10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 5 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 55,289 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 14V118000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 95,500.
- West Greenwich, RI, USA
Service airbag message began appearing and the passenger airbag off light came on. Dealership reset it but eventually the message returned and the light came back on. Dealership did further diagnosis and determined that the passenger presence system needs to be replaced. Apparently this is a known safety defect based on the numerous other incidents of failure noted on this message board.
- Overland Park, KS, USA
In the past few months I have noticed that the passenger side air bag on my 2008 Saturn Outlook says off even when a full sized adult is sitting in the seat. Sometimes if you move around in the seat or get out and then get back in it will come on but there are not guarantees. I took it to my dealer and they informed me that it is a sensor in the seat and that I will have to pay $900 to replace the sensor so that my passenger side air bag will actually function. After searching the web I have found that this is a very common problem and that it needs to be a 'safety recall". it is obvious that it is a wide spread problem with a ridiculous price tag for fixing. An unaffordable price for any average person! if the company cares about safety they will put out a recall and fix this problem. In addition I noticed on several sites that even after the sensor was replaced that the same problem occurred. In my opinion they need to come up with a whole new system for the passenger side airbags. We should be able to feel safe in our own vehicles.
- Niobrara, NE, USA
My Outlook was involved in a front end accident. The airbags should have deployed but didn't. there was lots of smoke, smell and powder as if they had gone off but never did. This was after the supposed airbag recall had been fixed. I've had nothing but trouble with this vehicle in the 3 short months I have owned it!!
- Templeton, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, the air bag warning sensor illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The air bag sensors were reprogrammed and the sensor lights were deactivated but the failure continued to occur. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no solution was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA campaign number 14V118000(air bags). The contact believed that the vehicle had experienced the same defect as listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 36,000. Kmj
- Las Vages, NV, USA
For the last 2 weeks a "service air bag" message appears in the dic at start up. Also the air bag warning light appears in the dash. The message appears and disappears during travel. Some days the message does not appear. I've spoken to the dealer and they say there is no recall. I have seen in the news as of March 17, 2014 that there is a recall coming for what seems to be this exact problem. I have not received any notification as of April 30, 2014. Thank you.
- Mesa, AZ, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the passenger's side air bag warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The failure occurred when the front passenger's seat was occupied or vacant. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number 14V118000 (air bags), however the VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
- Pitkin , LA, USA
There was no incident yet. However, after I purchased the car I realized that the passenger air bag indicator continued to stay on the off position. I took the car into the dealership where they checked it out and confirmed that yes if someone sits in the passenger seat and I have an accident the air bag will not deploy. The dealership told me that it was the passenger presence sensor and that it was not covered on my warranty. They told me it would cost over 1,1000 dollars to fix, I called GM and they told me the same thing. It's funny that no one will look into this obviously dangerous problem. I have children and I can't be sure that they are safe in a vehicle I just purchased. I am so upset considering that Nissan just had a recall for the same issue. I am sure that I am not the only person who has this issue going on with their car. Please contact me if you have any solutions, or if you have any suggestions as to what I can do to insure my family is safe when I am in my car. Thank you very much for your consideration.
- Detroit, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle became uncontrollable and hydro-planed. The contact crashed into a tree and the air bags failed to deploy. There were five children in the vehicle who sustained injuries from bruising, contusions and lacerations that required stitches. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage yard. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number 14V118000(air bags) that could have been related to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000...updated 04-29-14 updated 8/1/17
- Pikesville, MD, USA
The contact owned a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the vehicle was destroyed but none of the air bags deployed. There was a police report filed and there were no injuries. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- La Habra, CA, USA
Service airbag light came on on the dash and goes out then comes back on. Sometimes it stays lite sometimes it doesn't come on at all, until you lean in the seat.
- Circleville, OH, USA
Prompted to send this complaint after the recent Suzuki air bag recall: The "service air bag" (sir, front passenger air bag) prompt appears on the dash frequently and then disappearing or until we get notification from our onstar monthly diagnostic report that the condition requires our attention. This problem occurred shortly after purchasing the vehicle in 2011 (purchased certified used), which we assumed had been corrected (history code B0021 od) but continues to this very day. We advised the dealer after subsequent and frequent service calls and were finally told by the dealer, after the dealer consulted with the factory, that this condition can be rectified at a cost of approximately $1,500 since the vehicle was now outside the warranty. I wrote to GM to bring to their attention that this was not a mechanical issue but a safety issue and was told that they would not consider a no charge fix until we paid for a diagnostic service of the air bag system. I also informed the GM representative that apparently this air bag system defect is not an isolated one since I found numerous complaints regarding the sir alert on several Saturn blogs off the internet. I can't believe how a manufacturer could totally ignore a safety issue that has the potential for injury or death if there is a failure of the air bag to deploy or even deploy accidentally.
- Brentwood, CA, USA
Driving down the highway at 60mph when car slowed down to 10-15mph. Had to place my emergency lights on in order not to get hit by passing vehicles and move to the emergency lane. I had to turn off the car in order for the accelerator to work again. After the first incident the vehicle kept on stalling. Took the vehicle to the dealer and it turns out its the throttle body that's malfunctioning. The warranty I purchased does not cover this type of part, I don't even have a year with this vehicle. In doing my research I find out that there has been an investigation on this vehicle on foresaid problem around the time I purchased the vehicle. The investigation is still opened. Investigation number PE13-003. The Ford dealership is charging me close to $700 in order to get this part fixed. They did not provide this information to me I had to look it up my self. They also did not provide me with a renter car I had to purchase one on my own. Its just unfair.
- Kegley, WV, USA
At around 50K miles on my 2008 Saturn Outlook passenger air bag light came on and stayed on. After taking it to a local Kia dealer, which used to be a Saturn dealer, they informed me that the sensor in the passenger seat was defective and the entire module would need to be replaced at a cost of over $1200. By searching the internet, this seems to be a very common issue and needs to be recalled.
- Xenia, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the passenger presence module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.
- Southington, OH, USA
The service airbag light comes on when the car goes over a bump or when a person shifts position in the front passenger seat. Apparently this is a widespread issue and the subject of several service bulletins. GM has not issued a recall for this problem.
- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
Was driving on hwy. At 60 mph when engine began to rev and then when I came to stoplight and took off, the car would not go over 30 mph.and would jerk and then as I continued to try to get speed because of others behind me-it would not go. Had to drive 30 mph for two hours to get only 40 miles. Transmission needs to be replaced and GM is not standing behind their product. This is a hazard and there are sooo many complaints with problems just like this and no recall yet-really-so will one be made when someone is killed in an accident. Also when this began I had a 1/2 tank of gas, when I got to dealership-2 hours later-the car was on E!!!!!!!! horrible gas mileage on this too now. Passenger airbag says needs to be serviced-was like this when we purchased and dealer said they would fix-never did and this is a safety concern because it means the passenger is not safe in this vehicle, but then again, none of us are because of GM-am going to begin process with small claims court regarding all of these issues. Horrible vehicle and GM should be ashamed-no wonder I always bought non american made cars-shame on us for thinking GM would be good since it was made in usa.
- Callao, VA, USA
Service air bag warning light came on.
- Brighton, MI, USA
I purchased a 2008 Saturn Outlook used at approximately 65,000 miles. The passenger air bag sensor had difficulties right off the bat. The GM service department looked at it and after glancing briefly at the computer monitor, it looked like the previous owner had many issues with the airbag sensor, too. They said it was probably something with where my son was sitting in the seat (17 year old boy). The sensor would go on and off intermittently. After some time, the air bag warning light came on. I took it to the dealership again a few months ago and they said I needed to replace the entire sensor for about $1,200. I was unable to do that (also thinking that it would fail again). So, we are driving around with what appears is no passenger side airbag. There have been various service bulletins for the airbag issue and numerous online complaints. I think that this warrants a recall.
- Santa Fe, NM, USA
- San Jose, CA, USA