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Saturn Vue Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • rob111rob111 Member Posts: 7
    Our 2003 Saturn Vue is at the dealer right now
    and we are told that we must replace the front
    disc rotors because they are out of round. The
    rotors were previously replaced right after
    purchase, then replaced again in 2004,
    resurfaced in 2005, and started giving vibration
    early this year but only at highway speed did we
    notice it. First to eliminate the driver from
    the equation, she has driven several vehicles for
    at least 250K without a single rotor or brake issue.

    When I discuss the problem with the dealer's service
    manager, which is not that the rotors are out of round,
    (that is the result of the problem) the dealer appears
    to not have much in the way of corporate research or
    procedures to eliminate the problem. It is as if there
    is no reason for them to invest time and energy to resolve
    what may be a marginal design where material substitutions
    have occured somewhere down the product line, or there may
    be a maintenance point or adjustment that was not monitored
    at the factory when producing the vehicles.

    We discussed that perhaps the ratio of front to
    back braking force was not correct and that
    could have contributed to having the front
    rotors doing more than their designed share of
    the braking and thereby producing repeated out
    of round rotors. I asked them to clarify whether
    one or both rotors were out of round and I was
    told that they both were out of round, so that
    would seem to eliminate a single caliper issue
    in the front causing one rotor to go out of round. And
    it appears to me that if two rotors are warping equally
    and at the same time, it is either a design issue or an
    abnormal usage issue. I have the benefit of being married
    to the driver of the vehicle so I know it is not a usage issue.
    So I went ahead and had the dealer do the rear brakes
    adjustment in the event that this might resolve the root
    problem. (I was told that braking in reverse will not
    fully adjust them and in order to adjust them properly

    it must be done manually by a technician). This I was very
    suprised at. Anyone have any expert advice here?

    I then asked if perhaps the wrong pad material
    was installed at the factory which could be the
    root problem, the dealer checked and reported
    that the pad material installed on the vehicle is the
    correct pads material for the vehicle which was installed
    at the factory because they had not been changed at this point 37,500 Miles on the 2003 vehicle...

    So I ask you for assistance in helping to
    determine the root cause of the problem. At this
    point I do not want to invest >$500 in new
    rotors only to have them out of round in a year
    or two.

    I have two options as I see it:

    1. Buy aftermarket drilled/scored lifetime
    warranty rotors and pads and install them.

    ex:http://brakeperformance.com/site/brake_rotors.php?vehicle_type_id=1&vehicle_m- ake_id=1621&ad=google

    2. Fix the root cause problem and have the
    dealer replace the rotors with OEM equipment.

    What could I be missing? I have not read the service manual for this vehicle yet as it cost >$300 to purchase. Any input or similar experience?

    Rob
  • doreenrdoreenr Member Posts: 8
    The only advice I can give you is seek leagal advice. Go to www.lemonlaw.com or call 1-800-lemon law. They maybe able to help you. Your car may not be a "lemonlaw" car, but it may fall under a breach of contract warranty issue even if your vehicle is out of warranty. You sound like a smart person so I'm going to guess that you have all your receipts.
  • mven74mven74 Member Posts: 2
    I need help replacing it. I was wondering if anybody can tell me how to take the front cover out? Thanks! :)
  • lac123lac123 Member Posts: 1
    I seem to be having the same problem on my 03 Vue. Had front rotors replaced 2/06 along with break pads only 18,800 miles on car. Had front rotors replaced again 7/06 and now having front rotors and break pad replaced 8/07. Thank God rotors are under warranty. This should not be happening. I only have 30,900 miles on the car. I don't drive very far from home to work. Not heavy on breaks.
    When I reminder the dealership about changing rotors 3 times all they said was Ya we know.

    I know it won't do any good, but I am calling Corporate and I want to call a state agency just to record this problem. I'm afraid that evenutally the rotors won't be covered under the warranty.
  • doreenrdoreenr Member Posts: 8
    call 1800-lemonlaw. They maybe able to help. Coporate really didn't help me in solving my issue. They were good talkers. It took them 3 days to call me back. Bad customer service.
  • n6yvyn6yvy Member Posts: 1
    Have them check the control body module
  • mdav461mdav461 Member Posts: 1
    My 2003 Vue is a manual transmission. We experienced rough idle, hesitation on acceleration, using the heat or ac would make it worse. The spark plugs started fouling out. We replaced those. We treated the fuel. Even checked to make sure the new tires weren't causing this dangerous situation. The SES light would come on intermittently and the cruise control quit working. We could ride the clutch to get it to accelerate, but ended up parking it until I could afford to take it in for repairs. I had to refinance the vehicle to pay the $1300 repair bill. They replaced the ignition coil packs and one of the catalytic converters along with a few other things like more new spark plugs. I have never been so disappointed in a car! My paint is now chipping off, all four passenger doors creak and clunk when you open them, the back window wiper works in painfully slow motion. I would trade it in, but I JUST RE FINANCED IT!
  • musicgirl9337musicgirl9337 Member Posts: 2
    Try a new instrument cluster. I have had a lot of cars that do this too.
  • musicgirl9337musicgirl9337 Member Posts: 2
    Try getting a new computer. They are expensive, but it might just fix your problem. And, you should have them test drive it after. If they can experience it, they have to believe you.
  • chadman1chadman1 Member Posts: 1
    :mad: I have a 2002 saturn vue 3.0 litre v-6 awd i am having touble finding the plugs on it i think they are under tyhe intake but i am not sure. it is really irritating trying to do this.
  • nanioidnanioid Member Posts: 1
    We are having this exact same issue now with our 06 VIE AWD V6. We've had two techs drive it and neither one heard the sound. Skibunny6, did you ever find out for sure what was causing the problem on your vehicle? Ours only makes the sound if I go over 15 mph. It doesn't seem to make the sound in the mornings and it only seems to make it when I've been driving at least 20 minutes in the afternoon. The sound sometimes goes away if I turn the car off and wait 30 minutes or so to restart it. The sound is definitely coming from the passenger front area and gets louder the faster I go. I don't hear the sound when the car is just idling. It is a very irritating sound. :sick:
  • donn2390donn2390 Member Posts: 23
    how come none are available to the average joe??!
    Because the "Average Joe" shouldn't be touching this car..! They are far too technical for anyone other than a trained mechanic. Screw with it and it will cost you lots to get it fixed. Save your money and pay someone who has a clue what they are doing.
    Not trying to be nasty, but mechanics get rich off guys who are going to save money. I know, I'm one who makes a killing fixing DIY'ers screw up... DON'T DO IT...!
  • speedingticketspeedingticket Member Posts: 33
    Could it be a bad wheel bearing? I had a similar issue with mine. When the bearing would warm up it would make a "whirring" noise. Kind of like driving with agressive treaded winter tires on hard pavement. Something like that?
  • jdaawilsonjdaawilson Member Posts: 1
    :confuse: I have a 2003 Vue,V6, Front Wheel Drive ,VTI Transmission. We were driving on the interstate with the Cruise control set at 70MPH, when all of a sudden the RPMs started running high and the car started losing speed. The car would then drive but would not handle conditions that required extreme power. In other words it would maintain speeds up to 70MPH as long as the terrain was level. But if terrain changed to up hill or if I needed to accelerate through traffic, it seemed like something was impeding any power or torque produced by the engine. The more I tried to accelerate the worse the condition seemed to get. It was almost like the transmission was trying to go in Forward and reverse at the same time. I have read where there has been a lot of issues with the VTI Transmission in these models. I was wandering if anyone has had this same or similar experience, and what was done to resolve the issue.
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    You're right: the VTi trans has had lots of issues, most times replacement is the only cure - they extended the warranty to 5 yrs 75,00 miles on the VTi, maybe you're in luck. Otherwise, I've read that replacement is about $ 6000-7000. Sorry to be the bearer of potentially bad news...good luck
  • moretjmoretj Member Posts: 13
    Two Questions

    Does anyone know the recommended frequency of a tune up for the 2002 Saturn Vue. Mine has just over 106,000 km and has never had a tune up. I've checked the owners manual and there is no mention in the maitenance and repair section.

    If I do need to get one done, should I go to the dealership or can I bring it my local mechanic which I've used before to change brakes etc.

    Also, just noticed the vehicle is leaking oil from underneath the engine - I think it may be a leaky gasket? Has anyone else experienced this with this vehicle. Thanks.
  • batman47batman47 Member Posts: 606
    Most probable that a sensor has died and the CPU (Computer) is confused. Need to identify with an special electronic tools the code number of the error.
  • batman47batman47 Member Posts: 606
    After I started to look after my own car I stopped to have problem in my car. Garages seem to be happy that your car has problems all the time so they could be paid. Car without problems is not a good business for the dealership. I was desperate by the high cost of repair and maintenance of my car so I decided to buy “Repair manual” or “Shop Manual” for my car, bought mechanical tools and one or two books of how to look after my car. This has saving a lot of money. Now, I do all the jobs included the drain a re-fill of all the fluids.

    Brakes are a problem usually generated by jammed calipers. When this happen the caliper does not retract so the brake are all the time in contact with the disc. Equally if the brake is above 2-3 years the spring that hold the brake pads get corroded and the pad start to goes out of place. If the wheel has hit something hard the disc may be out of round (round out) and this affect the disc unevenly producing vibration when braking. For years I have this problem in my car and the garage was sucking me the money. I know about this jobs because I read and I did my practice when I started to look after my car. There is hundreds of very helpful advice in the Internet of how to do things for ourselves.

    Manuals can be very useful indeed. There ‘Troubleshooting” sections for each piece of car item. Of course there are problem that I could not solve by myself, as for example the blinking of a light in the instrumentation panel. I read the manual and I inferred that a sensor might be wrong. I took the car to the garage, show the page on the manual to the technician and he went to the part department got the sensor and changed it for me. They charged me ½ hour of labor plus the part. The blinking stopped.
  • jeffsbernjeffsbern Member Posts: 1
    Today I got into my car and saw some smoke coming out from behind my steering wheel, the top of the part beind the steering wheel. I also noticed the symbol of the car with the lock is on when I turn the car on, didn't notice that before. Could this be electrical. Later as I was checking i was turning the car on and off 2-3 times, 3rd time, i saw a light on the dash where all the symbols light up and then more smoke was coming out. Any ideas? I had less problems with my old 1997 certified used saturn car then I am with the brand new one i bought in 2005 and the dealership always acts annoyed when it's warranty covered work. Any ideas of what this could be would be appreciated. Thanks
  • saturn_commsaturn_comm Member Posts: 27
    Have you spoken with the Saturn Customer Assistance Center?
  • randy1956randy1956 Member Posts: 1
    if you indeed have a V6 engine in your 2003 Vue it DOES NOT have the VTI transmission. Only on 4 cylinder models and only used in the Vue in 2003 2004 2005 model years.
  • sjhullsjhull Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Saturn Vue 5 Spd. Recently my service wrench light and my air bag light intermittently came on. I called my dealership and the service advisor immediately told me my BCM needed to be replaced. I took the car in and the technician reprogrammed the BCM. As soon as I picked up the car, the lights came back on. Then I went back to the dealership. They called me and said the the BCM and the SDM might need to be replaced but they had to replace the BCM first. SO they did that and told me the car was fixed. It did not require and SDM. As soon as I picked up the car, the lights are on constantly now. I am so frustrated. Help! I asked the service advisor to test the BCM to ensure that it needed to be replaced. Now he is telling me that even if the BCM is not the problem because the put it in my car, I am stuck with it. The are telling me the SDM is $600 more than the $440 I just paid for the BCM. The service advisor told me he had seen lots of these cars (03 Vues) with the same problem and that the BCM usually fixed it. Well usually just cost me $440. :mad: :cry: :confuse: Any advice?
  • selofselof Member Posts: 1
    Just to let others know...I just had to replace the heads on my 2002 V6 AWD Vue (67,00 miles). Apparently there is an engine cooler inside the engine that failed (Dex Cool degrading gaskets?) and the engine oil mixed up a nice new frothy product in combination with the Dex Cool and spread through out the engine/cooling system. Disgusting and very expensive mess!

    I understand that this engine was only used in 2002-03. I had wanted to drive this car for another 3-4 years - now I don't trust it.
  • afergusonaferguson Member Posts: 4
    My wife has 03 V6 AWD. It has been a good vehicle. Recently tried to activate rear window defrost and light indicator flickers. When rear defroster activated automatic door locks do not work from either remote key or the switch on the doors. When I deactivate the rear defroster switch everything works. Fuse is good.
    Any Ideas??
    We also had rotors replaced at 17K and 30K. Dealer did not want to cover under warrent. VUE now has 50K. My opinion is the rotors are too small for vehicle and warp under heat caused during braking and next time I will replace them myself with after market rotors which are 1/2 the price. According to dealer front brakes only good for 30K miles
  • mwa812mwa812 Member Posts: 1
    Here's a good one. When my ABS engage, my transmission will not engage immediately after the vehicle comes to a stop. Took it to Saturn and they have no clue what could cause such a thing, ( although they can duplicate the problem) Has anyone had such a problem ? 2004 AWD with 100,000
    Was thinking could it be the voltage level on the battery ?
  • kam751kam751 Member Posts: 1
    I own a 2003 Vue and have recently experienced noise in the steering column when I turn the steering wheel, especially at slow speeds and tight turns. Do not have problem driving the car--not sure if it might have something to do with the power steering or some other problem. Any ideas? Thanks.
  • rob111rob111 Member Posts: 7
    Yes, sadly it needs to be lubricated. I had ours done at the dealer. Noise went away.
    Rob
  • moretjmoretj Member Posts: 13
    The shift knob located in the centre console has detached from the transmission shifter. It can actually be removed. However, when in place the transmission functions properly (i.e. I can move it from park to reverse, neutral, drive etc.). When I spoke to the dealership they indicated that there may be a "C" clip to hold it in place but they weren't sure and wanted me to take it in to look at the boot and linkage (about 1 hour service).
    I don't think this is necessary and wanted to get some thoughts on what I could do to secure the shift knob to the shifter. I was thinking of just using glue. Any thoughts? Thanks.
  • moretjmoretj Member Posts: 13
    Recently started noticing a burnt smell when the temperature control is turned to HOT. However, this smell is only noticeable when the vehicle is idling. When the vehicle is in motion the smell is not noticeable. Any ideas what the problem might be?
  • billiebeebilliebee Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 2wd Vue with the 2.2 L, L4 engine. I need to replace the clutch. Is there a repair manual for this? At 124,00 miles, it is starting to chatter when cold.
  • moretjmoretj Member Posts: 13
    Temperature in Toronto has recently turned very cold ==> negative14 degrees celcius (10 degrees F?). I've noticed when temperature reaches these cold readings the engine is very very noisy upon acceleration. The noise doesn't seem to go away even after the vehicle is warmed up. Exhaust system is fine, with rear muffler replaced yesterday (small hole). Any suggestions. Thanks.
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    The only available manual is the factory service manual, no Haynes or Chiltons...

    $ 150 from GM, cheaper on Ebay
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Check the Online Repair Manuals guide - depending on where you are, you may be able to download the info you need.
  • bigbaddadchadbigbaddadchad Member Posts: 1
    I have an '06 Vue AWD V6 as well. I got the same noise issue about three months ago. It is the hanger bearing in the drive train, it sounds like its up in the passenger front but its not really. I ended up having a pissing match with the dealer and the consumer advocate line to pay only a $100.00 fee for the whole thing. The dealer wanted to charge me over $500. for the part and labor as I was a whopping 1,100 miles out of my warranty period on miles..... I have also had my drivers heated seat go out twice now on the butt coil and once on the lower back coil. Oh and have had multiple issues with the weather striping / door frame needing to be adjusted or replaced to fix excessive noise at higher speeds. Love the power and ride and looks but don't think i'd ever buy another Saturn again. Especially since they have gone away from the Honda 3.5l V6 and over to a GM 3.6l.... hope all this helps and it looks like mine is a true Friday afternoon car....
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    Only online source I know of is alldata, autozone doesn't cover the Vue...and since I'd have to pay for alldata anyway, I'll take the book..Since I got the book last month, I can see why there aren't many online sources for info - very technical, lots of hi-tech stuff jammed in...everything on the car is somehow hooked into the onboard computers...you can even toggle the interior lights from the scan tool...Go figure...

    I miss the days when you could check the computer with a paper clip...
  • esteinestein Member Posts: 2
    I have seen an issue with the 07 VUE radio.

    The first problem is that the volume control (+) on the steering wheel will turn the volume down,
    I have taken it back to Saturn 5 times for this.
    They have tried several fixes: the switch on the steering wheel, reprograming the vehicle, replaced the radio. all did not fix the problem. They had to replace a coil in the steering wheel. The volume buttons were getting interference with the air bag causing this problem. I've had it going almost a week now and the problem seems to be gone.

    A second problem, which has not been fixed yet. is when listening to AM for an extended period of time, then switching to FM, the sound is muffled. If you turn the radio off - on again the probelm goes away. And no, it's not a station that is out of range.
    My 07 VUE has about 15K
  • flynowflynow Member Posts: 2
    I don't know if this will help but your techs working on yor car need to stop reading there scan tool computer and start questioning what I have found below, unless they know there is a recall on the BCM or the wheel speed sensors. One many brake light warnings will come on due to bad wiring. It is not the sensor it is not the BCM. I have found the wiring bad. Here is how your tech can find it. First if he gets a wheel sensor bad then I would go for the wiring to that wheel sensor first here is what I have found. The techs scan your vehicle and find no BCM or wheel speed sensor code. Here is why the wiring leading to the sensors flexes many, many times with your wheels going up and down over bumps, going around curves, up hills, over railroad track. Then the wires or I should say the wire rubber cover cracks and moisture starts its job of corrosion on the wire. You get the picture the wheels bounce up and down thousand of times. I have found the wheels speed sensor wiring bad at under forty thousand miles on some cars VW's. It takes an ohm meter to find this problem at the wheel sensors wiring end. Disconnected on wheel end of the wheel speed sensor wiring one at a time. It is not that hard, you can un-bolt the BCM control module from the brake master cylinder. The BCM on many cars is similar to the Bosch system. Once you remove the connector to the BCM or remove the brake BCM motor assy and control portion of the BCM this exposes the connections out to the wheel sensors. This is where experience comes in. The tech will read the wires or ohm out the wires to the wheels speed sensors and read they are ok. He has just made his first error. The wires must be flexed to find the bad or intermittent wire. I have a way where I take the BCM control unit off the master cylinder. I read the bake schematic. Find the two wires that lead to each wheel speed sensor one at a time. You place a jumper in between the two terminals at the BCM connector that lead out to the wheel speed sensor wiring you are testing the wires for. At the wheel you remove the connector to the wheel speed sensor, connect the ohm meter to the two wires that lead back to the BCM at the wheel end it should read 0 ohms or perfect continuity, now start flexing the wire with your hands inch by inch the wires watch for the ohm meter to jump or show and open no more continuity. You have now found your brake systems bad wire. I will bet the BCM is good, the wheels speed sensors are good, and the cheap made wire is where you will find the problem. When cut open the problem wire it will not show a nice copper color but a mixture of lead looking corrosion in side the wire. It is a fishing expedition but this is how I fixed my daughters aggraviting brake light problem. Take a couple of hours then your problem is just splicing in a good piece of wire and sealing the wire repair from moisture and corrosion. You must not let this go on for long or you will damage the BCM. When the car BCM thinks a wheel is skidding and you end up actuating the BCM over and over, it will wear out the BCM motor module. Learned this the hard way. Good luck.
  • mom23mom23 Member Posts: 4
    Ok, my VUE had been getting harder to shift into a couple of gears. I didn't think much of it.
    Until driving and it the other day, it took all I had to get it out of 5th gear.
    Long story short, someone said that there are two cables that are connected to the shifter and one of them is bad.
    Question....
    Is this mucho $$$ bucks as far as repair costs?

    This is an 02 and has 55 k miles on it. :(:cry::cry:
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    Hi mom23,

    Shifter cable replacement shouldn't be a bank breaker - they attach to the shifter, go through the firewall and attach to the top of the trans. I'm guessing the cable costs about $ 100- 150 and figure 200-250 for labor if its only one. Just a guess, please don't hold me to it! Good luck, it could have been worse. Are you sure its the cable? Might just be a shifter bushing (yours wouldn't be the 1st)

    Good Luck
  • mom23mom23 Member Posts: 4
    Thanks 442dude!
    According to the guy (mechanic) friend he said that he tried both the cables and only the one seemed bad. Also he had asked if it was hard to shift when the car was turned off. Yep, sure was. So I suppose that would mean it wasn't the hydraulic's? Which would break my bank for sure.
    I think i'm getting a bargain, he will only charge for the parts and not the labor.
    I should of purchased an automatic to begin with Ughhhh!
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    Sounds like your friend found the problem-great news!

    You are getting a bargain - the labor is always the most expensive part of any repair job.

    Don't sweat it too much - Everything mechanical breaks from time to time no matter who built it...and why the heck would you want an automatic when the stick shift in these things is so darn much fun!!!!!!!!! :shades:
  • escapenutescapenut Member Posts: 117
    Notice to all 3.6L '08 Saturn Vue owners: I've owned an '08 Saturn Vue for 3-months and 4K miles. First issue was check-engine light which came on Christmas Eve 2007. Took it to dealership (1st-time to dealership where I did not buy the vehicle) which reset light and ran diagnostic-check. Light stayed off for a few days a came back on again. I took it back to dealership where I bought the Vue. They ran diagnotics and ordered a cam-sensor this time, took about 1-week for parts to arrive. They changed the sensor and I went on my way. Engine-light came back on again (new cam-sensor) about 1-week ago and so I made appt. to take car in. Car has been in shop from Thursday 21-Feb. to today. I did receive a phone call from the service advisor who said that the cam-plate has too much play in it thereby causing sensor to fail and this has also spotlighted a problem with the heads. The heads are being ordered today, hopefully to arrive Thursday with completion on Friday. I have a friend who is a master mechanic at a GM dealership who has visited the tech-assist website by GM. There seems to be the same-type isolated problems in various GM models of the 3.6L V6. Total time is shop for same issue which seems to have been ID'd will be 9-days in less than 3-months of ownership. Long-term prognosis and retrospect: Not sure about long-term, hopefully this will solve the problem. However, I've never had an issue like this before with any car that I've owned. Kind of dissappointed overall with Saturn and GM.
  • mista1mista1 Member Posts: 1
    Does anyone know why the change oil light stays on alittle longer than usual. It started after I got a OIL CHANGE at Jiffy lube.
  • chilipepper1chilipepper1 Member Posts: 3
    Hi. I have just found this forum today and it looked like there were some good discussions. I hope you all can give me some feedback/support, etc.

    I own a 2005 Saturn Vue- manual transmission. I bought it brand new- only 37 miles on it from the dealership. I really like my car... when it's not breaking down on me while I am driving down the road that is. Here's the summary.

    My car has had to been rendered inoperable & has needed to be towed to the dealership 4 times in the 2 1/2 years/51,000 miles that I have owned it. The repairs are as follows: 9,000 mi could not get in to reverse- replaced the shifter cable clip; 19,000 clutch, slave cylinder, shifter plate were all replaced; 19,900 miles the entire transmission was replaced; 46,000 both shifter cables replaced; 51,000 both shifter cables replaced again.

    Also, anyone have any ideas on how to best clean the interior back seats? The color is a medium tan color- cloth. I've tried everything I can think of and they are still stained. Nothing in particular has ever been spilled. If rain drops fall on the seat there is a "stain.'' I have two 8 year old boys which make cleaning it a constant challenge ;)

    Thank you in advance for any help.
  • jameslcox2jameslcox2 Member Posts: 1
    i have antifreeze smell coming through my vents and was wondering if anyone has the same problem and what might be causing it.
  • rcawdor57rcawdor57 Member Posts: 1
    Doreen,

    I have a 2002 Vue, manual 5 speed, front wheel drive with the 4 cylinder engine and I replace my rotors every 50,000 miles or so. The rotors that Saturn (GM) provide are pieces of junk and you should not invest your money in them. I purchased high performance racing rotors (slotted rotors, zinc plated) on the Internet a year ago for my Vue and installed them myself and installed high performance racing brake pads. These rotors and brake pads are excellent and show no visible signs of wear after 20,000 miles. The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) rotors and pads that are provided by Saturn (GM) are very poor and much more expensive than high quality after market parts. Find a close male friend who knows how to replace the rotors and brake pads and ask him to do the brake job for you. I have 109,000 miles on my Vue and I am on my third set of rotors. The original rotors lasted quite a long time and they were actually in good shape but....it cost more to "turn" them (shave them down) than it cost me to buy new ones from an auto parts store (NOT SATURN OR GM). So I always replace the rotors when I replace the brake pads. Anyway, the rotors I have now are very nice, slotted, racing rotors from an auto parts store in California (I don't remember the company name). I paid $104 plus $30 shipping to get these high performance rotors and they are well worth it! The brake pads I bought from Advance Auto Parts and they are the high end racing pads. Cost of pads was around $60. So, I installed the rotors and pads in under an hour myself for all of $190 and my Vue brakes like it never did before. Oh, one more VERY IMPORTANT item: NEVER use an air wrench on your wheels! One of the reasons the rotors warp is because the mechanic who installed your wheels used an air wrench. Air wrench's notoriously apply too much torque to the wheel nut which causes the rotor to warp (hence it is ruined). Look in your Saturn Vue owner manual and you will find the torque specification for the wheel nuts. Make sure that whoever does your brake job installs the wheels correctly using a torque wrench and not an air wrench and that they follow the "star" pattern when installing the lug nuts. If you don't want to spend the amount I did for high performance rotors and pads you can lower your total cost to less than $100 for two front rotors and brake pads from any reputable auto parts company. Just do the work yourself or ask a friend who is savy in this department and don't take it to a dealership. Dealerships are there to rip people off and make money from their deceptions. I have done ALL the maintenance on my Vue which I bought new in February 2002 and I have never had any problems with it. NONE. Oh, one more thing. The rear brakes on most cars never need replacing (if they are drums). I have a 1993 Saturn SL2 with 360,000 miles on it and it has the ORIGINAL rear drum brakes which have never been replaced. I have checked them several times over the years and they are still in great shape. My SL2 runs perfectly and gets just over 40 mpg on the highway. I also use only synthetic oil in the engine and transmission on all my vehicles which is why they last so long. Hope this helps!
  • doreenrdoreenr Member Posts: 8
    Hey thanks for the info. It has been about a year since I last had Saturn change the rotors & pads. They actually used the top grade rotors and not the after market brands. This was done after I had a lawyer get involved. My brakes are just now starting to make some noise again and my brother is pretty good on doing brake jobs so he is going to look at my Vue next weekend. I do appreciate the info on the air wrench. I am wondering if Saturn here in R.I. was using an air wrench when they installed the rotors to begin with. It wouldn't surprise me if they had. It is also very comforting to know that you have a Saturn with over 350,000 miles on it. Again thank you very much, Doreen
  • shadow925shadow925 Member Posts: 1
    I guess I can consider myself lucky. I have not had to replace my brakes, but I just found out I need them replaced now (37,700.) The mechanic advised me the rotors were warped and could not be turned.
    Has anyone had any luck going to GM and seeing if they would cover any of the cost of replacing the rotors? I would think if there are this many complaints they would have done something to assist their customers. I am going to try the dealership and if that fails, GM has a customer hotline. Spinning my wheels? (No pun intended) :confuse:
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    I've heard mixed results in trying to get them to cover the cost of the rotors - and mostly they'll say it had something to do with your driving style or the lug nuts weren't torqued correctly and won't cover it unless you're under warranty.

    That being said, its certainly worth a try, you may be spinning your wheels but why not try?

    One recommendation though - the one reason that it might not be worth your time getting the dealer to replace the rotors is that you'll get new versions of the same lousy rotors and in 37K miles you'll be in the same position. Might be better to just put on a good quality set of rotors & pads and be done with it...just a thought
  • doreenrdoreenr Member Posts: 8
    I had to replace my rotors 4 times under 50,000 miles. Finally the dealership put the top of the line Rotors and a new set of pads on together and so far nock on wood they have been doing pretty good. I have heard that the dealships put on the crappy set and get paid good money for the after market ones. Demand for the top of the line, I did.
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