Two problems related to steering is tight have been reported for the 2008 Saturn Aura. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Saturn Aura based on all problems reported for the 2008 Aura.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that there was a sudden loss of power steering while driving. The steering wheel was extremely tight and the contact had to coast the vehicle over to the side of the road. The eps warning indicator flashed shortly after the failure occurred. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle on more than one occasion because the power steering failed while in drive; however, it functioned when the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 14e044000 (steering) and 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
While driving the vehicle on the highway, the steering wheel began to oscillate (move) from side to side making it very difficult to keep the vehicle straight. A power steering message was displayed on the driver information center. The oscillation continued at any speed. When the vehicle was stopped there was a intermittent noise that came from the base of the steering column while the steering wheel continued to oscillate from side to side. The steering wheel was hard to maintain in one position and keep the vehicle straight as it continued to oscillate side to side. I called the dealer and they said I should bring it in and that it was unsafe to drive in that condition. I was very uncomfortable transporting my children in this vehicle. The dealer diagnosed the problem and fault code c0478 electric steering motor circuit high was found. The dealer replaced the power steering control module part number 22837369. Cost $715. 54. I did some research prior to taking to the dealer and found that this issue is a recall in canada for 67,414 vehicles. Not sure why the nhtsb doesn't follow transport canada on this. I will file a complaint with gm. This is the information I found. Transport canada recall # 2012331 for 2008 model year vehicles, dealers will replace the power steering motor control module.