10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,399 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.

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problem #13

Apr 182009

Sky

  • 14,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Sky. The contact stated that the brake booster vacuum does not work. The manufacturer informed him that he must wait sixty seconds for the brakes to work. The contact stated that the manufacturer does not want to repair the vehicle. He does not understand why he must wait sixty seconds to drive a new model vehicle. The current mileage was 15,000 and failure mileage was 14,000.

- Virgina Beach, VA, USA

problem #12

Nov 192007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,000 miles
1. loss of power brakes when the motor is warming up 2. limited brakes having trouble stopping all most wet through my garage wall 3. the Saturn dealer tried to reprogram the brakes two different times but this did not fix the problem.

- Brookline Station, MO, USA

problem #11

Feb 012008

Sky 4-cyl

  • 100 miles
Brakes fail to work on start-up. For the first 60 seconds it takes excessive pressure to bring the car to a stop. I have had numerous close calls and one small accident where I could not stop for a bicycle in my drive way. Just a matter of time before someone gets serious injured. Saturn claims it is normal for the car brakes not to work properly for the first minute.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #10

Jan 022008

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
My 2008 Saturn Sky has a brake problem when the engine is first cranked after sitting for a few hours, there are no brakes until the car warms up.

- Margate, FL, USA

problem #9

Feb 012008

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100 miles
After a cold start up and backing up the car, the brakes do not stop the car. The brake pedal feels hard when this occurs.

- Wilmington, NC, USA

problem #8

Jan 052008

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 150 miles
I have a 2008 Saturn Sky turbo the brakes do not work correctly when the vehicle is cold, I was told it was a vacuum problem and there was no fix. This is very unsafe and could result in a serious accident.

- Deville, LA, USA

problem #7

Sep 052007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 250 miles
No brakes upon startup! ran over my dog because of the problem. I can't believe this defect made it to market.

- La Porte, TX, USA

problem #6

Nov 242007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10 miles
Brakes do not function when the vehicle is first started up. Car must "warm" up for pressure to build in the brake line. Not informed at dealer. Received car from lot (driven to showroom area) so thus "warmed up" when test drive taken. Brought home. Next morning started car and backed out. Only to find no brakes...very dangerous and scary.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

problem #5

Oct 242007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10 miles
Upon starting the vehicle from a down period as short as 6 hours, the brakes are extremely ineffective and barely able to stop my vehicle when backing from a parking space. After the vehicle has run for a couple minutes the brakes appear to function like any other car. My previous mechanical experience and the research I've been able to do on the web suggest that the vacuum booster is failing to assist the brake system at initial startup. I have contacted the local Saturn dealer and Saturn corporate via their website without satisfactory response. This failure occurs reliably every morning, I've had two near misses almost backing into traffic when I could not stop the vehicle at an idle.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #4

Sep 012007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Brakes do not work fully upon startup of vehicle. Hit tree causing damage to the side of my car because the car did not stop when brakes applied.

- Borden, IN, USA

problem #3

Nov 042007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,500 miles
We own a 2008 Saturn Sky red line model. If the vehicle is placed in gear when first starting up the brakes don't work. Supposedly the Saturn engineers designed the vehicle with this "safety" (as Saturn calls it) feature. If you folks will go onto the Saturn forum and put brake problem into their search engine there are many complaints about this problem.

- Centreville, MD, USA

problem #2

Sep 032007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20 miles
I own a Saturn Sky redline 2008.. the brakes become ineffective after the car sits idle for an extended period of time overnight. This occurs every day when the car initially starts after sitting idle for a period of time. It is a safety hazard every time you start your car and attempt to drive off or back out of my driveway. The brake pedal becomes very difficult to use and the stopping response time is significantly increased. I have to be very careful that cars driving past my home are no where in site before I attempt to back out of my driveway or when I leave my place of employment no car is parked behind or in front of me. I took my car to the Saturn dealership and reported the failure and the service technician printed out a service bulletin that states it is normal which instructs the dealer not to do anything. The actual wording highlights indicate"important: Do not attempt to repair or replace any parts for what is considered normal operation of the ohb...document id#1982132. I called Saturn headquarters on September 27, 2007 and talked to customer service and they stated that they could not do anything about the failure and it should be expected with this vehicle...the woman handling the call would not give me any information on others experiencing this same problem. I also E-mailed Saturn with my concern and will talk to a representative on Monday, October 1. I feel it is a safety hazard and their response is unacceptable and that there should be a repair for the brake system. What if there is an accident and/or death..who will be responsible.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

problem #1

Sep 132007

Sky 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50 miles
Manufacturer:GM model: Saturn Sky redline 2008 brakes become ineffective after car sits idle for an extended period of time over 7 hours. Essentially occurs every day when the car initially starts after sitting idle for a period of time. It is a safety hazard everytime you start your car and attempt to drive off straight away as the brake pedal becomes very difficult to use and the stopping response time is significantly increased. I almost crashed into another car driving past my driveway and as I was reversing out a parking lot. Just imagine if that was a small child that ran out and you could not stop in time! I took it the dealer, he left it overnight and experienced the same problem yesterday. I know he was surprised but all he did was print out the Saturn service bulletin that states it is normal which instructs the dealer not to do anything. The actual bulletin wording highlighted in red states "important: Do not attempt to repair or replace any parts for what is considered normal operation of the ohb". since when is a change in brake effectiveness like this considered normal" this is being experience by numerous customers (see url www.skyroadster.com/forums/showthread.php"T=18188) only have a hard copy of the Saturn bulletin and could not find it on-line. It had a document id#: 1982132 with a subject title of "information on optimized hydraulic boost brake system characteristics #07-05-22-002 - (06/04/2007)

- Marietta, GA, USA