10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 61,088 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.
The Saturn Vue I own is a 4 cylinder and the heater core is cracked just as GM's document id[xxx] describes. I started to smell antifreeze coming from the vents, on about 9-3 we have gone to a restaurant that night and when we came out to go home, the inside of the windshield was fogged up, I tried to use the defrost setting to clear the windshield but it had no effect, I had no rag to wipe the inside of the windshield so I wiper it with my hand to get some visibility, I was forced to stop several times on the way home to clear the windshield by hand. I called Saturn GM concerning the issue and they had me take the car to a GM dealer who confirmed that the heater core is cracked. GM claims they have a customer satisfaction program to fix this issue so the heater core will not crack but they claim that my car is not in the programs group. The program reroutes the heater hoses so that internal pressure build up is reduced to a safe level and prevents the heater core from cracking the programs number is #09206A. From what I can find out the program started in 2009 and was to end 1-2011 but it has now been extended to 1-31-2012. As I said above they claim that the defect is for a group of Vues with serial numbers 8S500002 to 8S645537 which would not include my car. If you read #09206A it describes what has happen to my heater. They state in this document " we have learned that your 2008 model year Saturn Vue, equipped with a 4-cylinder engine, may have been built with a heater core that could eventually fracture due to pressure fluctuations within the heater core. If the heater core fractures, you would notice a strong coolant smell, vapor or mist coming out of the heater vents, and or an oily film on the windshield." This is what is happening to my Vue confirmed by the GM dealer and reported to GM. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Rockford, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving, the windshield wipers stopped functioning and the driver began to hear a clunking noise. The contact inspected the vehicle and realized that the plastic bushing was cracked. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the wipers transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 81,782 and the current mileage was 81,800.
- Sicklerville, NJ, USA
When I'd use the windshield wipers, I lose all power to the drivers side headlight and the blinker would not work, all while the fluid is running out the back windshield wiper connection. I had the Vue in for the same issue 4 times and was told this was a warranty issue at the beginning and when they finally fixed the grounding box and replaced the so called lifetime headlamp, I was charged $364. Not warranty covered. This started at around 36,000. GM screwed us Saturn owners big time.
- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
The driver side vanity light/visor became damaged when the internal pins that stop the visor when sliding out to adjust broke and shorted out the wiring. The wires, which run through the metal visor pole would short out and heat the metal to extreme temperatures, causing burns to the hand and possibly be able to start a fire. Dealership stated that they could not find the problem and refused to fix it. I disconnected the visor for time being until proper repairs could be made.
- Sierra Vista, AZ, USA
I can not utilize the inside rear view mirror totally, because the top half of the inside mirror is taken up by the backside of the onstar panel, it is what you see in the mirror. Also, the rear seat head rest take up the lower half of portions of it, so I have to keep the rear seats lowered all the way down to utilize the lower portion of the mirror. So now I have a 2 seat SUV. When people are sitting in the rear seat, especially with 3 people, you have no mirror view at all. Dealer said front mirror cannot be relocated and glued because of the wire going to it and the rain sensing windshield. There are a lot of dead spots in this vehicle, as to seeing your way clear! tried to remove rear headrest but was unable to.
- Liverpool , NY, USA
- Clinton Township, MI, USA