2002 Saturn Vue

I HAVE A SATURN VUE 2002. I TOOK INTO A SATURN DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS IN JULY 17, 08. SATURN REPEATEDLY TOLD ME THE PART WAS COMING. ON AUG 3, 2008, THEY ASKED ME TO PICK UP MY VEHICLE, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE AND WOULD NOT BE IN UNTIL THE 18TH OF AUGUST. NOW SATURN IS STATING THE PART MAY NOT COME IN UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER. MY THROTTLE BODY SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. MY CAR WILL SIMPLE SHUT OFF WHILE I TRAVELING, I MAY BE GOING 65 MILES PER HOUR AND THE VEHICLE WILL COMPLETELY SHUT OFF WITH NO WARNING. AT TIMES THE VEHICLE WILL SIMPLY NOT START. *TR

2002 SATURN VUE; L61 2.2 LITER 4 CYL ENGINE; MILEAGE 59,323. AUGUST 3, 2008. PREPARING TO ENTER INTERSTATE VEHICLE STOPPED RUNNING. HAD IT TOWED TO OMAHA SATURN FOR REPAIR. SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATED THAT TIMING CHAIN HAD BROKEN, AND FALLEN DOWN INTO OIL PAN. ALONG WITH THIS VALVES WERE DAMAGED (BENT) DUE TO MINIMUM CLEARANCES IN CYLINDER HEAD DESIGN. REPAIR INVOLVED NEW CYLINDER HEAD AND TIMING CHAIN ($2650.94) PLUS THE $100.00 TOWING CHARGE. CAR HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED AND HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN HARD. *TR

RE: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN; I AM WRITING THIS LETTER TO STATE HOW BAD A 2002 SATURN VUE IS ON SAFETY. I JUST CAME IN FROM TRYING TO TOW MY SCOOTER MOBILITY TRAILER UP THE HILL IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE. THE 'SERVICE ENGINE SOON' LIGHT IS ON LIKE IT ALWAYS IS. I HAVE TRIED TO GET SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS TO NO AVAIL. ONE THING IT SAYS IS THAT THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE THERMOSTAT IS STICKING. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD COST ME $400 TO REPLACE THE THERMOSTAT. THE VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE A THERMOSTAT PROBLEM. THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE ALWAYS STAYS ABOUT 1/3 OF THE WAY BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THIRD MARKS, WINTER OR SUMMER. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINTER AND SUMMER IS THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES TO GET FULLY WARMED UP. THERE IS A HILL BETWEEN MY COMMUNITY AND THE HIGHWAY. IT IS ABOUT MILE LONG. IN THE SUMMER, THE VEHICLE IS FULLY WARMED UP BY THE BOTTOM OF THAT HILL. IN THE WINTER, IT TAKES TO THE TOP OF THAT HILL BEFORE IT IS FULLY WARMED UP. I SPENT ABOUT #100 FOR A NEW THERMOSTAT AND ALL THE NECESSARY GASKETS TO REPLACE THAT THERMOSTAT AND I STILL HAVE THE LIGHT AND THE TEMPERATURE IS STILL 1.3 THE WAY BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THIRD MARKS. THE MAIN REASON FOR MY COMPLAINT OF SAFETY IS THAT THE VEHICLE WILL GO INTO 'LIMP MODE' AT ANY TIME, EVEN WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY, AT FREEWAY SPEEDS, AND SUDDENLY I HAVE NO POWER TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. ANY VEHICLE WITH A 'CHECK ENGINE SOON' LIGHT SHOULD GO INTO LIMP MODE ON STARTUP, NOT RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. *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

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