2005 Saturn Vue

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY ABOUT 60 MPH AND NOTICED THERE WAS A BURNING SMELL COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL AND THEN THERE WAS SMOKE. I EXITED THE FREEWAY AND LET THE CAR SIT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND THE SMOKE WENT AWAY. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE MECHANIC AND WE COULDN'T GET THE CAR TO DUPLICATE THE SMELL OR SMOKE. I HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THEN. *TR

THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER ON MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN HAVING ISSUES SINCE I BOUGHT IT. THE KEY WILL FALL OUT WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. AFTER I AM STOPPED AND PARKED, THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER SEIZES UP AND WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO REMOVE KEY UNTIL AFTER I HAVE ALMOST EXHAUSTED ALL OPTIONS TO GET IT OUT, IE. SHAKING KEYS, BANGING ON IGNITION HOUSING, AND FINALLY HAVING TO USE FORCE AND ALMOST BREAKING THE KEY OFF IN THE IGNITION CYLINDER LOCK. AFTER LEAVING IT PARKED OVER NIGHT AND THE NEXT DAY TRYING TO START MY CAR, THE KEY IS HARD TO GET INTO THE CYLINDER AND HARD TO TURN IT TO THE RUN POSITION, BUT YOU CAN TAKE THE KEY OUT AT ANYTIME IT'S IN THE RUN POSITION. I HAVE READ THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THIS IGNITION CYLINDER LOCK ISSUE THE SAME AS I AM HAVING, AND BELIEVE THIS TO BE A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE 2005 SATURN VUE'S MANUFACTURED BY GENERAL MOTORS. PLEASE ADVISE AS THIS IS ONE HECK OF A COSTLY REPAIR OF OVER 300 US DOLLARS TO REPLACE THE IGNITION SYSTEM. IF YOU WILL TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH THIS ISSUE AND CHECK WITH GM DEALERS ON THE NUMBERS OF VEHICLES THEY HAVE REPLACED THE IGNITION CYLINDER LOCK ON THE SATURN VUE'S I AM SURE YOU WILL FIND A HUGE PATTERN DEFECTIVENESS . MY NEIGHBOR IS A MECHANIC AND SHE SAYS SHE'S DONE TONS OF THEM OVER THE YEARS ON THIS VEHICLE IN THE AFTERMARKET FIELD OF MECHANIC WORK. SHE'S THE ONE THAT SUGGESTED I CONTACT YOUR ORGANIZATION WITH THE PROBLEM. SHE HAS DONE RESEARCH OF INTERNET FORUMS AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS AND ALSO ON WEBSITES THAT LINK UP TO YOUR ORGANIZATION. *TR

BACK IN 2009 I RECEIVED A NOTICED ON A RECALL ON THE TRANSMISSION. I TOOK IT TO MY DEALER AND WAS REFUSED FOR ANY HELP WITH IT. I CONTACTED GM AND THEY REFUSED TO HELP ME. FOR MANY YEARS I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH NOISE, SHIFTING AND OTHER PROBLEMS. SOMETIMES IF I HAD IT IN REVERSE IT WOULD GO FORWARD AND IF I HAD IT IN DRIVE IT WOULD GO INTO REVERSE. THE GEARS WOULD STICK AND MY CAR WOULD JOLT REPEATEDLY. . ON THE 27TH OF SEPTEMBER I WAS ON MY WAY TO A FRIENDS HOUSE TO REPAIR MY U JOINT . I HAD MY 2 MONTH OLD SON IN THE CAR WITH ME, WE WERE ON A BUSY RD DOING 55MPH WHEN MY CAR MADE A VERY LOUD NOISE AND JUST STOPPED. IT WAS RUNNING BUT WOULDN'T GO IN ANY GEAR. IT WAS VERY SCARY AND FEARED FOR MY SONS SAFETY. I HAD IT TOWED TO MY FRIENDS HOUSE TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT AND PIECES OF MY TRANSMISSION FELL EVERYWHERE ON THE GROUND. IT COMPLETELY BLEW. I WAS GRATEFUL WE BOTH WERE NOT INJURED. I TRIED CONTACTING GM AGAIN AND THEY DENIED ANY SUCH RECALL AND REFUSED AGAIN TO HELP ME. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER WITH NO JOB AND NOW NO VEHICLE. I NEED ANY HELP I CAN POSSIBLY GET. THIS HAS BEEN VERY UPSETTING AND STRESSFUL ON ME AND UNSURE WHAT TO DO. PLEASE HELP. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN VUE. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE VIBRATED AND SHOOK INTERMITTENTLY. IN ADDITION, THE BRAKE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED WITHOUT THE BRAKE PEDAL BEING PRESSED. THE FAILURES OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT THE FAILURE MAY BE DUE TO THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 71,000.

WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY ON FRONT OF ENGINE PARTIALLY SEPARATED FROM IT'S HUB, CAUSING A DRIVE BELT MIS-ALLIGNMENT OF THE PULLEYS FOR CRANKSHAFT, ALTERNATOR, AND AIR CONDITIONER. THIS CAUSED THE DRIVE BELT RUNNING OF THESE PULLEYS TO SHRED, RESULTING IN LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER WHILE DRIVING. WHILE LOOKING FOR A REPLACEMENT PART TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE, I FOUND OUT THAT GM HAS DISCONTINUED THIS PART, GM PART 12606927. ALSO, I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF THESE CRANKSHAFT DAMPNER PULLEYS ARE NOW FAILING, DEPLETING THE REMAINING GM PARTS STOCK TO ZERO IN THE USA, SUGGESTING A DEFECTIVE PART DESIGN. THIS DAMPNER-CRANKSHAFT PULLEY FITS SATURN VUE 2004 THRU 2007 WITH L66 3.5L 6 CYLINDER ENGINES, AS WELL AS OTHER GM CAR LINES. THE RESULTING LOSS OF ALTERNATOR POWER WILL QUICKLY RESULT IN DROP IN SYSTEM VOLTAGE DUE TO DISCHARGE OF BATTERY, CAUSING THE CAR ENGINE TO UNEXPECTEDLY SHUT DOWN. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND THESE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED BY GM TO CORRECT THIS CONDITION. *TR

I WAS UNABLE TO UNLOCK STEERING TO GET MY KEY IN. STEERING LOCKED UP. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 OR 4 TIMES STARTING WHEN THE SUV WAS ONLY A YEAR OLD. ALSO MY KEY JUST COMES OUT WHILE SATURN IS STILL RUNNING, THIS STARTED HAPPENING IN 2009. I THOUGHT IT WAS THE KEY. I TRADED KEYS WITH MY HUSBAND. HE HAD THE SPARE. BUT IT IS STILL HAPPENING. I CAN PULL MY KEY OUT AND IT KEEPS RUNNING. THIS SATURN VUE 2005 SHOULD BE IN THE RECALL. I HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN THAT RIDE WITH ME. WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR A INJURY OR FATALITY? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN VUE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH ATTEMPTING TO AVOID CRASHING INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE, THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY FORCE TO THE BRAKES AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE CRASHING INTO A METAL GROUND WIRE WHICH FLIPPED THE VEHICLE OVER. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A BODY REPAIR SHOP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT MADE AWARE THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 08V470000 (STEERING) AND NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 08V616000 (STEERING). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 102,000.