NHTSA — Power Train Problems

2007 Saturn Aura (Page 8 of 9)

CarComplaints.com Seal Of This Might Hurt

CarComplaints.com Notes: The Saturn Aura was a mid-size car meant to replace the somewhat problematic L-Series. Unfortunately, the Aura brought its own problems: namely cheap brake parts that needed early replacement and a gear shifter that could say it’s in park while the transmission was still engaged.

Brake problems, including uneven wear and warped rotors that cause the car to wobble, are common complaints from 2007 owners. Did GM use metal for its rotors that can’t stand the heat? That’s what some say, and it’s hard to argue when reports show that rotors could start to warp as early as 500 miles off the dealer lot.

Meanwhile, a busted gear shifter cable lead to some unwanted rollaways. That’s because the shifter could say “Park” while the transmission was still in drive, reverse or neutral. A defect investigation into the issue was opened in 2011, eventually leading to a recall of 56,000 vehicles in 2014.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,572 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2007 Saturn Aura drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2007 Saturn Aura Owner Comments (Page 8 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #21

Apr 022012

Aura

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car is doing exactly what the other reports have mentioned. I have noticed it over the past two days and it is getting worse. Yesterday I attempted to put my car in park and it kept rolling backwards like it was in reverse. The locks on the car will unlock when the car is shifted into park and that clearly did not happen when the car was in park. It took me several attempts to get it to actually shift into park. Another time I attempted to put my car into park, it didn't shift, and I had to put on my emergency brake in order to get out. When I returned to my car about 45 minutes later, my car wouldn't start. I then had to put my car in neutral and start it that way. This is not safe and something needs to be done about this immediately.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #20

Mar 222012

Aura 6-cyl

  • 80,535 miles
Complete loss of shift function with resultant failure to start.

- Livingston, NJ, USA

problem #19

Mar 092012

Aura 6-cyl

  • 58,000 miles
The car first had problems starting in park on or around March 9th and then as the days went on the problem would get worse, then on the 16th of March 2012 I park in a lot to go into the store and the car would not go into park. That's when I noticed the car driving forward when I put it in reverse and I almost hit the car parked in front of me.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #18

Feb 292012

Aura 6-cyl

  • 136,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Put vehicle in park as exited vehicle it rolled away and stuck me. Found shift cable rubbing heater hose causing pressure cable and it broke.

- Runnells , IA, USA

problem #17

Feb 062012

Aura

  • 42,000 miles
As I was backing out of a parking space in reverse and then put the car in drive to leave, the car "acted" as if it was in neutral and wouldn't move. I turned off the car and it did it again. Then on the third try all appeared fine. However my daughter was driving the car today and as she was driving down a busy road at approx 45-50 mph the car appeared to go into neutral on its own and she had no gas pedal control. She pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. She turned the car back on and it moved forward in drive for a moment and then it appeared to go into neutral again and she could not move forward when pushing on the gas pedal. Then she tried to use reverse and reverse did not work at all. The car is currently on the side of the road and won't drive properly. This is very frightening because she was driving on a busy road and the car literally went into neutral on its own.

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

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problem #16

Feb 062012

Aura 6-cyl

  • 135,500 miles
When shifting into reverse in a parking lot on a hill, the car rolled forward down the hill and into the curb instead. The shifter cable had broken so the car was actually still in drive. Known defect on this year, make and model.

- Saint Leonard, MD, USA

problem #15

Feb 012012

Aura 6-cyl

  • 57,300 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I put my car into park and shut it off, I went to get in this morning and the car would not start as if it was in drive still, I shifted it back and fourth and then finally got it to start, I put it in reverse to back up but it accelerated forward. I received a letter from GM about this issue about 4 months ago but it did not outline the severity of the problem, after talking to GM they will be towing my vehicle 60 miles away to the nearest dealer that can work on this problem. But the issue is that if I would have known the entire issue I would have wanted it fixed sooner as this is a scary thing to go through especially since it stopped about 4 feet from going over the bank. But the letter from GM said not to do anything unless you start having problems, well the big problem wasn't the issue the big problem was what could happen after the issue, I wish they would have informed us of some of the problems they made it like it was hard to select gears, not like you would drive when trying to reverse or being in park.

- Troy, VT, USA

problem #14

Dec 312011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
Transmission shiftier failed when putting in park. Shiftier was in park and the car began to roll backwards and before any serious damage or injury occurred, we were able to stop movement by applying the emergency brake.

- Niagara, NY, USA

problem #13

Dec 062011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 87,398 miles
On 12/06/11, I was backing into my driveway when my shift cable broke. It moved my transmission from reverse into drive sending my car forward across the street. I am thankful it happened there and not in a busy parking lot somewhere. I had to get the car towed to a repair station since Saturn does not exist anymore. I picked an independent repair station. It took two days to get the parts due to a newly designed bracket which is different from the one originally installed. This makes me believe that Saturn / General Motors is aware of this problem. Shift cable & a shift bracket were replaced. Parts, labor and taxes came to $322.68.

- Methuen, MA, USA

problem #12

Nov 262011

Aura

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Aura. The contact was driving 5 mph when the vehicle was placed in reverse and the vehicle accelerated forward abnormally. The vehicle was turned off to reset the failure but the vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired and the VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileages were 65,000.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #11

Oct 122011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 81,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Starting in mid-October, my 2007 Saturn Aura began showing signs that the shift lever was not working properly. My car would not engage in park when the lever indicated it was in park. The car would actually drift forward as if it was in neutral. I called the nearest Saturn dealer and was told to take the car to a Chevy dealer in case it was covered under warranty. The Chevy dealer had my car for over a week to diagnose and fix the problem. They determined that the shifter needed to be replaced and that it would not be covered. They had to order the part and wait for it - in the meantime, I was paying for a rental car. After the shifter was replaced, the car showed the exact same problem the very next day after I picked it up. This time, the car not only did not engage in park properly, but it would not start again when it was in park. The car did start in neutral. I took it back to the Chevy dealer and they tightened a cable at no charge. The day I picked it up, I drove it straight to work and it would not engage in park, and it would not start in park or neutral. My car had to be towed from work. Finally, the Chevy dealer replaced the shifter cable that was noted to be a problem on this website. This happened the day after I forwarded the link about this problem to the dealer. The cable was replaced at no charge; however, I think I paid for a new shifter unnecessarily considering the replacement of the shifter did not improve the problem.

- Dublin , OH, USA

problem #10

Nov 142011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 92,000 miles
Pulled vehicle in parking lot and when placed in park my locks did not pop up, which I thought was odd so I turned the car off. Could not restart the car. Had someone look at it and he could start it in neutral, but once he drove around and parked again, car would not go into park or reverse....only drive. Had to place the emergency brake so the car would not roll. When I shifted the gear it would not catch. I could pull it all the way down from park to drive.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #9

Jun 072011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 59,000 miles
For days leading up to event, I would shift into park but continue to move forward or backwards. It took several attempts to actually shift the car into park, e.g. if I took my foot off the brake, while gear shift was in park position, car would idle forward or back. On the day of part failure, I arrived home from work, could not get the car into park, so I set the emergency brake and turned car off. After 10 minutes, I tried to leave for a dr's appt and car would not start. I had to have car towed and replace gear shift cable. Mechanic said it was completely frayed.

- Sound Beach, NY, USA

problem #8

Nov 122011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 53,000 miles
Two nights ago when I parked the car I noticed that the doors didn't unlock when I placed the car in park. I shut the car off, manually unlocked the door, pulled the hood release and stepped out. The car rolled a little. I jumped back in and applied the parking brake. I tried to start the car to move it forward but it would not start, like the battery was dead. After checking the battery connections etc. I realized that the remote key fob operated the locks just fine so possibly no battery issue. I moved the shifter to N turned the key and it started right up. Moved the shifter to park, again nothing. I moved it to park one more time and the doors unlocked just like normal. Since that night everytime I park the car I have to play with the selector/shifter a little to get the trans. Into park.I am now going to always apply the parking brake until resolved.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #7

Oct 232011

Aura

  • 58,000 miles
The shift cable failed when I parked the car in a parking lot. When I got back into the vehicle it would not start. I opened the hood and checked the engine. I got back into the car and turned the key to the on position. I shifted the car into neutral and tried to start the car again. The car started and I shifted it back into park. I got out of the car to shut the hood and the car began to roll backwards. I was able to get back in the car and apply the brake. I then shifted the car back to neutral and applied the parking brake. The car was no longer reading accurately on the shifter. When shifted to park, the car was in reverse.

- Springfield, IL, USA

problem #6

Jul 102011

Aura 6-cyl

  • 79,103 miles
2007 Saturn Aura, 79,000miles. I am an owner of a GM vehicle as well as an employee of GM. Sunday, July 10, 2011. Drove car for about a half hour returned home and stopped in drive way. Placed vehicle in park, turned off ignition, removed key and released brake. Car begins to roll down hill. Depress brake to stop car. Checked that prndl was in park, reinserted key to operate gear selector. Vehicle would not go into park.then set emergency brake and looked under hood. Cable connected to selector on top of transmission is broken and will not operate gear selector. The car is in drive or reverse and does not start. Even after manually moving selector forward park will not be selected.

- Pontiac, MI, USA

problem #5

Jun 272011

Aura

  • 57,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that the vehicle was in park with the brakes depressed. As the brakes were released, the vehicle began to roll backward. The dealer diagnosed that the shift cable was fractured and would need replacing. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 57,000.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #4

May 012009

Aura

  • 32,000 miles
I purchased this Saturn with 32K on it, two days after having the vehicle it started overheating and the air conditioner went out. I contacted the dealership because it was still under factory warranty. It took them a week to fix the vehicle because they had to completely rewire a few things. One month after that happened, I noticed when I turned I felt a popping in the floor board on the driver side. I again contacted the dealer and they had me bring the vehicle in and stated something was loose in the axel shaft and they 'fixed' the popping by tightening it up. Three months following the above events, I noticed the popping started again. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they replaced the front ball joint, rack, and pinion. I drove away from the dealership and immediately had to turn around and return the vehicle because the problem continued. At that point they had the vehicle for five months straight. They say they replaced everything from the steering column down. Every time I called for an update they always had a different answer. I have replaced the rotors on this car 3 times now and it only has 60K. The service airbag light continues to stay on. The dealership says they replaced the airbag coil but yet it continues to come on. Now the transmission is slipping constantly in 5th and 6th gear. This car has been the worst car I have ever owned. I will never purchase another GM product again. I have had nothing but issues with this car since the day I brought it home. My husband was called to deploy to iraq and we had a 2 week old baby so we had to get a bigger car before he left. We only had 3 days when he was called up to leave (he was inactive reserve and was called up). I did not have time to research this car before we bought it. If I could do it all over again I would never even consider this car. Reading into it now, it seems a lot of people have had the same issues with this car.

- Barnesville, GA, USA

problem #3

Dec 272010

Aura

  • 105,000 miles
In March 2009 there was a recall on the shift cable for the 2008 and 2009 Saturn Aura but not on the 2007. I own a 2007 Aura and the shift cable recently snapped in half while driving. My car was literally stuck in drive on an incline. After my mechanic purchased a new cable he noticed that the design was totally different which lead me to research the recall on that part. I don't understand how a part can be recalled but only for certain years and not all 3 years the car was made. This part is exactly the same in the 2007 and I want to be reimbursed. The dealership said no way cause they are not required. Can someone please help me.

- Manalapan, NJ, USA

problem #2

Sep 012009

Aura

  • 26,427 miles
I purchased my car new off the lot while out of state. I have had several issues with this vehicle. I am unsatisfied with Saturn that they are not willing to look into these issues and fix, repair or replace the parts to fix the problems. Unless continuously my expense. The brake lights are lit while driving down the road, and when you place your foot on the pedal and apply pressure, the lights will go off, thus removing your foot from petal, 8 seconds, the lights for my brakes are back on. Mind you when you apply the brake, the lights go off, so explain this to the officers that stop me, and give me a ticket for repair because I don't have brake lights when stopping!! not to mention the times of being almost rear ended because of this issue! getting it fixed and it continues to reoccur is getting old. Does someone really have to be killed to fix this problem" the braking system in general with the rotors and pads has been a consistent repair replace factor. I have replaced brake pads, had rotors turned, had them replaced, etc minimum of every 10,000 miles due to the rotors being warped, causing severe shaking in the front end. Service garage at Saturn dealer just says this is a continued problem with the Aura vehicles, but nothing is getting resolved. Again, does someone really have to be killed to get these real issues settled" these are issues with the brakes, not with something minor. Again, issues with the air bag service light coming on, and the garage not finding a repeating error, occurs yet occasionally. Fix by turning car off and restarting. Inflate tire signal repeatedly occurs, yet to find actual cause for this issue. These are the real concerns I have with this vehicle, minor issues are the doors filling with water, pealing of interior on black areas of door molding, handles. Failure of increase of immediate speed when wanting extra power to pass or coming in on ramp to highway traffic and does not kick down immediately.

- Montague, MI, USA

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