS A RANDOM CONDITION, THERE ARE NO WARNING SIGNS OF WHEN IT WILL NOT START. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE IS EITHER A GLITCH IN THE SECURITY PROGRAM OR THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE GREASE IN THE STARTED SWITCH. *TR

MY 2007 SATURN OUTLOOK XE HEADLIGHTS STARTED GOING OUT BUT THEN ON AND THEN WENT COMPLETELY OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH IN A FEW WEEKS. WHEN I RESEARCHED ON THE INTERNET ON HOW TO CHANGE THE LAMP, I FOUND THAT THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE HEADLIGHTS ON ALL MODEL YEARS OF SATURN OUTLOOK, GMC ACADIA, BUICK ENCLAVE, AND CHEVROLET TRAVERSE HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM OF THE HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS MELTING AND FAILING. THERE IS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN CONCERNING THE DEFECT ( SATURN TSB #09-08-42-004) STATING THAT THE HARNESS SHOULD BE REPLACED (WITH THE SAME HARNESS, SO THE PROBLEM CONTINUES) AND NYOGEL GEL SHOULD BE USED AT THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION POINT. THE MELTING WIRING HARNESS IS A FIRE HAZARD. *TR

WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE, USUALLY BELOW FREEZING, MY CAR WILL NOT START. I TOOK IT TO A DEALERSHIP AND THEY REPLACED THE IGNITION SWITCH, SAID THAT THIS IS COMMON IN SATURNS. THAT WAS LAST WEEK, AND MY CAR HASN'T STARTED ABOUT 8 MORE TIMES SINCE THEN. IT'S NOT THE BATTERY, THE LIGHTS COME ON AND ALL THAT WORKS. I GO OUT AND TRY TO START MY CAR, IT WILL NOT START, I WILL WAIT ABOUT 8 MINUTES AND TRY AGAIN, THEN CAR WILL START. I WORK WEIRD SHIFTS AT A HOSPITAL AND SOMETIMES I GET OFF WORK AND HAVE TO WALK TO MY CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND MY CAR WILL NOT START. THAT IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

VEHICLE WILL START INTERMITTENTLY ON COLD AND/OR DAMP MORNINGS. ONLINE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THE CAUSE TO BE A DEFECTIVE BODY CONTROL MODULE (BCM; A COMPONENT OF THE FACTORY-INSTALLED ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM), CONFIRMED BY AN EXPERIENCED AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN. SAID TECHNICIAN HAS STATED TO COMPLAINANT THAT VEHICLE MAY BE SUBJECT TO RECALL DUE TO DEFECTIVE BCM; HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO NHTSA, THIS VEHICLE IS UNDER RECALL ONLY FOR EXTERIOR LIGHTING ISSUES (NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID #09E012000). COMPLAINANT REQUESTS DETAILED RECALL INFORMATION FOR THIS SPECIFIC PART (BCM), FOR THIS SPECIFIC MAKE AND MODEL OF VEHICLE (LISTED ABOVE). IF NO SUCH RECALL EXISTS, COMPLAINANT REQUESTS A RECALL BE INITIATED.

SOMETIMES AS I AM DRIVING, THE POWER STEERING IN MY 2006 SATURN ION STOPS WORKING AND I CAN'T TURN THE VEHICLE. IF I HAVE TO MAKE A TURN, I HAVE TO TRY TO MOVE THE WHEEL. I HAVE CAUSED MAJOR DELAYS AND ALMOST BEEN IN A FEW WRECKS DUE TO TROUBLES TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. THE POWER STEERING WILL NOT WORK UNTIL I TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN RESTART IT AFTER A FEW MINUTES. THE OTHER PROBLEM I AM HAVING IS TURNING THE VEHICLE ON IN THE MORNING WHICH I HAVE DONE THE RESEARCH ON AND FOUND IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR SATURN. THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE WIRING COMPONENTS OF THE VEHICLE AND ONCE I TURN THE KEY I HAVE TO GIVE IT AT LEAST 10 MINUTES BEFORE IT WILL TURN ON. THEN I CAN'T TURN IT OFF UNTIL I GET TO WHERE I NEED TO GO OR I HAVE TO WAIT AGAIN FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER 10 MINUTES. THIS PRESENTS A BIG PROBLEM IF I HAVE TO STOP FOR GAS, BECAUSE I CAN'T TURN MY CAR OFF AT THE PUMP OR I AM STUCK AT THE GAS PUMP FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES AND SOMETIMES LONGER.