2.5

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
60,121 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.

2005 Saturn Vue drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2005 Saturn Vue Owner Comments

problem #17

Apr 012020

Vue

  • 255,000 miles

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

When traveling at 65 miles an hour on the freeway for an hour and a half and come to a complete stop whether it's in traffic or getting off the freeway the car suddenly jerks violently back and forth and clunking sounds like something is slipping the car will all of a sudden just died and stop running.by putting the car into neutral the car will come to a stop the jerking of the transmission releasing the gears

- Arroyo Grande, CA, USA

problem #16

Apr 232015

Vue

  • miles
My car has the ABS system light on, and there are tons of people with this problem! I have almost gone off the road tons of times when the roads have barely any snow or ice on them, and this is seriously a common problem that should have a recall! the ABS system on the Saturn Vues seems to go out all the time, which causes other problems, malfunctioning breaks, bearing degeneration too! I need to constantly change the breaks and now I need new bearings. My car only has 84K miles on it!!! and with my car, my transmission is also going out and that started at 60,000, miles and now its giving me real problems too! so the Saturn Vue 2005 AWD V6 car I have... has a common problem of cheap ABS system parts going bad, and bad transmissions! both need to be recalled, and addressed by GM.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #15

May 222014

Vue

  • miles
Started smoking the 1st time. Replaced brakes, rotors and break caliper on passenger's side. Ran and drove fine for about 1 week and did it again. All brakes and all that was replced were smoking hot and brown in color letting me know that all parts over heated. My car has been parked since 2014 and not used until I hear a recall. I already know this problem will arise continually by all the information I have found. Dealerships can't even find the problem. What does that tell you.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #14

Apr 092015

Vue 4-cyl

  • 130,000 miles

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

Car stalled and wouldn't restart. Towed to garage where they determined the timing chain failed.

- Dartmouth, NC, USA

problem #13

Feb 232015

Vue 6-cyl

  • miles
I just bought this vehicle 2005 Saturn Vue with 61K mileage 2 weeks ago to a dealership and I am frustrated with the key to ignition when you pull it out. It get stuck all the time and it makes me crazy everyday.thought its just the key problem. So I went to dealership to make a brand new one and paid $108 for the key, key cut and key code. But the issue is still the same. Call a customer service and said there is no recall for this model type. What do I do now" and one thing more the transmission is not smooth in the 1st gear and 2nd gear. Is this normal for the 2005 Saturn Vue V6 transmission"

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

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problem #12

Mar 022010

Vue 6-cyl

  • 76,348 miles
While driving between 30 and 40 mph the vehicle experiences a vibration in the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was allegedly repaired by a GM dealer at no charge. The problem was not resolved. At least 4 other attempts to have GM repair the vehicle were refused by GM dealers even after the repair bulletin was extended into 2015. Not satisfied I contacted someone at GM and asked for a referral to another dealer in my local area. I received it and took it the referred dealer and explained the situation. After inspecting the car they acknowledged the vibration issue but said that before anything could be done the engine block mounts had to be replaced at a cost of approx. $1000. I thanked them and took the car to my trusted regular mechanic. I asked him to check the engine mounts (without telling him what happened at the GM dealer) and give me a report. Upon inspecting, he stated there was absolutely nothing wrong with the engine mounts. At this point, frustrated and angry with GM, I basically gave up. Furthermore, this occurred at the time of the GM ignition switch recall debacle.our Saturn Vue also has a problem with the ignition.on multiple occasions we were not able to remove the ignition key from the ignition switch without pliers and a lot of time. It took over an hour on several occasions to remove the key. We found information online where GM acknowledged there was a problem with the Vue ignition switches, but several attempts to have the switch replaced resulted in refusals by GM dealers. I thought this was odd given the huge recall of ignition switches by GM at the time. We basically received the same treatment concerning the rear end powertrain vibration after the initial repair even though the maintenance bulletin extended the repair period. There was an alternate repair if the first repair failed, but the dealer wouldn't honor it.

- Leavenworth, KS, USA

problem #11

May 152009

Vue

  • 35,000 miles

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

I was driving down the road when the transmission started making a grinding sound. I pulled over and had the car towed to the Saturn dealership in durham nc. They fixed the transmission at no cost except I was out the money for towing. At this time the service technician told me that there was a class action suit and that the transmission would be replaced at no cost. For me and if I sold it. The next person to own the vehicle. Approximately a month later the transmission went out again on the car. I once again had it towed to the durham Saturn and they fixed it at not price. It has just gone out again 1-6-2015 and when I called the GM dealership, I called two of them thompsons GM in raleigh and hendricks in raleigh they told me that they won't fix it anymore that they only had to fix it for 5 years or 75,000 miles or it was then increased to 8 years or 100,000 miles. So I am outside of either of these parameters so they said it was going to cost $5000 dollars to fix the transmission. $4000 for parts and approx.1000.00 for the work or they will give me 5000 dollar credit for the car as a trade in on a brand new GM vehicle that I will have to buy to get any trade in value for the vehicle. The vehicle is still in perfect condition because I have taken really good care of it. It is the first vehicle that I have driven off the showroom floor and I love it, but they need to make this right. The should at least of let me know that they weren't going to honor the class action lawsuit anymore so that I had a chance to get rid of it before it came to this. They said that they sent out paperwork to extend the warranty on the car, but I wasn't going to spend thousands of extra dollars paying for a warranty that would have obviously not been worth it since nothing else has gone wrong with the car. The one issue I was worried about I thought was covered in the suit.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #10

Sep 272014

Vue 4-cyl

  • 67,000 miles
Back in 2009 I received a noticed on a recall on the transmission. I took it to my dealer and was refused for any help with it. I contacted GM and they refused to help me. For many years I have had issues with noise, shifting and other problems. Sometimes if I had it in reverse it would go forward and if I had it in drive it would go into reverse. The gears would stick and my car would jolt repeatedly.. on the 27th of September I was on my way to a friends house to repair my U joint. I had my 2 month old son in the car with me, we were on a busy rd doing 55mph when my car made a very loud noise and just stopped. It was running but wouldn't go in any gear. It was very scary and feared for my sons safety. I had it towed to my friends house to have it looked at and pieces of my transmission fell everywhere on the ground. It completely blew. I was grateful we both were not injured. I tried contacting GM again and they denied any such recall and refused again to help me. I am a single mother with no job and now no vehicle. I need any help I can possibly get. This has been very upsetting and stressful on me and unsure what to do. Please help.

- Lancaster, NY, USA

problem #9

May 242014

Vue 6-cyl

  • 152,000 miles
Driving 65mph on the freeway my vehicle would not down shift (automatic) and started making a terrible loud vibrating noise. Letting off the gas hoping and thinking it would down shift, the car started to totally slow down. Scared being on a freeway we pulled to the side, put on the hazard lights - we put the car in neutral and tried starting again but the car would never get above 40mph. We crawled along at about 30mph to find an exit ramp, called a tow truck ($300 for being out of town) to be towed back to our mechanic shop. Found the torque converter went bad which "toasted" the transmission. We ended up replacing the transmission with a same year and model as the old one. I never received any notices that there had been prior issues and I am now terrified that this one will go bad as I have recently read that these have had problems.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #8

Jul 202010

Vue

  • 30,000 miles
Since I have had my 2005 Saturn Vue I have had problems. My shifting linkage has gone our several times. Leaving me in whatever gear I'm in. This had happened on the freeway at 65mph three (3) times! coming down a hill at 50mph my transmission shifted from 5th to 2nd! that blew my clutch! ($2000) my linkage was fixed (theoretically) by three dealerships which did not last. One only six (6) months! my 5th gear and reverse disappeared in March of 2014 ($1600) then again my linkage cables wouldn't work ($448) and I had them replaced.finally my shifting fork for three (3) gears had to be replaced, that was another $336! on top of all this my ignition, after a year of owning this car, I bought it new, my key would fall out if my knee hit it. While the engine was running! if I turned the key to the locked position it would take several jiggles to get it to turn to the right! when I took it the last two (2) for transmission fixes the shop could not start the car! I had to bicycle 3 miles to the shop to get it started! the shifting linkage, transmission and key have always been a problem! I am thinking of suing GM!

- Van Nuys Ca, CA, USA

problem #7

Sep 112013

Vue

  • miles

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

In may of 2013 my husband and I purchased a 2005 Saturn Vue at a dealer in angola, Indiana while visiting with family. Four months later we started having problems with the original transmission to the point where it blew. Before taking it to the local Chevy dealer we called several transmission shops and they refused to do the work since it a cvt transmission. So the local Chevy replaced the transmission and it had not been 24 hours and we had problems with it and the check engine light came on. We took it back to the dealer they made some adjustments which did not help so the dealer had to replace it a second time. I am driving home from work and the check engine light comes on. So I took it back to the dealer. They made some adjustments to the second one and during one of their test drives the check engine light came on. So the Saturn Vue remained at the dealer for a month. And of course the dealer had to replace the transmission for a 3rd time. Transmission number 3 lasted for October of 2013 to February of 2014. That being said, the transmission was replaced for the 4th time. This one only lasted to June. On Friday June 13th the dealer called and said they had to order the 5th replacement transmission. I called GM on Friday June 13th and I was very upset with them. GM informed me as so did the dealer that because of the warranty the dealer is not allowed to open a failed replacement transmission. My husband and I are really upset, we feel that because of this warranty and the dealer not being allowed to find out why all of these transmissions are failing GM is covering something up. We want answers!!!!

- Rochester Hills, MI, USA

problem #6

Jul 112012

Vue 4-cyl

  • miles
On 7-11-12 after backing out of a parking space & putting the car in drive the transmission quit working. I had the car towed to two different mechanics. Both giving me the same answer. The transmission would need to be replaced & it would cost 3,000. Later on I found out that there had been a recall on the transmission for my car. I contacted the Saturn claims dept., had the car towed to a GM dealer & once again was told the same thing. Saturn then offered me a 2,500 credit towards a new GM car. To my knowledge I should have been offered a 5,000 credit or half the cost of a replacement transmission. Please help they should have to right there wrong.

- Bryson City, NC, USA

problem #5

Apr 012011

Vue 4-cyl

  • 76,708 miles
After purchasing my Saturn Vue, January 11, 2011, it required service and a subsequent transmission replacement on or about April 1, 2011. The repair was covered by my extneded warranty, however, the most recent transmission failure, April 2, 2012, was not covered by a warranty. The dealership is seeking to have me pay 50% of the cost to replace, for a second time, a faulty transmission, with no guarantee that its performance will exceed that of my previous transmission replacement. Between the cost of both transmissions, the repair to my vehicle exceeds the value of it as a whole. I am terrified that I will encounter this problem again, and cannot afford the cost to repair a problem that was foreseeable then, as well as now. I do not know where to turn, but I feel as though this is an irresponsible way to conduct business, and the improper functioning of this component could be the difference between highway safety and a fatal accident in the event the transmission fails at high speeds. Please help make this right for me, and all other consumers not yet aware of the battle that they will, most likely, face if they are in possession of a Saturn Vue.

- Canyon Country, CA, USA

problem #4

Sep 052011

Vue 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
I am recently having problems getting my 2005 Saturn Vue into 1st gear. Called a transmission company who looked it up and said there were a lot of complaints about this very issue, yet there is no recall for it. I only have 60,000 miles on my vehicle. The problem is that Saturn put in a rubber type shifting linkage.

- Rives Junction, MI, USA

problem #3

Jul 202011

Vue

  • 50,000 miles
I was driving in 4 lanes of traffic when the transmission just stopped working.the car rolled and I was very lucky to get to the curb. The highway patrol came up behind me. And due to the traffic, choose to stay parked behind me with flares, until the tow truck arrived. I consider myself lucky that the police arrived to prevent a serious accident.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #2

Apr 182011

Vue

  • 46,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Vue. The contact was driving 25 mph when the cable that held the gear shifter fractured. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who replaced the shift stick cable under warranty. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that there were no recalls for the failure and offered no further assistance. The failure mileage was 46,000. Updated 06/01/11 the consumer stated he had to pay a $100 deductible. Updated 08/05/11

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #1

Dec 312010

Vue

  • 44,000 miles
I own a 2005 Saturn Vue all wheel drive that when the roads are icy or snow packed is very hard to control. When you try to turn a corner you do not know if it is going to turn or not. The rear wheels kick in when the front wheels slip and I have had it slide sideways close to hitting a curb. All four tires are turning and there is no control. The braking is also as bad some of the same problems. I know that this vehicle is no longer being built but I still fell that this needs to be looked into, I have heard that there has been some accidents on slick roads and I think that this may by a bigger problem than just mine. This is an ongoing problem, not something that has just started happening. Most of the time the Vue has been driven on dry roads or snow not that much on ice.

- Laporte, CO, USA

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