Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Saturn Outlook submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 75 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 75, in the owner's own words
MY HEADLIGHTS KEEP GOING OUT RANDOMLY AND THIS VERY UNSAFE AS I AM A SINGLE MOTHER OF 2 YOUNG CHILDREN! I HAVE HAD IT FIXED 4 TIMES! THE LAST TIME I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP, I WAS TOLD THE WIRING HARNESS KEEPS MELTING. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND MANY OTHERS ARE ALSO HAVING EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE.
THE HEADLIGHT WIRING HAS MELTED
THE PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM LIGHT NO LONGER WORKS, AND BULB REPLACEMENT DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. MECHANIC SAID THE WIRING HARNESS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS BURN OUT APPROXIMATELY EVERY 3-4 MONTHS. IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS MELTING OF THE LIGHTING ELECTRIC HARNESS. WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS GO OUT, THE ROAD IS NOT ILLUMINATED AS MUCH MAKING IT A SAFETY HAZARD.
DRIVERS SIDE HEADLIGHT IS DIM. DOES NOT EVEN PUT LIGHT ON THE ROAD. PASSENGERS SIDE HEADLIGHT IS BRIGHT BUT GOES ON AND OFF AT RANDOM TIMES. WHEN I'M DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT NIGHT BOTH OF THEM WORK THEN THE PASSENGERS SIDE GOES OUT COMPLETELY AND BECAUSE THE DRIVERS SIDE IS SO DIM I CAN'T SEE
HEADLAMPS (DRIVER SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE) LOW BEAMS KEEP BURNING OUT EVERY 3-4 MONTHS.
THE WIRE HARNESS FOR THE FRONT HEADLIGHTS FAILS AFTER YOU CHANGE THE BUILD CAUSING THE LIGHT TO SHORT OUT.
BOTH HEADLIGHTS NO LONGER WORK . . . UNLESS THE WIRES OR JIGGLED. BOTH HEADLAMP WIRE HARNESSES FAIL TO TURN ON BULB.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SATURN OUTLOOK. WHILE INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WAS NOT WORKING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE LIGHT WAS REPLACED ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
THE HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS MELTS IN THESE VEHICLES CAUSING THE LIGHT TO FAIL, THIS IS WELL DOCUMENTED ON THE INTERNET ON VARIOUS FORUMS. EARLY THIS MORNING MY WIFE WAS PULLED OVER BY A POLICE OFFICER FOR HAVING ONE WORKING HEADLIGHT, I ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE THE BULB AND IT STILL DOES NOT WORK, INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET LEAD ME TO DISCOVER MELTED WIRES ON THE LIGHT FIXTURE, THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. THERE IS ALSO A WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WITH THE FRONT END SUSPENSION, IT FAILS PREMATURELY AND MY OUTLOOK IS ALSO HAVING THIS PROBLEM. IT ALSO HAS POWER STEERING FAILURE, THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM IS FAILING, ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER SAFETY SYSTEMS THAT NEED RECALLED ON THIS PIECE OF GM JUNK PILE. I HAVE A WIFE, AND BEAUTIFUL TWO YEAR OLD TWIN GIRLS, WHO USE THIS VEHICLE FREQUENTLY, SHAME ON GM FOR PUTTING THIS THING ON THE ROAD, THE WHOLE THING SHOULD BE RECALLED AND SHREDDED FOR SCRAP, OWNERS SHOULD BE FULLY REIMBURSED THE CURRENT VALUE OF VEHICLE. *TR
THE HEADLIGHTS ON MY 2009 SATURN OUTLOOK STOPPED WORKING. PER THE GM DEALER THEY CLAIMED THAT THERE IS A KNOWN DEFECT WITH THE LIGHTING ON THESE VEHICLES. CONSIDERING THESE ARE SAFETY ITEMS I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHY THERE ISN'T ALREADY A RECALL ON THIS. *TR
HEADLIGHT SOCKET GOT HOT AND MELTED THE WIRING. *TR
MY DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT HAS BURNT OUT THREE TIMES. I'VE HAD THE BULB REPLACED TWICE AND NOW AM TOLD THAT THE WIRE HARNESS IS BURNT AND MELTED, CAUSING THE SHORTS/BURNT BULBS. LABOR TO REPLACE THIS IS EXCESSIVE, DUE TO THE POOR ACCESS TO THE HEADLIGHT COMPARTMENT. *TR
WHILE DRIVING HOME AT NIGHT, THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. NEXT DAY I BOUGHT NEW LAMPS AND REPLACED BOTH OF THEM BUT THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT STILL DIDN'T TURN ON. I DID NOTICE A BURNING SMELL COMING FROM THE HARNESS AND LAMP SOCKET ON THE DRIVER SIDE. IT SEEMS THAT THE HEADLIGHT HAD OVERHEATED AND MELTED THE WIRING HARNESS AND SOME OF THE SOCKET ASSEMBLY. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THESE VEHICLES AND BELIEVE THAT THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A RECALL FOR SAFETY REASONS. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE AND ELECTRICAL FIRE OR A SERIOUS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT. *TR
MY RIGHT FRONT HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. WENT AND BOUGHT A NEW BULB. THAT DIDN'T WORK. REALIZED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS WAS BURNT AND HAD SHORTED OUT. HAVE NOT REPLACED IT YET, BECAUSE THE LABOR INVOLVED REQUIRES MULTIPLE HOURS OF LABOR TO REPLACE. *TR
I BROUGHT A SATURN OUTLOOK IN 2009 AND HAD NUMEROUS ISSUES SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS BEEN DETAILED IN THIS WEBSITE. - BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO WORK - ONE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY & COST OF SECOND ONE REIMBURSED BY GM UNDER THE RECALL - STARTER FAILED - COVERED UNDER WARRANTY - FAILED WATER PUMP AT 73K - I PAID FOR REPLACEMENT - STEERING GEAR AND PUMP REPLACEMENT BECAUSE THE STEERING LOCKS UP AT LOW SPEED @ 78K MY THIRD VEHICLE BUT FIRST GM AND THE EXPERIENCE WITH SATURN/GM HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATING. I SEE OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR FAILURE ON THIS MODE. DOCUMENTING THESE VEHICLES FOR FUTURE USE OR POSSIBLE HELP FROM GM OR DOT. *TR
LEFT HEADLIGHT NOT WORKING. PURCHASED REPLACEMENT BULB BUT WHEN OLD BULB WAS REMOVED FROM HARNESS I DISCOVERED THAT THE HARNESS CONNECTOR IS MELTED AT THE BULB TO HARNESS JUNCTION. *JS
THE HEADLIGHT KEEPS FLASHING ON AND OFF. WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE, ONE HEADLIGHT DOES NOT COME ON UNTIL ~5 MINUTES LATER. THE BULB IS OK. THE WIRING HARNESS IS NOT OK. I'VE TALKED TO MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE SATURN OUTLOOK AND THEY HAVE HAD THE SAME INSTANCES. THE ROOT CAUSE IS A BAD WIRING HARNESS. THEY ARE OVERHEATING AND MELTING! MY OUTLOOK IS NOW OUT OF WARRANTY AND THE DEALER WANTS TO CHARGE ME TO REPLACE THE WIRING HARNESS. I'VE HAD THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALERSHIP WHEN IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE. IT IS STILL NOT FIXED. I AM NOT PAYING FOR A POORLY EXECUTED DESIGN ISSUE. THE ENGINEERS NEED TO RESEARCH MORE BEFORE THEY PLACE A PRODUCT IN A VEHICLE OF WHICH CAN NOT WITHSTAND THE CONDITIONS. THANK YOU. *TR
REPLACE DRIVERS SIDE HEADLAMP NOVEMBER 6, 2011 IT HAS BURNED OUT AGAIN WITH ONLY 1800 MORE MILES THAN FIRST INCIDENT. SO BY DECEMBER 16, 2011 IT HAS BURNED OUT AGAIN. MY PREVIOUS VEHICLES I HAVE PUT CLOSE TO 200K MILES ON AND NEVER REPLACED ONE HEADLIGHT, NOW I HAVE 2. THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. *TR
I HAVE A 2009 SATURN OUTLOOK WITH FAULTY HEADLIGHTS I HAVE REPLACED THE LIGHTS AND IT SEEMS THE PROBLEM IS IN THE WIRING NOT THE LIGHT ITSELF I SEE WERE MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS VEHICLE WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET G.M. TO FIX THIS SAFETY ISSUE? *TR
DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT IS INOPERABLE. I TRIED REPLACING THE BULB, FUSE AND RELAY. FROM FURTHER INVESTIGATION I THINK IT IS THE SOCKET THAT IS BAD. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AT THIS MANY MILES. *TR
THE LEFT DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT KEEPS GOING OUT EVERY TWO TO THREE MONTHS. THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE INTERMITTEN. THE LIGHT POPS IN AND OUT. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL HAVE THE PROPER LIGHTING ON YOUR VEHICLE. I HAVE CHANGED THE BULB SO MANY TIMES NOW AND IT APPEARS TO BE VERY SENSITIVE. *TR
RIGHT HEADLAMP BURNT OUT OCTOBER 2009. HAD REPLACED BAD BULB AND THEN FAILED AGAIN IN NOVEMBER 2009. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THEY REPLACED THE HARNESS AND BULB DUE TO HARNESS BEING MELTED. NOW RIGHT HEADLIGHT FAILED AGAIN 10-22-11. THIS IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN IN THAT YOU CAN'T JUST SWAP OUT THE BULB BUT YOU HAVE TO PULL OFF THE FRONT BUMPER JUST TO REPLACE THE BULB. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *TR
I HAVE A SATURN OUTLOOK 2009 AND ONLY HAD IT A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT AND I THOUGHT IT JUST BLEW OUT SO I HAD IT CHANGED THEN IT WENT OUT A MONTH LATER THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE WIRES HOLDING IT TOGETHER I THINK IT RIDICULOUS I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS CAUSE ITS A SAFETY ISSUE . I SEE THAT ALOT OF PEOPLE ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS AND I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR
DRIVERS SIDE HEADLIGHT AND RUNNING LIGHTS WENT OUT. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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