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.
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.
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.
Saturn is buying back my VUE because it was in the shop for more than 30 days due to a faulty transmission. Nothing but problems since I bought it in February of last year...
We had bought 2 Saturn Vues in October and November of 03. The first had the same vibration/shudder you speak of. Gave the first one back under the 30 'give back' policy after it was completely torn apart from the drive shaft back to the rear wheels. The second one had the same problem and the service department tore it apart too. The driveshaft was out of balance and they did fix that.
There is still however a vibration/shudder that is a result of the 'torc converter lock-up' at 50 and 100 km/hour. After service department did what was required under their 'service bulletin', the problem did not go away and was requested that I drive at least 10 thousand km. The second Vue was in the shop for at least 2 weeks.
I am at 7500 km and no luck yet.
What is also annoying is the low growl noise at low speed. This too, I was told was due to the transmission and was reported to me as normal.
The vibration/shudder was admitted to me to plague "every single VTI model". Had I known of this, I would have never bought it and Saturn knows full well of this problem yet knowingly held back this disclosure.
Bought a 2003 Saturn Vue and had 14 different problems within a yr span. I will never buy any Saturn or GM ever again. Toyotas and Hondas are all that I'll be buying from now on.
As the sayin goes... You get what you pay for!!!
My wife came home with a 2004 Saturn VUE on a test drive one night. I drove it straight back to the dealership. She had owned a 2000 Saturn LS previously and had problems with the brake lights. The car, with only 2,800 miles on it was out of warranty (1 month past the 3 year warranty) They quoted her over $300 to replace both tail light assemblies. I brought the car home to fix it myself. When I went to unbolt the tail lights, I noticed there was dust still on the fasteners. I fixed her lights by jiggling the sockets a few times. It was only a loose connection. Long story short, we bought a 2004 Subaru Forester and have been happy so far.
Hi, I'm an other unhappy customer. I bought my VUE in April 2003 and went to the dealer about 10 times since. They change the complete transmission after having my truck for over 1 month. Now, I have to change my breaks and tires. My breaks are finish and my tire cannot pass the winter. I had 2 others Saturns previously (1 SL and 1 LS), never had any problem with them. This SUV will be my last one with them even if their sales service is good, their repair service is not.
Hey all, I'm the original poster of this complaint and wanted to let you know the outcome so far. The car still to this day has the shimmy/shudder. It is more prominent in the colder months because as it was explained to me the drive shaft goes through this mounting bracket which hardens thus causing the shudder when it gets cold. My understanding was that they were coming out with a new drive shaft and mounting bracket assembly and I was to get one. As of this date, I have not gotten one and I'm sure you've all gotten the good news about the suspension failure on the vue. Well, I was also told that it was no big deal and that they would start rolling out that in January of 2005. Not only did Saturn know of this problem, but the 2004 was even WORSE. They are continuing to try to fix it, but the last I heard was that the Saturn is not really a Saturn anymore, but rather a Honda in Saturn clothes. But maybe that's a good thing. I had no luck pressing my lemon law and I really didn't have the energy. Suffice it to say I only need it to last me through 2008 when I'm done with law school and then I'm ditching it and getting my Subaru back.
Hello Everyone.
I wish I could say that I haven't had any problems with my Saturn Vue 2003, however, like many of you I have had my car in the dealer a total of 14 times for various problems. They began almost immediately after driving it off the lot, the horn went twice, meaning it engaged and wouldn't disengage, resulting in my pulling the fuse and several irate passerby. The weather stripping around all four doors became warped and needed to be replaced, the nozzle on the right fluid dispenser flew off on the highway resulting in a stream instead of a squirt, the clear coat began peeling on the rear right quarter panel and is beginning to peal again after one repair, a stabilizer bar in the sterring column was defective and was replaced, the rear cargo net clips pulled out in hot weather and were replaced. Finally I live in a northern climate, I complained several times that the vehicle with it's transmission was getting stuck in 1-2 centimeters of snow (Very Little) or even on a slightly slippery surface, these complaints fell on deaf ears and comments about my driving abilities were made at the dealer, despite our owning an SL1 with no problems. I then received a recall about the transmission software and low and behold a fix to the problem that apparently I'm not the only one expierncing the same problem. However, since the fix I occasionally get a strange smell of melting rubber coming from beneath the car, given the problem is intermittent the dealer is unable to determine the cause, is this a hint of more bad things to come? I definitely will not be waiting around to see, the minute I can get rid of this vehicle without loosing too much money and before the warranty expires I will be ditching it. This will be the last Saturn or even GM car I will buy, which is a shame as the styling is nice and the polymer panels are an attractive feature, however, the problems I've experienced are simply intolerable, granted they are not as drastic as some have mentioned in this column, however, horns have been around for decades you would think they could get basic components right and if they can't imagine the more complex ones. Do not buy!
Hi, I bought a Saturn Vue in December of 2003. Since then, I have been back to the dealership with problems. Like many of you, I bought the vue because I had previously owned a SL1 for 8 years with very little or no problems with 156,000 miles when I sold it. I have had the view and within the first year to 18 months I had to take the car in for anything from a fuel pump going to the steering wheel making all kinds of loud noises, to the wheel baring going. Unfortunately it was past the warranty and I had to pay for it out of pocket. Now I took it in because it's making a ticking noise in the engine and I was told that it was the lift valve and it would cost $1800. I just got through replacing the baring in march for almost $400. The steering was lubed previously last year (had other vue owners complaining about that) and now they want me to pay for a sway bar which they don't know if it will fix the problem. I also have to get front brakes. I expected the brakes to go soon because I have 74,603 miles. I expected certain things to be replaced due to wear, but this is ridiculous. I got on the phone with Saturn of Tennessee and complained because for a new car, I'm dishing out a lot of money within two years. I'm going to get rid of this vue as soon as possible and I told them that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. If you haven't, I would advise you to contact saturn of tennessee and complain because this is ridiculous. I don't waste time with the dealership anymore because they can never explain the problems. They refuse to admit that the 2003 vue has MANY problems and the whole car should be recalled.
I'm with you all. It's too bad, because I really like saturn.
I have a 2003 AWD Saturn Vue. Recently it lost all power while in the centre lane of a major highway. Short story it was the transmission, they had it fixed in 2 days, but called me to tell me my brakes and rotors needs replacing another $480, rotors on a vehicle less than 2 years old, and at only 40k, what a joke, drove my Mazda MPV for 4 years not one issue! Drove my Chevy Cavalier 4 years never an issue, they would not repair under warranty. As many others have stated sales folks are always awesome, even the service staff is great, but GM Canada clearly doesn't stand behind its products, they won't see me for another purchase of a GM vehicle nor will they get any good word of mouth publicity, back to Mazda I will go!
My husband and I bought a 2003 VUE back in December of 2002. It seemed like a great car for about a year. After that I have had it in the shop at least once a month. The last month alone it has been in the shop for over 2 weeks in-consecutively. Three weeks ago I was leaving work and it died coming out of the parking lot. I had to have it towed and a week later I got it back with the transmission being rebuilt. As I was leaving the dealership, I heard the technician and the head of the service department talking about other problems, but they weren't sure what they were and never told me.
I called the next day to complain about a vibration and they said they thought it was the tires. I have gotten a little upset with Saturn lately and took it to another company to have new tires put on. While there the said they thought the sway bar links were going and if it was still under warranty I should have them checked. I made an appointment for last Saturday. They said it would only take about an hour. I still don't have my car back four days later.
On Monday they decided that I needed new breaks and new tires. I informed them the tires were new and they simply replied “Oh". They replaced the brakes and the sway bar links. Then while out on a test drive, they decided there was still more wrong and replaced the drive shaft.
On Tuesday they test drove it again and the vibration is still there. Now there is an inspector coming out to look at the car because everything is still under warranty and they are spending too much money fixing everything that is wrong. The newest problem is the rear differential, but they can't fix it until the inspector comes out.
This does not include the suspension recall a couple years ago or other suspension, wiper, gas pedal, brake pedal, or missing gaskets that shouldn't have just disappeared that I have had fixed over the years. I still have the wiper problem. There is also a problem with the cord that opens the hood.
I too bought a Saturn Vue in August 03, and it has truly been a hassle. I have spent so much money on this vehichle, and I am truly appreciative that I bought the extended warranty at purchasing ($1,500).
This car has been truly a problem from replacing the entire transmission case, oil leak ($950), strut mount, driver side speaker with a crack, steering column, and sway bar links.
It amazes all the problems that I am experiencing and I keep with all the recommended services at Saturn in Houston, Texas 290 (Location).
I will never purchase another Saturn again.
I was recently speaking with my cousin's husband who used to work for Saturn sales. He quit about 2 months ago and went to work for another car dealer. I was telling him about all of the problems I have had with my Saturn and he agreed that there are definite problems with the VUE, especially with the transmissions. He did tell me that a lot of the problems have been resolved in the latest model though.
He also said there are still a lot of problems with the Saturn Relay, so if any of you do decide to go back to Saturn (I never will), you may want to avoid the Relay too. Another cousin owns one and has had many problems with her brakes.
I own a 2003 VUE. I brought it in to the dealer due to a moaning whining sound in the rear. I also had a shimmy at speeds over 35mph. I only have 38,000 miles and maintained solely at Saturn dealers in Long Island and now Miami.
Turns out that rear wheel bearings were " going bad" and also, I had water contamination in the clutch. Dealer reported no damage, but the fix included installing a " longer hose" in the assembly area. I went on- line and read where there are TSB's for this ailment and there a suggestion that Saturn is resisting a recall.
I was concerned because I thought the clutch was a sealed item. I contacted Saturn and it just sound like a manufacturer's defect to me. The service rep said that water could have entered the clutch box, if it was in water or driving through a puddle. I thought I bought an SUV.
I am feeling very disappointed with the Saturn mystique.
In April 2003 I bought a VUE. Two days after I drove it off the lot, all of the idiot lights came on. They had to replace the computer. After that, I had some nuisance problems which were fixed quickly. Now tonite, someone almost hit me coming into my lane on the road. I honked my horn so she can see that she was close to hitting me. We just missed, but then my horn wouldn't stop! So I am driving with my horn blaring out, making an awful lot of noise! My friend who is a mechanic, was going to pull out the fuse. I turned the car off and on a couple of times, then the horn stopped. But now the service light is on, and I do not have a horn. I will be calling Saturn Monday morning to get them to fix it. At least I have the extended warranty. I am glad someone else had a horn problem, as I thought that I hit the horn too hard and damaged it. Obviously it is a defect, as I have had other cars where I have slammed on the horn to avoid accidents. We shall see what happens!