Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 12/03/2011 | 121848 | ||
| My saturn vue 2003 experiences serious hestitation in power when traveling over 45 mph. the dangerous sputtering gets harder when i need to drive more than 45 mph such as when i have to travel on parkways or expressways. on december 3, 2011, i entered exit 36 of the grand central parkway and maintained a steady speed of 55 mph in light traffic. as the traffic increased to exit 17, the car began to hestitate and appear to want to come to a stop. it was difficult to maintain a decreased spead of 45 mph to avoid the sputtering and halting. i got into the right lane and exited the parkway as my car jolted then came to a sudden halt. i turned the car off, waited 15 minutes, put my car in drive and it would not drive forward. i put it in reverse and manuevered it into an open space along the curb on 78th avenue. i tried again and only with heavy pressure on the gas pedal was the car able to move forward enough to allow me to straighten into a position to be towed. i called aaa and was towed to a saturn authorized service provider, northshore chevrolet of smithtown, where it sits to this day. the brand new 2010 vt1 transmission needs to be replaced. | |||
| 07/12/2010 | 40000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 saturn vue. the contact stated that there were multiple failures within the vehicle. the vehicle was hesitant to accelerate accompanied with a loud, humming noise. the horn sensor was melted, causing the horn to malfunction and sound continuously. the fuel tank was also fractured, causing a fuel leak and fumes to fill the vehicle cabin. the muffler was abnormally loud and the steering wheel would seize without warning and most frequently when attempting a left turn. in addition, the timing chain failed causing an increase of engine roms to 4000. the hazard light activation button also fractured therefore; the contact was unable to utilize the hazard lights. the dealer and manufacturer were contacted in regards to all of the failures experienced in the vehicle but neither provided any assistance to the contact. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 64,000. kmj | |||
| 07/12/2010 | 40000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 saturn vue. the contact stated that the vehicle would accelerate slowly and the vehicle would make a loud humming noise; the horn sensor melted, causing the horn to continuously hank; the fuel tank had a crack, causing fumes and fuel to leak from the fuel tank; the muffler would make a loud noise; the steering wheel would lock up, especially while making left turns, making it would be difficult to steer the vehicle while driving; the timing chain would cause the rpms to fluctuate to 4000; the hazard light button broke completely off and the hazard light would not come on, making if difficult to see at night. the dealer and manufacturer denied any assistance with repair to the failures. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 64,000. nw | |||
| 04/10/2010 | 115000 | ||
| The transmission went out | |||
| 06/01/2003 | 1 | 04/01/2003 | |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2003 saturn vue. she states that the vehicle will rev at about 35 mph. this problem is intermittent. the car will jerk and hesitate. she has noticed this on roads with a slight incline. she can travel the same road twice and the problem may or may not occur.*ak *jb | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 40000 | 1 | 01/02/2003 |
| Saturn vue experiencing problems with the transmission, catalytic converter shield, windshield, accelerator, rear suspension, defective passenger side ball joints, struts and bushings.***no answer required***. *mr the defective catalytic converter shield was replaced, there was noise under the vehicle in the exhaust area of the vehicle due to a defective muffler. the windshield rattled at high speeds. the accelerator pedal stuck resulting in sudden acceleration. the driver's door would not open from the inside. *nm | |||
| 10/25/2003 | 16358 | 3 | 11/09/2002 |
| Consumer states: took in vehicle on 5 separate times for transmission, whining noise was heard, almost like the engine was overheating. was on highway, and no matter how much gas consumer gave it vehicle wouldn't move. when giving it more gas the engine would rev but still wouldn't go. before problems with transmission, at a separate time, something with the computer went wrong. it completely shut down. such as gas gauge showed empty tank and speedometer went to zero.*ak when at a stop idle seems to drop and when accelerating from stop, vehicle hestiates and lurches. transaxle speed sensor replaced. transmission control module reprogramed due to whining noise. hood won't open. hood cable readjusted. driver and passenger washer nozzle missing and replaced. steering wheel making noise. shaft boot greased. service engine soon (ses) light on. oxygen sensor was contaminated and replaced. *tt | |||
| 12/01/2004 | 2 | ||
| Upon acceleration, the vehicle would swerve off of the road. *sc the consumer stated that this problem happened on more than one occasion. the consumer was told that this problem was a flaw in the 2003 model but corrected in the 2004 models. *tc | |||
| 02/05/2004 | 22000 | 1 | 10/14/2003 |
| While driving on the interstate during a light snowstorm, i passed under a bridge where there was some accumulation of water. i was traveling (coasting) at approximately 50 to 55 miles per hour (speed limit 65) and when i began crossing the water under the bridge the car's engine accelerated from about 2500 rpm to 5500 rpm. the car began to slide, and only recovered after the engine stopped its acceleration of rpm. once i was out from under the bridge and the road was not as wet the rpm returned to normal and the car straigthened out. at the point of acceleration, i removed my foot from the gas pedal entirely, and although the traction control button is turned on automatically when you start the car, the warning light that normally comes on during traction control did not light, indicating that it was not the traction control that was the problem. since the car is equipped with cruise control and the controls are on the steering wheel i do not drive with the cruise control on (i rarely if ever use the cruise control as i do not believe it is safe). i took the car to the dealer and explained what happened, the technician checked the car and said that nothing had been recorded on the computer and nothing was malfunctioning. he believed i used the cruise control inadvertently, which is not possible. i believe the vehicle has an unexpected acceleration problem. *ak | |||
| 11/14/2003 | 13028 | 1 | 03/29/2003 |
| While on a major highway and at speed, the vehicle stopped accelerating but continued to produce rpm's. vehicle has been to dealership 4 total times dealing with acceleration problems. creates major safety issue! dealership has washed hands of problem we are now taking up issue with manufacturer. *la | |||
| 11/17/2003 | 9780 | 1 | 07/10/2003 |
| Was on highway and vehicle lost all acceleration. wouldn't go over around 25-30 mph. *la | |||
| 07/06/2003 | 8008 | 7 | 12/12/2002 |
| Consumer drove 2003 saturn vue with the variable speed transmission on a dirt road which led to the top of chelan butte, in chelan county on july 6, 2003. this was a frequently used road because the top of the butte was used to launch hang gliders. consumer had driven on the same road with 1986 audi, the previous day july 5, 2003, and it completed the climb with no problems. the saturn vue almost stalled in negotiating any grade above 5%. transmission would reduce the rpms to 1500 and below while being driven with foot to the floor, asking for more power. there was no response. then, suddenly a very low ratio would allow the engine to rev to over 2000 rpms, only to repeat this cycle at the next turn or grade. the factory and dealer have maintained that transmission was operating as designed. consumer contended that having transmission control the speed of the car was actually a car out of control. could have easily stalled with no way to continue up the grade. vehicle was carrying 4 passengers on the incident date. after taking the car to the dealer, who did nothing to the transmission, consumer took it up the butte alone as an unloaded vehicle. it repeated the above three times in the course of 5 miles. *ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||
| 03/03/2004 | 13000 | 1 | 10/31/2002 |
| Gas pedal and brake pedal seem to be too close. when backing up pedals are too close causing confusion. l | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||
| 09/14/2004 | |||
| Consumer stated vehicle experienced sudden acceleration when shifting from park into reverse. the dealership has inspected the vehicle several times and could not duplicate or correct the problem. please provide further information. | |||
| 1 | |||
| When using the resume button on cruise control system the button sticks and causes the vehicle to accelerate. dealer replaced the cruise control system. *ak | |||
| 01/28/2003 | 1284 | 2 | 01/02/2003 |
| While accelerating from a stop, the engine rpm rev's to 4000 rpm, speedometer indicates a speed of 80-90 mph, while physically going 10-15mph. additionally, the service engine soon indicator appears as well as the reduced power indicator. also happened with cruise control on. exact same problem occurred on two vue's, both times with less than 1300 miles on the vehicle, both with 4 cyl, vti automatic transmissions. one incident on dec 24 - dec 27 2002 was the first. | |||