20th Jan 2009, 16:26

The wife and I had purchased a 2003 Vue with 16000 miles on it.

After a month of driving, the transmission would only go in reverse. After having it replaced, we were driving from NC to IL to visit family, and got an hour in, when it broke down again, this time stripping all of the gears in the transmission. We got it repaired after 3 weeks.

2 months later we were driving to visit family in PA. We got there fine, and on the way back it broke down after 15 minutes of driving.

All of this happened within a year, and the car itself had only 58000 miles on it. 3 transmissions in 12 months with only 42000 miles of total driving. That is less than 12000 miles per transmission.

We finally bit the bullet and traded it in for a 2006 Ford Escape. Have yet to have a problem with it, and it has been 2 years. I hope this settlement goes through, that way I won't be so upside down on the Escape.

21st Jan 2009, 12:10

We purchased a 2003 Vue with VTI transmission new, and got the extended warranty. The transmission started failing at about 85000 miles. Took it into the dealer and they said they could not reproduce the problem. Slipping, RPMs go up but car slows down.

Finally got the problem reproduced. They "repaired" the VTI and said it was fine. Took it back in doing same thing after about 500 miles. Had the tranny repaired again. Did the same thing after about 400 miles. Repaired. Did the same thing again. They put a new transmission in. All was under the extended warranty. The total on the repairs and new transmission on the service information was about 15 to 18000 dollars based on parts and service.

I had an Body Control Module go out and it cost 500 to get fixed. Also had ECM and coil packs changed because it would not run properly (thought it was tranny). Cost 600 to get fixed. Did not know about recalls on front problems. I will check on that today when I pick up the Vue from the dealer. Watch out because they want you to purchase from them, and they charge you extra. You can probably get most of the work done from a local repair shop cheaper.

Good luck with your vehicle. Wife's car and she is not happy with dealer or me for buying this vehicle. We had 92 Saturn SL and got 360000 miles without any major repairs.

27th Jan 2009, 11:41

I purchased a 2003 Saturn VUE, have a manual transmission, so far so good. But the Body Control Module has gone out - was glad to read the post about it - and it makes me sick to know it will cost at least $500 to replace. However, I won't have the dealership do the work. This is my second Saturn - and it will be the last. I am buying a Honda Civic this week.

5th Feb 2009, 19:33

I am a retired UK citizen who visits Florida from January to April each year.

In January 2007 I bought a one owner from new 2003, 57,000 miles, Saturn Vue with VTi. I have the full service record which shows that the VTi was changed (?) or modified (?) in March 2007 at 47,000 miles. There is a large new component on the right of the block when viewed from underneath at the front.

The vehicle runs OK at the moment, but what is my position regarding future failure. Can I, should I, how do I, register with the Class Action???

17th Mar 2009, 10:44

Hello There.

Does anyone know exactly what the problem is with the Vti Transmission? I have a 2003 VUE with 150000 kilometers on it (I'm in Canada, that's about 93000 miles) The transmission went out on me on the highway. All of a sudden the "Reduced Power" light went on, and although the engine is working fine, there's no movement in the car at all.

My brother is a mechanic, and he quickly knew the transmission was the culprit, and recommended I call Saturn to see what might be done. I came on-line to see what I might be looking at for repair costs, and found all the sites dealing with the recurring problems, the lawsuits, etc. They settled the lawsuits in the U.S., but unfortunately, now all of us Canadians are going through the same thing, and they're making us fight too. You'd think that if they admitted to a problem, it would affect everyone with that problem. We're driving the same vehicles with the same trannys.

I called Saturn, and they seemed quite surprised to hear about the legal stuff, and no one seemed to know the history of these problems, until I pushed my way up the chain. Now they say that if I tow it to a Saturn dealership, they will diagnose the problem (on my dime), and they are dealing with each tranny issue on an individual basis. If my problem is the same one as is involved with the lawsuit, they would then review my file and see if there would be any consideration on their part.

Having read all about their knowledge of the problems, and lack of action on their part to inform the owners, or lack of action to fix or recognize the problems until they were sued, I'm a little less than trusting!

I'd like to have as much information as I could about the problem. If they tell me my problem is "X" and the lawsuits dealt with problem "Y" I would know that I either have the same faulty issue they have admitted to, or if I have an unrelated problem that isn't part of the general problems these transmissions are known for.

Any information would be very helpful!!

Thanks.

13th Apr 2009, 20:54

I am the owner of a 2003 Saturn Vue whose transmission is making a whining/clacking noise at low speed. I received mail from the Lakin Law Firm in January since my Vue has one of those defective transmissions. The final settlement date was supposed to be March 30th, in early April I checked with the firm and received this reply:

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Thank you for contacting The Lakin Law Firm, P.C.. The Final Approval Hearing was held on March 30, 2009. The Judge has not made his final ruling yet. We are still awaiting his decision. We are confident that the settlement will be approved, however, it cannot be said when exactly the Judge will enter the Final Judgment. Once he does, we will indicate as much on our website.

If the court gives final approval to the proposed settlement, then claim forms will be mailed to class members to submit claims for past reimbursement at that time. You will automatically be eligible for the future coverage and, if a transmission problem occurs in the future within the mileage and time limitations, the claim form will be available at the Saturn dealerships and our website (www.lakinlaw.com). KEEP COPIES OF ALL EXPENSES PAID BY YOU RELATING TO YOUR TRANSMISSION TO SUBMIT WITH YOUR CLAIM FORM. The settlement provides substantial relief to class members, including compensation for both past transmission failure-related expenses and future coverage through 125,000 miles. The details of the settlement are available at http://www.lakinlaw.com/CM/ClassAction/ClassAction55.asp

We recommend checking our website for updates http://www.lakinlaw.com/CM/ClassAction/ClassAction55.asp. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, then please do not hesitate to call us at (618) 251-2498 or e-mail us at saturnvti.classaction@lakinlaw.com.