NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2009 Saturn Vue (Page 1 of 2)

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,194 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.

2009 Saturn Vue electrical problems

electrical problem

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2009 Saturn Vue Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #32

Dec 272020

Vue

  • 160,000 miles

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

While I am driving I have had intermittent incidents that cannot be replicated. "stabilitrak" warning light has not turned off. I have lost control of my vehicle while driving twice but was able to pull over after a few seconds. The vehicle will lose power to the dash. When I am turning the steering wheel gets very hard to turn and will turn off the radio. This will cause the car to loose power while driving. Then when I turn the car off I will be unable to get the key out or turn the vehicle on. I will have to restart the vehicle. I have replaced the battery twice and the alternator twice and this helped for 2 months then the problem persisted. I also replaced the wheel sensors to no avail. I have taken to 3 mechanics but they cannot replicate the issue. When the vehicle is in park, I will try to turn the vehicle on and then just tap on the brain compartment above the battery and sometimes this works. I have been left stranded more than I care to admit. While driving if the issues are really bad and if I have to drive long distance I will try to use cruise controll but it will not engage.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #31

Jul 172020

Vue

  • 144,041 miles
Traction control stays on and transmission engages then release slipping..also hybrid system nit working at all never turn off and any stop like a hybrid.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #30

May 262018

Vue

  • 144,000 miles
Car has lost power on dash lights, radio when our daughter was driving on the freeway or around town especially when turnin the steering wheel, looses power, and she was forced to get into the emergency lane. Key gets stuck in ingnition upon starting car intermittently will not start without jumping the car off or without wiggling the wires on top of the battery connecting to the brain. We have had the battery replaced. Stabilitract light was on and we had the dealer check it out they replaced the brake computer module. Radio will cut off, dash lights go off intermittently.

- Hixson, TN, USA

problem #29

Oct 182016

Vue

  • 56,000 miles

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

The wiring harness to the passenger side head light keeps melting, causing me to loose the use of that headlight. I have already repaired the situation twice, now I am see that other Saturn owners have had the same issue. I called GM and there is no recall? how is that possible. I have struggled with this issue for 2 years. This is a serious safety concern, I can't see with one headlight. Please help

- Escanaba, MI, USA

problem #28

Dec 012017

Vue

  • 51,000 miles
Unable to turn vehicle off while in park. Key gets stuck at acc.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #27

Apr 012017

Vue

  • 80,000 miles
The first problem occurred about a year ago, when a message stating "stabilitrack off" appeared while driving on the interstate. I continued driving with the message and parked as normal.the next time I started the car the message was gone. Several months later I went to start the car and it was completely dead. Door locks, radio, everything was dead. We replaced the battery and thought the problem was fixed, but about two months later I went out in the morning to a dead car again. Jumping the car was an instant fix, and the vehicle ran fine again for about 3 weeks. This happened about once a month for the next 6 months, with the "stabilitrak off" message occasionally popping up while driving. Each time it would not start a jump was required, and then the car would drive fine. There was never any indication that the battery was low, and it never quit while actively being driven. Over the past month the problems have occurred more frequently, and now happen about 3-4 times per week. I have to keep a portable battery charger in my glovebox to jump it myself. We have replaced the battery twice and still have these issues. We took it to an independent mechanic who was unable to find the problem, though he assured us the battery, alternator, etc. Were fine. At this point we are looking to sell the vehicle, because my kids and I cannot keep being stranded when it won't start. I no longer feel it is a safe vehicle for them to be riding in. Unfortunately we will take a huge hit when we sell, as the car is obviously not worth what we paid for it since these problems were unknown then. It has 80,000 miles on it now, and these problems started at 75,000 miles.

- Magnolia, DE, USA

problem #26

Apr 282017

Vue

  • 80,551 miles

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

The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Vue. While attempting to start the vehicle, the ignition seized while the key was present. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence where an independent mechanic diagnosed that the ignition lock failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact also stated that the key was unable to be removed. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in any recalls and refereed the contact to NHTSA. The contact inquired about NHTSA campaign number: 14V490000 (electrical system), her vehicle's year was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 80,551.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #25

Dec 222016

Vue

  • 60,000 miles
The hose for the moon roof drains are leaking causing mold and electrical issues in the Vue. We had the hoses replaced twice but the problem keeps happening. Electrical issues have caused issues with starting, instrument panel, etc.

- Summerville, SC, USA

problem #24

May 282016

Vue

  • 42,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that the ignition key hesitated to disengage from the vehicle intermittently. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 42,000.

- Chicagoil, IL, USA

problem #23

Aug 012015

Vue

  • miles
Sometimes when I turn my 2009 Saturn Vue off I cannot get the key out of the ignition. I will have to put the car back into drive and then back in park before I can get the key out.

- Washington, MI, USA

problem #22

Sep 152014

Vue

  • 80,000 miles

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

While driving down road acceleration slowed, all instrument panel lights came on, loss full power steering & brake functions, no turn signals, brake lights, fuel gauge went to empty, messages on driver air bag, stabilitrak, tire air pressure, ABS, everything was flashing. All instrument panel lights were on, radio stopped, sudden increased acceleration then decreased again. I got pulled over to a parking lot (which was very hard with brake pedal going to floor & steering almost impossible), turned off car & removed key. Still had all (4) open door lights on and all the doors were shut. They stayed on more than 5 minutes before finally going off. I sat there 30 minutes before trying to start the car again. When I started it everything was working again as if it had reset itself. Yesterday August 31, 2015 was the third time this same thing has happened to me while driving at 45 mph or more. This is extremely dangerous as I drive daily on heavily traveled parkways. Dealerships can not find a problem when I take it to them. They just want to reset the electrical system. It just occurs again so that is not the solution. Need help getting this resolved.

- Greenbrier, TN, USA

problem #21

Sep 122013

Vue

  • 60,000 miles
The electrical system in my 2009 Saturn Vue shorts out causing all kinds of issues, the first time was in late 2013 when nothing on the dash came on, my radio did not play, no gages worked. Drove it to the first dealership in waterford and they got the gages working but had little news to say about it, it was a bad experience to say the least. The 2nd time it died in my drive way ( it had a brand new battery in it at the time)I had it towed to the nearest dealership and was told at first that they could not find the problem. The hood latch light was on and when they tried to give it back the tire pressure light came on and would not go off even when the tire pressure was checked manually and was correct. They said that they had to reboot the computer board and it was fixed. This time I drove my car for over a 2 month period where the blinker would cause the radio to go out, if I turned on the brights the radio would go out, then one day I got out of my car and realized the radio was still playing. I had to restart the car to shut it down. Lights flicker on the dash and the headlights would flicker back and forth while driving. My last straw was when I came out of the store and my car would not start, it did not do anything, I sat there for a minute and tried it again and it started up, so I scheduled an appointment at the dealership. They had the car form April 23 thru May 8 and said they could not duplicate the problem. In October my extended warranty is up and no one has found the problem yet. I have to say I have drove it now for 4 days and none of the things I described earlier has happened. Someone please help me, not fair to have these kinds of issues on a car of this caliper.

- Clarkston, MI, USA

problem #20

Nov 302013

Vue 6-cyl

  • 50,000 miles
Left passenger door will not unlock or lock with remote or with switch via car interior. Advised to replace door actuator. Once the left side was repaired under extended warranty the right passenger rear door is now non operational with the same problem. Vehicle is out of warranty. Door lock failures are not safe. If there is an accident someone could be ejected if the doors do not lock property.

- Savage, MN, USA

problem #19

Dec 012014

Vue

  • miles
2009 Saturn Vue. Driver states the engine stalled repeatedly, keys became stuck in ignition and the airbag and stability lights came on.

- Tustin, CA, USA

problem #18

Oct 012013

Vue

  • 78,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that the key failed to release from the ignition as the air bag and stability trac warning lights illuminated. Also, the contact mentioned that the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

- Tustin, CA, USA

problem #17

Feb 202014

Vue

  • 48,000 miles
Several months ago, my redline started clicking stabilitrak off and then when turning ignition off, would be completely dead. This continued after installing a new battery (thought the battery needed replacing). I have taken to a repair man numerous times and still can't get an answer. They replaced one of the battery cables completely and this stopped it for about a month, thought we had found the problem. Well it has since continued to have a bad connection somewhere. When it happens, I can "wiggle" the black electric box above the battery and power is restored. Sometimes, it disconnects everytime I put it in park and switch off and sometimes I can go days without an incident. There has to be an electrical/wiring issue causing this. I don't believe that the issue lies within the stabilitrak system. I think that the stabilitrak turns off as a direct result of the vehicle losing the electronic connection.

- Tifton, GA, USA

problem #16

Jul 012013

Vue

  • 59,000 miles
Approximately July 2013, my instrument panel lights and radio shut off. The service stabilitrak warning message came on and then went off. I was unable to take the key out of the ignition. After moving the battery, the lights turned on and I was able to start the car. This lasted for an hour. It happened again and moving the battery worked. I took it to lou fusz GMC Buick. They tested the alternator, battery, and all of their components. They were fine. I took it to them in August, September, and October. I thought the problem was caused by the battery not being secured or I needed a new battery. I had the battery replaced by lou fusz in January 2014. Everything seemed to be fine until earlier this month. The same symptoms and issues happened again. I currently have the vehicle at a GM service center hoping they can resolve the issue. There is something seriously wrong with this vehicle. I am afraid to drive it. My concern is it may be overheating causing the wires to burn. There are other reports of the same issue with the 2009 Saturn Vue. Please assist me in resolving this matter.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #15

Aug 142014

Vue

  • miles
The lights (courtesy lights, dash, and headlights) on my vehicle were flickering. While driving, I began to notice a burning smell. I thought that it was coming from outside, but rolling down the windows did not help. After a few minutes, I saw smoke coming from the driver's side visor area. I had the car towed to a dealership and they stated that there was an electrical short in the wiring harness about the headliner that goes into the sunshade.

- Johnstown, OH, USA

problem #14

Jun 232014

Vue 6-cyl

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that the driver's side visor retraction clip fractured and the visor would not properly retract. The contact also mentioned that the dome, door, and glove compartment lights failed to activate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000. Updated 08/27/14 the consumer stated the bar that runs through the visor became hot to touch and caused the wiring that runs to the dome to burn out. This caused the interior lights to fail. The visor was replaced but, the interior lights were not repaired. Updated 09/18/2014

- Lockbourne, OH, USA

problem #13

Sep 132013

Vue

  • 59,000 miles
Car would not start, when you put the key in the ignition will not start. After several attempts you can finally get it to connect. This is an ongoing issue I have had the car in the garage several times. I have been stranded three times in the last six months. It doesn't happen all the time and never happens when the garage has the vehicle. The last time was on Saturday 5/18/2014 the only way I could get the vehicle to start was to put it in neutral and turn the steering column, then when it would go back to the straight position the vehicle would stop again. After about five times trying it this way I left the wheels turned all the way to the left and put the vehicle into gear and made a U turn and keep going to home. I am afraid to try this car for fear it will cut out and someone will run into me.

- Rockford, MI, USA

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