2004 Saturn VUE from North America

Summary:

Car has too many faults, with no fixes,not worth the money

Faults:

Transmission case replaced at 1300 miles.

New transmission at 1900 miles, and continuing to experience problems.

Steering links replaced.

Various suspension problems.

Ongoing noisy steering column.

General Comments:

The design of the car attracted me, however it has turned out to be the worst car that I have ever owned.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th May, 2004

11th Jun 2004, 08:01

Over all statement. Does not mention which model VUE V-6 or I-4. There is a differance in transmissions!

Would have thought person would have bought V-6 since they owned Honda previously?

We have new Red Line Vue 2500 miles no problems yet...

15th Jun 2004, 11:03

Our 2004 Vue V6 FWD is quite possibly the best car we have owned in the last 30 years. Excellent power and fit and finish. We are going to tow it behind a motorhome, and it meets the requirements perfectly. Probably the only faults we can find are lack of enough tilt steering range, and no seat lumbar supports as standard.

26th Jun 2004, 23:48

I have the 2004 cl VTI FWD. It was just back to the dealers for 4 days for replacement of the half case. It is on its second transmission, which began to exhibit problems at 3,500 miles. In five months it has been in for service about 10 times. I loved the car the first few weeks, but I am very disappointed with its performance and with Saturn. Lemon law case pending.

6th Jul 2004, 14:05

We have a VUE with VTI. The transmission has been replaced and it's still making noises my wife said. Our neighbor a few doors up has the exact same car as us, year, model, color, everything and he hasn't had any problems at all. So we're going to try and take the car back and get another GM with a proper transmission and my wife wants a car again. We love the car except the transmission and it's rather noisy at high RPM where the Pontiac Sunfire with the same engine is a quieter and more refined. I heard recently that VTI has all the glitches out of it now for VUE models made in mid 2004.

2004 Saturn VUE 2.2 from North America

Faults:

The Vue is rated at 24/28 mpg. After my second fill-up it is barely getting 21.5 and I live 45 miles from the office so 95% of my driving is on the highway. I took the first one back after 800 miles because it was getting only 20 miles per gallon.

The little vehicle is great other than the poor gas mileage. My 1992 accord got 34mpg.

General Comments:

I hope that the gas mileage will get better. I traded in a 1999 Dodge Durango V8 Magnum because it was only getting 16mpg. I will be extremely dissatisfied if I gave up that big powerful engine, great ride and a third row seat for a 4 cylinder 5 speed that only gets 5.5 mpg more gas mileage.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th May, 2004

26th May 2004, 23:30

Hi.

Although I do empathize with your problem, there is a break-in period for new cars, and especially their engines. Drive a couple thousand miles before you trade in a car for getting poor mileage.

1st Jun 2004, 06:45

I own an 03 VUE 2.2 AWD with approximately 15,000 kms. Gas mileage is rated for my vehicle to be 24/34. At first my City gas mileage read 16-17 and now it reads 23.5-26 and the highway mileage at first read 24 and now it reads 29-32.5.

There is a break-in period and your gas mileage will get better.

11th Jul 2004, 07:35

I just bought a VUE with the v6 as well, I have over 8000 miles on it at this point and I still get 20 mpg? Just how long of a break in period does the vehicle need?

26th Oct 2004, 11:54

I have a 2003 Vue with 4 cylinder and 5-speed manual. I have had it to the dealer to have the poor mileage checked out. I have been getting about 22 mpg combined city and highway. The dealer hooked it up to their OBD II reader and claim that after driving 7 miles it is getting 29 mpg, so there is nothing they can do. I have driven the the car for 28,000 miles and have never gotten any better then 25 mpg on it... If the dealer refuses to admit to the problem then what are we to do...............Mark.

27th Dec 2004, 00:30

The very best MPG I have got was 21. When I pull my 4 passenger Sea-Doo I get a LOUSY 16 mpg. Lousy gas mileage and a tiny little 15 gal. gas tank to boot.

25th Jul 2005, 13:49

My wife and I just got a 2003 Vue with a 6 cylinder. My first gas tanks was below 20 mpg. Her latest tank of gas netted 255 miles for 12.9 gallons. 19.76 mpg... this is not much better than her Mazda B4000 truck which she dearly loved and gave up for the "better" gas mileage vehicle. This is not funny. Wonder what I can do about it.