31st Jul 2008, 22:40

My Mom owned a 2003 Saturn Vue, and passed away 3 years later. She had the 5 yr, 75 miles.

I drove the car and put 15,000 miles on it in 6 months. It now has 30,000 miles, and 3 weeks after the warranty went out - guess what? Yup, you guessed it - the transmission went out and dealer wants $5800 to fix it.

Warranty or not, a car with only 30,000 miles should not need a trannie. I called the "zone" guy from the factory. He came out. Without any fight they agreed to fix it and I pay $500. I was thrilled, but then learned they are replacing only the bad parts in the trannie and leaving the existing good parts. And, dealer would only warranty the parts. What good is a warranty with no labor? I'm fighting.

For everyone concerned, there is a class action lawsuit for 2002-2004 Saturn Vues. It is filed in California Federal Court, Eastern District entitled Castillo vs. General Motors, Case No. 2:07-0948. Attorney is Lakin law firm #618-254-1127. You don't have to be in California to be part of it - It pertains to 2002-2004 Saturn Vue's.

I'm sad to put this out there. My Father worked for GM for 46 years and retired. He instilled in his children to buy American products and especially GM cars, as they were the ones putting the food on our table. Well, that was the old days when making a wrong a right was the right thing to do.

Don't give up. GM and Saturn know the VTI transmission is defective. In fact, they have discontinued it. So, why even replace it with another faulty trannie? You read the comments, they just continue to break. So much for the American made product.

My Father is turning in his grave from the embarrassment of GM - I just know it. He was always so proud to be associated with one of the finest companies - at one time. It is pathetic that GM and Saturn do not step up and warranty its product.

27th Aug 2008, 10:25

I had just read the last comment and contacted Lakin Law, and was directed to their web site at www.lakinlaw.com, where I found some information about the suit. It seems that very soon there will be relief for all us suckers who bought this vehicle. The model years included are 2002-2005 Vue's and 2003, 2004 Ion's. The gentlemen I spoke to at their office said it was supposed to be on the judge's docket this month, but didn't get put on, so they are hoping for sometime in September.

28th Aug 2008, 14:39

Saturn should recall every one of these cars. With a dealership this size, it is a shame that they are robbing us.

My tranny went, my fuel pump, my carrier bearings etc etc etc.

I owe 13000 on this car and am taking a hit on the credit I have tried all my life to do well on. It's not fair Saturn. I will never buy another car from this dealership ever, and anyone I talk to from now on will hear about how Saturn has blown me off.

11th Sep 2008, 08:36

The transmission in my daughter's Saturn Vue gave out. She took it to the dealership and was told $5,600 to replace it. Now we find that this is a common problem and that GM knew about it but did not recall the cars with that transmission.

There is a class action law suit in the works, but that doesn't help someone who is struggling with car payments, house payments, high utility bills etc and whose car is now for all intents and purposes a piece of junk, on which she still owes $4,000.

My advice is buy Japanese.

4th Dec 2008, 10:30

Well you have a choice. Saturn is not going to exist in its current state in the future, GM wants to get rid of it.

If it matters to you, then don't get another Saturn and get rid of it now. The resale value on Saturns is low already, and if the brand does get discontinued you will get next to nothing for it.

You should still be able to get parts and service at a GM dealership though.

7th Dec 2008, 18:36

I am the poster from the second comment above. I talked to the Saturn national customer service. They were pleasant and put me right over to an investigator, who kept in touch with me daily until resolution after 3 days of discussion. He talked to the dealer and to me, the bottom line was that with the class action settlement, Saturn is offering a 30% discount on repairs to 2nd owners who are beyond the 75,000 warranty.

He said that in Feb when their appeal is in the courts, there might be an adjustment downwards on that figure (in their favor) in which case I will be in worse shape. Or, it may adjust upwards, in which case I will get more cash back.

This all seemed to make sense, being 2nd owner with 105K miles.. so I took the offer. They fixed the car the next day and it so far drives fine.

They only have remanufactured transmissions to put in, not new as these parts are not stocked. I called an independent transmission shop, he said they only have done one and that one was searched throughout the country for a salvage and only one found 2000 miles away.

This helped push me to take the dealer's repair deal.

I really haven't had much trouble with this car, it runs great, economical, the right size and type, and should at least get me through the winter. Since I can't afford anything on credit, I would have been stuck trying to sell it and then getting something in the same cost level, with whatever problems it would have. I searched around and could only find old cars of less interest like old Subaru wagons.

So far I am okay on this. And it has a warranty for 3 yr/36000mi. The deal from Saturn, and their reasonable responsiveness, was key to the positive outcome, that's for sure.