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noticed that my engine compartment is still warm up to 5 or 6 hours after my engine has been shut off. You can place your hand on the hood and it also is very warm hours later. I know
that almost all the components and the engine itself are all
covered and I am wondering if this excessive heat retension will
eventually destroy vital components such as battery, alternator,
etc. My temp. guage on the instrument cluster always remains
in the normal zone....so the engine is not overheating. I live in
the mountains of NC and it gets fairly cold here, so I'm wondering
how this heat retension will affect the car in 90 degree summer heat. Anyone else noticed this ?
Saturn Marketing Support has no prior knowledge of this issue with Saturn AURA rocker panels. We recommend that you speak with the service department at your preferred Saturn retailer for their feedback. If there is an issue that arises with the rocker panels separating, this will be covered by the bumper to bumper warranty if it is determined that it is a factory malfunction. If there is a factory recall or special policy issued for this, and repairs have already been made, reimbursement will be addressed at that time. We hope this addresses your hesitation to purchase a Saturn AURA
I was in Arbitration with Saturn Headquarters at Spring Hill, Tn.
I won the Arbitration and Saturn was ordered to repair my Vehicle. Saturn then filed an " Impossible to Repair " document
with the Arbitrator.............claiming the repair required a modification of the vehicle and modifications are NOT covered
by the Saturn New Vehicle Warranty. You may contact me
at [email protected] and I will send you a copy of the document stating it requires a modification and that they are not
covered by the warranty.
It has to be a MANUFACTURING DEFECT if a few cars have a problem with the seams. welds, or tolerances, and other cars don't.
Mine are tight.
Photos on my home page
http://www.carspace.com/phaetondriver/Albums/Aura%20Rocker%20Panels/
I'm not as "in love" with the Aura as I have been with my previous new-car purchases, but this is the first time I was forced into replacing a car and not picking one out just for the love of it. But, my love did me wrong with my last choice, so maybe that's just as well.
a BIG difference. Is your Aura a 2007 or 2008 ? When was
it purchased and how many miles are on it ? Mine was purchased in May, 2007 and now has 6100 miles on it. The gaps
started to appear at aprox. 2800 miles (Aug.,2007).
it purchased and how many miles are on it ? Mine was purchased in May, 2007 and now has 6100 miles on it. The gaps
started to appear at aprox. 2800 miles (Aug.,2007).
Mine is a 2007 XR.. Original sale was Sept 06. I have over 17,000 miles
I see where the sheetmetal by the tire pressure tag on yours goes way in and mine is straight. Something definitely different between the body on yours compared to my early manufactured one. They must have made a change at the body sheetmetal plant that the plastics producer wasn't told about.
edges", where mine are just straight and flat. I can't really tell
exactly from the pics, but your panels are what mine should be like. My separations actually appear to be tears instead of
separations except at the B pillar, which like you say, is indented for some reason on both sides. Thanks for the info !
I bet if you took your rocker panel and put them on my car they would fit exactly the same. From what I can see, the problem is how they put the pieces of sheet metal together. Something has obviously changed form the early production to when your car was built.
A good body shop could fix that, but it would be very expensive.
I would probably do one of two things, Sue GM/Saturn for the cost of repair estimate, say $20,000, or fix it myself with some body filler or something and forget it.
Since Saturn filed an unrepairable thing with the courts, You may not have any recourse other than negotiating a full cost trade-in if you could get it.
was told it would invalidate my warranty.........because the
design was modified. A local body shop prepared an estimate
for Saturn and the total cost to repair/modify the panels was
$325. However, like I said previously, it will invalidate the
warranty. Can you believe Saturn would go through this much
trouble over a $325. repair ? Meanwhile they continue to tell
prospective customers that they know NOTHING about
separating rocker panels. No wonder GM is going to hell !!
P.S. I also owned a 2006 GMC Envoy that had electrical problems, that is why we got rid of it. Is this a common problem with all GM products? There definitely seems to be a pattern.
Several Saturn Aura owners have reported strange electrical problem that were traced back to the fuse panel in the trunk, drivers side. This fuse panel was found to be loose or had a wire pinched under the fuse block.
Pull the panel of the driver side trunk cover and grab the fuse block and see if you can move it. It shouldn't move at all. If it does tell the service manager when you take it is.
So far, my two biggest quibbles with the car are the steering and the headrests -- and the headrests have been a problem in most of the new cars I've been in. They all push the head too far forward over the angle of the neck and shoulders. At least they could mold a divot into the center so a person's head could nestle in there.
I don't know how to describe the steering, but it's so soft that I can't get a really good road feel through it. With the design of the Aura calling up thoughts of good German sedans, I think Saturn would be well served to incorporate a firmer, sportier feel to the steering of this car as well.
And just a personal preference, I wish this car had been designed with a rear window windshield wiper. When I get some good weather around here, I guess I'll Rain-X the rear window, but a wiper would be great.
That angle, however, sets up deltoid/mid-back strain reaching forward to properly control the steering wheel, and also increases strain on the lower lumbar vertebrae (low back, just above the tailbone). And I'm not talking about resting my head on the restraint -- it's literally being pushed forward when I'm trying to sit up straight. I was cursing the thing the whole way home tonight.
Although it doesn't look cool, a relatively straight-up-and-down "L" position with the head in a balanced, neutral position is the best for the whole spinal column. I haven't been able to accomplish that in this car.
As for the steering, this is one of those area's that higher tire pressures help a lot. The low profile tires on the XR, when set at 30psi roll over way to far when in a corner and make the car feel soft and "squirmy." As soon as I pumped them up to 38/36 front/rear, that squirminess decreased to almost none. Good tires, like several others have mentioned, like th F1's form Goodyear, make a world of difference in the handling. I guess Saturn wanted the Aura to be more on the side of a Luxo-sedan than a perf-sedan. Tires will make the difference.
A comment on the headrests. What your saying sounded like the restraint was always pushing your head forward, and I find it almost impossible for my head to come in contact with the restraint. I can't imagine how it could be touching my head while driving and almost think that in an accident it wouldn't help me at all. When your driving the seat back should be set at an angle so that your head never comes in contact with the head restraint. It's purpose is to protect your neck in a rear end collision, not something to rest against.
Anyway, play with the tire pressures and see if the handling doesn't improve and the mileage improves, sure did for mine.
But if this is how you need to sit then I think any modern coupe or sedan is going to be a problem for you. My 93 Cady would meet your needs very nicely though.
You may need to try inclining the seatback and raising the seat bottom front till you find an acceptable compromise. Me personally, I am 6 ft tall, and I have no problem finding an angle that works for me and I change it from time to time on long drives.
I hope you can to because this Aura really is a great driver, IMHO :shades:
Guess I'll have to go on a diet before my next long trip LOL
Good luck
Thanks for the tip about the tires. I wish I had the cash to change them out now, but I'll add some extra air for the meantime.
I found a couple of pictures that help illustrate the L position I was talking about. The first one shows a good alignment. I couldn't find a good picture of the alignment with a person in a seat, but the second image has a headrest angle similar to the Aura's (leftmost) and you can see how much more the seatback is reclined (compared to the first picture) to make the headrest appear vertical.
(edited to add: I haven't got the knack for posting photo links, sorry!)
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Lw2iWlWX8tArEM:http://www.senecapt.com/image- s/car_good_posture.jpg
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:xgBUVRseI-WrrM:http://www.edmunds.com/media/- advice/buying/vehicle.seat.design/active.head.restraint.500.jpg
Now I can take the time to actually enjoy my new ride
Sounds like an ingenious thing to realize and do. Very good :shades:
Have fun
very dissapointed in this gm product!
now a part of the Great Saturn Family ..........(of dissatisified
customers) .
I have had my 07 Aura XR since March 07. It was built in Sept 06.
I have almost 18000 miles on it. The only problem it has ever had is the rattling of the sun roof sliding shade when it is all the way back.
That puts it at 99.99% fault free.
It gives me 28 MPG average on long highway trips and 20 in town. It has done over 30 MPG on two trips up I-5 in central California.
I am sorry some have had problems, but that by no means indicates that all Saturns have problems. I doubt they have any more issues than any other make in the same price range.
So some of you know a lot of people migrate to these sites just because they have a problem and people that have no troubles at all don't participate.
And, No I don't work for nor have I ever worked for GM/Saturn
any problems, or they have very minor ones. My Aura was built
in January of 2007 and it must have included some modifications because it seems like all the later built Auras are having problems. ( Maybe it was due to a very cold winter in Kansas..............LOL ). Not only are the earlier Auras more
reliable, but they do not seem subject to the rocker panel separations either. Whatever was changed in early 2007
has caused many flaws on an otherwise good car.
You bring up a good point, Phaetondriver. I'll chime in and say that I've had my 07 Aura XR since late August, have about 4300 miles on it, and have had no problems whatsoever with it. I understand it's not a perfect car, and agree with issues like the door panel trim being plain, etc. With the discounts I received, however, I paid anywhere from $4000-$6000 less than a comparibly equipped Accord, Camry, or even Altima, and got a car that essentially matches their features, performance, and comfort. And Saturn often offers discounts, as they are now with the President's Day sale.
I expect more from any vehicle that i'm paying over 33000 for.
I also expect more from general motors, who claims that they are making better vehicles. Then people wonder why they are constantly losing market share and laying off workers. They need to infuse some of the Japanese culture in their manufacturing processes. The Japanese take their products very seriouslyand it shows, they always have, and if it wasn't for the import companies competing with GM, they would probably be making far worse vehicles than they are making today.
Thank God for competition!
Thanks.
developing large gaps ?
design defect. That should make Rocker Panel repairs
a warrantied item and therefore eligible for repair by SATURN .
The front end sounds like its going to fall off when i hit any type of road bump or just about anything !! Sounds like struts are bad or bad CV joints to me !!
Highway mileage is great.....town stinks !!!!! highway gets about 27+ , town only 17 average. thats not too good to me, my Caddy i turned in for this got better mileage.
Interior is what it is.....a Saturn by GM " Cheep and flimsy and plastic " also the arm rest is so cheep and flimsy too
not sure if i will ever get another one after this lease is up ??
Has anyone had this problem?
Well it did it again. I'm cruising at about 60 mph on Hwy 17 in GA and look at my speedo and it says I'm going 120 mph!
The next day I took it in and they are going to replace the "instrument cluster". So now i wait for them to order and receive it, then i have to take it back in for them to do the work.
They really need to put a rear windshield wiper on future models. The slant on the back window is too shallow for a quick runoff of precip, and that can really be a problem when dealing with ice and snow.
I miss the sport-tuned suspension of my previous car immensely. Even after six weeks, the ride on this one doesn't provide enough feedback through the wheel and feels rather boat-ish in the corners.
Either put this 4-cyl. engine in the Astra, or make a wagon version of the Aura. The fold-down pass-through on the rear seats is so squished and the trunk opening so shallow that the feature isn't sufficiently usable, but the Astra (where the fold-down and wide opening are wonderfully usable) is under-powered for a sporty wagon.
Get rid of the stupid auto unlock feature when the car is put in park. As a single woman in an urban area, I don't want that car door unlocking until I make that decision. An opportunist that knows the feature can reach in and grab my purse and make a getaway, or get in the car unwanted. I imagine moms with youngsters too big for a car seat may not want them to be able to shoot out of the car when they pull up to some destinations as well. Gotta say, that has to be an idea thought of by a guy engineer. And it's NOT AT ALL a good one from this woman's POV.
Needs an easily replaceable face plate under the ignition to keep swinging keys from eventually scraping up that section of dash.
Good points:
decent mileage -- I'm getting a bit over 20 on a highway/city mixed driving about 40/60 split on regular gas.
Good interior room.
Console controls are pretty easy to move through (I'd like the fan/flow choices situated a little higher on the center console).
the DIC (Driver Information Center ) . This feature is easily
disabled. Check your owner's manual for instructions.
Sport suspension??? you must have an xe or greenline. The XR suspension works fantastic as long as the tires are inflated over recommended. The OEM tires at 30 psi are like sponges and make the whole car ride like it is on a foam rubber road.
if you start to see separations or large gaps betwwen the panels
and steel body. :lemon:
Still had vibration, left pull and a steering issue. Second visit with only 507 miles on it. All four tires and one rim replaced because of radial runout. Intermediate steering shaft was replaced as it was contacting with the steering gear,
Third trip to an alternate Saturn dealer claimed the alignment was in negative range and readjusted to positive after I still complained of left pull. Tires rebalanced because of continued vibration.
Although the left pull has been corrected, the vibration in the seats and steering wheel continue. The car does not handle cornering or curves very well either. The service manager think I'm nuts and is giving me a hard time with a loaner to bring it in again.
Car design is very nice but mechanically it is a nightmare and the service is even worse. I have driven GM's all my life, but doubt I will after this lease.
Is it possible the tire replacements have gone bad again or could there be a powertrain problem?
be a design defect and as such they are not covered by the warranty. I went thru Arbitration with the BBB and Saturn and
won my case. The Arbitrator ordered Saturn to repair the panels.
Saturn Corp. countered with an "Impossible to Repair " document
to the Arbitrator and I was told that if I repaired the rocker panels
myself, it would be considered a "modification" of the vehicle and
would invalidate my warranty. So, get used to the gaps. :lemon:
I am not at all unhappy with the car... fun to drive, reasonable fuel economy for the HP.. BUT... I will never buy anything from Saturn again. I have always purchased GM vehicles, and have had similar maladies with other vehicles,, but GM always made things right..... but Saturn 'is a different kind of car company'... if the car has a design defect... the consumer just lives with it.... as they will not take responsibility.
I will trade when the '09's come out.. but won't be a Saturn!