general problems of the 2008 Saturn Aura - part 1

My electric power steering stopped working. Not safe to drive. This was fixed prior on recall. I did not own car then.

The air bag service warning message and warning light is illuminated I took the car back to the dealership had it serviced and a month later the message and light are on again. The passenger air bag sensor is malfunctioning sometimes it doesn't detect the passenger most times it detects a passenger when there isn't one. The tail and brake lights work intermittently. The steering system is dangerous. There's vibrating in the steering wheel and accelerator pedal at all speeds, the steering wheel pulls and jerks when braking and hitting bumps, the steering doesn't hold alignment and the power steering works intermittently.

Power steering goes out sometimes it’s happened three times since I’ve owned the car in 2017. It just happened today (3/2/25) for the third time and it tells me that there’s a recall on Saturn Aura that were made in 2008, but when I enter my VIN number, it doesn’t show that mine is on a recall. But I’m not sure why it’s goes out sometime and then works when I turn my car back on.

The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer and did not function as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with a failed electronic power steering assist module. The contact was informed that the electronic power steering assist module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was informed that the recall NHTSA campaign number: 14v153000 (steering) was previously completed on the contact's vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

While I was driving my car going 40 mph down the road the wheel stuck and I couldn't turn or do anything. I had to pull over and reset the car by shutting it off and turning it back on. I've had to do that before when I first started the car and tried to back up in the wheel froze and it wouldn't move anywhere. I went to the garage today and they told me that it's my power steering.

The contact owned a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph and ascending a grade in the road, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle jumped the curb on the left side of the vehicle and then crashed into a telephone pole, he was unable to steer due to the loss of power steering functionality. The contact stated that crash happened very fast and he was not able to depress the brake pedal to avoid the crash. The contact stated that the front drivers side bumper, grill and lights were crushed. There was also damage to the driver's side front tire wheel well and axel. The contact stated that he called the police who then wrote a report. The contact stated that he was not injured, however the vehicle was undrivable and was towed to an impound lot. The contact stated that the vehicle was later declared a total loss by his insurance provider. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 198,000.

I bought this 2008 Saturn Aura from dealer on 09/13/2023. Since I bought it, I fractured my hand and foot while checking the tires and brakes. 10/27/23 - I put the car in park to investigate what was causing the constant rattling noise while at the same time the car would shudder. While I was on one knee with one hand on ground so l could bend and look into the wheel well, the car rolled the tire over my hand and foot that was in its path because I wasn't able to move quick enough and didn't expect that to happen. 11/16/23 - I found out what the rattling noise and shudder was caused by when I completely lost all steering control and hit a tree which damaged the vehicle and caused injury, not only to myself but also to my 5 year old nephew who was in the car with me. I was told by a mechanic that a damaged joint bearing caused separation of the u-joint resulting in loss of steering control. What the hell is wrong with this car. I paid $1500 for the vehicle, then to top it off add injury costs I paid; the repairs and/or replacement of the u-joint and transmission shift cable due to damage. I don't know what to do to remedy the situation. I can't even afford to fix the body damage or replace the wheel rim damage caused by the wreck. Where do I go from here? I can't afford a new vehicle that why I bought this car. What a joke. Please advise. Maybe I can find free council.

Power steering went out as we were driving, making the wheel almost impossible to turn. There was a recall repair before I purchased the vehicle but I am skeptical it was actually done as I am having the same issue with the power steering that was supposed to have been fixed. This is a continuous problem that puts my life and the lives of others in danger.

Power steering goes out while driving sometimes, can’t control car. Bought car from fb marketplace last month and previous owner states that it has happened before numerous times.

Unknown.

My electronic power steering went out.

Check engine, abs, and traction control indicator lights have come on and gone off intermittently, even though the car has received routine services, as indicated -- though prior to that, for many months, the tire pressure indicator light would come on and go off intermittently. As I drove about 25 to 30 mph, the above mentioned control lights came on as I came to a stop, followed by the power steering indicator light (for the first time). Immediately, there was loss of power steering control. With great difficulty, I drove the car about 3 blocks and attempted to park. It took about 15 minutes to parallel park in a large space, with great difficulty. I turned off the engine and let the car sit for about 10 to 15 minutes, then restarted the car, which then seemed to be fine (at least drivable) -- though the check engine and traction control lights remained on. (still, I was afraid to drive -- thinking the power steering could go out at any time, knowing it could easily result in no control of the car, grave danger, and serious accident. Anyway, with trepidation, I drove the car back home, where it has sat since. I find the host of this car's repairs troublesome and expensive. As for the loss of power steering -- I find this unconscionable.

Loss of power steering withought warning, shut the car off and turned back on and it was fine, but this has happened twice now that while driving the car the power steering suddenly went out.

The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the rack and pinion and steering rod however, the failure persisted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 145,000.

Replaced all breaks, power steering is out, chugs when driving down highway and blinker, power seats and windows blow fuse all the time. The blinker is a hazard. One owner previous us and only one recall was done.

Tl- the contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while operated the vehicle the power steering would suddenly malfunction and the steering wheel would become very difficult to turn in either direction. After turning the engine off and back on the vehicle would operated as normally. During the last failure the power steering remained inoperable after restarting the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer sims Buick/GMC(3100 elm rd ne, warren OH) was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact was informed that the vehicle was previously service under the NHTSA recall campaign numer 14v153000(steering) in March 2014. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 150,000. Jft.

Camshaft position sensor circuit malfunction, or false code. Power steering stops working in transit. Car has to be shut off and restarted to regain use.

I would not even fill out this form if the things I am about to write down did not happen at such an unexplained and with extreme progression. The car started off with just a wobble and a jerk. Which now has progressed to the traction light popping on and off; the car sways from side to side so dangerously it is now almost not drivable; the passenger side tire has started to flatten and wear and tear very fast, even after getting brand new tires, now all of the tires are starting the same wear and tear; when accelerating it starts to jerk and lock up not going over a certain speed limit even if you floor the pedal until it lurches forward; the break lights were also staying on and then turning off when we pressed the brakes, we got that fixed at the dealership though; the car is completely falling apart; we took the batteries out of the key chains and the car door still lock and unlock by themselves; the steering wheel doesn't seemed to be aligned or straight. Like if if you want to keep the wheel somewhat straight (a straight line is now almost impossible with this car) then you have to angle it kind of the left. Its so dangerous now to drive this car. The whole thing fell apart at once. And all of these problems happen while moving. While the car is in parked and also while its turned completely off. That only with the locks unlocking and locking. And the speeds at which im going when the other problems are happening are no more than 35 miles per hour. ;' I know that we take very good care of the car and have all the service reports . Something is not right with my car.

Power steering, traction control, power inside car comes on and off.

My vehicle has had electrical issues for a few months. The power locks will not work but, randomly driving down the road they will start going up and down and then in park when I'm not in the vehicle the doors will automatically lock but, any other time they do not work. Also 2 days ago on my way to work the power steering instantly went when I pulled into work. I parked the car and shut it off. When I turned it back on it was working again. I'm very scared of this happening while driving.

My tire problem.

Electronic power steering on vehicle keeps cutting out while driving. Car is very hard to steer when this happens, making it very dangerous. 105,000 miles on car. Recall is there for this problem on model year of car, but gm says it does not apply to my VIN.

Power steering went out without warning.

The steering has gotten very hard to steer at slow speeds. It takes effort to turn it and once turning, it will not return straight but you have to forcefully turn the steering wheel back to go straight instead of it wanting to go straight . It is not the power steering which is working fine. A machanic told me that this is an issue for many gm cars and to check. Sure enough there are many models of my car that have this issue and have been recalled. I have luckily avoided any accidents so far but the problem seems to be getting worse.

Driving down a road doing about 35mph and notice the power steering quits working, a message comes up on the info panel that reads power steering, and a bell rings. I look in the manual and it says that the car has electric power steering (no fluid to check). I call the dealer and he says the car was repaired under a recall at 86000 miles (it has 126000 now). Apparently what ever happened before is happening again. Before all of this happened I noticed a slight vibration in the steering wheel as I was at a red light. Not sure if the two are related.

Tl- the contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the power steering would suddenly malfunction causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. The service brakes and electronic stability control sensor lights would suddenly illuminate and the brake lights would remain illuminated without pressing the brake pedal. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer sutliff GMC of state college, PA were notified but no assistance was offered. The contact indicated that the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA recall campaign number 14v252000(service brakes, exterior lighting , electronic stability control) in 2014 but the failure had reoccurred. The failure mileage was 190,000. Jft.

Power steering went out as I was driving my car to work, I had to have it towed . I was tolded that this part was on a recall so I called a gm shop and was told that my car was not included in the recall why is that!!!!!!!.

Power steering leaks, noisy steering/ grinding sound. . . Saw a recall online for the power steering dated for 2014 however I never received a notice for that I just bought this car 3 months ago.

The first sign of problems was while driving the automatic locks started locking and unlocking themselves. This would happen off and on with it locking and unlocking very quickly and repeatedly, ceasing and then starting it again forapproximately 2 or 3 days. Then it would stop all together for 3 or 4 days maybe a week and then repeat the same pattern. I also noticed a couple of times while my car was parked in my driveway the brake lights would be on. I'm not sure if they went off when I parked my car and got out for the day or if they just suddenly came on while my car was parked. I only noticed this around 3 or 4 times. The main event which brings me here is I was driving doing around 30 miles per hour on a side road when suddenly I could not control my steering easily. Around the same time or seconds after my dash lights started going crazy and all of them flickering off and on. I immediately started to brake my vehicle to come to a stop because it scared me. I was seconds from my destination and my husband was with me and we decided very slowly make it to the bank parking lot. As I turned my car started acting as if it was just failing to run. My husband says this was the transmission. As I turned and started to brake to a stop my brakes did not work as they normally did. Once stopped my car died and would not turn over. We thought the battery died. We then got a jump and the car died again this time not starting back at all.

I received the recall for the power steering problem back in 2014. I had the work done on the power steering per the recall parameters. However, the power steering is now having problems?: it seems when the outside temp is around the 40 degree and below mark, that the power steering won't operate? I go to turn the car on, the car comes to life, and the "power steering" warning lights up on the instrument cluster? the wheel is 'dead-in-my-hands as well? after turning the ignition off then back on several times will it then activate the power steering? but, not always the case. So far, once it comes to life, the steering has not gone out. When I inquired of the warranty, apparently, per the recall details, the part(s) are only warranted for a year and its been approx. A year and a half sinc ethe work was done. Very frustrated and very concerned that the power steering may go out while driving. Especially concerned for other drivers and occupants of this vehicle!! I can send any copies of the recall performed at the local chevy dealership if needed.

While driving down a busy road and slowing down my vehicle as the light turned from yellow to red, my steering wheel instantly froze. The indicator screen in my car read: power steering. It became instantly impossible for me to turn my steering wheel. I put the car in park and put my hazard lights on. I turned off my motor and started my engine again and my steering wheel was back to its normal way of usage.

The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. While driving various speeds and turning the steering wheel, there was an abnormal clicking noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 154,140.

The4 steering wheel doesn't lock and occasionally the key gets stuck in the ignition when you turn it off.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the steering wheel shook without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage 95,000. Ad.

Knocking noise when going slow and turning steering wheel. This happened first in 7/20/2012 at 33,129 miles. Dealer lubed steering shaft. Had problem again on 2/9/2016 at 56,772 miles. Dealer replaced steering shaft this time, cost was about $423. 00 I see that this has been a problem with this vehicle and there was a recall but safecar. Gov website did not show recall for my VIN number.