Steering. Review the 210 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Power Train. Review the 65 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 59 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

12 crash reports2 fire reports9 injury reports

Engine complaints

17 reports

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56,000 miles · Jun 16, 2014

Engine

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING 20 MPH ON A HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE BEYOND 20 MPH. THE CONTACT DROVE ONTO THE EMERGENCY LANE AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, IT DID NOT ACCELERATE OVER 20 MPH. THE VEHICLE RESUMED TO ITS NORMAL ACCELERATION AFTER IT WAS RESTARTED A THIRD TIME. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON THREE OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THERE WAS NO DIAGNOSTIC TEST PERFORMED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WERE 56,000.

NHTSA ODI #10598588

115,000 miles · Jun 11, 2014

Electrical SystemEngineVehicle Speed Control

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VEHICLE CONTINUES TO LOSE POWER DRIVING ON HIGHWAY OVER 40 MPH. AAA CONTACTED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. AAA TESTED VEHICLE AND NOTED THAT BATTERY WAS GOOD, ALTERNATOR WAS GOOD. VEHICLE STRUGGLES TO START AT IGNITION. VEHICLE IS PART OF RECALL BUT WHEN I RUN VIN AT GM SITE IT STATES MY VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE AN ACTIVE RECALL. ESC AND ABS LIGHT ARE ALWAYS TURNING ON AND ENGINE ATTEMPT TO SHUT OFF AT HIGH SPEEDS ON FWY. AGAIN, I CALL THE DEALER AND MY VIN IS NOT PART OF ACTIVE RECALL YET ALL SAFETY AND LIFE THREATENING INDICATIONS ARE THERE. PLEASE ADVISE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10597681

101,040 miles · Apr 2, 2014

EnginePower TrainSteering

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ON 12/06/2013 MY PREGNANT DAUGHTER, MY 15 YEAR OLD AND 2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WERE DRIVING HOME IN OUR 2009 SATURN AURA. AS SHE BEGAN TO TURN INTO A BUSY HIGHWAY, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO SHAKE AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED MID TURN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION/HWY. PASSER DRIVERS PULLED OVER AND HELPED PUSH MY GIRLS TO SAFETY. AAA WAS CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MY HOME. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND I WAS INFORMED THAT MY CAR WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY AND THAT I WOULD HAVE TO COVER THE COSTS OF SERVICING THE CAR. THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO LOSE POWER AND TRY TO SHUT OFF AT CERTAIN SPEEDS. ABS AND TRACTION LIGHTS COME OFF AND ON, AND KEYS GET STUCK IN THE IGNITION. UNEXPECTED SHUT OFF OCCURRED AGAIN ON 12/17/2013. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10576772

66,000 miles · Mar 7, 2014

Electronic Stability Control (esc)EnginePower Train

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I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO A ONE WAY. TRAFFIC WAS CLEAR ENOUGH TO ENTER. MY CAR SPUTTERED AND THE ESC SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON. THEN SERVICE TRACTION LIGHT. THEN CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. I STEPPED OFF THE GAS THEN STEPPED BACK ON IT. THE CAR THEN DIED. I WAS TURNING INTO 40 MILES PER HOUR TRAFFIC. I THOUGHT FAST BECAUSE THERE WERE 3 VEHICLES APPROACHING QUICKLY BEHIND ME. I HIT THE HAZARD LIGHTS. THE CAR THAT WAS APPROACHING SLAMMED ON BRAKES AND BLEW AT ME IN FRUSTRATION. WE SAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. WHEN I FINALLY GOT THE CAR TO START AGAIN IT JERKED REALLY HARD WHEN PUTTING IT INTO GEAR. I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO GO PAST 25 MILES PER HOUR IN 40 MPH TRAFFIC. THIS ALL HAPPENED WHILE MY [XXX] YEAR OLD SON WAS IN THE BACK SEAT. I AM AFRAID OF MY CAR! ITS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP TWICE. EACH TIME ITS GIVING THEM THE SAME ERROR CODE AND THEY ARE NOT SURE WHATS GOING ON WITH THE VEHICLE. I HAVE CONTACTED GM CUSTOMER SERVICE REGARDING THE ISSUE. I HAVE A CLAIM NUMBER AND WAS TOLD I WOULD BE CONTACTED THE NEXT DAY. ITS NOW TWO DAYS LATER AND NO ONE FROM GM CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS CONTACTED ME. I AM NOW SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS IN THE HOLE BECAUSE OF THIS. WHY IS THERE NO RECALL. I FEAR THAT MY VEHICLE WILL GET US IN A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT CONSIDERING I TAKE THE HIGHWAY TO WORK DAILY. WHAT AM I TO DO? *TR PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI #10567821

116,500 miles · Jan 10, 2014

EnginePower Train

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DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST FORWARD MOMENTUM AND THE TACHOMETER INDICATED 5000+ RPMS. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SHOULDER AND CALL FOR A TOW TRUCK. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON-LINE AND WITH PERSONAL CONTACTS WHICH WORK FOR A GM DEALER, IT IS MOST LIKELY THE 3-5-R WAVE PLATE WHICH HAS RENDERED THE VEHICLE HAZARDOUS TO DRIVE. AFTER TOWING HOME AND LETTING THE VEHICLE SIT IT STARTED FINE BUT IT HAS A NEW WHINING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE. SHIFTING FROM PARK TO REVERSE RESULTS IN MIXED RESULTS. SOME INSTANCES IT WILL ACTUALLY SHIFT INTO REVERSE AND PROPEL THE VEHICLE BACKWARDS. SHIFTING TO DRIVE I HAVE THE SAME MIXED RESULTS, WITH NO FORWARD MOVEMENT NOTED ON MOST OCCASIONS. THE HARROWING EXPERIENCE OF LOSING DRIVE WHILE AT 60 MPH IS ENOUGH OF A SAFETY CONCERN TO WARRANT FURTHER EXPLORATION INTO A RECALL OF THE VEHICLES AFFECTED WITH THE SAME TRANSMISSION (6T70/6T75) WHICH ARE INSTALLED IN VARIOUS MODELS OF GM PRODUCTS SINCE 2007. THE COMMON REPAIR VARIES FROM REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE WAVE PLATE TO COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT. EITHER OPTION IS VERY COSTLY TO THE CONSUMER AND WITH A "KNOWN" DEFECT THAT AFFECTS GM VEHICLES WITH AS LITTLE AS 40,000 MILES ON THEM. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10559362

61,000 miles · Oct 23, 2013

Engine

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED INDEPENDENTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE INTERMITTENT RELEASE OF ALL FOUR AUTOMATED DOOR LOCKS. THE CONTACT CONTINUED TO DRIVE WITH CAUTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NOT A RECALL RELATED TO THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,000.

NHTSA ODI #10549039

75,688 miles · Sep 3, 2013

Engine

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THE SERVICE TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR BEGAN TO SHUDDER/LURCH, THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON BUT BOTH WENT OFF WHEN CAR TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED, TAKEN TO DEALER WHO SAID MIGHT BE FUEL INJECTION BUT DIDN'T REPAIR BECAUSE COULDN'T GET A READ ON COMPUTER. DEALER SAID TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE UNTIL LIGHTS STAYED ON BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T DIAGNOSE PROBLEM; TWO MONTHS LATER CAR IN SHOP FOR ALMOST 3 WEEKS - CRACKED HEADS PER DEALER AND TIMING BELT. 2 WEEKS LATER SERVICE TRACTION LIGHT BACK ON AND CAR IS SHUDDERING AND LURCHING BOTH WHILE DRIVING AND IDLING. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10538502

Official recalls

14V252000 · Electrical System:wiring; Electronic Stability Control (esc); Exterior Lighting:brake Lights; Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch; Vehicle Speed Control:cruise Control

May 14, 2014

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.

Additional source detail variants (5)

Electronic Stability Control (esc)