2001 Saturn with 70,000 mile had to have transmission replaced Gillece cost 2500.00
This is a common problem and should have been recalled.
Joseph of Maple Grove, MN April 20, 2009
I just purchased a used 2006 Saturn Ion from my neighbor. My neighbor took it to the local Saturn dealership to have it all checked out before I bought it. The 25 point vehicle inspection came back good,except for a stabilizer link, that should be looked at. I have had the car for only one and a half months and with in that time The key stuck in the ignition and the car would not shut off, It needed a new ignition cylinder which cost 310.00, Then 2 weeks later, The gears are slipping and I'm told that 2nd and 4th gears are shot and we need a new transmission. There are only 55,000 miles on this vehicle. I realize we did not purchase this car from a certified saturn dealership, however, 55,000 miles is very LOW mileage as far as needing a new transmission.
I have only added 1000 miles to this vehicle since it was checked by the dealership, and the transmission cover and fluid checked out. Now all of a sudden the transmission fluid is pitch black? Was it checked at all? The gentleman at the Saturn dealership in Brooklyn Park, mn was very nice, His name was Joe, and said, he thought that Saturn would probably help me out with this. As far as the key episode, I have read so many of the same reports of this problem happening to many ion customers, to the point Saturn should have this recalled. How many complaints until something is recalled by a company, any laws regarding this?
Saturn is going to replace the transmission for a 1000.00 fee, telling us that the full price would have been 4500.00 My parents have had trnsmissions in their vehicles replaced over the years and have never spent more than 2500.00 Is this charge normal and customary for a dealership? We finally got things squared away to set up an appt. to finally have this fixed. Customer service was laughable, calling and leaving messages when they knew no-one would be available, and just really prolonging this whole process. The actual dealship guy, Joe was extremely professional, and had great customer relations, and made me feel at ease, I was really at my wits end after I received the news about the transmission needing to be replaced. I have been without my car now for almost 2 weeks now, and need to wait 2-3 more days for the tranny to get to the dealership, but then hopefully this will be the end to this nightmare!
Having to get rides to and from college, and to and from work on a daily basis, for almost 2 weeks. Purchasing my first car on my own was a nightmare. I am 19 years old, and was excited to finally have a halfway decent car with low miles, only to have to encounter all these problems. Now not only do I need to finish paying for this car, but I get to add a few 's to the loan I wasn't expecting. Thanks for listening.
Rob of Las Vegas, NV April 7, 2009
I was driving my car (2003 Saturn Vue) to work yesterday morning when the service engine soon light came on. I was joking with my wife that the last time this light came on is when my VTI transmission went out. As it turns out, the joke was on me. I took my car to the Saturn dealer where i purchased it in Las Vegas and when they called me today I was told that for the 3rd time in the last year, my VTI transmission needed to be replaced AGAIN! The only good news about this is that Saturn is paying for it because i am the original owner. I really sincerely feel for those of you who have had to pay for this out of your own pocket. It is not right.
Overall this had been a pretty good car with the exception of a few minor issues. The one bit of advice that i would tell anyone who reads this post is that you should take your car to the Saturn dealership especially if you are the original owner. Since the VTI transmission was never an Official Recall, if i had not had my car towed into the dealer and took it to some other mechanic to fix it, i would have had to pay the entire cost to fix it and that is messed up.
History of my VTI issues: In the middle of the desert between California and Las Vegas, NV at 1 am, my check engine soon light comes on. A few days later when I was back in Las Vegas (Thank God this did not happen in the middle of the desert) I was driving through a light when the car just stopped moving. Had it towed to the dealership and Saturn fixed it. One week later, my wife and 3 kids were in my car and the tranmission when out again. It was the summer so that day when she broke down with no water it was about 115 degrees out. Has the car towed to the Saturn dealer again and they fixed it again.
Now less than a year later my 2003 Saturn Vue is back at the dealer having its 4th transmission put in (I am counting the one it came with also). This is not acceptable and I am very dissapointed with my Saturn. For those of you who are the original owners of your Vue, please take it to the dealer so that they can eat the cost to fix the piece of junk car that they sold us (cost = 3,000 for the parts + labor)
Lost time and hardship on my wife and kids who ended up driving me 1 hour to work and 1 hour home from work each day that my car was at the dealer since Saturn would not pay for a rental car.
Nicole of Rensselaer, NY March 30, 2009
I had my transmission REPLACED once already. I just replaced the engine and starter in my car. Now Saturn is telling me that my transmission needs to be replaced again. The Dealership told me first that they sold me a lemon. Second, That the transmissions put in the saturn Ions in 2003 are no good. I'm going to continue to replace them. If thats the case then why won't they do anything about it? I've put more money into this car then i have in actually payments. Something needs to be done. I'm expecting my first child. I Can't afford to put anymore money into this car.
I've refinanced my car twice to get the payments lower so i could afford to make the repairs. My fathers credit card has been used 2 or 3 times. Each time over 1,500 had been charged.
Lisa Selten. of Montogmery, TX March 26, 2009
I bought a 2004 Saturn Vue, 4 cyl. with 56,000 miles. At approximately 90,000 I had to have the transmission repaired. Again, 11 months later (29,000 later) I had to have the transmission repaired. There is a lawsuit out there, but there is no recall. The deal is, you get 1 free transmission (assuming you bought your car new) and 1 split the difference transmission. You need to know that your transmission will last approx. 30,000 miles only. The problem is a defect that Saturn thought it was improving on in order to make the transmission fit (reduce it in size).
The latest problem is, even if they did do a recall, there is no transmission that will fit in its place. The cost is roughly between 4,500 and 5,500 for the ION; Vue and one other vehicle. As a single parent, I am again hooked and crooked. I really wanted the Ford Minivan, but somehow let the sales rep talk me into Saturn. With all of that said, I am able to state that the service team at Saturn of North Houston have always treated me with fairness and respect.
Eugene R & Maria House of Bloomfield, NJ March 18, 2009
Our Saturn LS has only 90K and we have had to replace the transmission we could not belive it.
We are a hard working family with a 3 yr old we are barely getting by this devestated us.
Kathryn of Clearwater, SC February 4, 2009
I just want to voice my opinion about the Saturn SL1 that I purchased from the Saturn Dealership in Augusta, Georgia. When I purchased the car it ran really well. It only had 36,000 miles or so on it when I bought it, I read in my paperwork that it was a one-owner car. I have now had this car for nearly five years and I am having problems with the transmission slipping, the align is horribly dangerous,and it has an oil leak coming from somewhere. I have keep my car service as much as I possibly could afford to keep it serviced.
I have been told by the dealer that my computer needs to be replaced and they wanted to charge me 800.00 for it. I am very afraid that my car is going to cause me to have a very serious accident because when I press on the brakes, the car accelerates even faster and it is very difficult to stop it sometimes. It also constantly jerks and makes strange noises from the front of the engine. I feel these vehicles should be recalled ASAP.
M of Mo, Falls, NC January 13, 2009
I bought a one owner 1995 Saturn SC2 in 2003 at book value with 110,000 miles. I was really impressed with the power,handling, and fuel mileage. I do all my own service work and to the T on a regular basis. In 2007 with 140,000 miles the water pump went out. No problem, since I expected to keep this car and run it with no major problems until at least 225,000 miles. WRONG! While replacing the water pump I told the mechanic to go ahead and replace the timing chain assembly since he was right there anyway; and I could tell the guides were making wear noises.
At 155,000 miles I was one week away from spending about 1000 on struts,tires,and other improvements when lo and behold the tranny starts slamming into reverse,slipping and other weird things. My transmission mechanic (which is one of the best and cheapest in the country) says it will be minimum 1500.00 to repair and or replace and can't guarantee but 90 days because of ongoing problems with Saturn trannies. (mfg. defect).
After many years of lessons learned the hard way, I have decided not to throw good after bad and sell the car for salvage. What a shame; an excellent running car that drives good rides good and gets good mileage; but because of GM's lack of responsibility for shoddy design and or workmanship at the mfg. level on their transmissions, we owners are S.O.L I will never buy G.M. again
J of Poughkeepsie, NY October 30, 2008
Saturn SL2 1999 Transmission problems: When I shift from park to reverse the vehicle jerks violently. I took the vehicle to the dealer to have them look at it and they couldn't replicate the issue. This problem is not consistent. Although they stated that they know what it is because it is pretty common, I should wait until the car does it regularly then bring it in for service. They also stated that this would cost approx 1200 to fix.
I don't understand that if this is a known issue why isn't Saturn doing something about it? There are many people on this board who have had their transmissions fail or worse implode while driving. I don't want to be one of those people.
This is our only form of transportation besides walking and we want Saturn to fix this issue.
Jeanetta of Oklahoma City, OK September 24, 2008
I purchased a 2004 Saturn VUE in August of 2004. My salesman sang the praises of the variable VTI transmission. At 23,000 the transmission went out. Of course, the car was still under warranty, so Saturn repaired it without incident. Shortly after the repairs were done, which was in December 2005, we received a letter from Saturn stating they had extended the warranty to 75,000 miles.
My VUE is now at 89,000 and the transmission has gone out again. My Saturn dealership told me it would cost 5,700 to repair it. I contacted the Saturn Corp. customer service and the only thing they are willing to do is split the cost with me, the main reason being I can't provide them proof that I always take my VUE to an authorized Saturn dealer to have it serviced. I told them this wasn't acceptable and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
Someone from the General Motors customer service contacted me and after reviewing everything, they are still only willing to split the cost with me...oh, and offer me a 1,000 customer appreciation certificate that can be used toward the purchase of a new GM car. I have not accepted or declined their offer.
In the process of gathering up all paperwork needed by the BBB, I discovered the letter they sent me concerning extending the warranty was dated March 2004, five months before I purchased the vehicle. That means my salesman knew there were problems with the variable VTI transmission and not only withheld that information, but was deceptive in telling me what a great product it was. Had I known there were issued with the transmission, I never would have purchased the vehicle to begin with.
I have been without my car for almost a month now and since I can't afford to rent a car, I've had to rely on my family to provide me transportation to work and back.
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