I noticed a few days ago that the wheel was getting harder to turn so I made a maintenance appointment for Saturday I was driving to work in Texas in Fort Worth coming from Arlington today and smoke started coming from under the hood I pulled over and it was smoking I was on the highway so to get off the highway in a safe area I had to drive about 5 more miles up the road to the next exit so I started driving it didn’t smoke right off so a couple of minutes into the drive it starts smoking so I finally get to the exit smoke is now coming through the vents , I hurry and pull over and go to open the door it wouldn’t open I then I climb over and get out the back door I go into the business parking lot at this point it’s engulfed in black smoke and then it starts burning.
NHTSA complaint #11733687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn and was inoperable while attempting to reverse. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.
NHTSA complaint #11691955 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact heard an abnormal grinding sound coming from under the dashboard on the passenger’s side. The contact stated that the abnormal grinding sound was also heard while the gear shifter was in park(P). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that there was power steering fluid leaking from the vehicle. The contact added power steering fluid to the vehicle; however, the power steering fluid was leaking while driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly. The contact stated that the power steering fluid leaked out entirely after driving for a short distance. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power steering fluid was leaking. The contact stated that a clamp was added and the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11637489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V470000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 173,445.
NHTSA complaint #11626603 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle has lost power steering. Difficult to steer especially in reverse and sometimes in turning left. If wheels are not completely straight, you have turn with all the strength you can muster. Reluctant to turn left unless you have twice as much time as you should need to avoid an accident.
NHTSA complaint #11615531 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2008 Saturn vue AWD. Steering wheel is very difficult to turn while driving. There is a lot of resistance. No leaking fluid visible and no visible loss of fluid levels. Transmission was torn down/repaired in 2017 for metal bits present at 95,000 (approximate) miles. It is currently at 107,600 miles. Transmission gets stuck in lower gear and rpms Rev up without the vehicle gaining acceleration. The tear down/rebuild was due to bad 3 5 wave plate also and seems to be replicating the issue again. Check engine light comes on amd goes off intermittently and cannot get issue to replicate at the mechanics. Key has also gotten stuck in the barrel. Took almost 2 hours to try numerous ways to get it to release-also had to unlock manually on the door handle, none of the lights inside worked and when it was able to get started it was very slow and deliberate. Battery appeared to be dead but after jump starting and taking to have it checked, battery was found to be fine. These are serious concerns regarding the vehicle as 1 or all could cause serious damage to the driver and others on the road. It happened again today with the high rpms and low gear/not shifting to next gear.
NHTSA complaint #11612064 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that there was oil leaking underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V470000 (Steering) and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall and that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V470000 (Steering). The failure mileage was 83,000.
NHTSA complaint #11526529 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that there was no power steering fluid. The contact added power steering fluid to the vehicle; however, the power steering fluid was leaking while driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly. The contact stated that the power steering fluid would leak entirely after an hour drive. Additionally, the contact stated that the leak was more significant while the vehicle was parked. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V470000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
NHTSA complaint #11508614 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:POWER STEERING FLUID
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that there was no power steering fluid. The contact added power steering fluid to the vehicle; however, the power steering fluid was leaking while driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly. The contact stated that the power steering fluid would leak entirely after an hour drive. Additionally, the contact stated that the leak was more significant while the vehicle was parked. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V470000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
NHTSA complaint #11508614 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The key can be removed from the vehicle while being driven. Also the ignition doesn't "click" off when vehicle is parked and key is removed causing the battery to drain. There have been several recalls for this issue but not with the 2006 year model. This is a dangerous problem and there are very limited resources to get it resolved.
NHTSA complaint #11500710 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ignition gets stuck with key and locks steering wheel, now it wont shut off all the way to left and kills my battery looks like there has been MANY ignition issues and recalls with saturns which this is pretty important to have working to drive and be safe esp as a female in this world ..getting stuck or with a dead battery isnt good $300-400 at a gmc to fix this issue I feel personally this should be considered a recall fix
NHTSA complaint #11461547 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The power steering goes out especially at lower speeds are from take off ,it takes every thing you have to turn wheel it has almost caused me two accidents, fluid level is fine, makes no unusual noise steering just goes out making it very dangerous to turn to the right are left & very difficult to turn from a complete stop .No one has figured the problem out & its my only vehicle there is definitely a Manufacture problem with the steering in this vehicle
NHTSA complaint #11446620 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My car is very rusted out,underneath the body and no one will work on my car because they feel it's a hazard to drive and work on. I went to an iron works shop and mechanic said it's a common problem with Saturn Vue's,I took it back to where I bought it because they knew it before I bought it . All they wanted to do was put me ina sports car,my car is a hazard to drive it plus I have 1 more year to pay for it. Seems like something could be done about this
NHTSA complaint #11442648 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
NHTSA complaint #11440762 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving on the freeway, something weird happened with the steering wheel & my daughter lost control of her vehicle. She crashed into the brick wall on the freeway & totaled her vehicle. She was hospitalized & had to have surgery to repair a broken jaw (in two places), fractured bone under her left eye, & other various fractures in her face. Her teeth were also knocked out of alignment on the bottom.
NHTSA complaint #11438900 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact's cousin owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while his cousin was driving 65 MPH, the power steering locked which caused the vehicle to veer off to the left side off the highway across three lanes of traffic. The contact's cousin was able to stop the vehicle on the shoulder of the highway. The contact stated that he was uncertain if any warning lights had illuminated prior to or during the failure. After some time, his cousin was able to restart the vehicle and the power steering returned with normal operation. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there was no recall on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11433819 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
the car stable trak light comes on for service then the power steering service light comes and I lose power steering and power of my car this happened at 60mph on the highway, shut the car off for 5 mins and everything went back to normal then it happened again proceeded to do the same thing and it went back to normail
NHTSA complaint #11420066 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The ignition was locked and key wouldn't go in, to get it to unstick I put key in as far as it would go and noticed I could start it without the key being fully inserted. This happened a few times before but this was the first time I realized I didn't need the key to be in the ignition to start nor does it need to be in the ignition to drive. I was able to reproduce problem in driveway. I made a video but think only photos can be uploaded
NHTSA complaint #11417849 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
IT IS HARD TO TURN WHEN IT SIT IDLE, AND THE STEERING WHEEL ONLY LOOSENES UP WHEN I PRESS ON THE GAS PEDAL, WITCH MAKES IT HARD TO PARK OR TURN WHEN AT A GREEN LIGHT OR STOP SIGN AND WHEN I REVERSE OR NEED TO GO FORWARD AND TURN A LITTLE BIT IN SMALL SPACES TO ADJUST THE PLACEMENT OF WHICH MY VEHICLE IS IN ITS TO DANGEROUS BECAUSE IN ORDER TO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL YOU HAVE TO PRESS ON THE GAS PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE HAS TO BE IN MOTION FOR THE STEERING WHEEL TO MOVE WITHOUT HAVING TO USE SO MUCH STRENGTH TO FORCE IT TO TURN.
NHTSA complaint #11407346 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.