2003 Saturn VUE fwd 3.0 from North America

Summary:

The vue is a reliable and inexpensive sport utility vehicle

Faults:

I had experienced no problems with the vue. My wife had the same model with over 9000 miles when it was totaled after being hit in the rear by a larger vehicle traveling 60-65 miles per hour. I have had excellent service from the previous saturns that I have owned, with several of them having over 100,000 miles of trouble free use. I expect this model to be as trouble free as the previous saturns I have owned.

General Comments:

The 6 cylinder with a 5 speed automatic transmission has given excellent performance in town and on the road.

The fuel consumption has been good for a vehicle of this size. As the vue engine was built to use 87 octane fuel, it has been less inexpensive to operate than engines requiring higher octane fuel.

The ride has been comfortable in the front and rear seats. It has been driven on trips of 12 hours, stopping only every few hours for fuel and food.

The controls and features in the vue were easy to reach and use.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st March, 2004

2003 Saturn VUE 2.2 liter from North America

Summary:

I regret trading my Toyota!

Faults:

Service engine soon light keeps coming on. Its been to the dealership five times and they keep telling me that it is an evaporation code. They've replaced the evaporation canister and repaired a leak, but, the SES light keeps coming back on.

General Comments:

The exterior of the Vue is very appealing and the interior has a lot of head and leg room.

The staff at the dealership was very nice and tried to help me as much as possible, but, I feel that I bought a lemon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th March, 2004

1st Apr 2004, 07:46

Have your Saturn retailer pressure test the fuel cap. It may not be holding the specified amount of pressure, causing the evap code you're getting.

2003 Saturn VUE 2.2 AWD 2.2 from North America

Summary:

Service is excellent, but a transmission should not fail this soon

Faults:

My wife began experiencing a strange noise in the front end. It sounded like a washing machine out of balance. The noise and vibration increased with speed. We took it in for repair.

We were given a loaner for 1 week.

Saturn ended up replacing the entire automatic transmission. It is one of the continuously variable transmissions. I was surprised that anything would be wrong with a vehicle with so few miles. We like the Vue, but are skeptical now.

General Comments:

We like the looks of the vehicle and its step in entry height. I like the fact my wife sits up a little higher and feels safer because she can see more. She loves the vehicle, but I am concerned that quality and the fact the closest dealer is 45 minutes away. It makes having repairs and servicing a hassle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 1st March, 2004

23rd Mar 2004, 17:06

Hi, am eddyjb49@msn.com. I have a 2003 Vue AWD 4 cylinder. I just received a letter from Saturn on the VTI trans. They're giving me a 5 year or 70,000 on the VTI only. I called them and said I want a 6 year or 100,000 bumper to bumper warranty. They lady on the phone said how about 36 months or 75,000. I said no. She then said what if we split the cost, I said maybe. She first offered me one year of oil changes. I said no. Let's see if they call me back. I have 7,000 miles on the car.

2003 Saturn VUE AWD from North America

Summary:

Overall a good car except for the one car you get that has problems

Faults:

Bought the Vue in September of 2003. Was previous owner of two Saturn SL2s and loved them. Tried a couple of other cars in between including Subaru (loved them) and Acura (loved them). We traded in our Subaru, gave my husband the Acura and I got the Saturn I have wanted since it first came out. Well, immediately upon driving the car, there was a shimmy/shudder in the car. I thought it was just me because my first SUV, but my husband (after I finally let him drive it) asked me about it. It was taken to Saturn in end of November, 2003 and they balanced the tires. The shimmy/shudder was still present in the car, but again thought it was just me. Husband again mentioned the problem and I took it back to the dealership in early January, 2004. They gave it back to me the same day rebalancing the tires. The next week, I took it back to them for the same problem and they had it for 10 days. They replaced the rear axle, rear differential, rear bushing and replaced the drive shaft. Immediately upon driving it, the shudder was still there which they said was road tested good. I took it back to them again and they rotated the drive shaft 180 degrees and gave it back to me the same day. The problem was not only still there, but they made it worse. They have now had the car since February 3 and the car is still not repaired, they haven't the faintest idea what is wrong with the car, but I was told they can't fix it, but hey, they'll keep trying.

One more problem the car had was its failure to start one day. It was completely out of the blue and 30 minutes later the car started on its own. It has never done it since then, but I have heard of other people with the same problem. The service center was not able to reproduce the problem and blamed it on my auto starter.

General Comments:

I love the idea of Saturn and I used to love their cars. I'm not sure what happened to the quality, but it has gone down tremendously. I will never recommend another Saturn to anyone. Unfortunately, the sales people are so nice and they make it so easy when buying a car, I just wish other dealerships were like them. Too bad those sales people can't make the cars because they would be phenomenal.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th February, 2004

18th Feb 2004, 12:24

The problem with the 30 minute delay is probably due to the security system. I was told when I bought my new Saturn that if someone tries to break into the vehicle, the engine is disabled for 30 minutes. So it is possible that someone tried to break into your vehicle, but who knows.