2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Electrical637.5%
- Powertrain (other)318.8%
- Driver assistance212.5%
- Airbags212.5%
- Engine16.3%
- Seat belts16.3%
- Steering16.3%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Electrical
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.
From owner reports, verbatim
MY 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID STARTED HAVING HUGE PROBLEMS. FIRST THE AIR CONDITIONER STARTED BLOWING HOT AIR THEN THE STABILITITRAK AND SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM; LOSS POWER WARNING CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. MY 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID WOULD POWER DOWN TO 50% BEFORE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. SOMETIMES IT RESTARTS THEN SHUTS DOWN AGAIN. IT DID THIS OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT A FEW WEEKS. SOMETIMES VEHICLE REFUSED TO START AND WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO TURN KEY IT SEEMED LIKE WAS STUCK INSIDE MAKING IT HARD TO TURN OR REMOVE IT. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE BATTERY AND EVEN HYBRID BATTERY AND IT WAS FINE FOR SOME TIME. HOWEVER TODAY 10/14/14 IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF BROOKLYN QUEENS EXPRESSWAY (BUSY HIGHWAY) IN NEW YORK CITY THE AUTOMOBILE STARTED TO STALL AT 45 MPH AND THE STABILITITRAK AND SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM, LOSS POWER WARNING CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THEN SUDDENLY ENGINE SHUT DOWN. FORTUNATELY NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED AND CARS BEHIND ME WERE ABLE TO MANEUVER WHILE I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT OVER TO CURBSIDE. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF MY CAR STALLED AT THE CROSSROADS? I WAS HAVING MY WIFE AND (XXX) YEARS OLD CHILD IN THE CAR TRAVELING WITH ME. THEY STARTED TO HAVE A PANIC ATTACK BECAUSE IT SEEMED WE ARE GOING TO CRASH AND DIE. I CALLED TOWING COMPANY TO TOW US TO SAFETY. I'M SCARED TO DRIVE THIS CAR SINCE. PLEASE HELP AND ASSIST TO PUSH GM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND RECALL THE ISSUE IN ORDER TO AVOID MORE SERIOUS CASUALTIES. *TRPARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
AFTER STOPPING TO PARK THE IGNITION SWITCH CANNOT BE TURNED TO THE OFF POSITION NOR CAN THE KEY BE REMOVED. THE CAR CANNOT BE TURNED OFF AS THE KEY IS STUCK IN THE "ON" POSITION. VARIOUS METHODS SUCH AS MOVING THE TRANSMISSION SELECTOR FROM D TO P, WITH OR WITHOUT THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED FAIL TO ALLOW THE KEY TO BE REMOVED. THE ISSUE OCCURS REGARDLESS OF THE SET OF KEYS USED. THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO LEAVE THE CAR IN THAT POSITION AND RETURN TO IT LATER AND IT CORRECTS ITSELF AND ALLOWS THE KEY TO BE TURNED TO OFF AND THEN REMOVED. THIS FORCES ME TO LEAVE THE CAR UNLOCKED WITH THE KEY IN IT WHILE USING THE CAR. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Powertrain (other)
Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.
From owner reports, verbatim
MY 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID STARTED HAVING HUGE PROBLEMS. FIRST THE AIR CONDITIONER STARTED BLOWING HOT AIR THEN THE STABILITITRAK AND SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM; LOSS POWER WARNING CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. MY 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID WOULD POWER DOWN TO 50% BEFORE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. SOMETIMES IT RESTARTS THEN SHUTS DOWN AGAIN. IT DID THIS OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT A FEW WEEKS. SOMETIMES VEHICLE REFUSED TO START AND WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO TURN KEY IT SEEMED LIKE WAS STUCK INSIDE MAKING IT HARD TO TURN OR REMOVE IT. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE BATTERY AND EVEN HYBRID BATTERY AND IT WAS FINE FOR SOME TIME. HOWEVER TODAY 10/14/14 IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF BROOKLYN QUEENS EXPRESSWAY (BUSY HIGHWAY) IN NEW YORK CITY THE AUTOMOBILE STARTED TO STALL AT 45 MPH AND THE STABILITITRAK AND SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM, LOSS POWER WARNING CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THEN SUDDENLY ENGINE SHUT DOWN. FORTUNATELY NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED AND CARS BEHIND ME WERE ABLE TO MANEUVER WHILE I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT OVER TO CURBSIDE. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF MY CAR STALLED AT THE CROSSROADS? I WAS HAVING MY WIFE AND (XXX) YEARS OLD CHILD IN THE CAR TRAVELING WITH ME. THEY STARTED TO HAVE A PANIC ATTACK BECAUSE IT SEEMED WE ARE GOING TO CRASH AND DIE. I CALLED TOWING COMPANY TO TOW US TO SAFETY. I'M SCARED TO DRIVE THIS CAR SINCE. PLEASE HELP AND ASSIST TO PUSH GM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND RECALL THE ISSUE IN ORDER TO AVOID MORE SERIOUS CASUALTIES. *TRPARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
WHEN ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THE CAR IT WOULD ONLY MOVE IN REVERSE. IT WAS PUSHED TO A LOCAL GM DEALER AND THE SERVICE CENTER CONCLUDED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE RECALL OF 2008 SATURN VUES FOR THE POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ISSUED ON 5/6/2008 WAS NOT MENTIONED BY THE DEALER WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 7/2008 AND WAS NOT SUBSEQUENTLY RECEIVED BY THE OWNER. THE "MY GM" WEBSITE FOR GM VEHICLE OWNERS DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE VEHICLE VIN WHEN IT IS ENTERED, AND THUS PROVIDES NO INFORMATION ON RECALLS FOR THE VEHICLE. HOWEVER, THE VIN IS RECOGNIZED AS VALID ON THIS SITE, INDICATING THAT THE VIN IS CONTAINED IN STATE RECORDS. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Driver assistance
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.
From owner reports, verbatim
MY 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID STARTED HAVING HUGE PROBLEMS. FIRST THE AIR CONDITIONER STARTED BLOWING HOT AIR THEN THE STABILITITRAK AND SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM; LOSS POWER WARNING CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. MY 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID WOULD POWER DOWN TO 50% BEFORE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. SOMETIMES IT RESTARTS THEN SHUTS DOWN AGAIN. IT DID THIS OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT A FEW WEEKS. SOMETIMES VEHICLE REFUSED TO START AND WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO TURN KEY IT SEEMED LIKE WAS STUCK INSIDE MAKING IT HARD TO TURN OR REMOVE IT. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE BATTERY AND EVEN HYBRID BATTERY AND IT WAS FINE FOR SOME TIME. HOWEVER TODAY 10/14/14 IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF BROOKLYN QUEENS EXPRESSWAY (BUSY HIGHWAY) IN NEW YORK CITY THE AUTOMOBILE STARTED TO STALL AT 45 MPH AND THE STABILITITRAK AND SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM, LOSS POWER WARNING CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THEN SUDDENLY ENGINE SHUT DOWN. FORTUNATELY NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED AND CARS BEHIND ME WERE ABLE TO MANEUVER WHILE I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT OVER TO CURBSIDE. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF MY CAR STALLED AT THE CROSSROADS? I WAS HAVING MY WIFE AND (XXX) YEARS OLD CHILD IN THE CAR TRAVELING WITH ME. THEY STARTED TO HAVE A PANIC ATTACK BECAUSE IT SEEMED WE ARE GOING TO CRASH AND DIE. I CALLED TOWING COMPANY TO TOW US TO SAFETY. I'M SCARED TO DRIVE THIS CAR SINCE. PLEASE HELP AND ASSIST TO PUSH GM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND RECALL THE ISSUE IN ORDER TO AVOID MORE SERIOUS CASUALTIES. *TRPARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
FIRST OFF I HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE FROM THE BEGINNING. BASICALLY MY CAR'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PULLS BACK AND THEN ALL THE LIGHTS START TO GO OFF. ELEC STABILITY CONTROL, AIR BAGS, THE STEERING SORT OF LOCKS UP AND I HAVE STALLED ON OCCASION. I HAVE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES RE: THIS ISSUE AND IT NEVER SEEMS TO GET FIXED. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME ISSUE GM IS HAVING WITH THEIR CURRENT RECALL BUT MY CAR IS NOT ON THE LIST. I HAVE ONLY ONE KEY ON MY KEY CHAIN AND THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. IT IS A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING NOT KNOWING IF MY CAR WILL WORK TOMORROW. DELILLO CHEVROLET IN HUNTING BEACH, CA HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN TRYING TO DETECT THE PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY GRACIOUS BUT I NEED THE ISSUE RESOLVED ONCE AND FOR ALL. MY INTENTION IS TO HAND DOWN THIS CAR TO MY 16 YEAR OLD BUT NOT IF THE CURRENT ISSUE PERSISTS. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
FIRST OFF I HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE FROM THE BEGINNING. BASICALLY MY CAR'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PULLS BACK AND THEN ALL THE LIGHTS START TO GO OFF. ELEC STABILITY CONTROL, AIR BAGS, THE STEERING SORT OF LOCKS UP AND I HAVE STALLED ON OCCASION. I HAVE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES RE: THIS ISSUE AND IT NEVER SEEMS TO GET FIXED. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME ISSUE GM IS HAVING WITH THEIR CURRENT RECALL BUT MY CAR IS NOT ON THE LIST. I HAVE ONLY ONE KEY ON MY KEY CHAIN AND THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. IT IS A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING NOT KNOWING IF MY CAR WILL WORK TOMORROW. DELILLO CHEVROLET IN HUNTING BEACH, CA HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN TRYING TO DETECT THE PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY GRACIOUS BUT I NEED THE ISSUE RESOLVED ONCE AND FOR ALL. MY INTENTION IS TO HAND DOWN THIS CAR TO MY 16 YEAR OLD BUT NOT IF THE CURRENT ISSUE PERSISTS. *TR
AIR BAG AND INDICATOR LIGHTS TURN ON AND OFF SPORADICALLY. DEALERSHIP WAS FINALLY ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUE TO THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG, WHICH THEY STATED WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. STATED THIS WAS A SAFETY ISSUE BUT THEY WOULD NOT MAKE THE REPAIR UNDER A WARRANTY OR RECALL. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
A/C COMPRESSOR CLUTCH ASSEMBLY MISSING. SEEMS THE COMPRESSOR BUILDS UP TOO MUCH PRESSURE AND BLOWS THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY OFF MAKING THE A/C INOPERABLE. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Seat belts
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners.
From owner reports, verbatim
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SATURN VUE HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH A VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE. THE CONTACT HAD BACK PAIN BUT DID NOT SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO SHOP FOR REPAIR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT DID NOT PROPERLY RESTRAIN HIM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND HAD AN INSPECTOR COME OUT TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE INSPECTOR STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Steering
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage.
From owner reports, verbatim
FIRST OFF I HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE FROM THE BEGINNING. BASICALLY MY CAR'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PULLS BACK AND THEN ALL THE LIGHTS START TO GO OFF. ELEC STABILITY CONTROL, AIR BAGS, THE STEERING SORT OF LOCKS UP AND I HAVE STALLED ON OCCASION. I HAVE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES RE: THIS ISSUE AND IT NEVER SEEMS TO GET FIXED. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME ISSUE GM IS HAVING WITH THEIR CURRENT RECALL BUT MY CAR IS NOT ON THE LIST. I HAVE ONLY ONE KEY ON MY KEY CHAIN AND THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. IT IS A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING NOT KNOWING IF MY CAR WILL WORK TOMORROW. DELILLO CHEVROLET IN HUNTING BEACH, CA HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN TRYING TO DETECT THE PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY GRACIOUS BUT I NEED THE ISSUE RESOLVED ONCE AND FOR ALL. MY INTENTION IS TO HAND DOWN THIS CAR TO MY 16 YEAR OLD BUT NOT IF THE CURRENT ISSUE PERSISTS. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .