2004 Saturn Vue

1. BRAKES. I HAVE HAD THE FRONT BRAKES AND ROTORS REPLACED/CUT DOWN ON THIS CAR ON THE AVERAGE OF ABOUT EVERY 20K. I CONSIDER THIS ABNORMAL WEAR AND BEFORE YOU RESPOND WITH DRIVING CONDITIONS, AND MY OTHER SATURN SL NEEDED BRAKES ON THE AVERAGE OF 60K WITH THE SAME DRIVING CONDITIONS. WHEN I QUESTIONED SOE THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS MY DRIVING HABITS, BUT AS OF THE RECENT EVENTS, I HAVE BEGUN TO QUESTION THEIR DIAGNOSIS OF ANY PROBLEMS RELATED TO MY CAR. 2. TRANSMISSION SHIFTING/WOBBLE/SHIMMY/VIBRATION. I HAVE COMPLAINED SINCE NEW THAT THIS TRANSMISSION HAS SHIFTED ROUGH, AND I WAS TOLD WORKING AS DESIGNED. NOBODY HAS BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG YET THIS PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. 3. TIRE WEAR RELATED TO RECALL. I HAD TO REQUEST THAT MY VEHICLE HAVE THE RECALL PERFORMED ON IT. YET, AFTER DOING RESEARCH AND WATCHING MY TIRES WEAR. SOMETIMES IN LESS THAT 15K SOMETHING I WOULD CONSIDER PREMATURELY, EVEN FOR PERFORMANCE TIRES, AND READING SEVERAL OWNER SITES MY WEAR IS INDICATIVE OF A SERVICE NOT BEING PERFORMED. 4. WHEEL BEARING WEAR. I HAVE HAD TO HAVE MY FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED 2X IN THE LAST 30K. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS AT 72K WHEN THE FIRST REPLACEMENT WAS MADE, AND THE 2ND WAS AT 99K IT WAS DURING THE 72K SERVICE I COMPLAINED MY ROTORS WARPING(SINCE I HAD 2 SETS REPLACED/CUT PREVIOUSLY) AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS JUST WORN TIRES AND THEY WOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER THE BRAKE ISSUE, UNTIL I PURCHASED NEW TIRES. I PURCHASED NEW TIRES AND THE WOBBLY SOUND WAS LOUDER THAN NOW THAT THERE WAS NEW TIRES ON THE VEHICLE. SO THEN RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE ROTORS, WHEN I ASKED ABOUT BRAKE PADS THEY TOLD ME IT WAS UNNECESSARY. SEEMINGLY ILLOGICAL, SINCE YOU HAD TO REMOVE THE BRAKE PADS ANYWAY, AND TIRED OF ARGUING I DID NOT PUSH THE ISSUE, AS I NEEDED MY CAR, AND LOANER AVAILABILITY SEEMED TO DRY UP SINCE I WAS OUT SO FAR OUT OF THE FACTORY WARRANTY. *TR

WITH ONLY 40K MILES ON THE VEHICLE, THE CLUTCH FAILED WHILE DRIVING AT A SPEED OF 35MPH. I HAD TO CUT OFF CARS AND COAST ACROSS TWO LANES TO A SIDE STREET. I COULDN'T GET THE CLUTCH TO ENGAGE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A MECHANIC AND THE CLUTCH SYSTEM (SLAVE CYLINDER, CLUTCH PLATE) WAS REPLACED. VEHICLE IS NOW DRIVABLE (CAN BE PUT INTO GEAR), BUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HASN'T GONE OFF AND CRUISE CONTROL NO LONGER WORKS. THE MECHANIC SAYS "NO CODE" APPEARS WITH CODE READER. THERE IS ALSO A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE FUMES EACH TIME THE VEHICLE IS STARTED OR IS IDLING. A WEEK PREVIOUS TO THE CLUTCH PROBLEM, THERE WAS A THUMPING NOISE UNDER THE HOOD AND THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T START. I HAD A FLASHING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, WHICH ALSO PRODUCED "NO CODE" WITH CODE READER. I ENDED UP HAVING TO REPLACE THE IGNITION CONTROL MODULE IN ORDER TO START THE ENGINE. *TR

WE HAVE A 2004 SATURN VUE AWD AND THE TRANSMISSION FLOATS BETWEEN OVERDRIVE AND THE LOWER GEAR CONSTANTLY, WHEN DRIVING BETWEEN 35 AND 45 MPH. THERE IS A LOW GRINDING NOISE AND A SHUDDER IN THE CAR WHEN IT SHIFTS TO THE LOWER GEAR, REQUIRING YOUR TO DOWNSHIFT THE CAR MANUALLY TO AVOID THE PROBLEM AT LOW SPEED. THE CAR ONLY HAS 53,000 MILES ON IT AND WITH ALL THE COMPLAINTS I'VE FOUND ONLINE, I'M NOW AFRAID TO LET MY WIFE TAKE THE VEHICLE ON LONG TRIPS. SURELY GM HAS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS? *TR. UPDATED 01-14-08. *KB THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER HAS RELUCTANTLY OFFERED TO COVER THE COST OF THE PARTS ONLY. UPDATED 12/12/07. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN VUE. ON JUNE 27, 2007, WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 TO 70 MPH, THE GEAR CABLE FAILED. THE CONTACT CALLED 911 AND THE DISPATCHER INSTRUCTED HER ON HOW TO STOP THE VEHICLE BEFORE A CRASH OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE HAS HAD MANY FAILURES SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED AND WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER A RECALL FOR THE SUSPENSION. ONE WEEK AGO, THE HORN SOUNDED ON ITS OWN AT 2 AM. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY FOUND A DEFECT IN THE HORN AND AIR BAGS. THE RECALL NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 37,000.

FAILURE OF VTI TRANSMISSION. NO PREVIOUS PROBLEMS - TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN SERVICED AT REGULAR INTERVALS - 50,000 AND 98,000 MILES. CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 102,000 MILES ON IT ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON INDICATING LOSS OF POWER AND CODE DIAGNOSIS INDICATED P1882 - RECOMMEND REPLACE CASE COVER ASSEMBLY AND FILTER - ESTIMATED REPAIR COST $4,300 WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WOULD NOT OCCUR AGAIN. HAD TO TRADE CAR - BOUGHT A HONDA. *NM

TOTAL FAILURE OF A VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION WHILE ON AN INTERSTATE. A 2004 SATURN VUE WITH 32,652 MILES ON IT. UPON INSPECTION BY THE DEALER, THE CAUSE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO A FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION 'BELT' THAT DESTROYED THE OTHER INTERNAL COMPONENTS OF THE TRANSMISSION. THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED IN A VEHICLE SO YOUNG. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER UNDER WARRANTY. *NM