Saturn VUE AC and Heat Problems

saturnvuewoes · November 2013

I have a 2009 Saturn Vue which had problems with the air not getting cold and could not get it to change to distribute the air to the vents. Prior to this I had water leaking into the floorboard of the passenger's side which turned out to be clogged hose. We finally was able to get the air to start getting cold and the control know to blow out the vents. Now, we realize we do not have any heat. You can turn the control knob all the way to the hottest point and it blows freezing cold air. You cannot tell if it is switching from air to heat. We disconnected the battery last night and are leaving it disconnected for 24 hours as someone on here suggested. At this point we are not sure how to recalibrate the hvac control module once we reconnect the battery? Is there a certain tool or computer software we have to use? We don't want to take it to dealer if we can fix it ourselves as it sounds costly. We believe all this started after the battery died and was replaced. Is there a recall or are we just SOL?

dave_g1 · November 2013

We bought 2 new cars in early 2009, a Saturn Vue and a Honda civic. We have all the work done at 2 GM dealerships for the Vue.. We are now close to $10,000 in service vs. under $1,500 for the civic after 5 yrs... The latest is we took it in for service, about $2k for various issues. We got it back and suddenly the car is fogging up like crazy. We take it back and it's another$1800 for some corroded heating bar that is leaking anti freeze. I am going to try to find all my bills since buying this lemon.. The other big irritant, the inside door handles are plastic and curled so we were cutting our hands trying to open the doors. We have asked numerous times for replacement parts but eventually just taped them with scotch tape.

gmcustsvc · November 2013

Hi dave_g1,

I'm sorry to learn of your past and present issues with your Saturn Vue. If you'd like for us to look further into the concerns with your door handles please email us your name, VIN, mileage, contact information and dealership to socialmedia@gm.com [attn Amber].

Amber N.
GM Customer Care

thewebsters · December 2013

Last night, my heat when out. The car was only blowing cold air. I changed the settings (defrost, feet only, etc) and it continued to blow cold air out of the front vents no matter what setting I put it on. My husband read the comments about unplugging the battery and he did that but now the air will only blow through the defrost vent and it is still only blowing cold air. It is 27 degrees and of course, like everyone else, I want this problem resolved and the quicker, the better. Any further ideas?

xarah · December 2013

I had the exact same problem with my handles. The "chrome" was coming off and I would cut my hand constantly. These weren't little scraps but pretty bad cuts. It took me over and year and a half to get someone at GM to finally ok it for me to get it fixed.

gmcustsvc · December 2013

Hello thewebsters,

I'm sorry that you're experiencing issues with your HVAC system. If you'd like for us to look more into this for you please email us your name, VIN, mileage, contact information, and dealership. We can be reached at socialmedia@gm.com [attn Amber].

Thank you,

Amber N.
GM Customer Care

tcabsetx · January 2014

I purchased my piece of chit 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line in 2009 with about 12,500 miles on it. Talk about a LEMON!! The a/c compressor clutch "hub assembly" is "gone" (where did it go?) which caused me to go the entire Summer of 2013 with no air conditioning in HOUSTON, TEXAS! I've had the battery pack replaced (under previous recall, thank goodness!), the ignition column and switch replaced, each of the front wheel bearings replaced twice..
The car definitely has electrical problems: my heated seats haven't worked in 3 years, it randomly locks/unlocks doors (whenever /wherever it damn well pleases, even while I'm driving it; I've locked the keys in car more than once, etc).
Every time it rains, my front passenger floorboard gets soaking wet.
It is not uncommon for the check engine light to be on, every time I bring it somewhere to diagnose the light, I get a code for he battery pack.
Since last Tuesday (12/31/13), it has been parked in my boyfriend's driveway, refusing to start. We thought it might be the ignition switch, but now, it looks like either the starter which is covered in oil, or the battery pack. I've put some miles on it, yes somewhere around 130,000, but I've had problems with it since 2010.
NEED MORE INFORMATION ON A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!
Please contact me!!

kyfdx · January 2014

Hello,

It's never a good idea to post your email address and phone number in a public forum (which is why we don't allow it).

tzmom2 · February 2014

I have a 2008 Saturn Vue with 50,000 miles. I noticed the a/c was only blowing hot air this past summer. I took it to the GMC dealer. I paid $150 for them to replenished the fluids. The air then worked for 1 month. This winter I have now found that the heat doesn't work either unless I am on the highway. I have been driving my kids around in a car with no heat in -30 degree weather. Is there a recall we have not been informed of?

geno59 · April 2014

@dave_g1 said:
We bought 2 new cars in early 2009, a Saturn Vue and a Honda civic. We have all the work done at 2 GM dealerships for the Vue.. We are now close to $10,000 in service vs. under $1,500 for the civic after 5 yrs... The latest is we took it in for service, about $2k for various issues. We got it back and suddenly the car is fogging up like crazy. We take it back and it's another$1800 for some corroded heating bar that is leaking anti freeze. I am going to try to find all my bills since buying this lemon.. The other big irritant, the inside door handles are plastic and curled so we were cutting our hands trying to open the doors. We have asked numerous times for replacement parts but eventually just taped them with scotch tape.

I had same problem with inside door handles the literally cut my hand and passengers. Had them replaced at my cost. How cheap can GM get?

geno59 · April 2014

@tzmom2 said:
I have a 2008 Saturn Vue with 50,000 miles. I noticed the a/c was only blowing hot air this past summer. I took it to the GMC dealer. I paid $150 for them to replenished the fluids. The air then worked for 1 month. This winter I have now found that the heat doesn't work either unless I am on the highway. I have been driving my kids around in a car with no heat in -30 degree weather. Is there a recall we have not been informed of?

I had same problem where the AC would out of the blue suddenly start blowing hot air in 100 degree weather. Tried to have it repaired , but unsuccessful. Personally I believe it is the actuator in the the dash the controls some kind of flapper or door to divert either cold or hot air. The problem in my Saturn XR Vue 2008 is especially when the AC is set on automatic, but just recently it does it in any mode. There is also a lot of clicking and popping sound that is not normal. I've own 6 GM in past without this problem. This issue should be recalled as defective and paid repair by GM!

grizzabella · June 2014

Hi - I am in the same boat as all of you with the a/c clutch gone missing. My Saturn Vue Hybrid lost cooling last summer and I've now learned the clutch is missing and the whole compressor needs to be replaced because of it. Has anyone had any success with GM customer service? Any acknowledgment that it's a manufacturer defect? Please inform. I've also read that a class action may be brought forth - anyone else know of this? thx!

aerial_22 · August 2014

Good evening fellow Saturn VUE owners. I figured I would come back here to share some promising news for those like me who suffer from no a/c at idle or below 2,000 rpm. It appears a member over at SaturnFans.com has found a solution to address the issue. There is a scroll compressor control valve that can be purchased for $35 here http://www.acpartshouse.com/inventory/116597-scroll-compressor-control-valve that addresses the issue. The part is only listed for the 3.5L V6 on the site, but they confirmed it also works on the 2.2 L L4. The replacement is pretty simple. The hardest part is you have to completely evacuate all of the refrigerant from the system before the part can be removed and replaced. You then must recharge the system. Here is a link to the message thread http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191521. Here is another link to a YouTube video discussing this as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPUHOnei3g8. I hope this is able to help some of you that have been frustrated like me. I have the part on order and plan to replace it next week. Pretty sad that GM/Saturn didn't know of this inexpensive solution to this issue. Instead they are having owners replace the entire compressor and drier assemblies for a lot of money. Good luck!

yard_ape · June 2015

2003 Saturn Vue with 2.2 L engine. My A/C compressor is always on, whether the button is activated or not. The air blows icy cold, I just can't turn it off. When the temp control knob is set to heat, I get heat, but the A/C compressor still runs. Any ideas?

justice82 · June 2016

I have a 2009 Saturn Vue, non hybrid 4cyl. The compressor went out, we live in Tx, not good! Before we took it in the air blew hot, and would only sometimes cool. So we took it in to a Firestone, with all the parts and labor, not to mention we didn't find out until after all the parts arrived that it would need new hoses and connections because of a service bulletin. It will cost us about $2,000 total to fix it. Come on, really?

baylorbunny · June 2016

I drive a 2004 Saturn Vue. I have the same AC problem people in this forum have complained about. My Vue was taken to the auto shop last summer in which the mechanic couldnt resolve the issue but just temporarliy. It seems to cool immediatley freon is put in car once it all leaks out you are back to square one. Now its 2016 summer, I took it to the shop AGAIN and it was blowing cold air for a couple of hours and it stopped. My compressor has been replaced but i AM still having issues. This defective AC has been a problem for years. But GM hasnt done anything about it. What is everyone doing? Can we join hands and sue the company? I dont know if thats even possible. I dont want to die from a heat stroke in this horrible heat Texas has to offer. GM WHY NOT HELP OUT YOUR DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS

rochelle6 · August 2016

I have a 2008 Saturn Vue whose A/C works intermittently. This has been going on for two years. Every time I thought about going to a mechanic it would work again. Sometimes turning the car off and restarting it would cause it blow cold again. It would also blow warm air while idling (and this was five years ago!) and blow cold once we started driving. At the beginning of this month, we couldn't make the A/Co blow air cold with our regular tricks, so we finally took it to a mechanic. He said that it was a lucky thing we came in and he replaced our evaporator expansion valve at the cost of $700, because if he hadn't, the whole system would be destroyed costing us a small fortune.We picked up our car and the A/C worked again! We were so happy! Went out to dinner that night, and after dinner, the A/C stopped working again, only blowing warm air.Over the next 10 days, we took the car back twice to the mechanic and the A/C always worked for him (though he refused to look at the while it was actually blowing hot air, because he was too busy). His last comment to my husband was maybe it is the compressor and that will cost $1000! Well, we are not taking the car back to that mechanic anymore and the car continues with its intermittent A/C. It didn't work for a couple of days and now it is working again......I am very discouraged to find that no one knows what is wrong.

Mr_Shiftright · August 2016

You should go to an AC specialist. They should be able to conduct some tests to determine the cause pretty quickly. If the pressures are right, then they should determine if the AC compressor clutching is cutting out--which would cause the system to blow warm. If it is cutting out, then they have to determine why.

Saturn VUE AC and Heat Problems

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