Saturn Outlook Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

MELTED LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS. BULBS HAVE BEEN REPLACED NUMEROUS TIMES AND NOW THERE IS NO LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AT ALL. *TR

WHEN DRIVING SLOW FORWARD OR BACK, WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL, IT LOCKS UP THEN WILL COME LOOSE, LETTING YOU TURN THE WHEEL. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST GM BY THE CHEVY TRAVERSE OWNERS FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM. CASE NUMBER IS [XXX], FILED 3/12/13. SINCE I HAVE A SATURN, THAT IS A TWIN TO THE CHEVROLET TRAVERSE AND GM ACADIA. I THINK I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM THEY ARE HAVING IN THE STEERING. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH POWER STEERING IN MY SATURN. THIS IS MY FAMILY VEHICLE THAT I DRIVE MY CHILDREN IN AND BOUGHT IT WITH SAFETY IN MIND. I AM STARTING TO BELIEVE THE VEHICLE IS VERY UNSAFE. INSTEAD OF GM FIXING THE PROBLEM THEY HAVE TAKEN NO BLAME AND ARE ASKING ME TO PAY HEFTY BILLS RELATED TO THE STEERING WHEEL. THE CAR HAS HAD 3 STEERING GEARS AND NOW NEEDS A STEERING PUMP. I KNOW MANY SATURN OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. PLEASE HELP, THIS IS NOT FAIR TO THE CONSUMER. WE ARE BEING LIED TO SO GM DOES NOT HAVE TO COVER THESE COSTLY PARTS. *TR

I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING INTERMITTENT POWER STEERING LOSS AT LOW SPEEDS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. AFTER VIEWING HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS FROM OWNERS OF OTHER SIMILAR YEAR MODEL VEHICLES ON THE LAMBDA PLATFORM I CONTACTED GM/SATURN ABOUT A POSSIBLE RECALL. AFTER SPEAKING WITH A CUSTOMER SERVICE REP WE TOOK OUR VEHICLE TO OUR LOCAL DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. WHEN EXPLAINING TO THE SHOP EMPLOYEE THE PROBLEM HE SAID THAT HE WAS AWARE OF WHAT TO LOOK FOR BECAUSE HE HAS HEARD OF MANY COMPLAINTS IDENTICAL TO OURS. THE GM REP TOLD US THAT SHE WAS PLACING OUR VEHICLE UNDER A RECALL AND THAT GM WOULD ABSORB ALL CHARGES RELATED TO REPAIRING THIS ISSUE. ONCE WE CALLED TO CHECK THE STATUS OF THE VEHICLE WE WERE INFORMED THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE AND GM WOULD NOT BE COVERING THE REPAIRS. I SPOKE WITH GM AGAIN AND EXPLAINED THAT UNEXPECTED LOSS OF POWER STEERING WAS AN IMPORTANT SAFETY CONCERN AND WAS TOLD THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER A RECALL AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO BE DONE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGH A RECALL. IN MY OPINION THE NUMBER OF OWNERS HAVING THIS ISSUE IS TOO HIGH TO BE CONSIDERED A COINCIDENCE AND IS THE RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE POWER STEERING PUMP. *TR

I WAS ENTERING A TURNING LANE AND TURNING FROM THE HIGHWAY ONTO THE ROAD OF MY RESIDENCE. THE POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING AND I COULD BARELY TURN THE WHEEL TO MAKE THE TURN. THERE WAS A CAR COMING THAT COULD HAVE HIT ME. SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT, THIS HAS BEEN OCCURRING MORE AND MORE FREQUENTLY ALWAYS AT SLOW SPEEDS (BACKING OUT OF GARAGE, IN PARKING LOTS, MAKING TURNS, ETC.). ON ONE OCCASION, I WAS EXITING THE FREEWAY ON A RAMP THAT IS CURVED AND LEADS DIRECTLY ONTO ANOTHER ROAD. DURING THE CURVE, THE POWER STEERING QUIT WORKING AND I ALMOST RAN OFF THE ROAD TRYING TO MAKE THE CURVE. IT SEEMS TO ALWAYS HAPPEN WHEN MY FOOT IS ON THE BRAKE. I HAD THE CAR EVALUATED BY THE GM DEALER, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $750. A RECALL FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM WAS ISSUED BY GM ON MARCH 31, 2014, BUT MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. WHEN I CALLED GM'S CORPORATE OFFICES TO ASK WHY IT WAS NOT INCLUDED AND TRY TO GET THEM TO MAKE THE REPAIRS, THEY REFUSED TO DO SO. I REALLY BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THAT THE RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ALL AFFECTED MODELS AND YEARS. IF YOU DO A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH ON THE INTERNET, YOU WILL FIND THOUSANDS OF CASES OF THE SAME ISSUE IN MANY GM MODELS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN RECALLED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 SATURN OUTLOOK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION MODULE FAILED, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL SPORADICALLY AND WITHOUT WARNING ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS HOWEVER, EACH TIME THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TO BE INSPECTED AND DIAGNOSED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 10V073000 (STEERING) BUT EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 108000.

RECENTLY MY HEADLIGHTS HAVE BEEN BURNING OUT REGULARLY. I HAVE ONE GO OUT EACH MONTH WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS CREATES A PERSISTENT SAFETY PROBLEM AND IS EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. THE 2010 OUTLOOK REQUIRES THE REMOVAL OF THE FRONT WHEELS AND WHEEL WELLS TO REPLACE THE BULB. I UNDERSTAND FROM SOME RESEARCH THAT THERE IS A GENERAL PROBLEM WITH THE WIRING HARNESS. *TR

THIS IS THE 2ND OCCURANCE OF WATER SPILLAGE OUT OF MY HEAD LINER. WATER LEAKING OUT OF THE REAR BACK UP INDICATOR AND DOWN BY THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR. WHEN ORGINALLY OCCURED BROUGHT TO CHEV DELAERSHIP TO DIAGNOSE REPAIR, TOLD ABOUT OLD RECALL ON MODELS BUT MY VIN DID NOT FALL WITH IN THE CORRECT NUMBERS, IT WAS JUST OUTSIDE OF IT. GM CUSTOMER SERVICE STATED NOTHING THEY COULD DO WITH ME PAYING FOR THE DIAGNOSITIC FIRST, AND I WAS QUOTED OVER $500 BY DEALERSHIP TO DO SO. ALSO, CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE ELECTRICAL ISSUES SINCE WATER DAMAGE IN REAR BACK UP INDICATOR AND FRONT FUSE PANELS. *TR

HEADLIGHTS IN SATURN OUTLOOK 2010 FAILED. PROBLEM WITH WIRING ASSEMBLY. SMELL OF ELECTRICAL FIRE (NO FLAME, JUST SMELL). FOLLOWED WITH VISUAL INSPECTION TO SEE COMPONENTS IN BACK OF HEADLAMP SCORCHED. VERY EXPENSIVE TO SERVICE WITH NO APPARENT ROOT CAUSE ADDRESSED. *TR

MELTING OF HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS, THIS IS THE SECOND INCIDENT ON SAME VEHICLE. *TR

The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the timing belt had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under GM Campaign Number: 10287C since the campaign had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

I was driving and my car started to lurch and went into reduced power mode. I quickly pulled over and turned off the engine. It was towed into the shop, and we found that the timing chain had broken. We had just had our engine mounts replaced and the oil changed. The vehicle has been well maintained. I have seen the issue with the timing chain failure is a common problem in Saturns/GM from internet research. It looks like there was a service bulletin to bring the car in if Service light comes on and you “think” it’s due to premature wear of timing chain. Now we are told the engine needs to be replaced because it was damaged by the timing chain failure and it seems like a known defect that should be covered because it exceeded the value of the car to have such a fix.

UNKNOWN We have only had this vehicle for approximately 4 months and have had soon many issues but the electrical system has been a problem non stop

I bought this 2009 Saturn Outlook yesterday from a used dealership they said there was nothing wrong with the car well I live over 100 miles away from where I bough it and about halfway home it’s it was dark outside I was driving on the highway going up a hill the motor was acting like it wanted to jump out f the car (I’m not sure exactly how to describe it) anyways it only did ur for just a second then stopped all went back to normal and today just died while driving and now it wont start wont even turn over