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Saturn Aura Transmission Issues

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    msreillymsreilly Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2014
    Well, I got it fixed. The waveplate broke and it required a whole new transmission to the tune of $3800. That really put a dent in Christmas. I'm upset that the transmission only had 50k miles before it failed. It also seems a lot of people with my same car are having the same issues. I tell my friends at work what happened and they all reply "No wonder Saturn went out of business." Now I have to save up and trade this car in to get something else. I don't think it will be another GM though.
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    richardp71richardp71 Member Posts: 1
    I took our 2007 Saturn Aura in to get the recall work done, in replacing the shifter cable. in doing so when the dealer tried to replace the side panel to the center console, it broke into 3 pieces. although the dealer wants to make it right, they cant. The part is no longer made and they have tried for 3 months to locate a part, but no luck.
    first, if they do the work for you, verify the center console is as you left it. maybe take photos of it when you take it in.
    but I love how they damage the car and cant fix it, so the value of our car has dropped due to the gapping hole in the side of the center console.
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Try www.car-part.com
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    mztee67mztee67 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2009 Saturn Aura with less that 80,000 miles and I still owe on it and it has been sitting in my drive way since Sept because I can't afford to pay the note and pay for a new transmission. I only had the car for 4months when it started acting up and by 6 months I could not go in reverse.
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    gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    mztee67 said:

    I have a 2009 Saturn Aura with less that 80,000 miles and I still owe on it and it has been sitting in my drive way since Sept because I can't afford to pay the note and pay for a new transmission. I only had the car for 4months when it started acting up and by 6 months I could not go in reverse.

    Hello Mztee67,

    We apologize for this, and would be happy to look into this further for you. Please send us an e-mail to socialmedia@gm.com along with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and preferred dealership. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

    Patsy G
    GM Customer Care
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    FlotsamFlotsam Member Posts: 1
    09 Aura XR, 4cyl, 6speed auto, 110K...Transmission finally gave out yesterday. All codes and diagnosis points to disintegrating 35R clutch plates, apparently a known issue on 08 and early 09 built 2009 models, at a minimum. It is my wife's car and she has always had issues with it slipping out of gear and going to limp mode, but every time she took it to a dealer (starting more than 4 years ago) they could never replicate the issue and told her to come back immediately when it happens again. We did just that and they gave the same shoulder shrug. I drove it the other day, b/c wife said it was acting up more than normal and left her temporarily on side of road with no power. It really went into self-destruct mode for me (slipping out of drive and revving engine, major shudders and stutters), as I did some errands on way home from work (2 mile trip, no highway, 35MPH). I found a wide spot to turn around and return home, but turning radius was too large and couldn't complete the turn. Put it into Reverse and it was as if I put it into neutral. By the time I caught it, the front end had rolled off the edge of the road into the ditch. Luckily a Sheriff was passing by to hold traffic until the tow truck arrived (OnStar/Saturn RoadSideService worked flawlessly). Total quote to install rebuilt tranny with labor and 2 year warranty - $4900 for a vehicle with a value of maybe $6K. Worst experience I've ever had with a vehicle of any kind or manufacturer in 30 years of driving. Seems to be a known design flaw, as the 35R was updated on the assembly line after this car was built. So, why not a recall? Why not an extended warranty to cover just this issue?
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    gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Good afternoon Flotsam,

    We want to offer our sincere apology for the experience you and your wife have had with the vehicle. If you send us your VIN, dealership name with your full contact information, we can look into some possible options for you. Please submit all the requested info via private message. We are here to assist you.

    Marlea W.
    GM Customer Care
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    david991david991 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2007 Saturn aura xr with 81,000 miles. The transmission just went on mine also. My mechanic quoted me $2000 plus labor. He said it is a broken waveplate.
    I'm on disability and I can not afford this!
    I bought this car last Sept 2014 and I have also had $800 in repairs for 2 separate suspension issues and a broken door lock assembly. GM charged $156 for a door lock!!??
    I have contacted GM for help at socialmedia@gm.com and will post back the outcome.
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    moonukapikmoonukapik Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2008 Saturn Aura XE that the transmission just went out in. I was merging onto the INTERSTATE and the car all of a sudden would no longer accelerate. Thank god there was a break in the traffic, we had to coast all the way across 5 lanes of interstate to the first exit, then had to get pushed up to the top before finally catching my breath. Almost got hit in the rear by an oncoming car, and almost rolled back onto an SUV going up the exit. A mechanic came to look at it, and my car is reading PO572 and PO573, all of the other codes look like they have been cleared out he says. I have only had this car since October, and I REALLY don't have 2k to put into it or another one. I see there are recalls on the Saturn Aura 07/08 transmissions, but I don't even know where to begin. I seriously almost died on the interstate because of this obvious flaw.

    I'll take any advice or help I can get.
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    chelle79chelle79 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2007 Aura XR that has been sitting in my driveway for the last year and a half. I have put so much into this money pit of a car, and now I don't have funds to by a new car. Reading all of the things wrong with it, there needs to be a recall, or somebody needs to pay this car off, so I can actually buy a car that runs. What a waste of money.
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    paulhangspaulhangs Member Posts: 2
    2009 Saturn aura 123,000 no reverse, no forward, no assistance from gm! I bought another Saturn because of the long life they were supposed to have. Come on gm and stand behind your products, at least offer some suggestions because your dealer service department is no help at all!
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    tweety19tweety19 Member Posts: 1
    Guys: I am a true believer in Saturn, unfortunately they stopped making Saturn and started passing off chevy junk as Saturn! I have a 2009 Aura XR (6T40 tranny) I just got out of Trans shop yesterday with a $4300 bill. Went to breakfast and trans worked as advertised. Left restaurant and it would not shift out of low unless I backed off of gas then it would clunk into gear! Two hours and 9 miles later I had only low and no reverse at all. 16 months past 5 yr. passed warranty 96504 miles on car! I The mechanic showed me the parts, the snap ring failed when the wave plate warped broke off gear teeth and naturally the trans. started eating itself! So he rebuilt it and took it (towed) to the chevy dealer the program the module. After six attempts at programming it was determined that the new OEM module was bad. Towed back to shop to replace module. Towed back to dealer to program. The dealer charged him TWICE for this! WHY did we bail out GM? I am going to call the GM B---H line to see if they will stand good for at least part of the repair bill since they KNOW about the problems with these trans. though, I think we all know what the response is going to be! If that is true there will NEVER be another GM product in my garage
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    silverpeachsilverpeach Member Posts: 3
    In October 2016 literally an hour after I paid my final car payment on my 2009 saturn aura, my husband calls and says the transmission was broken! Turns out it was the wave plate and in order to get the car fixed in time to make our move date (household items were already packed and shipped out) we went to the local aamco and paid 4000 dollars out of pocket to get the transmission replaced. I never even thought that it could be a recall issue or defect that could have been covered at little or no cost. Is it possible to file a claim 3 months after the fact with GM?  
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Here's the revised Service Bulletin on this matter

    Service Bulletin 14404A

    It's quite a bit to read but you can skip the technical parts and get down to the "re-imbursement" section. It *appears* that you have missed the deadline for re-imbursement, but you know what they say about squeaky wheels.

    So read it over and then stand up and holler. Maybe you can get at least a partial re-imburse on this. Keep us in the loop and good luck with it!

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    silverpeachsilverpeach Member Posts: 3
    Thank you Mr. Shiftright for the information. From what I'm reading in the text on reimbursement it says if not able to claim by the specified date, if within 10 years of service or purchase of vehicle and 120,000 miles it's possible. Or state specific laws. Am I reading this right? 
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    It's vague to me. It seems to imply that you can petition for relief but exactly how that might work isn't laid out. It's certainly worth a shot--what have you got to lose by spending a few hours banging on doors?
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    silverpeachsilverpeach Member Posts: 3
    This may sound so stupid, but where do I find a reimbursement form? 
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    All I have is the service bulletin info I posted earlier:

    "Reimbursement: If you have paid for repairs for the condition described in this letter, please
    complete the enclosed reimbursement form and present it to your dealer with all required
    documents. Working with your dealer will expedite your request, however, if this is not
    convenient, you may mail the completed reimbursement form and all required documents to
    Reimbursement Department, PO Box 33170, Detroit, MI 48232-5170. The completed form and
    required documents must be presented to your dealer or received by the Reimbursement
    Department by March 31, 2016, unless state law specifies a longer reimbursement period.
    If you have any questions or need any assistance, just contact your dealer or the appropriate
    Customer Assistance Center at the number listed below. "

    1-800-553-6000
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    kcaustintxkcaustintx Member Posts: 1
    I was having pretty good luck with my 2007 Saturn Aura xr until this past few weeks when the transmission died on me while on busy highway. Like others that have commented on this thread, the transmission suddenly started shifting erratically, then dropped into 2nd gear while driving at high speed. I've never received a recall notice about this problem but I can see from here that there have been lots of complaints of similar problems. Sure would like GM to help out with this $4k repair.
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    cobaltken1cobaltken1 Member Posts: 11
    My wife and I just bought a 2009 Saturn Aura with the 3.6 and we took it on vacation and when we hit the mountains in West Virginia I had to put the gas pedal almost to the floor to get the car to shift down and get back up to speed,  semi trucks was passing us until the car down shifted, it went down 2 gears and when it was shifting back up going from 4th to 5th in sounded like it was slipping and then shifted hard, it did this the whole trip, the next time we stopped I went to back up and it was jerking in reverse.  Today we took the car to the dealer we bought it from because it came with a 1 month powetran warranty plus we bought a warrant with a hundred dollar deductible, they checked for codes and didn't find any and they said the jerking in reverse is normal, I don't buy that, I have NEVER owned a vehicle that jerked while backing up, so does anyone know if my transmission is on it's way out or what is going on?  If it does go out and has to be replaced it will only cost us 100 bucks. Can anyone help with this? Thanks Ken 
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    rokfisherrokfisher Member Posts: 2
    edited May 2018
    This was the response I received to my email from the GM Customer service Social Media people. I sent my email using the email address they were putting on this page and other pages responding to the known, defective transmission waveplate issue.


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    unhappywithgunhappywithg Member Posts: 1
    My 2009 Saturn Aura 6T40 suddenly failed at 108,000 miles. Would not go over 25 mph (in 3rd gear), and would not go in Reverse. Same issue as 6T70. GM has a recall and warranty on 6T70 up to 120,00 miles (10 years), but would not cover 6T40. These are trannies from the same family, but why are some covered and some not? These are defective trannies, GM knows that, but denies a warranty replacement request.
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    TerrywillyTerrywilly Member Posts: 1
    I purchased a 2007 Saturn Aura XR which has been nothing but problems. I am now having the hard shifting sometimes will not go into gear and occasionally is not driveable transmission issues which so many on here have described.
    Has anyone explored a class action to try and get restitution for these defective products and rampant transmission problems with the Saturn Aura?
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