Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Saturn Aura New Owner Reports

245

Comments

  • bob919344bob919344 Member Posts: 29
    Since you realized that the Aura is the Better of the 2 cars over the Toyota

    Next time Step up and get the " XR " and see how much better for the few thousand $$ this is over the XE.....not that the XE is not worth the $ but the XR is great !!

    I have had my XR for almost 4 months now after leasing Caddy's for years and years and working for BMW for over 15
    and for the $$$ You cant beat this car !!!! I love it and honestly, when on the highway cruising at 70mph, its a smoother ride than the Caddy ever was. I always had a shimmy in the front and no matter what I did, it was always there, the XR is as smooth as anything I have ever had.

    For the $ you cant beat it..... Only thing missing in the XR is - rear seat vents for AC and a nicer interior door panel ( kind of cheep look and feel ) even with the wood trim. But rear AC should be standard in every car today. Its only a rear vent thats needed from the front like my caddy had and many do, even in this class car.

    enjoy your XE.................. :)
  • texvettetexvette Member Posts: 12
    I have been carefully tracking the gas mileage on my XR,.. I drive 25 miles one way to work, very little sop and go, but largley back raods, with about 5 miles of I-93 at the end.... even with much care, the best I can muster is 23.7 MPG..... AND if you are prone to make use of horse power, of which it has plenty, you win't do that well..... will wait until I get past 5,000 miles before passing judgemetn, as I have learned with the newer cars, the engine does not really break in to best feul economy until then, at least in m experience....
  • sr71sr71 Member Posts: 8
    Thanks! We put the Aura on the rack the other day and had a look and the suspension. Very beefy, front and rear. Good geometry. This car is really in the 30k plus range of construction. I see that most of the Opel line is coming to Saturn. I wonder if the Vectra coupe is coming next?
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    I own a 2007 Aura XR with just 3150 miles on it
    and have discovered what is a possible defect.
    I have noticed that the plastic rocker panels
    attached to the body just below the doors are
    separating from the metal body they are attached to, creating a 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap between the rocker panels and the car body. Dealer had no fix for the problem, and showed me the same "defect" on 2 other Aura XR cars in
    the service area. Service dept. said that the separation was possibly due to temperature changes or vibration.........or was possibly a defect. Has anyone else noticed this problem on their Auras ? Please take a look. Maybe the factory will come out with a fix or redesign.
  • phaetondriverphaetondriver Member Posts: 175
    Thought I would post an update so new readers might get an idea of how the Aura is doing after 7 months.

    My 07 Saturn XR started out getting only 17 and 24 MPG or so early on. Now I have over 13000 miles and I have seen over 30 MPG on one 350 mile run on level ground (Washington to Oregon). I averaged over 27 MPG on that 2300 mile trip, mostly interstate driving running 80 mph most of the time. I just got back from Arizona where I drove in the mountains 4-7000 ft. in and out of small towns. The trip went through Phoenix twice and over 700 miles on I-10. This trip was great because I got to use the paddle shifters in the mountains (call this the really fun part) and drive around a lot of small towns. About 2300 miles and my overall average was 26.8 MPG.
    Love how this car handles the mountain roads, more like a German sports coupe than a SATURN. Oh! That's right it is a German Sports Coupe, I forgot, because it doesn't cost what a German Sports Coupe is supposed to costs.

    I am old school when it comes to break-in procedures and that may have something to do with my XR getting better than average MPG's and better than average acceleration (0-60 in 6.0 and 60-100 in 7.6).
    I have over 13000 miles now and the XR is better than ever, and getting better every week.

    Phaeton Driver
  • zapatoviejozapatoviejo Member Posts: 3
    Love my XR. I have seen many comments relative to steering noise (whining) when turning hard to left or right. I had same issue with a week of driving my car. I took it to dealer who indicated this is a known problem associated with the the hydraulic hose for power steering. A different hose would remedy the problem. The part was ordered and within a day it was installed. I have not had the problem since. I would suggest those that continue having the problem contact saturn customer service and discuss further, it might be as simple as a change in the hose. I am not an expert but my dealer apparently fixed the problem with a change in hose. Good Luck!
  • seniorsruleseniorsrule Member Posts: 6
    What color did you get? I have an 07 Saturn XE and I absolutely love it also. It is a Pewter Brown. Rarely see any Aura's around (Albany, New York).
    When I do see one, I get so excited. They're still new and I'm not sure that they sell all that many. I've got the sunroof which has been great during the spring and summer months. Leather interior is nice also.
    I am leasing, so I more than likely will get a new one come my 36 month. Saturn salesman and staff were awesome to deal with too; no hassles - ya either want it or you don't. They don't call ya a half a dozen times like some salesmen do.

    Anyways, glad you're enjoying you XR. Wonder what the difference is between the TWO of them?
  • zapatoviejozapatoviejo Member Posts: 3
    I also have the Pewter Bronze color. The XR has a bigger engine and some added options, larger wheels and other ameneties. I have black leather which is very nice. THis is likely the nicest car I have ever owned. Looks great, power is excellent. I have scene several Auras around Fort Myers, Florida. Some times they are hard to spot as it looks similar to the Pontiac G6, The Lexus and the Camry. Good luck with your vehicle and enjoy. The XE is also a great model. :shades:
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    If you haven't done so already, please be sure to rate your dealer!

    Start here: http://www.edmunds.com/dealerships/drr/jump.html
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    I was going to wait on the Malibu to come out, but being bored one Saturday, I thought that I would test drive an Aura to get a feel for the car size, performance, ride experience, etc... I never pictured myself buying a Saturn until I drove the Hybrid, XE, and XR. All of these vehicles impressed me. When I started looking at the cost of the comparable Malibu, I had to get a Saturn. I ended up paying $22.8K plus TTL for a 2007 Aura XR. What a great car for the money. Congratulations to GM on a fine vehicle. Watch out competitors.
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    I did, check out the Savannah, Ga and Jacksonville, FL reviews. Yes I went to two dealers, walked away from one and bought from the other. Check out my reviews to see why.........
  • stevecmhstevecmh Member Posts: 1
    I have the 07 XE model with the panoramic roof and I need an interior picture of the motorized roof panel in the fully closed position. If anyone has the panoramic roof and could possibly take a picture from the interior side of the motorized roof panel in the closed position it would really assist me in getting my local service center to install mine properly. You can e-mail me direct at stevecmh@aol.com if you can help. THANKS

    I love the car - i need my roof fixed though.... :P
  • mrzermrzer Member Posts: 2
    I have an '07 XR with 12K miles and we are very pleased with it. Plenty of power, quiet and fun to drive.
    We drive to Tampa every other weekend and get 27MPG at 80MPH. Not bad for a strong V6.
    Two things have manifested and the dealer has fixes for both. First, the power steering pump is a bit noisy. They have a new hose on order and I read in an earlier posting this will fix the problem.
    The other thing is a "clunking" noise while turning left or right and is most noticeable in reverse. It sounds a bit like a bad CV joint. The dealer said there is a bulletin out and they are replacing an intermediate shaft. I guess there hasn't been enough instances to warrant a recall.
    This is the first "new"car we have purchased since '84 and we feel we got alot of car for the money.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Can you tell me if your underdoor rocker panels, which are made of plastic, are separating from the car body, which is steel ?
    Mine have begun to separate and I only have 4,000 miles on the car. Dealer refuses to fix the problem under warranty. He said
    it is occurring on all the Auras.
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    dinof,

    I have an 07 Aura XR with ~3500 miles and I just went to my garage to look at the underdoor rockers. I opened all four doors and inspected each one carefully and I did not see any gap between the plastic rockers and the threshold.
    How large of gaps are you seeing? More than 1mm? Maybe you should try another dealer or maybe contact Saturn Customer Assistance.

    I hope this helps.

    steelerman
  • chronochrono Member Posts: 149
    I can see a small gap close to one of the plastic clips on my car. I can see this becoming a problem in the future. I would think if this is occuring frequently there would be a TSB soon. I don't understand why they couldn't just use nuts and bolts. They could even be plastic.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    The gaps on my car are between 1/8 to 1/2 inch long. I did go
    to Saturn Customer Assistance, who refused to fix the problem
    under warranty. I am presently in Arbitration withe the BBB and
    Saturn. Saturn insists the separations are NOT a defect because
    they are occurring on all Saturn Auras. Will see how the Arbitration turns out. This is a definite defect that Saturn is attempting to hide.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    If you are not seeing any separations, then your vehicle was
    probably repaired by the Retailer prior to the sale.
    This problem is also showing up on 2008 Auras. It is a manufacturing defect............ it appears the plastic rocker panels were cut incorrectly.
    Keep watching your vehicle. I have yet to see an Aura that is
    not showing at least the early signs of rocker panel separation.
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    I will - thanks. In the mean time any way to post pics of your problem?
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    I have many pics but will have to check with the WebMaster on
    how to upload them. If you would like to give me an e-mail address, I will send them to you.
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    I think you can send email to my carspace address along with pics. Try sending to steelerman@carspace.com
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    I sent 2 pics to that address, but had to reduce the size
    because the server at your end would not accept the full size
    pics. You can see the gaps and the floor underneath the car through the gaps.

    dinof
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    Thanks for the pics and after taking a second look at my car, I have the same thing going on.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Join the crowd. Saturn is refusing to fix this problem under
    warranty. They are attempting to hide the defect. I am in
    Arbitration now with the BBB and Saturn in an attempt to force
    them to fix the problem.
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    You can upload your photos in an album on your CarSpace page. You then can provide a link to the album for others to view. Let me know if you need further assistance.
  • phaetondriverphaetondriver Member Posts: 175
    May I? Are you talking about the ad-on to the rocker panel below the doors?
    I only see a gap of 1/16 in. at the center, between the doors. From in front of the front door to the rear door at the fender well, mine is touching the body (except at the center as mentioned above.
    Would pictures of one that I believe is correct help?

    Phaeton Driver
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Definitely.......................although any gap could be considered
    a workmanship/appearance defect.
    I really don't know what you mean by an ad-on.
    dinof
  • phaetondriverphaetondriver Member Posts: 175
    The rocker panel is added to the body to make the lines flow or give a ground effect look to the side of the car. In the old days, it was actually a integral part of the body panel and now they are attached.
    Because your see a gap means the part wasn't stamped correctly or there is something wrong with the attachment, which is what you have been saying.

    Later today I will take a picture of mine and email it or post it to my home page on carspace.com
    Maybe it will help you get the dealer to take a different approach to the problem you are having.
    BTW my car was an early production unit hitting the sales floor in Sept 06. So maybe something in the manufacturing has changed on later models.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Thank you for replying . If you will please examine the rubber
    lower door gasket on your car, you will find that it actually
    seats against the middle step of the rocker panel. So the panels are not just there for ground or cosmetic effects......they are used as the bottom door support and sealer. I have a theory that the door constantly closing against these flimsy, plastic panels are what's actually causing them to separate. That's in addition
    to the fact you mentioned.............they were not cut to fit
    properly.
  • phaetondriverphaetondriver Member Posts: 175
    Oh! I thought you where talking about the metal rocker panels that are the lower part of the exterior body. I took pictures of that area, not the plastic parts. All the plastic and rubber parts that are at the door opening are all tight, 0 clearance or gaps anywhere.
    Sorry, the rocker panel pictures are posted at MyCarspace anyway
    http://www.carspace.com/phaetondriver/Albums/phaetondriver%27s%20Albu/
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Your car appears to have been assembled properly. I can see
    that you have no gaps or separations. They must have taken extra care when assemblying the early models. Your parts even
    look different from the pictures of the areas I sent you on my car.

    Quality Control must have gone straight downhill beginning in
    January 2007, when my car was built.

    Thanks for the pics.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Question.....Did you say METAL rocker panels ?? My under
    door exterior rocker panels are all plastic and held in place with 5 clips to the main body. Did I misunderstand you or do you
    actually have Metal Rocker Panels ???
  • phaetondriverphaetondriver Member Posts: 175
    My Error, it is plastic. Must have been on some bad asprin. I just checked and they are plastic. The under door rubber piece, on the actual door, are very well attached too.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Thanks for double checking. I guess your car was built on a
    good day at the factory.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    I just posted a few pictures of my 2007 Saturn AuraXR defects on ">link titlemy CarSpace page. These defects - separating under door
    plastic rocker panels - are appearing on both sides of my car,
    which was purchased in April 2007 and presently has only 4700
    miles on the odometer. Please take a look and then examine
    your Aura for the same problem. Saturn is refusing to repair
    this problem under warranty.
    http://www.carspace.com/dinof
  • bob919344bob919344 Member Posts: 29
    I have a 2007 Aura XR with only 5200 mi on it leased in April this year....

    Since seeing all the posts about this problem, i looked at both sides of my door rocker panels and i can see the SAME PROBLEM starting on my car...it seems to be separating from the car. Obviously a engineering error and hard to beloieve they wont try and FIX the problem.. If you wanna know the only way they will start a correction of this will be for ALL OF US who is having this problem puts a review of the car on EDMONDS CAR under reviews that customers thinking of buying the car see BEFORE they buy it.. If GM sees the posts on EDMONDS they dont like negative reviews about product !!

    I Love the car otherwise....( heat on feet sems not to be the best ) but i do really like the car for the price !!!!

    Lets all post some reviews on these sites and also copy GM on your review to their web site for Saturn Customer Service !!!!

    good luck...............................

    remember.....its NOT a safety problem, thats why its not a recall !!!! if causes no safety problem Only looks , thats why there is no quick reply back from anyone from GM .....UNLESS they see everyone having this problem and complaining about it and effecting sales of the car
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    You are right ! Maybe a class action lawsuit against Saturn or GM will get some action. I am assumming however that since the problem is appearing on virtually every car, Arbitration will not
    solve the problem, because the Arbitrator does not have the power to order a recall . Everyone with the problem will have to have it repaired at their own expense. So much for being a
    member of the "Saturn Family " . GM increases the period of
    their warranty to compete with Korean and Japanese car makers,
    but then will not honor the warranty. They may as well warranty
    their vehicles for " LIFE " ; they aren't going to stand behind it.
  • phaetondriverphaetondriver Member Posts: 175
    I looked at your pictures. Look at mine. The problem looks to me, from the illuminated from behind picture, is the body panels are miss dented, not the plastic rocker panel.
    So I see why they don't want to fix it, that would require some body work, pounding out the dents, repainting etc. It would also require that they correct the manufacturing cause of the dents, which could cost millions.
    Looks to me that they made the plastic rocker panels to cover up manufacturing defects to the body/sill panels.
    Funny my early model has only one small recess under the tire pressure sticker.

    If it were up to me I would redesign the plastic rocker panels to come up over the lower step which would cover up all sorts of defects down under.

    Good Luck
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Hi..also meant to tell you how lucky you are to have only LEASED that vehicle. Those of us who purchased the vehicle will have an extremely difficult time reselling or getting any true
    value on a trade, because this problem will become more and more associated with the Saturn Aura in years to come. They
    are apparently using the same assembly techniques on the
    2008 also. I now see another advantage to leasing !!
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Yes, I see what you mean and you are right..........recutting
    the plastic rocker panels to fit the contours of the body would
    probably eliminate the problem. However, I think what's breaking the panels loose is the fact that the lower rubber gasket on the door is constantly striking the flimsy, plastic panel and sooner
    or later causes it to break loose. There goes the resale value of
    these cars !!
  • steelermansteelerman Member Posts: 36
    There goes the resale value of these cars !!

    I'm not sure I would go that far...... it is a defect, but if you hadn't mentioned it in this forum, I don't think I would have ever noticed it. Just my opinion.
  • hackdhackd Member Posts: 65
    I was considering the 2008 Aura and have to be honest that this scares me as a potential buyer. There is no guarantee this issue may not cause other used car buyers to shy away in the future. Why would I take the chance? I am wondering how a Saturn salesperson would reply to my concerns on this issue. I doubt they would give me a separate guarantee on this defect not occuring on a new car. It kind of sucks as in terms of a V6 with leather you can beat their ride and price with the supplier incentive. Any 2008 owners who can confirm this issue happening on their car?
  • bob919344bob919344 Member Posts: 29
    I was in the auto business after retireing from 30 yrs.... The FIX is quite simple for this and i am surprised that GM wont do this for the problem of the separation ??

    *** All they need to do is simply develope a color matched rubber flexible cauk type product....if they run a color matched beed of flexible cauk that would match the car color and rocker panel color, it would BOTH hide the opening and also being flexible it would expand with the cold and heat !!!!!!! *****

    QUITE A SIMPLE FIX IF YOU ASK ME !!!!!!!!!!

    but will they think of this ????
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    No one noticed any problem with the Cruise Control sensors
    on Ford vehicles either.........until they spontaneously erupted
    in numerous fires.
    Your probably right..........no one will pay any attention to these
    rocker panel defects until they start falling off. (After the
    warranty period, I'm sure !! ) Maybe my analogy is a bit
    strong.............but someone has to look for and report these
    defects..........the car company surely won't !!!
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    I suggested an even simpler fix. Cover the area where the rocker
    panel meets the steel body with a piece of black rubber door gasket cemented to both the panel and the body. No need to develop any thing new or even repaint and the fix would probably cost less than $5.00. You wouldn't even need a recall - affected cars could be repaired as they came in for routine service. Saturn refused this suggestion made to them in October 2007.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    I can give you the location, owner and VIN number of 2008
    autos that have the same problem. Just ask via your e-mail.
  • hackdhackd Member Posts: 65
    That is not needed. I thought everyone would be interested that when I brought this defect concern up to the Saturn dealer they claimed it was caused by reckless driving....I found this pretty pathetic. I basically advised them that they needed to put in wirting that there warranty would cover this defect. In an indirect way they basically told me no and wished me luck on my new car search. I have basically crossed this car off the list at this point.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    Thanks for your informative comments. I guess the person that
    drives the car onto the showroom floor drives very recklessly;
    because it can be seen on new 2008 cars that have not yet been
    on the road !!! The Saturn Area Manager that was supposed to
    be handling my case also attempted to infer in a letter to me that
    abuse of the car could be considered a cause.
  • zapatoviejozapatoviejo Member Posts: 3
    Can you provide update on how your arbitration has gone. I could not find an updated post, or I missed it. Thank You.
  • dinofdinof Member Posts: 106
    My Arbitration is still in progress. However; I will not be able to
    discuss the outcome of the Arbitration according to the rules
    of the BBB ! Neither Party can disclose the outcome.
    Sounds kind of silly I know...........but I guess if the company
    decides to fix my car, I can not tell every Aura owner to go and
    get theirs fixed ! Probably set up like this to prevent recalls.
    Each owner will have to complain on their own.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles