2nd Mar 2009, 14:00

2003 VUW AWD 4CYL Help! Cannot get my car out of park. Starts fine. The automatic door locking system is not working. I have 2 clickers and checked both to be sure. Manually locked and unlocked all the doors hoping to loosen something. Yes my foot was on the brake when I tried to shift it. Cannot put it into neutral. Tried 10 times. Can't go to work live in the country and can't get a ride. Other problems I have had. The $5,000 transmission, rear differential, front wheel bearing, throttle sensor, sway bar links, ignition lock cylinder, both rear wheel bearings, brake work, center support bearings. Called Saturn they do not know just said to tow it in. Any experiences anyone?

11th May 2009, 16:08

My husband and I both bought 2003 Saturn Vues, AWD, V6.

We both have had to replace the fuel tank sensors, about $400 each

I have seat warmers, and the heating element in one seat needed to be replaced. Not covered by warranty - almost $500 to repair. I said forget it - let my butt be cold.

Horn locked several times. Horn and airbag needed to be replaced.

My husband's steering clicks really loud when he turns and my "service engine soon" light won't go off, even though I've had it serviced twice by independent repair shops. I am SO worried now that it's my transmission going out. I'm unemployed and my husband is the only one working - we are out of warranty and would not have money to repair these vehicles. I have friends with Saturn cars and they have not had these problems. I guess it's just the Vue. I would not buy another one, especially with GM and their issues.

Thanks for the class action lawsuit info. At this point, would just like Saturn to fix the vehicle, as I'm sure we won't get any money to buy other vehicles.

13th May 2010, 09:20

I purchased a used 2003 Saturn VUE AWD recently, and for dirt cheap at that. Since I have owned the vehicle it has needed some brake parts replaced, and a transmission replacement -- the vehicle just suddenly crawled to a stop. Park and neutral worked (obviously) but none of the gears would engage, at all! After leaving it "abandoned" in a parking lot, which I was lucky enough to have rolled into, I had the transmission replaced. Thankfully the previous owner had a 100,000 mile warranty on the drive-train, so this was covered at no cost to me.

Ever since then, the vehicle has seemed to run poorly. I get horrible gas mileage, and it seems as if there is something that is bogging down the engine, causing it to rev high RPMs just to get it moving. One day I noticed that my plastic wheel cover had fallen off when I stepped out of the vehicle.. much to my surprise I found that it 'fell off' because the wheel was so hot, that it melted the plastic lug covers that hold the hubcap on. Brake caliper problem!

Upon inspecting the caliper (front left only) I found that it was indeed frozen, and the pad was worn almost completely away (meanwhile the right front pad appeared to be brand new in thickness...). Needless to say, I replaced this caliper and installed new pads, bled the air out of the lines, and took it for a test run. Initially, this solved the problem of feeling like I was dragging anchor -- after a short period of driving and periodic stopping, I found that the anchor was back. Sure enough, by the time I made it home, the wheel was piping hot, hot enough to boil water when flicked (or spit..) on the wheel itself.

Back to square one with the brake caliper problem -- if it's not the caliper, what can it be? The brake lines or the master cylinder. Normally if it were a MC issue, it would affect the entire system, right? So I decided to fore go starting with the MC, and inspected the brake lines first. RUBBER BRAKE LINES? Yeah, a stainless line converting to a foot long (or more) rubber brake line that bolts onto the caliper. This little piece of rubber nastiness was the culprit. It was clogged and dirty beyond belief -- tossed it and installed a new one just to be safe. Flushed the fluid, and bled the air out of the entire system -- problem solved.

Aside from those 'minor' issues, the vehicle has served me well considering the price I paid for it.

24th Jan 2011, 17:38

I also have a 2003 Saturn Vue. I have had it for 5 years, and every winter the intake gasket or head gasket starts leaking oil, and right before it leaks oil, it smells like it's burning antifreeze, so it smells bad for a week, then smells like oil burning with smoke. I have had it in the shop every winter for the same problem. Does anybody else's Saturn do this? Seems like as soon as it gets 10 degrees or colder out, is when it happens.

I've read a lot about many other issues, but my trans has been OK for the 5 years. My check engine light has been on for 5 years. Every time I get it fixed and it goes off, it's on within days for something else.

Check engine light; I gave up on trying to get it off. But overall, I do like the Saturn, but I'm sick of having to replace gaskets every year, and it's always in winter.

I did have a SL1 Saturn before, and it ran great till then I traded it in for the Vue, and it's bent me over every year! I will never buy a Saturn again either.