Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | ||||||||||||||||
| 09V233000 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | from 10/01/2007 to 07/30/2007 | V (Vehicle) | 44451 | 08/18/2009 | ODI | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 06/25/2009 | 06/25/2009 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Gm is recalling 44,451 my 2008 saturn vue vehicles with body color outside door handles. the outside door handles may stick or bind. if this were to occur, the door may not latch when closed. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Driving with an unlatched door could result in an unbelted occupant falling out of the vehicle, causing increased risk of injury. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will replace the outside door handles with chrome door handles free of charge. the recall is expected to begin on or before august 18, 2009. owner may contact saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or at www.gmownercenter.com. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Gm recall no. 09066.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | ||||||
| PE09016 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 03/10/2009 | 07/02/2009 | OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLES STICK UNLATCHED | 09V233000 | |
| By letter dated june 23, 2009, general motors notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (nhtsa recall number 09v233) to replace the outside door handles on certain model year 2008 saturn vue vehicles. the exterior door handle on certain model year 2008 saturn vue vehicles can stick in the unlatched position.the door may open while the vehicle is in motion. the agency opened its investigation based on two complaints of door latch failure that caused the door to open while the vehicle was in motion.the agency also received early warning (ewr) reports on this issue.certain model year 2008 saturn vue vehicles have painted body-color outside door handles that may stick or bind.if this were to occur, the door may not latch when closed.driving with an unlatched door could result in an occupant falling partly or fully out of the vehicle, causing increased risk of injury.based on the above safety recall, this investigation is closed. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 05/01/2009 | 60000 | ||
| Safety recall for 2008 saturn vue with same color door handles would be replaced with crome handles. my 2008 saturn vue has the same color door handles and when i took it into the dealership, they stated that they would not replace the handles becuase the vin wasn't part of the recall. however, my door handles have stuck in the open posistion several times. knowing of the recall, i'm very careful to make sure that the door handle latches and the door closes. although i'm careful, my passengers may not notice it and could possibly have the door open on them. | |||
| 02/23/2010 | 19900 | 1 | |
| On 2/23/09- my husband opened the hatchback of my 2008 saturn vue. he noticed the hatchback a bit heavy and after lifting it, he naturally let it go. i was already starting to put groceries when the door fell down. luckily, my husband was quick and caught the door before it crushed my arm. he opened it again and then realized the pneumatic lifts were not working. *tr | |||
| 05/17/2009 | 12000 | 1 | |
| Door handles stick in the open position not allowing doors to latch when closed. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2008 | 1 | ||
| We a 2008 saturn vue on june 28, 2008. 4 months ago, i started being shocked when exiting/closing the drivers door on all occasions, this occasionally happens to passengers too. one can actually see the shock strike which leaves a dull aching pain in a finger on my left hand. we have tried seat covers, static guard, dryer sheets, but nothing solves or lessens the issue. main concern is when fueling because it could very well cause an explosion or fire. we think there is some type of electrical short, but the service department dismissed our claim without checking and states that it is caused by the materials used in making the seats, issues still exists. for past 6 months, we've experienced a terrible vibration coming from and occurs when the sun roof is open. service depart claims this is a normal occurrence with sun roofs, but it did not occur during the first 6 months of owning it. we tried riding with all windows down while the roof is open, still occurs. outcome - we are unable to use the sun roof because it causes a very painful vibration in our eardrums, i was told by an ent our eardrums could be damaged with continuous use. third issue occurred 2 months after purchasing. the passenger door handle sometimes sticks open. the door will shut, but we do not receive any sounds or light indication that this is occurring. it appears that even though the door seems to be shut, it is not latching. i was going around a curve and the door swung open, luckily there was no passenger sitting there. i presented our service depart with a printout about this issue from this website, they cannot duplicate the issue, therefore, they don't perceive there is an issue until it can be replicated or worse. issues are starting to appear slowly, but are usually dismissed. unfortunately, no one other than a saturn dealer will work on a saturn vehicle - too complicated. the other nearest saturn dealer to us is about 100 miles away. wished i would have known that... *tr | |||
| 11/20/2008 | 7500 | 1 | |
| I own a 2008 saturn vue and my door latches and handles have failed on numerous occasions. passenger side handle sticks and can not be opened from either inside or outside. passengers have had to crawl over the seats to exit. the driver side door latch and handle doesn't fully catch even though it appears to be in a locked position. this door has opened while i was driving. this car has been returned to the dealer service department on several occasions and they have failed to find out the cause. i was told to bring the car in as soon as the problem occurs. i did that last week and they finally diagnosed the problem. faulty door handles. they informed me that gm has known about faulty door handles for some time even though i have had this problem for months and several trips to the service department.. new handles are not available at this time and they do not know when the handles will be available. *tr | |||
| 01/23/2009 | 7500 | 1 | |
| The front passenger door on the vehicle does not latch and flew open while driving with my daughter in the passenger seat. this has occurred twice as of this date. *tr | |||
| 12/17/2008 | 200 | 1 | 12/15/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 saturn vue. whenever the contact opens the front passenger side door handle to enter the vehicle, the door handle will remain open. if you are unaware of the failure, the door could open while driving because it is not fully locked. the dealer stated that all of the vehicles of this model have the same issue. if they were to replace the part, it would be with another defective part, which would not remedy the failure. the contact believes that the manufacturer should issue a recall. the failure mileage was 200 and current mileage was 2,000. updated 03/04/09. *lj updated 03/06/09. *jb | |||
| 12/16/2008 | 465 | 1 | |
| This is a potential life safety issue on the vehicle. this is a new 2008 saturn vue rl (red line). after purchase i was reviewing manual on the autolocking door systems. it stated that system could be reprogrammed. the issue is that when vehicle is stopped and placed in park - all 4 doors are automatically unlocked. i wanted to changed this for safety results. first if you either drive up to an atm late at night or park your vehicle in a dark area - once you put vehicle into park - all door are unlocked. this give an opportunity for someone to enter into the vehicle and put you into a possible life safety situation. another issue is that if you have young children in the vehicle and once again you stop and place the vehicle into park all doors are unlocked - the children can open the door(s) and jump into traffic or a dangerous situation. i have spoke to both the local dealer and saturn's main customer service group. their answer and response is that on the rl model - the autolocking sequence cannot be reprogrammed. it is something that i need to live with. they understand the life safety impact but do not have or plan to fix this situation. *tr | |||
| 12/24/2007 | 16 | 08/21/2007 | |
| The car is a 2008 saturn vue 4 cylinder automatic with two main safety problems. problem one is the car will lock you out automatically with the keys in the ignition. car can be running or shut off. this happened twice with my son in the car. this has happened about 14 times. luckily i had the windows rolled down and was able to access the car. saturn has repeated this problem on other vue and deems it a normal function even though the owners manuals says there is a function in the car engineered into it to prevent you from locking your keys in the car accidentally. again this happens automatically a minute or two after exiting the car. problem two, transmission abruptly downshifts and accelerates on flat ground or slight grades while in cruise control. this also happens sometimes when cruise controls is disengaged as well. my wife almost lost control of the vehicle one due to this on a curving road going up hill. i almost hit a vehicle when this happened as well. multiple dates of these problems happening. this is an intermittent problem and happens between 40 and 60 mph. the vehicle has been in the shop 47 days since it has been purchased. *tr | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 12/17/2008 | 200 | 1 | 12/15/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 saturn vue. whenever the contact opens the front passenger side door handle to enter the vehicle, the door handle will remain open. if you are unaware of the failure, the door could open while driving because it is not fully locked. the dealer stated that all of the vehicles of this model have the same issue. if they were to replace the part, it would be with another defective part, which would not remedy the failure. the contact believes that the manufacturer should issue a recall. the failure mileage was 200 and current mileage was 2,000. updated 03/04/09. *lj updated 03/06/09. *jb | |||
| 04/01/2008 | 0 | 1 | 09/15/2007 |
| The door locks on our 2008 saturn vue automatically unlock when the vehicle is put into park. all four doors unlock. according to the dealer and manufacture, there is no way to disable this feature. i think this is unsafe when parking, especially in unfamiliar areas. i would like the option of having the doors remain locked until i want them unlocked. *tr | |||