Saturn VUE Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data
Comparing used Saturn VUE options? We analyzed 9 model years (2002–2010) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
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Found a Saturn VUE? Check that exact car.
Model-year trends show patterns — they can't tell you whether this car was crashed, flooded, or rolled back. A VIN check can.
- Accident & damage history
- Odometer rollback records
- Open recalls & title brands
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Saturn VUE has 2,407 owner complaints and 10 safety recalls across model years 2002–2010. The most reported issue area is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. 2003 drew the most complaints; 2010 drew the fewest.
- Make
- Saturn
- Model
- VUE
- Model years analyzed
- 2002–2010 (9 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 2,407
- Safety recall campaigns
- 10
- Crash-related complaints
- 135
- Fire-related complaints
- 49
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2003 (632 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2010 (6 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- Reliability signal
- Poor
By model year
Saturn VUE: which years to avoid & which to buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA NCAP crash test ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
Source: nhtsa.gov/ratings
What the complaint data suggests
PoorThe SATURN VUE has 2,407 NHTSA complaints and 10 recalls on record. 135 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 2,407 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 10 federal recall campaigns
- 135 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
Problems by model year (best vs. worst)
Source: NHTSA public complaints database. Updated: Sep 2026
Safety recalls
NHTSA safety recalls
10 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
STEERING:LINKAGES:KNUCKLE:SPINDLE:ARM
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2002–2010. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
Common problems
What goes wrong most often
The vehicle systems owners complain about most, ranked from all 2,407 NHTSA complaints — these are the areas to inspect first on a used car.
Owner complaints
NHTSA complaint reports
2,407 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
WINDSHIELD WIPERS SHUT OFF RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE WE BOUGHT THE CAR IN 2015.
HAD 2010 SATURN VUE BACK TO DEALER 3TIMES UNDER WARRANTY . A/C FREEZES UP AND HALF TO SHUT OFF TO THAW . THEN WILL BLOW COLD FOR A FEW MINUTES UNTIL FREEZES UP AGAIN. ALWAYS PUDDLE UNDER CAR IN GARAGE FROM LINES THAWING. NOW OUT OF WARRANTY AND STILL HAVE SAME PROBLEM. WANT TO TAKE ON TRIP IF SOMEONE CAN FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM
THE CAR WAS ON FIRE 15 MINUTES AFTER I PARKED IT. ARSON INVESTIGATOR TOLD US THAT IT IS A MECHANICAL\ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. THE CAR WAS A TOTAL LOSS.
POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILED. *TR
CRUISE CONTROL DISENGAGED, THIS HAPPENED TWICE OVER A PERIOD OF A MONTH, WHEN THIS HAPPENED THE DASH LIGHTS WENT DIM , ON SEPT 14,2012 , ON I-75 AT 60 MPH THE CRUISE DISENGAGED AND THE ENGINE QUIT, I WAS PUT IN A VERY SCARY SITUATION, ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED CAR IS AT A CHEVY GARAGE NOW AND BECAUSE IT WILL NOT DUPLICATE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME THERE IS NO FIX. IT SCARES ME TO THINK OF IT HAPPENING AGAIN. I HAVE OWNED TWO OTHER SATURNS WITH NO ISSUES THIS ONE HAS HAD A FEW WHICH WILL SHOW ON THE GMS LIST OF FIXES IT HAS HAD. I WISH NOW I HAD NOT BOUGHT THIS CAR. *TR *JS
BOUGHT THE VUE IN APRIL 2011 AND WHEN I STARTED USING MY AC IN MAY IT WOULD BARELY BLOW COOL AIR, TOOK IT IN AND THE SEALS WERE BAD AND COMPRESSER WAS CRACKED AND FREON ALMOST GONE. THEY FIXED IT BUT IT STILL DIDNT BLOW COLD LIKE IT SHOULD. TOOK IT BACK IN JULY BECAUSE IT WAS NOT BLOWING EVEN COOL AIR. THEY SAID THE AIR INLET DOOR WASNT OPEN AND I GUESS THEY OPENED IT. BLEW COLD AIR BUT STILL ONLY IF I HAD IT GOING FULL BLAST. AND STILL NOT AS COOL AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. BUT AT LEAST IT WAS A BIT COOLER. FALL CAME AND MY TRANSMISSION CROAKED ON ME..TOOK IT BACK AND THEY FIXED IT, SO FAR SO GOOD. BUT NOW ITS HOT AGAIN AND ONCE AGAIN MY AC IS NOT DOING THE JOB IT SHOULD BE. MY DEALERSHIP IS 100 MILES AWAY SO HAVIING TO TAKE IT BACK AND FORTH IS NUTS. CAN THEY JUST PUT ON A NEW AC UNIT..ITS UNDER WARRENTY BUT THEY TOLD ME NEXT TIME IT WAS GOING TO COST ME A 100 DOLLAR DEDUCTABLE..THIS IS BS. I WISH I HAD NEVER BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE. *TT
Read 14 more owner reports
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn and was inoperable while attempting to reverse. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.
Stalls stops, with Engine power reduced, stabilitrak off. After turning or braking. Engine light with down arrow. Accident probability. DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY IF ON HIGHWAY OR COUNTRY RD!
Vehicle has lost power steering. Difficult to steer especially in reverse and sometimes in turning left. If wheels are not completely straight, you have turn with all the strength you can muster. Reluctant to turn left unless you have twice as much time as you should need to avoid an accident.
I have only 68,329 miles. My transmission lost reverse. When first driving it will only go up to 10 mph and over time the maximum speed is 30 to 40 mph. Even if it gets to this speed it hesitates. The car is a danger and not drive able. I took the car to a GM dealer requesting a Policy Evaluation according to the Service Bulletin Warranty. The evaluation showed GM will not help me with any repairs or replacement of transmission. A car should not have a major component fail like a transmission especially with such low mileage. It is expected to have maintenance and repairs on a vehicle. What is not expected or normal servicing is transmission repair or replacement. It was estimated from the GM dealerships Policy Evaluation it will cost $5,500 to replace the transmission. My car is in great shape other than the transmission failure. I love my car and anticipated to have this car many years. This is an unaffordable repair and essentially makes this a throw away car. I feel extremely disappointed in GM's decision to not remedy this major problem.
For the third time since purchasing my car in 2009 I am having problems removing the key from the ignition cylinder. On 11/16/17 the floor shifter was replaced. On 09/11/20 another one was replaced. On 10/07/22 having problems again removing the key. Will take car in for service again.
The power steering goes out especially at lower speeds are from take off ,it takes every thing you have to turn wheel it has almost caused me two accidents, fluid level is fine, makes no unusual noise steering just goes out making it very dangerous to turn to the right are left & very difficult to turn from a complete stop .No one has figured the problem out & its my only vehicle there is definitely a Manufacture problem with the steering in this vehicle
Vehicle is a Saturn Vue XE, 3.5 liter AWD, ~84,000 miles. Problem Statement: Extensive corrosion of the subframe located at the midpoint of the vehicle on the driver and passenger sides. This is NOT surface rust - the frame corrosion has resulted in sections of the frame rotting through, severely compromising the structural integrity of the frame and safety of the vehicle. I have documented at least 6 formal complaints for the same problem from various websites, including some with front end and engine mounts cross members literally rotting away. My vehicle is only 12 years old and has only 7000 miles average miles per year but will not pass a safety inspection in Massachusetts due to the extensive rust through. The NHTSA has several corrosion related service bulletins documented involving several General Motors vehicle models but they only call out surface corrosion. The NHTSA needs to investigate FRAME RUST THROUGH on Saturn Vue and other GM vehicles as OWNERS ARE HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO REALIZE THE LOOMING SAFETY HAZARD if they have no other reason to inspect underneath the vehicle.
the car stable trak light comes on for service then the power steering service light comes and I lose power steering and power of my car this happened at 60mph on the highway, shut the car off for 5 mins and everything went back to normal then it happened again proceeded to do the same thing and it went back to normail
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.
THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY 122,000 AND IS IN GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION, YET THE TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING BADLY. AFTER DOING SOME INVESTIGATION, WE FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS OFTEN THE CASE FOR THIS MODEL AND YEAR AFTER 120,000 MILES. WE BROUGHT IT INTO OUR LOCAL GM DEALER/SHOP AND THEY TOLD US IT NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION, WHICH RANGES FROM REBUILT AT $2500 AND NEW FOR OVER $4000. THIS SEEMS VERY WRONG CONSIDERING KBB SAYS IT BOOKS FOR $4500?
TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING
VEHICLE HAS A HIGH WHINING SOUND ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING AS WELL AS WHEN VEHICLE IS IN MOTION YOU CAN TELL SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT WITH THE STEERING ALMOST LIKE IT'S GETTING STUCK IN EITHER DIRECTION
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 .
CARE WAS PARKED IN STORE PARKING LOT. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION, KEY WOULD NOT MOVE FROM ACC TO PARK. CAR WOULD START, BUT NO MATTER WHAT I TRIED, I COULD NOT REMOVE THE KEY. DROVE TO DEALER WHO TOLD ME IT WAS THE SHIFTER. GAVE ME A WORK-AROUND: MOVE AUTOMATIC GEAR TO M (MANUAL) THEN PUSH UP HARD TO P (PARK.). THE KEY COULD THEN BE REMOVED. THIS POSES A SAFETY ISSUE IF WORK-AROUND WAS NOT KNOWN. THERE'S A DANGER TO LEAVING THE CAR, UNABLE TO LOCK IT AND RUNNING THE BATTERY DOWN. IF THE CAR HAD BEEN IN A CRASH WITH THE NEED TO IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE VEHICLE, THERE WOULD BE A RISK TO PASSENGERS, NEARBY PEDESTRIANS, OTHER DRIVERS AND PROPERTY. WHEN I CALLED THE DEALER TO CONFIRM SERVICE NEEDED AND SET AN APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE, I WAS TOLD THAT I SHOULD NOT WAIT AND COME IN IMMEDIATELY.
Showing 20 of 2,407 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check the exact car
Before you buy, check the exact Saturn VUE
These pages show model-year patterns across 9 years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
The basics
How to read this data
Complaints, recalls, investigations — here’s what each number actually tells you about a used Saturn VUE, in plain English.
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Saturn VUE has 2,407 complaints on record across 9 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Saturn VUE has 10 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 135 of the Saturn VUE's 2,407 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Saturn VUE vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Saturn VUE vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Saturn VUE has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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How does the Saturn VUE stack up? Compare complaint history with similar vehicles.
By state
Check a Saturn VUE by state
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used Saturn VUE.
Research more
Keep researching before you buy
Compare brands and categories, then check the exact car's history by VIN.
Saturn VUE reliability — frequently asked questions
Is the Saturn VUE reliable?
Poor. The Saturn VUE has 2,407 NHTSA owner complaints and 10 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which Saturn VUE years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2003 (632 complaints), 2008 (406 complaints), 2007 (312 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common Saturn VUE problems?
Top reported issues: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (707 complaints); POWER TRAIN (661 complaints); AIR BAGS (319 complaints).
Does the Saturn VUE have recalls?
Yes — 10 NHTSA recall campaigns have been issued for the Saturn VUE. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls or run a VIN check to see if your specific vehicle has open recalls.