Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76
I had a 2003 2.2 AWD Vue When I bought it it in November 2006 had 69000 miles on it. It had been serviced at the dealership that I bought it from and I have a service writer friend that showed me the mainenance history. It showed that it had a transmission replacement at 69000 miles. I thought that I could at least duplicate that mileage before the new one failed.WRONG!!!
Now let me say that I have taken good care of this vehicle and have had maintenace done by the dealership on schedule. I had the transmission serviced as recommended at about 95000 miles. Everything was fine until 108368 miles when it all hit the fan. A few days ago, I was coming home from work on I 80. It was 1230 am when the transmission out of nowhere, began to high rev while the car began to slow down. I pulled off to the side and waited a minuete or two and tried again. For about a mile it was OK and then I hit a grade and the same thing happened again. I pulled off and towed the car to the Saturn Dealer. Next day I found out that either the transmission computer was the problem and needed re-programing $310.00 or the transmission was bad a $6010 repair. Having read the horror stories about others misfortune with the VUE's rubber band transmission it was best not to throw good money after bad. How could I ever again trust any Automatic from Saturn? So I decided that when the horse goes lame you shoot it. I didn't want a car payment but I got off easy compared to some that have posted here.A small car payment for the end to a big headache is a good deal.
Fortunately for me the car was paid off and fortunately I was in good graces with this dealership and fortunately they had another 2003 Vue with a 5 speed and 82K for $9900.00. Since the car was worth $6900.00 minus $5200.00 dealer cost to replace the tranny, and since the repair was $6010.00 I dumped the problem on somebody else. I also have a 2005 Vue with a 2.2 and a 5 speed and so far with 48,000 miles it has been great. So far the 2003 is doing OK. I know that I that financially I lost it big time on this deal the car that I traded had $1500 worth of tires and rims and new hoses and belts. I only got $2000 trade for it but at least I got something that runs and I got out from between a rock and a hard place.That is worth something.
I will also never buy another Saturn or GM again. The lesson has been learned, next time it's back to Honda.
I bought my 2003 Saturn Vue in Jun of 2007 as a used vehicle. It ran great but after a month I took it into the dealer for small repairs on the warranty and also advised them that everytime I made a sharp turn or u-turn, it would sound like something was grinding. I was advised that since the tires it came with were bigger than the size it should use that they were just grinding on the sides. Last weekend on a trip to Texas I bought 4 new tires of the correct size. Drove home and sure enough still same problem when making turns. Couple of days later took it into the dealer for oil change and advised of grinding noise still happening after they told me it was from wrong size tires. Turns out since my vehicle is an AWD the differential is bad and needs to be replaced. Damages run almost 1000.00 dollars. Of course they tried to get their financial arranger to try and get the extended warranty put on and of course since I have toooo many miles on it they are unwilling to help. Took it to a friends shop and he said not only is the differential bad but the transmission is slipping. Boy did I get suckered into this one! Never again will I buy a Saturn!
I have just replaced another ABS sensor on my 2003 Saturn Vue. That makes 5 sensors in 2 years. Starting at 23000 miles. The RF has been replaced 3 times and each of the rear ones once. I have been told worn harness, replaced, then this time they blame potholes. Have never had a car go through sensors like this. The VTI was a problem and replaced under warranty. The sway bar end links have also been repaired. $1500 out of my pocket to date. I like everything else about the car, but wouldn't want another. I got it because my kids have each put 100,000 miles on their sl's. No way will I keep this one that long.
OMG! Well, I also own a 2003 Saturn Vue, V-6, AWD, and have replaced the sway bars, too, recently, and now am hearing very loud noise from the front end that my brother tells me is a wheel bearing problem. My ties have been wearing badly and the car would not align. I have heard that loud groaning noise when I turn, but that one seems to have disappeared for the moment. Debating to either trade it in, or fix the wheel bearing on the front.
I too have a 2003 Saturn Vue (FWD V6) and I have had a few problems as well. Not as many as most of these posts though.
I have 54,000 miles on mine right now, and this morning my fuel gauge started acting up. I had just filled my tank yesterday (and also put in an STP Fuel additive). This morning I noticed that the tank was at 3/4 already and it should have still been full. As I drove, the gauge slowly moved toward the E mark until the fuel warning light came on. I have not been able to figure out what the problem is, but I have been able to drive the car with the fuel gauge reading at different levels throughout the day. When I bring the vehicle to a stop, the gauge goes back to E and does not change until I drive for awhile. I'm hoping that the problem is temporary because of the fuel additive and corrects itself. (Maybe the sensors are obstructed from the addative?)
The car has been relatively good thus far for me, with little annoyances like the wheel nut covers breaking, the windshield easily cracked when a small rock flew from a truck and hit it, the thermostat went out, the shocks probably need replaced ($1200), and the material that covers the radio has been peeling since the first year of having the car (probably caused by using Armorall or something).
I just paid the car off and no longer have a warranty, so I am expecting plenty more instances in the future. I would love to buy a new car, but I want to enjoy not having car payments at least for a little while.
I have a 2003 Saturn Vue V6 AWD. I bought the vehicle brand new and about 1 year ago I started hearing rubbing noises during sharp turns. I had taken it in and was told that I needed an alignment. The problem seemed to go away for a short while, but recently the problem got worse. I took it back to the dealership and now they tell me that I need to replace my rear differential clutch assembly. Of course, my warranty is up and the repairs are going to cost $1600, which seems high. I feel like Saturn should issue a recall notice for the problem, seeing as I am hearing a lot of the same problems (some seem to be undiagnosed, but sound like the same problem I'm having).
Very disappointed, and will probably never buy another Saturn if the problem does not get resolved.
I own a 2003 Vue V6, automatic, that I purchased two years ago with 32000 miles on it. It now has 69,000 miles drives great, runs great, but last week it dumped all of the oil into the radiator. Apparently there is a faulty design with the engine oil cooler. Saturn has redesigned the oil cooler but no recall. $950.00 to repair at a local shop, not a dealership.
2003 Saturn Vue. Lots of problems. Latest is transmission issue. Probably need a new one. 80,000 miles with variable automatic transmission. Had computer go out. Wheel bearing go out. Plug wires go out. Would not recommend this car because of reliability issues.
I bought a used 2004 Saturn Vue about 1 year ago. No problems, everything great.
Then just today I was driving down a busy main street down town with tons of traffic and, went to change gears and it broke... that's right... I heard a loud pop and heard something fall down inside the gear panel, and my gear shift just fell over..
The only thing I could do was pull over into a parking lot. I pulled the cover off over the gear shift and pulled this round piece of plastic with a clip on it.. canceled my plans for the day and headed home in 2nd gear..
Headed over to an auto store and no one knows what it is. Who makes a part holding your gear to your transmission out of plastic... oh yeah. Saturn. Well none the less, I guess I will just have to drive my car to a Saturn service center tomorrow in 2nd gear...
2003 Saturn Vue - 4 cyl - VTI transmission. Transmission went out at 80,000 miles $4,600 to repair. DO NOT buy a saturn or GM product. Honda is the way to go...
I purchased my 2003 Vue 4cyl. in March of 2006 with 47K miles. Having been in the automotive industry since the early 90's I know Saturn's issues well. The most common issue Saturn has always had is with their automatic transmissions. For some reason though their manual transmission vehicles seem to run fine for years. If you purchase a Saturn GET A STICK!
Still lovin' my Saturn.
2006 Vues suck too...
Beware.. although there are a lot of comments about 2003 vue's here, they have not improved over the years.
2006 issues: Heated seats short, windshield still cracks very easy, Leaking sunroofs... and best of all the only part of sheet metal on the exterior of the vehicle is rusting at 110k! The entire rear door of my P.O.S is spot rusting and, as it isn't perforated through the sheet metal, is not covered under GM's "stellar" warranty program.
GM issues: Service departments are schmarmy!
Save yourself the headaches don't buy GM!
TO the 17:32 comment:
No, the issues you speak of are to YOUR Vue, not all 2006 Vues. You posted the review of your Vue the same day. :)
Just because YOU have those problems with your Vue doesn't mean it's common to all of them. The sunroof leaking is probably due to plugged drains (you should periodically clean them), and no one else has mentioned anything about rust or broken windshields.
By the way, Vues have metal roofs, hatches, and hoods.
I had a Saturn 1996 2 dr coupe and it always performed well. It was always dependable and a fun car. I kept up with a regular maintenance schedule and it NEVER disappointed me. I sold it at less than 60,000 miles to a high school kid and it lasted her another 5,000 miles until someone T-boned her. It lasted until death by accident. I typically keep a car for 10 yrs. before trading.
I bought a 2004 Saturn Vue FWD 3.5 6 cyl in 2003, and it is now only at 46,000+ miles and does have a cracked windshield from top to bottom without a chip. Very cheap windshield.
I also am now hearing a grinding noise coming from front end when driving and when turning right, a slight noise when turning left.
Brakes work great, but I think it's a shame that something major is going wrong with the front end/steering or something.
This is a low mileage one owner car and only. The nearest Saturn dealership was 4 miles away, but have since moved to a much greater distance away.
Although I like Saturns, they are becoming very high dollar and CHEAPLY made. I will buy some other type next year. And to think I was planning on buying one of the new smaller Saturns in a couple of years (not anymore).
I won't bother listing all of the problems we've had with our 2003 Vue V6, because they've all been well documented throughout this thread - and we've seen them all with our Vue.
The overall quality of this car is embarrassingly poor, especially given that it's manufactured here in the good old USA.
Have any of you Vue owners ever looked up at the headliner where the rear view mirror mount protrudes through? Probably not, but next time you're in the car, check it out. It's all you need to know about the building of this vehicle. I've noticed that they've continued to saw through the headliner for years after rather than re-designing the damn thing or at least covering the opening with some trim. My feeling is that they think their customers are idiots who won't notice a hack job when they see it - what suckers we all are to put up with the annual costs to keep these piece of crap cars on the road.
I want badly to cut our losses at 75K miles and get something else, but my wife, who actually owns the thing, wants to hang on to it.
I called the dealer today about the timing belt, and he recommended it be replaced at 90K miles, along with the scheduled maintenance to the tune of 15 hundred bucks. I think she'll go along with unloading it before dumping that kind of cash into it.
Someone wondered in this thread how Saturn gets away with this, and all I can say is that they very well may not get away with it for much longer. I can see GM cutting their losses and shutting the brand down. We'll see.