10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
107,543 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2009 Saturn Aura:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #39

Dec 052018

Aura

  • 225,000 miles
While driving my daughter to school, I made a left turn into the school parking lot at a low rate of speed and steering went out. Power steering light illuminated and dash reads service ESC. Very difficult to steer. Turned car off and went to crank again...steering restored, indicator went off.

- Hampton, GA, USA

problem #38

Dec 142017

Aura

  • miles
Driving the car anywhere my car would drive good then sometimes lights start flashing service ESC, power steering, low fuel and the gauges starts going wild on the dashboard, and my car would start skipping if I don't pull over off the road right away. This is so dangerous to be on the highway people are driving fast and crazy and when your car slows down on its own it could cause a wreck. I have children and it's scares me because I don't never know when the car would act up. It seems to be a really bad issue with these cars I'm hearing would've been nice to know this before I bought the car. This is a major issue for a car to act this his out of nowhere. I've taken it to the people I bought my car from and it never acts when I take it to them put I've should them videos that I've taken of what it's goin, so they are not trying to look deeply for the problem. And I'm very disappointed this is the only vehicle I have to get me and my children around & the car is in good conditioning besides what's goin on with the electrical part. I don't know what all can be done about this but hopefully somebody can look into the problem with this type of car. Thank you

- Jacksonville, AL, USA

problem #37

Jul 182018

Aura

  • 94,000 miles
2009 Saturn Aura stationary shows messages "service traction, ESC off, service ESC" constantly on the gauge cluster. Alongside the messages the ABS light and the ESC off icon is constantly on in the gauge cluster. When the vehicle was driven the message "pwr str" referring to power steering showed on the gauge cluster then disappears. Upon researching these issues, I have found that NHTSA and GM have issued recalls and tsbs regarding these issues, however the VIN for my vehicle does not show its under recall. I suspect this may be the case of vins not included in the recall system. NHTSA campaign number: 14V153000, 14E044000, 14V153000, 14V252000, I have contacted GM and was told my vehicle is not covered under recall and must be taken to a dealer for diagnostics under case number 8-440138641. I will take it to the dealer for the vehicle to be diagnosed, however in the case the vehicle is involved in an accident due to the ESC and power steering. I want NHTSA to have a record on file of these issues as a precautionary measure.

- Framingham, MA, USA

problem #36

Jul 072017

Aura

  • 96,000 miles
When I bought the car last year the dealership said they installed brand new brakes but they where still squeaking so I just thought it was because of the new brakes but a month later my brakes and rotors and calipers were completely gone it costed me $1200 to replace them but then 2 months later again it started doing the same thing my brakes wore down completely so I asked my uncle to look at them and change them for me so he did and now my brakes are doing the same thing they grind very loud and squeak and I didn't buy no cheap brakes either they where top performance brakes another problem I had what's my control module in my transmission went out as I was driving on the high way my speedometer wasn't working and my car moved slowly and made a loud noise so I replaced it and it's working for now then my doors won't unlock I'll hit the unlock button in the car and the key chain but my back door on the drivers side does not unlock and my driver door does the same occasionally I have to pull the lock to unlock it and I've had my tires balance rotated and all that more than once but for some reason my front tires wear down fast I've went through 2 sets of front tires but my back tires are still good

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #35

Mar 122018

Aura

  • 81,000 miles
Traction control button (triangle on dash) will display then gauges start flickering back and fourth like an electrical issue and then on display it says service ESC and car will not shift into gears and you cannot steer or control vehicle properly with these issues going on. I entered my VIN because there are recalls for these issues but it says my VIN was not recalled. Once car is shut off it will reset itself I guess but it has happened several times now.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

problem #34

Feb 172018

Aura

  • 106,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving 25 mph, the steering wheel seized and the electronic stability control warning indicator displayed prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering column and ESC needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched the failure and found a recall online. The contact called berger Chevrolet (2525 28th St SE, grand rapids, mi 49512, (616) 949-5200) and was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V153000 (steering). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #33

Feb 022018

Aura

  • 145,000 miles
While driving the service ESC & power steering warning came on. At this point the power steering stopped functioning and steering became very difficult especially at lower speeds. There has been a recall for this issue for this model, but my VIN number is not showing up as one of the vehicles recalled even though it appears to have the problem. GM obviously has more defective parts installed on additional VIN's. this can be a very dangerous problem depending on when it occurs. The problem resets when you turn off the car and restart it, but it has now happened 4 times while driving since the initial occurrence.

- West Liberty, OH, USA

problem #32

Jan 252018

Aura

  • 105,000 miles
Intermittently ESC power steering will pop up in display, power steering will quit working and almost impossible to turn, dealer states no recall for this problem

- Rockport, IN, USA

problem #31

Jan 142018

Aura

  • 177,000 miles
Vehicle is hard to steer while driving, then ESC power steering off appear on the driver information center on dash.

- West Memphis, AR, USA

problem #30

Jan 052018

Aura

  • 168,000 miles
Without warning the steering and the ESC failed, when you start the car the warnings flash that that are off, on the rare occasion that they turn on they turn off while the car is driving, the car loses all steering assistance. When they controls are active the steering wheel shakes uncontrollably

- Spotsylvania, VA, USA

problem #29

Dec 292017

Aura

  • 114,802 miles
While driving back from work today I got this message // power steering service ESC// message after putting the vehicle in reverse while trying to turn.the steering became uncontrollable afterwards. After turning ignition off and back on the error message went away and things went back to normal.

- North Brunswick, NJ, USA

problem #28

Nov 022017

Aura

  • 76,000 miles
While driving at 25 mph the power steering has gone out quite a few times, restarting the car turns the power steering back on. While driving any road, including 70mph highways, the car will jolt and the service ESC alert will go off. It's actually getting worse.

- Salem, OH, USA

problem #27

Nov 232017

Aura

  • 166,666 miles
Talara recall ' I turned my car on and it kept killing forward it said power steering stability ESC, ESC off, and then engine power reduced it kept accelerating by it self I thought it was the battery so I boaught a new one but not even when they switched it out would it stop doing that it kept julting

- Moses Lake, WA, USA

problem #26

Nov 122017

Aura

  • 100,000 miles
When I was getting off the interstate I lose control of my power steering and the service ESC power steering light came on and I was able to pull over into a gas station I turned the car off turned it back on and the power steering started working just fine again.

- Benton Harbor, MI, USA

problem #25

Jul 312017

Aura

  • 128,000 miles
This morning leaving work after coming to a stop, when making a right turn to re-enter traffic halfway through the turn the power steering went completely out nearly causing me to hit an vehicle turning left onto the same street I was exiting. The power steering light illuminated on the dash for not nearly five seconds.

- Dover, DE, USA

problem #24

Feb 062017

Aura

  • 180,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving approximately 70 mph, the service ESC and power steering failure messages suddenly illuminated and the vehicle's speed reduced to 50 mph. The steering wheel became very difficult to turn. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #23

Feb 012017

Aura

  • 110,000 miles
My car has been nothing but problems since I purchased it. The moonroof has leaked and I have paid to have it repaired several times even though GM says they aren't to blame. The leaks in the moonroof are only what I can start to attribute the electrical problems to. I randomly loose radio controls, have buttons that don't work, cant use my key fobs after replacing them and replacing batteries only the "panic" button will work. What takes the cake is the reduced engine power light that came on yesterday and the service ECM light, nearly killing us on the highway. I get reduce engine power but with no warning to go from 68 to 35 in the high speed lane is asking for death. On top of it the more I've googled the issues it seems like this is an electrical problem GM is well aware of and never has done anything about from 2007-2009 Auras, there are a lot of people who say they've spent thousands of dollars at the GM dealership trying to solve their problems T =O be given no real answers. I am scared now to drive my vehicle again as the lights went off and it "seems" to be fine. I am even more scared to bring it to a dealership where if the lights aren't on they cant diagnose it, although it sounds like from what I've read even with lights on diagnoses' are poor and not accurate. Enough people are describing the same exact things going on with their vehicles how is there no definitive fix and why are people being sent back out on the roads with faulty cars. Not only that if 3 years worth of cars are having electrical issues all the same how is there no recall"??"

- Mattapoisett, MA, USA

problem #22

May 252016

Aura

  • 74,000 miles
Brake lights illuminate without brake pedal being depressed, and do not illuminate when brake pedal is depressed while driving. Service traction, service erc, and ESC off warnings appear on dashboard. NHTSA campaign # 14V252000, GM recall # 13036 was not applied to my VIN even though my manufacture date is 12/08, within the specifications of said recall.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #21

May 012016

Aura

  • 167,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the ESC service warning light illuminated and the cruise control had erroneously deactivated. In addition, while driving at various speeds the vehicle would suddenly began to jerk when shifting gears and the power steering had also malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. The cause of the failures was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 167,000.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #20

Feb 052016

Aura

  • 148,000 miles
I have a 2009 Saturn Aura xr, I was driving to get on the freeway going about 40-45mph then the light can on saying "ESC traction" "engine power reduce" the car started to lose power and the brakes felt really tight. I tried to accelerate but it wouldn't go no faster than 30mph. I exited the freeway parked the car turned if off and turned it back on. When I turned it back on the same problem "ESC traction" "engine power reduce" and the check engine light was on, the car was on parked position and the car started to jolt forward. I had to wait for about 1-2 hours before the car was back to itself but this time it felt different driving it. The car felt like it was accelerating too quickly and I wasn't going no more than 15mph. This has happened 3 times in the past month. Is there a recall on this car because its unsafe to drive not knowing when the 'ESC traction" "engine power reduce" lights will come on again.

- East Palo Alto, CA, USA

Read the next 19 complaints »