10th Jan 2007, 16:51

One way my Honda has been cheaper for me to own than an American car is that my clutch and fuel pump have lasted me 250,000 miles without being replaced and that goes for every ting else except my cooling system and belts and fluid changes.

20th Feb 2007, 15:50

My 2002 Saturn Vue has had continual problems since day 1.

The grommet in the 5 speed transmission broke, the clock pin in the steering howls and grinds, the rear end was on recall, the heater fan does not work properly.

I have been through 3 ignition coils.. in the last 2 months... and now I have been told that one of the pistons is not working and probably has never worked correctly, and that all of these are known problems at Saturn with these vehicles. I will have to replace the motor to the tune of $2500 or more. My car will not be paid for until July 2007.

I bought this car because it was American made. This is not an example of American ingenuity as I know it. It is, in my opinion, a perfect example of a big business knowing the problems and reusing to make it right, thumbing their noses at those of us who have to work hard for the money. I will never buy Saturn or GM again and I will urge all my family and friends to do the same. Toyota, here I come.

6th Mar 2007, 09:07

I have a 2002 Saturn Vue and purchased it from a used car lot where all the vehicles had a carfax report. I also have a 2003 L200 Saturn. I have never had any problems with the L200 but have had major problems with the Vue.

We have always changed our oil and filters, etc.. every 3,000 miles and kept all fluids level, etc... But the service engine light has always stayed on since about a month after purchase.

I was driving my mother to a doctor's appointment one day with my three toddlers in the back, and all of a sudden there was this horrible, loud grinding noise and the car went from being fine to over heated in 2 seconds. I pulled over right away with my 4 year screaming that we were going to blow up. I got out of the Vue and opened the hood and there was this horrible brown sticky stuff all trough-out the engine. In the water, in the radiator, everywhere.

I let it cool down and pushed it into a parking lot away from the road and called for help. I had two mechanics look at it and they both said that what has happened is the camshaft has wore down the heads. And there is no way to fix, except replace the motor, and not with the same because they had seen many do the same thing, and they advised me if replace with same motor, they cannot guarantee that it will not happen again or how soon it would.

I called to find out any information from the dealership and they said that was false. They had never heard of the problem and I should not listen to two backwood mechanics (knowing that they are only part replacers). I advised her that I would trust someone who went to college and is licensed by the state quicker than I would her and her part replacers. I advised to her that I would look into it on my own and that they would be hearing from me again. I called and asked for the president of the company, and the secretary advised she did not know who it was. I also went on-line and found approx 167 other people that have had the same exact problem with the same model and no one will listen to me.

Next my goal is to write a letter to all the editors of all the major motor magazines and see if anything is accomplished that way. And for the person who made the 1/10 blog who advised someone to get real that all cars have problems, it is not the point that they have problems, it is the point that someone should fess up and fix it at no cost to us. People know that car manufacturers make parts crappy to help the industry on purpose, but when it is not a tail light and it is a 3,800.00 motor, they should eat the cost for breakfast and fix the darn thing.

30th Aug 2007, 13:45

I have a 2003 Saturn Vue with 70K miles (the last 40K miles are mine), and so far, no significant problems to report. My "Service Engine Soon" came on last week, and I was concerned about a big repair bill, especially after reading some of the comments on this site. I called the dealer for some practical advice, and he suggested that I verify that the gas cap was installed tightly, before checking out any further. Sure enough, that was the problem... the "root cause" was traced back to my 5-year-old boy, who had loosened the cap and closed the lid! It took 3 days before the indicator light turned off, as the service manager had predicted. It may seem an embarrassingly simple fix (similar to calling an appliance repairman before verifying that it's plugged into the wall), but according to the dealer, that has been the problem 90% of the time. I'm sure a dishonest mechanic may have "discovered" other problems.

1st Mar 2008, 18:23

I own a 2002 Saturn Vue. When I am driving on the highway it is OK, but when I slow down to go off the highway, the engine stops. When I try to restart it, it just rolls over and over. I have found that the fuel pump doesn't come on. but if I wait 5 minutes it will come on with the turning of the key and the motor will start then. Anyone know what is causing this problem?

I changed the gas filter. It was blocked off with dirt.

22nd May 2008, 22:16

RESPONSE - I had the same problem with my 04 Saturn, in which I would drive the vehicle and it would shut off for an unknown reason. After multiple trips to the dealer, who could not find what was wrong, I saw online that other Saturns (not Vue) had the same problem, and replacing the IAC was the resolution. I have not had the above problem for a year.

25th Jun 2008, 13:30

I guess "Welcome to the Club" is appropriate here. My 2002 Saturn Vue has just come home from 15 days at two different mechanics including the Sturn Dealership. The SES light has been on since almost 2 years after I bought it - and I'm the original owner, it had only 21 miles on it when I bought it.

It was under warranty, and the dealer kept insisting there was nothing wrong. They would turn it off and a few days later it would reappear. The first 5 years I can't complain because nothing major happened. BUT... about a month ago I noticed it was having difficulty starting, I replaced the battery. A week later it was still having difficulty starting so I took it to my mechanic where they replaced the alternator, did something with the transmission, replaced a water pump, timing belt, the list goes on... to the tune of $2349. And now the SES light was off - finally.

Two days later car is still having trouble starting. Now I realize it is only in the heat of the sun. It starts fine in the morning and evening, just not when it's in the hot sun. My mechanic kept it for another 3 days and couldn't find the problem, the SES light was back on.

One last ditch effort before I get rid of it, my husband says lets take it the the Saturn dealer first - the closest one is 32 miles away. Of course they couldn't find anything wrong with it either and "it started up just fine this morning" I reminded them it was ONLY when it was in the hot sun. I get a call back the next day and they found the problem - the fuel throttle. It can't be cleaned; it would have to be replaced to the tune of almost $900. Of course they couldn't guarantee me that that would fix the problem, so I told them forget it, I would be there later that evening to pick it up. They had the nerve to try and sell me a new Saturn - at which point I laughed and said I will never buy a Saturn again!!