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I was planning on putting Nokian WR's on our VUE since I'm so pleased with them on our other vehicle, but now I'll have to do some digging to see if an alternative size can be used.
215/70/16 is basically the same ride height as the 235/65. Saturn uses the 215/70 size on some models of the VUE. I can't imagine it would cause any problems. It is not uncommon for some owners of the AWD V6 VUE to switch to the 215/70 size even though their truck came with the 235/65. We have thought about it on ours. It is narrower, however, and would have a slightly lesser load rating than a 235/65.
Our dealer did tell us that switching sizes was a big no-no, and that if something broke during the warranty period that could be traced back to the narrower tire size they wouldn't authorize the repair under warranty.
If you do your own servicing, you can probably just set an appointment to have the suspension upgrade done by itself. Again, you may have to wait for the next batch of parts to come in. Call your local Saturn service department and ask to chat with the Service Manager.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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What speed do you have the fan set to?
Does it matter if the A/C button is on or off?
What about the air recirculate button?
What speed do you have the fan set to?
Any speed will turn the compressor on if the selection on the climate control is set to feet, feet/defog or completely defog. I know it should come on for the feet/defog and complete defog selection but I think it is strange for it to come on for the feet only selection.
Does it matter if the A/C button is on or off?
Doesn't matter if the A/C button is press or not. Turn your climate control to the defog selection and you will notice the compressor coming on even if the A/C button isn't press but you will have to make sure the fan is turn on to selection 1 or higher first.
What about the air recirculate button?
Doesn't matter if the air recirculate button is on or off.
Has anyone else experienced this malady?
I will try some experiments this weekend, but I honestly don't think my VUE kicks in the compressor on any of those settings -- mainly because the A/C places a bigger load on the 4cyl engine so it is more noticable when the A/C is engaged on my VUE.
Since then I found another dealer with a guarantee he could get it to work. Different alarm, different installer, same problem. They said they had it fixed but last night it did it again.
The problem is it is inconsistent. Sometime is starts good and sometimes the car is sitting there trying to start until you remotely turn it off.
Has anyone else had this problem??
Do you have one that works?? If so who installed it??
Mine does not do that. At operating temperature the gauge reads just over the 1/4 mark on the dial. Since there are a lot more owners of the Honda V6 version at this time I would suspect that many have had the opportunity to monitor their temperature gauges and I'm interested in where their gauges read with respect to the middle of the range.
I suspect our VUE is just running a bit too cool for maximum efficiency of the engine, thus things like MPG are affected. On a trip we might average 24 MPG running at 70mpg. I just believe this might be about 10-15% low and I think a warmer operating temperature might help.
Any observations would help. I queried my service department over this issue about a year ago and they felt there was no problem with the gauge where it was. Granted, there is no overheating problem, but could there be an "underheating" problem?
We just completed a 1500 mile trip to Minnesota and the mileage varied from 22mpg to 26mpg. A lot of it has to do with the attitude of the vehicle when we refill, eg. several degrees off level can keep the tank from completely filling, or can permit more fuel to be pumped into the tank.
Also, wind conditions can play havoc with the mileage. A tailwind will obviously add to the mileage and conversely a headwind will subtract. I've seemed to notice this effect even more than the re-filling geometry. The 22mpg reading came after a steady cross wind (15-20mph) and the 26mpg with a reduced headwind.
All things considered I am not at all displeased with the vehicle, in fact my wife and I are extremely pleased. I'm just trying to see if I can squeeze a little more perfection from it! Thank you again for the input on the temp gauge. It's enlightening.
That said, I have noticed a huge non-linearity in the Fuel Gauge on this VUE. Here is the typical breakdown on mileage for each 1/4 change in the fuel gauge:
FULL to 3/4: ~100 miles
3/4 to 1/2: ~80 miles
1/2 to 1/4: ~60 miles
1/4 to RED: ~40 miles
Has anyone else noticed this? I can believe the increase in the first 1/4 tank of gas (FULL to 3/4) since topping off the tank may place more fuel in the tank than the gauge can actually read, but I hate watching that needle drop once you hit the last 1/4 tank of fuel. It's like the "dump fuel now" switch got flipped or something.
I hope that it's not an issue of the engine becoming less efficient as the fuel level drops. That would really be something Saturn should fix if that is the case...
I've got a Ford Focus that does the same thing with the fuel gauge. The gas tank holds 12 or 13 gallons (can't remember of the top of my head), and in the first 1/2 tank, I can get 160-200 miles. However, the "bottom" half of the tank only allows me to go 120-140 miles before the low fuel light comes on.
I just plan for it. Haven't checked out the wife's VUE just yet to see if that is true with hers.
I've noticed that phenomenon with my fuel gauge also. But I've noticed that "disturbing" trend with virtually all the vehicles I've owned. The first half of the tank seems a lot more fuel efficient than the last half. It may be because the filler pipe holds a certain amount of fuel, or it could be that the gauge is just not calibrated properly. I'd tend to go with the latter. I'd say generally that 5/8 showing on the gauge is more like 1/2 a tank.
It took them half a day to get the work done.
Consequently - I don't think Saturn is notifying people yet about when to come in for the recall. I think you have to ask. We only had ours done since they offered to do it as we were calling to get an oil change appointment.
So, we'll just have to sit tight until the recall notification comes in the mail.
Another note of interest. Since our maintenance book was only good for 12K miles, I sent the little form into Saturn for a new book. This was at least 3 months ago. Never got a new one back. I've asked at the dealership and they tell me that HQ has them and to call the 800 number. Well we did, and what did HQ tell us?? The dealership is supposed to hand out something similar to the booklet, only this time it's supposed to be a laminated sheet that tells you what's to be done at what mileage. THAT'S NEWS TO MY DEALERSHIP!
Someone's really dropped the old procedure ball here, don't you think? Someone's not talking to someone, eh? Anyway, we're caught between the old rock and the hard place because the company doesn't have its act together. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
The VUE is know for having a slow reacting AWD system as it is - do you really think it is much worse after the recall? Ours was always slow to respond, front wheels will spin a bit before the rears go. CR even mentions this in their reviews.
But gif brings up another good point; the attitude of the vehicle when refilling. I think it has a lot to do with the actual amount being pumped into the tank. Seemingly level pads at filling stations might not be "level". I'm a firm believer in the fact that the attitude of the vehicle about the X axis when filling can certainly affect the amount going into the tank. We have a motor home and to get a max fill on its tank we actually use the built in jacks to tilt the RV away from the pump because we've found that we can get in more fuel in this attitude. We get some strange looks at filling stations with a 35' motor home tilted toward one side!!!
What can we do about this with the VUE? Who knows, but it does seem to be a lot more sensitive to this issue than other vehicles, except the motor home, that we've owned. Undoubtedly this is why you encounter the vast mpg differences between fillups. 31mpg is exciting, but 24 on the next tank can be discouraging. Take the average over a handful of tankfuls and I'm sure you'll arrive at a better, more realistic figure.
I now have over 13k on it and have been meticulously logging each fill-up into a spreadsheet. The average mpg is roughly 22.3 mpg after all this time.
My realistic high has been about 25 and my low around 19-20. Typical Highway is around 23-24. Never even close to the 24/29 on the window sticker.
Alas, I fear I am just destined to have under-achieving gas mileage for as long as this VUE is "in the family".
These new vehicles promise to be a serious upgrade over previous Saturns. Much of the new money GM will spend -- an estimated $800 million -- will go toward converting Saturn's heralded Spring Hill (Tenn.) factory to build steel-body cars instead of today's plastic bodies. (The plastic expands on hot days, so panels must be spaced far apart, giving an appearance of poor construction.)
As I suspected I didn't notice any difference in the ride, but then I didn't make any extremely violent lock-to-lock turns at speed on the way home. What was it again that triggered the recall?
BTW, I believe the 4 cylinder AWD VUE has the CVT.
Also, does the V6 come with just keyless entry and immobilizer, or does it actually have an audible alarm that will go off if someone breaks in? On the website they mention something about content theft protection but wasn't sure exactly what that entails. Is there full protection for all points of entry -- doors, hatch, hood?
Thanks in advance.
Also, if price is something that is very important to you, consider a FWD over an AWD. Remember, Saturn's AWD is not like on a Subaru--full time four wheel drive where all 4 wheels are always turning. It's like on the Honda CR-V. You run 99.5% of the time in FWD only. The rear wheels only kick in IF the front wheels lose traction (like on a slippery road in the rain). As soon as the front wheels regain traction, the rear wheels turn back off. On dry pavement, you'll never use your rear wheels. VUEs are not off road vehicles like Jeeps or even Chevy trucks. Just something to consider if price is one of your main concerns. Good luck in your search.
1) the polymer side panels
2) the acceleration from the 250HP Honda V6
3) interior space and utility
4) the "Saturn Experience"
Have had our VUE now for just over two months .. I like it quite a bit more than I originally thought. We really wanted an Outback XT, but was hard to justify the price, and we were torn between the Santa Fe and the VUE. VUE won out for the reasons stated in my earlier post.
The Mazda6 sportwagon is also on our list, except it doesn't offer AWD.