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2008 Saturn VUE XE lack of power

joe1934joe1934 Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Saturn
My new XE Vue 4cyl 164hp engine seems to struggle in highway situations. The 4 speed engine seem late in shifting from 4th gear to 3rd when asking for more speed as in a passing situation. You have to really mash the gas pedal to kick it into an agressive speed. Would appreciate any advise or sympathy.
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Comments

  • gnosis8gnosis8 Member Posts: 9
    I really do sympathize, but what did you really expect out of a 4,000 pound SUV that's only powered by 4 cylinders and without a turbo or supercharger? Doesn't make sense.
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    I'll give you advice and sympathy

    Sympathy: Its a 4 cylinder in a 4000 lb truck, expect to have to mash it to get it to move...on the plus side, you do get the MPG benefits of a 4 cylinder

    Advice: 4 cyl motors need the revs to be kept up in order for them to stay in their power band...if you need to move along...mash it
  • joe1934joe1934 Member Posts: 3
    I'm concerned that all this mashing of the gas pedal may be wasting gas and off setting the gain in mpg of the 4 cyl engine. When traveling at 40 mph the rpm will tail down to 1200 rpm when in 4th gear at which point you can feel a slight vibration before it shifts to 3d. Is this strain on the engine going to lead to problems in the future? :confuse:
  • 442dude442dude Member Posts: 373
    I've read that the 08 4cyl does have some interesting shifting habits...I don't think it will lead to any problems in the future although I wouldn't be surprised if they came out with an update for the trans programming...you should mention it to your dealer next time you're there, sometimes they get software updates to deal with issues like yours and they can re-flash the memory in the ECM with the update.

    Good luck...
  • joe1934joe1934 Member Posts: 3
    THANKS FOR THE ADVICE...I'LL HOPE FOR THE SOFTWARE UPDATE
  • ar15ar15 Member Posts: 58
    I've found that shifting it in the Manual mode works best in situations where the ground is not flat. Also, turning the a/c off any time you can live without it is a huge benefit to the car's performance.
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