IllustrationKNUCKLE PART OF STEERING NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. MECHANIC UNABLE TO GET PART DUE TO RECALLS ON 2009 VUE. WORRIED MY STEERING MAY GO WHILE I'M DRIVING. ALSO. WHY ISN'T 2006 COVERED BY RECALL ????? FIRSTNOTICED PROBLEM WHEN TURNING.
2006 Saturn Vue
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2006 Saturn Vue do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 276.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Vue years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
290–25K
4125–50K
4650–75K
4375–100K
66100–150K
13150K+
238 reports with mileage · 62 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 103 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 93 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
18 crash reports6 fire reports7 injury reports
What owners actually said
300 reportsUPON INITIAL STARTUP, ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK IN THE DASH AND LIGHT AND POWER STEERING. AFTER IT WARMS UP, IT WILL BEGIN TO WORK. SPARKS AND BURNING SMELLS HAVE COME FROM THE DASH AREA. THIS PROBLEM IS PARTICULARLY BAD IN COLD WEATHER. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO DRIVE IT BEFORE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS WARM UP AND START TO WORK THE …
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UPON INITIAL STARTUP, ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK IN THE DASH AND LIGHT AND POWER STEERING. AFTER IT WARMS UP, IT WILL BEGIN TO WORK. SPARKS AND BURNING SMELLS HAVE COME FROM THE DASH AREA. THIS PROBLEM IS PARTICULARLY BAD IN COLD WEATHER. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO DRIVE IT BEFORE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS WARM UP AND START TO WORK THE SPARKS ARE REALLY BAD AND YOU HAVE NO POWER STEERING. THIS PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE VERY COMMON AS I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL POSTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND OTHER COMPLAINT BOARDS. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR AT LEAST A YEAR AND A HALF BUT IT'S PARTICULARLY NOTICEABLE IN THE WINTER..183K MILES.
1ST ISSUE. BOTH HEATED SEATS WENT OUT. THEN PASSENGER AIRBAG SOMETIMES GOES OFF EVEN WITH PASSENGER SITTING IN CHAIR. I CAN RESET AIRBAG WITH PASSENGER HEATED SEAT BUTTON. THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME AND IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR PASSENGER. KEY SWITCH LOCKS AND I HAVE TO JIGGLE STEERING WHEEL TO RELEASE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SATURN VUE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR DRIVER SIDE DOOR FAILED TO OPEN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
THE KEY FALLS OUT OF THE IGNITION. THE KEY SYSTEM IS UNSAFE.
SMOKE COMING OUT OF STEERING WHEEL, WHILE IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET.
TAKATA RECALL. MY AIRBAG LIGHT HAS BEEN RANDOMLY GOING ON AND OFF. SOME DAYS I WILL TURN MY CAR ON AND IT WILL STAY ON FOR AWHILE AND THEN I WILL TURN OFF AND START BACK UP AND IT WILL BE OFF.
I WAS STRANDED SEVERAL TIMES BY THE IGNITION SWITCH REFUSING TO TURN OR ENGAGE TO START THE ENGINE. I CHECKED RECALL NOTICES AND NOTICED THAT OTHER YEARS, LIKE THE 2004, HAD RECEIVED RECALL NOTICES TO HAVE THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER REPLACED. I NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF I MISSED A RECALL NOTIFICATION.…
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I WAS STRANDED SEVERAL TIMES BY THE IGNITION SWITCH REFUSING TO TURN OR ENGAGE TO START THE ENGINE. I CHECKED RECALL NOTICES AND NOTICED THAT OTHER YEARS, LIKE THE 2004, HAD RECEIVED RECALL NOTICES TO HAVE THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER REPLACED. I NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF I MISSED A RECALL NOTIFICATION. I HAD TO PAY $332.30 (INCLUDING LABOR) IN JULY, 2016 TO HAVE THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER REPLACED, INCLUDING HAVING THE LOCK CYLINDER REKEYED TO MY ORIGINAL KEYS. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME HE HAD JUST HAD ANOTHER PERSON IN THE PREVIOUS WEEK WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. IS THERE ANY RECOURSE FOR ME? *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SATURN VUE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH, A PUFF OF SMOKE AND AN ABNORMAL ODOR EMITTED FROM THE STEERING WHEEL WITHOUT WARNING. IN ADDITION, THE HIGH BEAM INDICATOR FLASHED ON AND OFF INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE HIGH BEAM AND LOW BEAM HEADLIG…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SATURN VUE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH, A PUFF OF SMOKE AND AN ABNORMAL ODOR EMITTED FROM THE STEERING WHEEL WITHOUT WARNING. IN ADDITION, THE HIGH BEAM INDICATOR FLASHED ON AND OFF INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE HIGH BEAM AND LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS OPERATED INDEPENDENTLY AND FAILED TO SHUT OFF AS THE VEHICLE WAS OFF. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS BY STARTING THE VEHICLE AND THEN SHUTTING IT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 162,007.
7-25-2016, I WAKEUP TO USE BATHROOM, THEN LOOKING OUT TO MY BACKYARD I SEE MY LIGHTS ON MY SATURN VUE ARE ON. SO I QUICKLY GET MY KEYS AND TRY TURNING LIGHTS OFF BUT THEY WOULDN'T TURN OFF, THEN I GO OUTSIDE TO VEHICLE TO TURN THEM OFF BUT THEY STILL WOULDN'T GO OUT. SO MY HUSBAND WAKES UP AND COMES OUTSIDE AND TURN VEHICLE ON A…
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7-25-2016, I WAKEUP TO USE BATHROOM, THEN LOOKING OUT TO MY BACKYARD I SEE MY LIGHTS ON MY SATURN VUE ARE ON. SO I QUICKLY GET MY KEYS AND TRY TURNING LIGHTS OFF BUT THEY WOULDN'T TURN OFF, THEN I GO OUTSIDE TO VEHICLE TO TURN THEM OFF BUT THEY STILL WOULDN'T GO OUT. SO MY HUSBAND WAKES UP AND COMES OUTSIDE AND TURN VEHICLE ON AND SWITCHES SWITCH BACK AND FORWARD AND THEN THEY GO OUT. BUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS VEHICLE WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.