2002 Saturn VUE AWD V6 from North America - Comments

7573 miles: knock sensor faulty and replaced

7573 miles: replaced radiator drain plug that leaked

8980 miles: rear window washer hose was kinked and required correction

11993 miles:gas gauge sending unit faulty

15365 miles: fuel sensor replaced

18461 miles: mass airflow sensor faulty and replaced

22993 miles: steering restraint coil faulty and replaced. Evaporator vent solenoid failed and was replaced.

24108 miles: steering shaft clicked and required lubrication

29811 miles: HVAC filter was clogged and required replacement

44978 miles: rear lateral link assemblies replaced after mfr. recall

48159 miles: thermostat faulty and

required replacement

49941 miles: front end steering required link and torsion bar replacement to correct noises when turning a slow speeds. This was considered a defective part.

52000 miles: front left strut is faulty and requires replacement.

There have been many electrical sensor failures.

The suspension and steering on this Vue has been a constant issue. Recalls for replacement of parts and oil poured into the molded wells above the strut assemblies suggest problems that go beyond normal wear. The service shop poured oil in the depressions where the struts assembly nuts are tightened and explained that this was to "lubricate" them. This homemade repair suggests that there are problems with the design or manufacturing of these and why one requires replacement at 50,000 miles.

I have recently experienced problems with my vue as well with the left front noise (I am currently at 49,985 miles on the odometer.) I just had it looked at today at a Sears automotive shop by a very competent technician. We took it out on a road trip to confirm what I thought would be the worn out struts. What he noticed was that when turning right the sounds (like rusted springs being compressed and released) were very obvious and when he turned left they were not as bad. Also, when driving straight the small bumps didn't seem to cause the squeaking however when a large bump was driven over the squeaking was present. When he placed the vehicle on the rack and lifted it up he used a stethoscope (similar to what a doctor uses to listen to your heartbeat, lungs, ect..) while having someone else turn the steering wheel constantly back and forth. With the scope he was able to hear the root cause of the squeaking by listening to the moving parts of the suspension through his scope. What he found was the noise was coming from the sway bar. Basically, the sway bar is constructed like a ball joint and there is no way to get any lubrication into the joint because it is sealed so when the lubrication from the factory dries up you have a metal ball joint rubbing on the housing thus giving you that annoying squeaking noise. To rap up, I now have an estimate for $164.00 to replace both sway bars instead of the nearly $550.00 (Saturn dealership quoted $650.00) for the struts, which is what I thought the problem was. On a side note, the reason the estimates were even this high was due to the fact that these parts (struts and sway bar) are currently dealer stock only which means that you can only get them from a dealer which of course picks you up by your ankle and shakes every penny out of your pocket and then some. Hope this helps, have those sway bars checked before spending on those struts!!!

I bought my 2003 AWD V6 loaded used last year. 6 visits to the service shop later, I can say I am very dissatisfied. I have experienced many of the same problems listed on this website, especially with the "sway bars" and "bearings" X 2. After 1 of the visits, I didn't even move the car 2' before a horrible noise could be heard. I can't imagine the technician parking the car with this loud noise so evident.

I now have a noise coming from the rear axle that hasn't been corrected with another 2 visits to the dealer. I also lost power steering and almost crashed when the on-board electronic computer crashed. The factor warranty is up in another year. I am worried to say the least.

We bought our 2002 Vue AWD V6 new. We had it for about 3 months when the "check engine soon" light came on. Turns out it was an engine sensor, covered under warranty. We would usually go about 7 - 8 months before the check engine light would come on and it would idle roughly. We have 2 sets of sway bars replaced, 2 temperature sensors, and a bunch of other things they dealer neglected to give us an explaination for. We did purchase the 7 yr/160,000km extended warranty, but with it going in about once per month we decided to get rid of it. As a matter of fact, the day we traded it in on a 2004 Toyota Sienna the engine light came on again. This was after it had just been in 3 days earlier to have the same problem fixed!! We basically just gave up on owning the Vue... no wonder they swapped the old series engine with a Honda engine in 2004.

My advise is unless you are a mechanic (or best friends with one) stay away from the 2002 - 2003 Saturn Vue.