NHTSA — Steering Problems

2008 Saturn Vue (Page 3 of 4)

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
170,454 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.

2008 Saturn Vue steering problems

steering problem

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2008 Saturn Vue Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #40

Jan 282016

Vue

  • 116,216 miles

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

My wife told me she was having some difficulty steering so I drove the car myself this morning. As I started out, yes, I found turning the steering wheel felt quite klunky. When I got up on the freeway all of a sudden the steering wheel just locked straight ahead. I bumped the brakes and hit the steering wheel to get the car to veer right to get onto the exit. By the grace of god I made it. Then it all of a sudden got a bit looser and I was able to get back home. It's at the mechanic now.

- Cypress, TX, USA

problem #39

Jan 112016

Vue

  • 185,207 miles
Are their any recalls on any parts?

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #38

Jan 042016

Vue

  • 150,000 miles
Steering wheel locked. Key would not turn in lock cylinder. Car would not start. Onstar communication was disabled. Lock cylinder had to be drilled out and replaced. Housing in steering column was damaged. Saturn Vues were recalled for ignition lock cylinder replacement, but 2008 models were left out of the recall. They should be on the recall list for ignition cylinder steering wheel lock problems along with the other Saturn Vue models. Steering wheel locked and prevented me from leaving a nearly empty parking lot at dusk. I had no way to call for help from the car. I depend on onstar for emergency assistance where cell signals are weak

- Fairplay, SC, USA

problem #37

Dec 102015

Vue

  • 74,990 miles

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

While driving to work the power steering stopped working. This made steering very difficult. And driving dangerous. Power steering light on dash came on, will have to take to dealer.

- Lilburn, GA, USA

problem #36

Oct 212015

Vue

  • miles
While driving to work (downtown) my steering suddenly went out on my 2008 Saturn Vue xe. I pulled over, parked and turned off the car. When I restarted it and started driving everything was fine. Then about 100 ft down the road it went out again and I lost all power to my steering wheel. I pulled over again and turned off the car. This time I lost all power to the car and the key became stuck in the ignition. I sat for 5 or 10 minutes then tried again. This time the car started up and the power steering light was off. I tried driving again but had barely pulled away from the curb when the steering went out again. I was extremely lucky to be in the city and have the ability to get to a side street as controlling and turning the wheel became very difficult.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #35

Oct 122014

Vue

  • miles
Intermediate steering shaft problems noise

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #34

Dec 032012

Vue

  • 71,000 miles

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

Power steering would cut in and out while driving. Check lights would come on. Let car sit a bit restart engine then would steer correctly but not for too long then steering would become very hard and check lights would come on again. A few days would pass without incident then it would fail to steer properly, (without power). Took in and mechanic found a code for electric power steering motor failure and also the torque sensor, ( steering colum angle sensor) was bad. I read an artical sometime in 2013 that described my problem and it was being followed for a history but had not become a recall yet. Before wrinting this complaint form I reviewed my VIN # and still no recall :(

- Blaine, MN, USA

problem #33

Jul 032015

Vue

  • 100,000 miles
Power steering failed - went to dealership and they said it was not covered under warranty - 2008 Saturn Vue. I also own a 2009 Saturn outlook and just received a recall for the same thing in September of 2014. Not pleased with Saturn/GM

- West Coxsackie, NY, USA

problem #32

Dec 152014

Vue 4-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
I had driven to the store and parked the car. After shopping, I started the car and attempted to pull out of the parking spot. The steering wheel was extremely hard to turn, and I realized that I shouldn't try to drive it. I returned it to the parking spot and called a tow truck. The dealer says that the power steering module needs to be replaced. I know other Saturn models have been recalled, but not this one.

- Nicholasville, KY, USA

problem #31

Aug 082014

Vue 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicles power steering failed. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the steering rack and pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The failure mileage was 50,000. Mailed out 01/13/15 updated 02/18/15 updated 10/2/2015

- Amarillo, TX, USA

problem #30

Oct 042014

Vue

  • miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that power steering fluid was leaking and the vehicle was difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Clarence, NY, USA

problem #29

Dec 272013

Vue 6-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
As I am driving at low speed and getting ready to make a turn, all of a sudden it is a struggle to steer and complete the turn. This has happened four times. The most recent, 11/1714. The last time I also heard a noise like some sort of motor struggling. Three of these times it was a rainy or wet slushy day. In each of the incidents, after getting to safety and turning off the car and restarting it, it began to run fine again. This last time, I was just barely able to complete a sharp enough right turn to stay in my lane. I had to wait for the vehicle exiting the street to leave, so I knew I would be able to make the turn and pull over safely! I brought the vehicle in to the GM place for service last month (October 2014) because I am concerned I will have complete loss of steering somewhere. They said they tried but could not duplicate the problem, so they say they are unable to fix it. Because it is a sporadic problem, I don't know how they will ever be able to duplicate it unless they drove it around for a couple weeks! this is so dangerous. I am going to bring it back and try again, but wanted to see if there had been a recall on this. There isn't a recall, however in searching, I found that others have had similar experiences with the same vehicle! there must be someone in this industry who can figure this out and find a solution to it before someone gets injured or killed.

- Pembroke, MA, USA

problem #28

Oct 082013

Vue 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
My 2008 Saturn Vue steering failed and almost got into accident with only 40,000+ miles back in Oct 2013, got it fixed that cost me close to $1000 and now June 2014 transmission failed with only 50,000 miles and was quoted $4,500 worth of repair which is to replace transmission, checked online regarding problem and looks like its a common issues on this model and other models as well of GM which have the same transmission, just wondering how come no one issues a recall on this. Thanks...

- Westland, MI, USA

problem #27

May 192014

Vue 6-cyl

  • 97,500 miles
In 2013 I had steering wheel problems with the 2008 Saturn Vue xr and the dealer replaced at the beginning of the year the rack and pinion and front wheels strut bearings and I paid around $900. This year, I start having problems again with the steering wheel ( not being able to steer at low speed and low steering fluid level ) and the dealer cost was $530 replacing the steering pump. GM had a recall on this type of vehicle on the steering fluid line nut but my VIN number was not included. I called GM asking for cost assistance since it is the same system ( steering ) and concerned about safety and the only thing they offered this year was to call the dealer to see if they can assist. This is a lot of money ( $1,430 ) to be spent by a vehicle owner on the same vehicle system ( steering ) that is related to safety and my concern is that the problems will not stop here. This should be a recall since I found a lot of Saturn owners complaining about steering wheel ( components ) issues.

- Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA

problem #26

Jun 122014

Vue

  • 100,000 miles
Driving down road, went to turn right onto other road when power steering went out.looks to be blown line.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #25

May 072014

Vue 6-cyl

  • 119,000 miles
While backing out of a parking spot, my car just quit, locked up steering, everything dead. Could not move the steering wheel or anything. Car did start up again. Drove down the road a 1/2 block and car stopped again, dead in road, no steering, could not operate door locks or anything. Car started again and managed to move the car to a safe spot before it went out again. Nothing was workable. When the car was taken to Chevrolet dealer in llano, tx it was diagnosed as the positive connection to the main fuse box had come loose. The only fix was complete replacement of the fuse box assembly because the main positive lug to the fuse box is only held on by plastic. The design of this fuse box is definitely poor creating the possibility of a very dangerous situation. Had I been driving on the highway at a high rate of speed when this occurred, the outcome could have been disastrous causing an accident and possible death. This poorly designed fuse box with main lug nut held by only plastic needs to be addressed immediately to prevent future accidents and possible death to occupants of the vehicle.

- Doss, TX, USA

problem #24

May 042014

Vue

  • miles
My power steering and transmission doesn't work, I just found out that my vehicle is on recall and the dealer never told me.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #23

Mar 222014

Vue

  • 113,000 miles
Vehicle all of the sudden stopped in the middle of an intersection. Everything ran fine as far as electrical, just wouldn't drive. Power steering has been going out many times.

- Magnolia, TX, USA

problem #22

Apr 242014

Vue 4-cyl

  • 116,401 miles
While driving vehicle on the expressway, the power steering locked up like car had stalled momentarily then regained power. Startled I decided to exit freeway and while making a right hand turn it locked solid again and I heard like a actuator motor make a buzzing sound. This made me very nervous because I lost power twice. I called onstar right away to report incident. This was extremely dangerous. I have driven thousands of cars in my lifetime as I was a former G.M. dealer but I never have experienced anything like this. I am very concerned someone could be injured severely if this problem occurs in this car or others like it.

- Monroe, MI, USA

problem #21

Oct 142011

Vue

  • 38,370 miles
Issue #1 ~ transmission while merging from one freeway to another, driving at a steady pace, the vehicle began to slip. When the slipping began, the delays were short, maybe lasting 10 seconds. However as I kept driving, they began to get longer and longer, in this particular incident. I was able to put my emergency flashers on and move over to exit the freeway. Since the initial time, this has happened several more times with the vehicle. And, because the slipping doesn't occur every time I drive it, I'm being told the issue can not be duplicated... issue #2 ~ power steering as long as the vehicle is being steered straight, I have no complaints. However, the moment the vehicle is steered either left or right, it begins to make a loud roaring like sound. The roaring is especially prevalent when being steered to the left. I've taken the vehicle in twice now to be attended to. Each time I've taken it in, the power steering pump and fluids are replaced. The problem is still present.

- Ellenwood, GA, USA

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