Saturn Vue Transmission Problems

vuessuck

this is my 3rd saturn vehicle and I always swore up and down about Saturns. I have now officially changed my thoughts. I have a 2003 Saturn Vue cylinder and thank god I had the extended warrenty for 100,000....Cause my transmission went at 97,000. They replaced it, with a bad transmission...the new warrentty they give you is only 12,000 or 1 year. .I am an outside sales rep...so I did 12,000 in like 4 months. I was away on a tradeshow , and it started slipping at 11,989. So by the time I got home It was 12,200 or close enough to that. and they fought me about replacing it, becasuse it was over the 12,000. that is ridiculous. I did win that battle ,and they then claimed they did something wrong in the install, and then said they would use a New one this time....and to find out they dont make this "new" anymore...cause this transmission is not made by saturn anymore, since it is faulty. I am now at 146,000 and my transmission went again...I am in a new battle and they will replace it.....The dealer told me they dont make that type of transmission anymore since it is faulty...so why wasnt this re-called ....and why do they keep putting a bad one in my car....I am not stopping this battle until they replace it as many times as I want them to , since they sold me a faulty transmission...and keep putting bad ones in.

1578duggy9

Does any one have Info on the 3.5L V-6 Which is a Honda running gear in this model.
Having trouble with tranny not staying in gear,while in Drive,coming to a complete stop,vehicle will shift out of gear,drop shifter into 2 gear will then shift into gear,then vehicle can be shifted back into DRIVE ok.

slslinde

I own a 2003 6 cylinder, 5 speed automatic and when driving the rpms rev up and the shifting is hesitaing or acting like it does not kow what gear to go into( up or down)
I have hear of problems with the 4 cylnder trannys and the bad VTI, but does tis sound like my transmission is going out or could it be something simple

it has 75 000 miles on it, the dealer said 6 months ago that it was a bad fule injector. I don t think a injector would cause this? HELP _PLEASE

442dude

Before you panic - sometimes the Aisin tranny will act funny and the RPMs will flare like you described when the trans fluid level is low - you might want to check it...

c_robertson52

We bought a 2004 Saturn Vue on May 31. There is 61,000 miles on the car now and the transmission goes out. Thank god we purchased an extended 100,00 mile powertrain warranty........However, the transmission place called and told me that I may not have know this but a condition of the warranty is that we had to have an oil change preformed within the first 60 days of ownership or else the warranty is null and void! What does an oil change have to do with the transmission??????? Thank goodness we did have one and faxed the recipt to the warranty company, now we are waiting to see if they approve the repairs! My brother has a Saturn and loves it, that is why we purchased one. What the heck is the deal? We shouldn't be penalized for a faulty product! I feel as if we are getting the run around due to the costly repairs that need to be done.
:lemon:

tidester

You may be interested in the Voided or Denied Warranty Experiences discussion.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

dchizen

bought new in Canada, exported to Caribbean, at 20,000 km the interior computer module goes, at 30,000 km the reverse gear on transmission only goes forward (same in neutral). The only warning was that day the car would not reach speed (I thought it was in low) but corrected after stopping, then when parked would not reverse. I read of this model having 4 transmission repairs, etc. but with close to 100,000 miles (30,000 km = 19,000 miles) so how can this babied car fail so early? Yearly, this car was used for 6 months and then not for 6 months while we were back in Canada. Failed at end of warrantee, no extended warrantee for canadian buyers. No point in repairing if the transmission design is so faulty (shipping to and back from Florida for repairs is $3,000). Would some kind of fluid cleaning restore a stuck valve? Can anyone see hope in converting to a manual transmission (will the AWD be toast--any further liabilities here), (the wiring harness of the auto/trans/engine does not match the manual trans harness)????

I really hate to bury this almost new car but it has no parts value or use on the island, so the manual trans conversion was my minds last gasp. Would appreciate some knowledgeable imput. Thanks, Dwight C.

19OldMan54

I'm having the same type of problem...around 45 mph it seems to oscillate 300 rpms..have you resolved you problem?? I noticed that Saturn has a service bulletin for the torque converter "shuddering". Please share your any up-dates??

jbrockman

We have a 2004 with the 3.5 Honda engine and it comes out of drive sometimes. It only happens when stopped and the you push the gas to go it just revs up and doesn't move, if i shift into N and then back it drives but the CE light comes on and it runs rough. After you turn it off then start it up the light is off and runs fine, even if its only off for a sec. It does this about 2 times on a 20 mile in town trip. Some times it will go weeks without doing it. It has never done it once the car is at speed. 3 different repair shops do there fluid and computer checks and say the only thing they can do is replace it with a rebuilt one, Saturn charges to even look at it. To me it seams like a electrical/computer problem not mechanical. It is to the point now my wife says get rid of it, other than this the car has no other problems.

Jeremy

lovue

I love my vue! However, right from the first mth of purchase, I noticed trans. not engaging at lower speeds. I was assured that this was characteristic of this vehicle and not to be of concern. At the time it seemed intermittent but not alarming. Around 42,500 miles the condition became a problem with engaging and disengaging, again, nothing debilitating but it became disturbing; dealer topped off fluid???? and it seemed ok. I then took it to an acura dealer for oil change and was told that I had a problem w/trans., they drained 50% of fluid and replaced with new. 300 miles later, I beginning to experience problem once again. I don't want to wait until it's drops, what should I do? My original dealership closed up and the GM dealer that I was sent to, makes me feel second rate. I maintain my vue, in and out, impeccably and this is disturbing to me.

rdarga

My 2004 6 cl Honda engine all wheel drive has rpm or transmission oscillating and shuddering, What is the solution? Saturn service says that is not a problem. Not good. Pleasa advise.

dipnet

Looks like other complaints similar to mine. When idling along at about 1300-1500RPM, with no real strain on the engine, the RPMs oscillate up and down about 200 RPM and the transmission makes a groaning sound. If I give it just a touch more gas the gearing will shift and be steady, but if I back off and just try to maintain a steady cruise at about 30-35MPH, the transmission doesn't seem to know whether it should shift up or down - it is not steady. Give a little strain on the engine and the gearing will settle out. Or I can drop it into the "I" gear, which results in higher RPM and it will settle down, but if I decrease speed in the "I" gear and approach the 1300-1500 RPM range, same thing (groaning sound) and fluctuating RPMs. Any thoughts? I see other have mentioned the torque converter.

06vue

Hello,
I have an 06 Vue AWD V-6 (Honda 3.5L) and it is doing the exact same thing. I suspected the torque converter because it is only happening in high gear where the converter is "clutching" or locking and unlocking. This occurs primarily around 30-45mph depending on the load conditions. As soon as you put enough load on the motor it will downshift to 4th gear (where the converter has no need to slip or clutch)and the problem goes away. I took it to the dealer (I have 63k miles - my bumper to bumper warranty ran out @ 60K) and there was a service tech standing next to the service writer with a smile on his face while I described the problem. He said they see this a lot. It is the torque converter clutches. They told me around $1700 to pull the tranning and converter and replace the clutch pack (can you check this with your Saturn dealer to make sure I am not getting rippied off). I asked them if they could reprogramm the ECM to make the vehicle wait a little longer to shift to high (5th) gear. The said they could and it may make the problem go away (I didn't ask about MPG, I suspect it will suffer). Either way, they said that they have never had one that did this (left as is) come back with a failure. They followed one all the way to 135k miles before they lost touch with the owner. The told me it is more of a nuisance than anything. I wonder about an additive to the tranny fluid? Any insite/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

famof3kids

My cousin has a 2004 Vue with the variable transmission. She has 56,000 miles on it. Backing out of the driveway last week and it simply would not move, forward or back. She called the dealer, who towed it the 1 1/2 hrs to the 'local' dealer and she feared the worst knowing she couldn't afford to replace the transmission.
However, the dealer called her back the next day and Saturn/GM/Penske (whoever) said they'd replace it with no cost to her. :shades:

rickenbac8

I have a 2002 saturn vue 4 cylinder with the VTI AWD. Bought it used with a warranty. It had only 42,000 miles on it. After a few months we started seeing the warning lights on the instrument panel flicker on and off and loss of power which seemed more like a fuel problem. Took it to a local mechanic first who didn't charge me just to look at it. He said it was some kind of sensor. So I took it to the dealer where I bought the car and they said they had to take it to a Saturn dealer to look at it. They called me after a day to tell me it was the transmission and it would take a few days. I couldn't believe it !! A car with only 42,000 miles having a trans problem ?? What the hell did those guys at Saturn design ?? Maybe they were all smoking crack you think ?? Especially after reading all these posts on this website !! Luckily like I said I had a warranty with rental car included. What was supposed to take a few days took 2 weeks before we got our car back !! Then last year with the warranty expired and the car with only 52,000 miles the rack and pinion steering went out !! Luckily when it went out I was backing the car into the garage straight in. I had to call a tow truck to get it out of the garage. Took it to my local mechanic who managed to find a steering unit in a junk yard from a 2006 Vue that was totaled. It cost me $ 600 to repair it. Just fortunate I wasn't driving in traffic when that steering went out !! The car now has 58,000 miles and I hope everything will be alright. The only thing is I hear a very small humming noise when going over 50 mph with a high pitched sound thats barely heard and only heard when going thru tunnels. There is also a noise when turning the steering wheel but has nothing to do with the rack and pinion because it made the noise before I repaired the steering unit and still makes the noise. So I took a closer look down the steering column and saw a rubber gasket rubbing the column. My mechanic says its just a design flaw and just put some grease on it to quiet it. Just wondering if anyone here had a problem with the steering also.

LASHAWN

The noise is coming from the intermediate shaft steering boot. It just needs to be lubed with some grease to cure the noise. But if it starts getting noisy again, than you would have to replace it. The other noise your're hearing is probably coming from one of the wheel bearings, which is typical of these vehicles as they age no matter what the mileage is. As for as the transmission goes, it's good you had your warranty take care of it because with you being the 2nd owner, Saturn would have only paid 75% of the repair leaving you with the other 25%, some $1500-$1700.

earl16

I had similiar problem on 06 6cyl Honda driave. Dealer said it was torque converter for $1500. Local trans guy said to change fluid. - a simple drain and refill. (honda trans so have to use the saturn fluid) local guy changed it and all shuddering and engine rpm surge went away. plan to change fluid again soon.

seajay9

How do I find out about the extended warranty 5 years and 75,000 miles? Transmission went out yesterday and will cost $7,000 to replace. Obviously there are a lot of problems with the Saturn Transmission and I need help! The value of the car in good condition is $4800, so I can't afford this problem. I have 71,000 miles and just moved to Montana from WI and need to drive 25 miles each way to my job. Thanks

tidester

You're under the mileage limit but are you under the time limit?

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

seajay9

Bought it used in Jan. 09 so don't know when it was first put into service. I probably didn't make the time limit, but would be nice to know. Can I find when it was first purchased by the VIN number and what about whether it has had the transmission replaced before this?

tidester

If you bought it from a dealer, they should have that information available.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

dawnaj

I bought a 04 saturn vue in june, the day after I bought it the transmission went in it. The car lot that I bought it from replaced it with a rebuild once from california, so they say. I have since received a letter from the saturn company in regards to a recall on the VTI how do i know if I have this or if it has already been replaced. And how do I get a duplicate come of that letter?

lovue

I posted a while back asking if there were others out there experiencing the same issues. I don't know what to do.....I know it is eminate, it's just a matter of time before it goes. Took it to Acura, since it's the Honda engine, etc. and they continue to slowly flush it but it really isn't helping. EVERYDAY now it gets a little worse and of course...I only have a couple more pymts on the darn thing. What do I do, who do I see? Please someone advise. Thanks.

lovue

What recall?

dawnaj

The letter I received was for 2004 saturn vue's and their was a recall and the VTI's. But I have since lost the letter and don't know how to replace it.

eckoboy83

I have an 06 Saturn Vue 3.5 AWD, i bought it a year ago with 26,000 miles on it, today it has 77,000 on it. About 55,000 i noticed that at the speeds of 30 to 50 it has a shuddering feel in it and u can watch tha tachometer bounce. I purchased an additive to stop transmission shuddering from a transmission shop, but i dont know if i should add that or just change out the fluid and filter. I looked all over for a tranny dipstick and after hours of searching i found it in the front of the engine,fluid dont look bad or anything so any suggestions?

earl16

Re Vue trans shuddering and slight surging of engine. My trans shop said to just dump the fluid and refill (about 6 qts). Have to have the Honda fluid. It solved the problem for me. Saturn dealer said it was torque converter for $1500. My trans shop recommended another fluid change after about another 10k which I am ready to do. So far it has worked for me. earl

lovue

hey earl...drained all fluid at one time. I was told thats not a good thing to do?? please advice. Acura dealer in town is doing mine over time and replacing with new. Works ok, most of the time but it sure is expensive.

loomas

I have a 2004 Vue that is doing the same thing. Has anyone put in a new torque converter? What was the cost? Working good now? Has anyone tried just adding an additive? How did that work?
Thanks!

earl16

Saaturn dealer told me $1500 for torque converter. As I said earlier a change of fluid seems to fix the shuddering and the slight engine sure. The torque converter apparently locks around 55 so that is why surging goes away at higher speeds. Hope this helps, Earl in Hartland

msjudy

I just purchased my saturn vue a couple of days ago from a local dealer and it is having the same problem as I see listed above. It vibrates and groans at about 35 to 40mph. The dealer has had it in his shop for 2 days now and says they can't find out what the problem is. At first they thought it was the shift solenoid. I told them what I read about the torque converter and the transmission fluid being changed but they didn't seem to want to listen. They haven't told me if I was going to be charged for the repairs yet. I paid quite a lot for this car and I don't think I should have to pay anymore. It has 48,000 miles on it. Can anyone tell me if there is any kind of warranty left on this vehicle or if the dealership should be responsible for the cost of repairs. On the windshield, it said "As Is, No Warranty." When I test drove the car, I did not feel the vibration, just after I drove it off the lot and all the paper work was finished. I feel I was deceived. Can the problem with the Saturn be fixed or they just making it worse?

earl16

Good luck; Change of fluid worked for me but I never had groans or vibrations - just engine surge and a bit of roughness when starting. Engine surge is coming back so plan on another change of fluid. e

dipnet

WHen changing the fluid, did you go the expensive route of completely draining and flushing the entire syste, or simply drain what you can and replace? The expensive job is about 200-300 bucs, but is suppose to completely clean and flush the entire transmission.

earl16

It was relatively simple. They pulled the drain plug and drained what it would then refilled through fill plug (which was very hard to get out(. Not really a complete change of fluid as took 6 quarts of Honda fluid. I am a bit late at getting it back in for 2nd drain. They suggested next 10k. Vue had 60 k at first drain. No filters to mess with I guess. hope this helped. e in Hartland

srhastings

I have a 2003 Vue with manual transmission I purchased used. This morning when I started the car it slipped into neutral easily, but I could not get it into any gear. I turned the car off and then it slipped into gear easily, so I started it again and tried to change gears, but again it wouldn't. It also started making louder and louder "rough engine" noise and started vibrating.

I again turned it off, waited a bit, put it into reverse and backed down my driveway to see if it made any difference if the car was moving. The engine was revving a bit.while I was in reverse. I couldn't change from 1st to 2nd gear even when the car was moving. It's now back in my driveway.

It has always been a little hard to get the car into 1st gear, but I've had no other trouble shifting. Yesterday when I drove it there were no problems at all.

I welcome any thoughts, opinions and suggestions. Thanks!

partsguy3

There is a GM Service Bulletin on some of the Vues with Transmission problems. It extends the warranty on the trans. for 5 years or 75,000 miles from the original in service date and ownership changes do not matter. I think the bulletin # is 04020B, not positive on that #. Please check with your GM dealer, who is now the Saturn Warranty provider, not all are. They will check your vehicles VIN# to see if it qualifies. Do not miss this opportunity, the transmissions cost about $3300 to $3500 for just the part.

earl16

Thanks ecko: I will check out the bulletin though I think I am at the limit of that 75K. Have not had any trouble after first dump of trans fluid and then had BG do their fluid change. Anyway no more issues at moment anyway. At least the BG oil suppossedly will cover $1000 of trans repair. Earl in Hartland

docsauto

Well I will let you all know how mine turns out bought a 04 Vue at dealer auction let son's girlfriend dirve it as they have one with the VTI tranny in it and he is upset with the tranny problems in it so we were going to trade them out of it. Well while she was driving it went into neutral at a stop sign put it in neutral then back in drive its all good only happens when cold never when warm. So will let ya know tomorrow.

jcpz

About 2 months ago I lost my cluch. A good mechanic told me that I needed a cluch slave cylinder. The exitement about this I am having a hard time finding one.I have also replaced the master cylinder . OK . the dumb question I have is , the Saturn 4 cyl is the same 4 cyl in a Chev Cavelier 2.2 ltr. Ecotec.They both have 5 speed manual shiffs . Why wouldn't the slave cylinders be interchangeable ?

royaltermite

I have a 2003 Saturn Vue with 77,000 miles. Been having a whining sound getting louder and have isolated the sound to the driver side by the trans. Checked the fluid level and it is at 1/2 full.

My question is will draining and re-filling the fluid help this?

Is the trans failing?

I have had my share of normal items on this car. (wheel bearings, alternator, intermediate shaft, etc)

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks.

blrob1

I recently purchased a 04 Saturn vue when I did the test drive I noticed the tranny hesitating at times but then worked fine most of the time, I mentioned this to the dealer who told me they had it tested and it was fine. 2 months later as I was on the road the tranny just stopped pulling. apparently the extended coverage from the dealer expired in may.. can anyone advise...

earl16

A replacement of BG oil fixed my 06 trans shuddering and surging , but then again I never had it totally quite working. Earl in Hartland

syrmike

I put 2 tranny's in my 96 wagon recently, and neither would allow me to go over 25 mph and they would shift hard. other than getting 2 bad tranny's, what are the possibilities?

tonight

How did “The New” GM deal with the faulty transmission that they built for me and my wife’s 2003 Saturn Vue? They passed their problem onto “valued” customers.
First, know that there was a class action lawsuit against GM regarding these transmissions. GM came to terms with the law firm who was prosecuting the case, LakinChapman, and then declared bankruptcy right before it would have all been official thereby attempting to circumvent their responsibility in the matter.
Our transmission trouble started in February 2009; the car had 92,000 miles on it. This was during the class action lawsuit. GM paid for the entire repair of the transmission. It seemed they were taking responsibility for their poorly engineered vehicle. The warranty on the repaired transmission was 12 months/12,000 miles.
Fast forward to June 2010, the car was past the 12 months and past the 12,000 mile mark with 111,000 miles. I brought the car to Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet as they are authorized by GM to service Saturns (btw, I have no complaints about how Jimmie Johnson handled the situation from their end). I was told the next day that the part that failed was the same part of the transmission that failed and was “repaired” a little over a year ago.
Thus began a two week odyssey in which I was attempting to hold GM responsible the their admittedly faulty transmission. Meanwhile the Saturn Vue sat at the Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet, and GM passed the phone around until one week later it got to the “district specialist” who confirmed what the other GM people were saying: they would probably not do anything about this because the car had over 100,000 miles on it. Of course, when the car was supposedly repaired the first time it had 8,000 fewer miles than that, but that made no difference to GM. It then took the “specialist” one week to “explore her avenues” to “help me out.”
Now we have had only one car for two weeks. The “specialist” calls and reports that she thinks I’m going to be happy with GM’s offer. If you’ve read this far then you know that I was not happy with the offer which was to pay for half of the repairs (estimated at $2,500) of the transmission.
Why would I pay GM this amount of money (or any amount) to “fix” a transmission that has already proven to be unfixable? Proven unfixable through the physical evidence of my twice broken car and admitted to by GM in the class action suit.
This car was paid for in full to GM. We were the original owners, and all my wife and I ever bought were GM vehicles. GM has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that they do not care about their customers. That they would rather squeeze their customers for more money to cover expenses for which they are responsible.
As I wrote in the beginning, GM will never get another cent from me. We bought a Honda Civic instead. Research tells me they are very well made.

dbwordgirl

2003 Vue FWD 4-cyl.

Saturn completely replaced the transmission at 27,000 miles. Now it's at 98k and the transmission is going out again, thusly:

At highway speeds, it started making a low, whiny noise.When I slowed down it would stop. Then the check engine light came on and now it's shifting poorly at all speeds. Took it to Autozone, they pulled up the code p0962 - Pressure Control Solenoid "A" Control Circuit Low. I have an appointment tomorrow morning at the GM dealership that took over for my wonderful Saturn service department.

Any idea how much this is going to cost me? If it's another new transmission then I'm done with this car.

saugen48

If anyone still has questions regarding 2002-2005 Saturn Vue equipped with VTi (RPO M75/M16) transmissions, GM (US and Canada) has published a #09280A New Special Reimbursement policy for Saturns Vues/Ions so equipped. Basically, GM will offer 50% of the price of a new/rebuilt transmission based on GM parts and labour. Within 8 years and 160,000kms regardless of ownership. I am a second owner. HURRY as documents with attached form (obtainable at GM dealership) must be received by GM no later than 30 Nov 2010....30 Nov 11 for California residents.
Recently aquired my 2004 Vue w/VTi...and while I was in dealership last week for repairs, the service advisor asked if I would like out a printout of remaining warranties (if any) there were two one expiring at 160,000kms and one at 180,000. My car had 157000. Anyway, after i got copies of the Special Reimbursement Policies, I cornered the service manager and asked him to Contact and deal with GM rather than me being on the phone...They deal with them all the time, I dont and it would also give more weight to the claim...I had just had my transmission rebuilt to the tune of $4200 two months ago so paperwork was still in glove box...while other work was being done to the car,(fuel pump)(dont go there),,lol.he sent in required paperwork...picked up my car today and he said the cheque for the Tranny reimbursement went out in the mail (to my home address) yesterday..$2100...so, I am a happier camper

cokorn220

Ill reply to this old question just to get it on the record.
Lost clutch slave cylinder in my 2003 Vue also. Had it taken to Saturn of worchester in massachusetts. the slave cylinder is not bolted to the external of the transmission but is inside. so the transmission had to be pulled to replace it. cost was 1300 dollars. parts and labor

liat_pesto

Hello,

We are now paying over $2,000 to fix a dead transmission in our 2003 Saturn Vue. It has 68,000 miles and it is the GM dealer that is repairing it at the settled 50% off rate. We just bought this car used, about 4 months ago.

My question is: How reliable is a replaced transmission, in this case, with the history of problems that exists for this car?

Thanks very much.

Liat

442dude

If you have a 6 cylinder with the automatic - the replaced trans should outlive the car

If you have a 4 cylinder with the "automatic" VTi transmission, sell it as soon as its fixed as the new one might not even last as long as the old one. The VTi transmission is a disaster. It has a long history of catastrophic issues.

If its a 4 cyl manual - I'm surprised you had to replace it, but if you did it should last much longer than 68000 miles

liat_pesto

Thanks very much! We are probably going to do that.

ctenor

At 42,000 my 06 vue FWD 6 cyl 5 speed auto trans started this, at speeds between 30 - 40 MPH the rpm`s would jump around like the transmission could not decide which gear it wanted to be in. The dealer where I bought the vue '' NEW '' told me that they had been recommending a partial trans fluid flush. My local trans shop, in business for 25 years and has an impecable reputation told me that this was crazy. He did drive the vue and checked it over. He tlod me Honda had been upgrading the software for some transmissions,he also told me to do some researching on my own and to call the G M hotline which I did. I was told THAT I HAD TO DO what my local g m dealer told me to do and that there would at this point in time be no reinbursement. So I had my dealer do a partial trans, flush. I was then told to drive the vue for 500 -1000 miles and see what happens. when i asked what if this flush dose not help, he replied , then come back and we will do it again, at my cost again of $106 The vue now has 46200 miles and the problem which realy did not get any better is now worse. In talking with several Honda dealers, I was told that there is no software upgrade for my transmission, any direction or comments would be appreciated