Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 1613174 | 11/11/2005 | 10017867 | A stall and/or no crank, no start condition after the wipers are used. the service engine soon light may or may not be illuminated and the customer may report other problems with the cruise control system. a tech 2 diagnostic probe will f | 12/06/2005 | |
| 3299 | 10017252 | Stall, no crank, no start after using the wipers. *tt | 10/31/2005 | ||
| 3448 | 10017227 | Instrument panel cluster inoperative intermittently with possible diagnostic trouble codes. *tt | 10/28/2005 | ||
| 3337 | 10017182 | Unwanted heated seat, and or the rear defroster/defogger shut off. *sc | 10/26/2005 | ||
| 050849009 | 03/01/2005 | 10015046 | Exchange program saturn relay instrument panel cluster ordering process. *eh | 05/17/2005 | |
| 050603003 | 04/01/2007 | 050603003C | 10014992 | Headlights and interior lights flicker. *tt updated. *kb | 05/13/2005 |
| 3395 | 10013562 | Chime sound when vehicle is put into gear. *eh | 04/21/2005 | ||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 4072 | 4072A | 10020060 | Hard start, no start, caution light, corrosion at c305. *tt updated 08-15-07. *kb | 07/14/2006 | |
| 3550 | 3550E | 10019233 | Starter stays engaged after engine starts. *ak | 02/22/2006 | |
| 3763A | 10018642 | Intermittent no crank, no start and/or dead battery. *tt | 01/09/2006 | ||
| 3377 | 10013520 | Crank, no start condition with no spark. *tt | 04/20/2005 | ||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||||||
| PE05063 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 11/29/2005 | 03/06/2006 | ELECTRICAL HARNESS DAMAGE | ||
| The office of defects investigation opened this investigation on november 29, 2005, based on one consumer report to odi and a technical service bulletin issued by general motors.the bulletin, no. 1613174, issued on february 21, 2005, states in part, some customers may report a stall and/or no crank, no start condition after the wipers are used.analysis of the available data indicates that the problem experience occurs early in the life of the vehicle.approximately 80% of all failures occurred within the first 3,000 miles.additionally, 88% of the complaint vehicles were built in the first half of production.changes to the production process, the issuance of the service bulletin, and component modifications, appear to have resolved this issue. a safety related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | ||||||
| PE05063 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 11/29/2005 | 03/06/2006 | ELECTRICAL HARNESS DAMAGE | ||
| The office of defects investigation opened this investigation on november 29, 2005, based on one consumer report to odi and a technical service bulletin issued by general motors.the bulletin, no. 1613174, issued on february 21, 2005, states in part, some customers may report a stall and/or no crank, no start condition after the wipers are used.analysis of the available data indicates that the problem experience occurs early in the life of the vehicle.approximately 80% of all failures occurred within the first 3,000 miles.additionally, 88% of the complaint vehicles were built in the first half of production.changes to the production process, the issuance of the service bulletin, and component modifications, appear to have resolved this issue. a safety related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | ||||||
| PE05063 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 11/29/2005 | 03/06/2006 | ELECTRICAL HARNESS DAMAGE | ||
| The office of defects investigation opened this investigation on november 29, 2005, based on one consumer report to odi and a technical service bulletin issued by general motors.the bulletin, no. 1613174, issued on february 21, 2005, states in part, some customers may report a stall and/or no crank, no start condition after the wipers are used.analysis of the available data indicates that the problem experience occurs early in the life of the vehicle.approximately 80% of all failures occurred within the first 3,000 miles.additionally, 88% of the complaint vehicles were built in the first half of production.changes to the production process, the issuance of the service bulletin, and component modifications, appear to have resolved this issue. a safety related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 12/08/2011 | 80000 | 1 | |
| Abs warning light appears intermittently even after brakes were replaced. seems to be electrical issue as opening the door doesn't always turn on light or turn off radio. drained battery. now i have to pull fuse. steering wheel radio controls have never worked properly often performing opposite functions. *tr | |||
| 12/08/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Abs warning light appears intermittently even after brakes were replaced. seems to be electrical issue as opening the door doesnt always turn on light or turn off radio. drained battery. now i have to pull fuse. steering wheel radio controls have never worked properly often performing opposite functions. | |||
| 12/19/2011 | 86000 | ||
| 12/19/2011 wife was driving car on 4 lane highway when brakes engaged for no reason. foot was not even on the pedal. van lurched, tires squeeled, drastically reduced speed down to 20 mph, and car pulled to the right. she pulled off onto shoulder of road. t/c light came on. van drove normally after that until 1/5/12 when it happened again. this time it happened at a lower speed, while slowing to turn left through an intersection. made car skid and she almost missed the turn. it happened again on 1/6/11 while turning into a parking lot. same symptoms, this time car pulled to left. i inspected vehicle to find that right rear brake caliper was leaking brake fluid. thought that would solve problem, however, it was an unrelated issue. happened 5 times on 1/10/11, once again on 1/11/11 at 60 mph, and on 1/12/11 at a lower speed. diagnosis by a gm certified mechanic determined the problem to be the ebcm. currently the fuse has been removed from the abs and abs pump to prevent this very dangerous condition from happening again. switch in car to deactivate traction control was not stopping it from malfunctioning. my wife and kids use this car, and i was very worried about their safety, and i had to consult 3-4 different mechanics to brainstorm and figure out what was causing this problem. | |||
| 03/21/2011 | 111934 | ||
| I have a problem with the abs/traction control light coming on and the braking system will not opererate properly. there has been a few times where the brakes will not stop the vehicle properly or have locked up a couple of times. we also had to replace the egr valve do to a code 0414/0414. we also had to replace the pcm because the system locked up and deleted all the codes causing the engine to fail to start while tring to update the pcm to recognize the new egr. i also have proplems with the lights flickering and dimming all the time. these problems exist every day and i feel the vehicle is getting unsafe to drive. i have contacted gm several times and took the vehicle to a local dealership to get the pcm replaced. they would not give me the old pcm but i have the original delphi egr valve. gm said ththat the 2005 relay has recalls on the egr and pcm but my vin was not affected and refused to pay any on the repairs or pay to have the van checked out at a gm dealership. | |||
| 11/18/2010 | 148000 | ||
| I bought a used 2005 saturn relay 3 in january 2010. i have 2 major issues going on: power sliding doors will not recognize that they are closed and will continue to ding as if i was driving with them open...on a few occasions i have heard the power door motor start on its own as if it was trying to open the doors while i am driving! second issue is abs/traction control lights have been coming on sporadically since i purchased it. of course, no one can find the problem because they can't replicate it. it doesn't matter the driving conditions, driving time, weather or anything else. both have happened at various speeds. currently the lights are staying on more than off and yesterday while driving, the warning lights were off until i stepped on the brakes, felt and heard a clunking sound, the brake petal gave way some, and the service abs/no traction control lights came back on again. the car did stop. talked to the used car dealership that sold it to me and i am currently making arrangements to have vehicle looked at. in researching i have found numerous complaints about these same issues on a number of forums. | |||
| 07/01/2008 | 38752 | 1 | |
| 1. chiming sound all the time as if the sliding doors are open. door opened on its own willing driving. they replaced the motors. 2. same problem as above. replaced the sensors 3. having the same problem again. *tr | |||
| 12/01/2004 | 1000 | 1 | |
| 2005 saturn relay has numerous design flaws, and saturn is unable to fix. onstar disables speedometer when used, radio mutes and car must be turned off and back on to reset, abs system malfunctions repeatedly even after replacing ebcm, abs pump, bcm, lights flicker both interior and exterior, alternator found to have erratic output, new alternator did not solve problem. brake rotors warped within 25k miles. saturn will only keeping trying to repair, but is unable to solve problems. *nm | |||
| 12/16/2004 | 3000 | 15 | 11/24/2004 |
| Saturn relay 2005: after turning the car on, no sound comes from the radio, or cd. the no sound disables the on-star function and rear parking sensor. thus i can not call on star or hear the chimes from the rear parking sensor. this issue is not a repeatable event. i have not found a way to duplicate the event. i have determined that if i shut off the car and open the door and wait at least one minute, the sound will reset and work fine. every 3 months when i take the car back for oil change i identify the problem, but since it can not be duplicated the dealer will not investigate or attempt to repair. the concern is the non-functioning of on-star and rear parking sensors. this are safety features that can not be used if required in an emergency and the sound is not working. *nm | |||
| 12/17/2005 | 12000 | 5 | 07/02/2005 |
| There is a definite problem with either the engine or the electrical system on the 2005 saturn relay. we have been to dealerships and complained about these problems, but they have brushed us off by saying that it could be the weather, and they did not see any problem. the car actually goes down in rpms and the whole dashboard and lights dim when in idle. also, the idle is very rough. this should be looked at since after doing some research on some web sites there are many people with the same exact problem with this vehicle and they are also been given many different answers. p please investigate this since we have a one year old and i do not want anything to happen to her while we are using this minivan. thank you. *ak | |||
| 01/18/2006 | 1000 | 1 | 06/15/2005 |
| Lights on dash and exterior dim and fade erratically. radio decides to mute itself if car is unlocked and tail gate is opened first. they don't know the mileage for oil changes. has a hesitation from rolling start that makes the wheels break free as if a turbo. saturn dealer can not see any of this even when shown. also they say i must contact saturn to find out how to fix. saturn is not returning my calls. *jb | |||
| 07/27/2005 | 2427 | 5 | 07/26/2005 |
| Headlights flicker even after 5 repair attempts. heater intermittently inoperative after 5 repair attempts. power sliding doors do not close properly after 4 repair attempts. difficult starting after 3 repair attempts. fuel gauge erratic below quarter tank. *jb | |||
| 10/20/2005 | 2878 | 4 | 07/02/2005 |
| Dt: the contact states there was an ongoing problem with exterior and interior lighting. while driving, the headlights and the dashboard panel lights flickered from bright to dim. also, the idle was very loud and rough. she took the vehicle to the dealer. the dealer replaced the alternator. this did not correct the problem. the dealer was unable to accurately diagnose the problem, and no further repairs were made. *ak updated 12/27/2005. the horn springs were deform which resulted in the horn being inoperative. the sliding door would chime as if the door was not closed. the tech adjusted the top middle and bottom latches. the brakes pulsated when braking. the technician had to resurface both front rotors. *nm | |||
| 10/10/2005 | 2500 | 3 | 09/19/2005 |
| We purchased a saturn relay from saturn of charleston huntington ,sept 05 , we were told it had a previous owner but they had brought it back because they didn't like the color , at saturn you have 30 days or 1500 miles to do this . it had 665 miles on it . almost like brand new right? well the first week i had it had to go back in to have a part serviced in the dvd player .now i have had it 4 weeks and have had nothing but electronic trouble and saturn says there is nothing wrong with it and i know there is , the speedometer goes up and down when i am doing about 20 mph , and now the headlights and the dashboard are blinking from light to brighter as i drive at night time , they say they can only fix this problem if they can duplicate it . b ut since their service department closes before dark how can they do this , they had it one time for 3 days and said they couldn't fix it . what am i suppose to do i have 3 kids and i am afraid to drive this van for fear of it catching fire, thanks. *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 01/16/2005 | 750 | 5 | 11/21/2004 |
| Headlights, dash lights and interior lights go dim/bright/dim/bright etc. at night when acceleration with foot or with use of cruse control. notified saturn and also dealer. they both said this is a characteristic of the relay. dealer also said they had the same proiblem with the l series. saturn nor dealer have attempted to talk directly to me or fix it despite e-mails, letters, phone calls. i worry that an 18 wheeler might think i am flashing him that it is ok to pull over to the right. this is a dangerous situation and the new 05 saturn relay should not have been released for sale to the public if they had the same problem last year with the l series. check mycarstats.com for same complaints on the l series. | |||