general problems of the 2008 Saturn Outlook - part 2

The sun roof leaks and a large amount of water had collected inside the battery terminal which is located under and behind the front passenger's seat. Since then, water continues to leak in from the sun roof "tubes" which have been cleaned out several time. I have had water that puddles under the carpeting in the front and rear seat and has effected the electrical. There are numerous instances posted and youtube videos of folks who have also dealt with this issue. It's a shame that it has not been addressed. Gm has no resolution and the dealership charges $50 to "blow out the lines" I. E. Using an air hose to blow air through the tubes. It's obvious the sun roof is not properly sealed and the tubes (drains as they are referred to by the dealership) are not full proof. The water also leaks from the side airbag curtains and the sun roof control panel.

While parked on a resident driveway, it was raining for awhile there and rain came thru both side frames from the windshield inner pillar panels and was dripping on the floor mats and went thru the carpet and soak the floor, it does this every time it rains it comes through like that, smell like burnt wires came out on our way back home.

Water leaks into my vehicle from a variety of locations. One through the back-up distance indicator in the back of the vehicle, down the insides of the door panels onto the driver and passenger floor, and down the inside of the windshield. My car started not turning off when I would turn the ignition off with the key and pull it out. I brought it to a mechanic and he fixed 5 leaks in the sunroof drains. Now my blower motor won't work, but my car does turn off again when I want it to. Mechanic said I should bring the car back in to have all the carpet/seats taken out and completely dried out so I don't get mold under the carpet, too. Don't have the funds for all the fixes for this vehicle and the electric problems, so I'll have to do one at a time. I love the vehicle, but it's a love/hate relationship. I the leaks and the damage the leaks caused, since they are known issues, were covered under some kind of a recall.

I just left my 2008 Outlook xr at the dealer. According to them the problem are the tubes that drain the water from the sunroof. These tubes run inside the front and rear columns (on the sides the windshield in the front and the side columns on the back of the car). These tubes are not long enough to drive the water until the bottom of the car so the water will leak into the inner fuse block, will damp the carpets on the passenger and driver sides and make much more damage than you can believe. As the insulator between the carpet and the floor is like a sponge, it will absorb the water and soaks all the connectors that run below the insulator (cables that run from the battery, to the seats motors and heater, etc, etc). Not to mention that it may damage the airbag triggers mechanisms located on the columns besides the windshield?. Based on the number of complains about this issue at the internet, why nobody has done anything yet? what if the front sides airbag does not deploy as expected due to this rain inside the car????? NHTSA should seriously inquire gm for that as it may put many lives at risk. And not only to Saturn Outlook owners. The same is happening to GMC acadias and Buick enclaves. . . .

The problem starts with heavy rain leaking through the sun roof. According to the ed morse dealership representative, the sunroof is projected to pass some water (very few) that will drain through the drain tubes located at the front and rear columns (sides of the windshield). However, the tubes may get clogged an the water starts leaking inside the car through the columns were airbag are located. Nevertheless, these tubes are not long enough to drive the water until the bottom of the car so the water will leak into the inner fuse block, will damp the carpets on the passenger and driver sides and make much more damage than you can believe. As the insulator between the carpet and the floor is like a sponge, it will absorb the water and soaks all the connectors that run below the insulator (cables that run from the battery, to the seats motors and heater, etc, etc). Not to mention that it may damage the airbag triggers mechanisms located on the columns besides the windshieldâ?¦. Based on the number of complains about this issue at the internet, why nobody has done anything yet? what if the front sides airbag does not deploy as expected due to this rain inside the car????? NHTSA should seriously inquire gm for that as it may put many lives at risk. And not only to Saturn Outlook owners. The same is happening to GMC acadias and Buick enclaves. . . . There are many forums with such complain at the internet and in one of them a representative from gm ask us to contact her but I sent her 2 e-mails and so far I have no answer. Her e-mail is [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Every since I have had a recall fixed. . . My lights flicker on the dash and I have been having problems with the transmission seeming to stay in one gear. It was told to me that it may be a timing chain issue but it is not a recall. I have read numerous complaints in regards to this issue from other Outlook owners.

Driver side headlamp did not work on many occasions over 1 1/2 years. Dealer replaced both driver and passenger bulbs but drivers side went out and did not come back on. An inspection revealed a burnt / melted connection at the bulb.

In March of this year I turned my 2008 Saturn Outlook into haley GMC in midlothian va to fix a recall concerning an air bag warning light that was on in the car. Air bag recall 14030 was performed, however, the warning light was still on in the cabin. Service department at haley informed me that the recall was performed per gm specifications however, the warning light was still on due to a faulty passenger presence module (diagnotic code: b0081). At the time of this repair I had an extended warranty under the gmpp (general motors protection plan) which was still valid until August of 2014 or 107,000 miles which ever came first. I was told by gmpp that this module was not covered under my current warranty. Since this visit I have taken my complaint through not only the dealership but through corporate gm on two separate occasions pleading with them that this was a safety related issue not a warranty issue. Gm has stated to me that this is not a safety related issue and that this part is no longer covered under warranty. They want me to pay them $900 for this repair and I refuse to pay them because this repair should be covered under general motors. This same issue has been reported by numerous other gm vehicles besides the Saturn Outlook, including the GMC acadia and Saturn sky. I would like to get assistance from your department in challenging back to gm to get this issue addressed for I am driving around in an unsafe vehicle that there is a good chance that if a passenger is traveling with me in the front of the vehicle that the air bag will not go off in a frontal collision.

I was driving on the highway going 70 miles/hr and the chime went off and engine power is reduced and service stabilitrak traction control off flashed on my display as well as the check engine light. I started to lose power and cars were swerving around me with the sudden loss of speed and I was lucky I was not hit by another car. By the time I got over to the shoulder of the road I was going 40 miles/hr with the gas pedal pushed all the way down. The problem was diagnosed by a gm dealership as a timing chain issue. When I looked online it seems many people have had problems with the same issue. Gm has informed me there was a recall for the 2007 Saturn Outlook and the 2009 Saturn Outlook but my 2008 Saturn Outlook was not under the same recall even though nothing is different in the 2008 from the 2007 or 2009, it has the same engine and the same timing chain that qualified the other years recalls.

10/12/13 we had several inches of rain & the next morning I noticed the floor boards were wet. Again, the evening of 10/15 we had severe rain storms with flooding in our city. The next day when my mil & I got into vehicle the floor boards were soaked. When we put our seat belts on they too were wet. I took the vehicle to a body shop on 10/16 & have a statement that it would be a costly repair, mold was present & he stated it was not recommended that I drive it due to possible electrical problems. On 10/23 I picked the vehicle up from the body shop & noticed the mold on the headliner of the passenger side & driver side floorboard. I immediately called the dealership (covert Buick) where I purchased the vehicle & told them I would be bringing the vehicle to them first thing in the morning. 10/24 I attempted to start the vehicle & it would not start. I called the dealership & spoke to the service manager tom. He sent a tow truck out to bring the vehicle to the dealership. Prior to the tow truck arriving I cleaned out all my personal belongings & upon doing so I found that the third row cup holder had standing water in it & mold was growing in it also. Upon arriving to the dealership tom stated he "got me a loaner vehicle approved by [xxx], they usually don't do this" & told me I would "likely not hear from them until wed, 10/30 as they were very busy". I did not hear from tom until fri, 11/1 at 3pm. I returned his call at 5pm & he explained that they assessed my vehicle & it would cost me $1900 for repairs. "there were leaks found & water damage caused a short in the battery. " I then explained that I did not feel this was something I should have to pay to get fixed as I had just purchased the vehicle from them. Asked him to escalate to his manager & get back to me. I received a call from tom 11/4 stating covert was not going to pay for the damage. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was traveling about 60 mph on hwy. Car shut off and back on, it was also raining. Smelt really bad like a fire. Went straight home, took car to shop the next day. The water leak I thought had been fixed was leaking into the electrical board caused a burn out while I was driving because it was raining.

Driving down the highway at 60mph when car slowed down to 10-15mph. Had to place my emergency lights on in order not to get hit by passing vehicles and move to the emergency lane. I had to turn off the car in order for the accelerator to work again. After the first incident the vehicle kept on stalling. Took the vehicle to the dealer and it turns out its the throttle body that's malfunctioning. The warranty I purchased does not cover this type of part, I don't even have a year with this vehicle. In doing my research I find out that there has been an investigation on this vehicle on foresaid problem around the time I purchased the vehicle. The investigation is still opened. Investigation number pe13-003. The Ford dealership is charging me close to $700 in order to get this part fixed. They did not provide this information to me I had to look it up my self. They also did not provide me with a renter car I had to purchase one on my own. Its just unfair.

Near the end of may 2012, I was backing out of my driveway which slopes slightly downward, and suddenly water started coming out of the rear overhead lights. When the car reached level ground the water then came out of the passenger-side windshield pillar and the sunroof as well. I brought it to a gm dealership and they told me the sunroof drain tubes were clogged. It cost me $90. 00 to have them clean it out. The car is normally garaged, however we had driven it during a rainstorm the day before this happened. Afterwards we started noticing some crazy things happening to the electrical system of the car. Sometimes the radio would stay on even after the key was removed and opening the doors (which normally would shut everything down. ) sometimes the front door panel speakers would not work at all, or one would work or both would work. Right now the drivers side is not working. Then the day after the car was out in a torrential rain storm sometime near the end of February 2014, it would not start at all. It was completely dead and I had to call aaa to get it started. The aaa guy said to check this car out online for electrical problems, which I did and found volumes of complaints stemming from this issue, as well as several gm technical service bulletins or TSB's as they are referred to. I once again brought it to the gm dealership which knew about the issue and repaired it at a cost to me of $810. 39. Gm has not addressed this issue directly, nor has compensated any of the consumers who own the vehicles that all have this problem, namely Saturn Outlook, GMC acadia and Buick enclave from 2008 - 2010. I feel that it is irresponsible and unethical for them to pass this problem off to the consumer. This is not a normal wear and tear issue and I want to be reimbursed, and I'd like them to inspect and repair for free the electrical system as well for other damage.

2008 Saturn Outlook, water leak through seal on dash. Shorted out fuse panel allowing the car to run with key turned off and losing function of passenger air bag control. Multiple complaints of this defect in the manufacturing of vehicle. Consumer cost $1300. 00.

Water leak from sunroof traveled down the driver's pillar and through the dash, onto the floor. This caused an electrical shortage which caused the emergency brake warning bell to sound. Water was also leaking out of the curtain airbag badge on the pillar potentially compromising the airbag. Water soaked the driver's carpet and mats. Now the dashboard indicator light for rpm is operating sporadically.

We have owned this 2008 Outlook since it was new, we are the original owners. It was principally garaged until recently. After any rain water can be heard sloshing over your head and the floor gets wet. On several occasions electrical issues have started happening. Various lights come on the dash and the radio will turn on by itself. I am concerned that the water leaking in is causing electrical shorts which could cause a fire or cause the airbag system to fail. This is a known problem and this much water entering the dash could cause a catastrophic failure resulting in injuries. Water is entering from the sunroof and does not drain properly. Gm has a TSB that speaks of drain tubes that need to be extended. I do not think that is the issue because, if it was, it would have leaked since it was new. This problem only started a couple of months ago and this car had been exposed to rain over the years with no issues.

The drivers side headlamp assembly overheated and melted causing the light to fail . This is the second time this happened with this automobile . The last incident was the passenger side headlamp assembly same exact thing happened overheated and melted causing light to fail.

While on vacation, noticed the engine light come on, no apparent problems at the time but the next morning (after sitting in the parking ramp all night) I come out to find a dead car battery. Apparently, after turning the car off and removing the key, the car did not shut off. Jumped the battery, took it right to a repair shop. Due to a major water leak of the sunroof, my whole electrical system was affected. The car had to be dried out, I continue to have more and more things go wrong with this vehicle. It continues to leak water on the passenger side floor, roof (comes down like a waterfall), etc. Now I have noticed my car battery running higher and my front head lamp turns on and off. Could make this car very dangerous!.

When a passenger is seating in the front seat, the air bag light indicator will say off instead of on.

My 2008 Saturn Outlook (w/sunroof) engine continues to run with key off position (see gm bulletin #08-08-57-003c [seam seal] dated July 15, 2011) water leak at a-pillar caused various electrical problems such as engine continues to run with key off/possible no crank/no start/communication loss/various electrical concerns, which was the result of a water leak on the ip bec from the sunroof drain hose that exits through the vehicle at the plenum and re-enter through the "unsealed seam at the front of the dash". This can effect 2007-2010 Outlook; 2007-2012 GMC acadia; 2008-2012 Buick enclave. Gm only covers this to 3 yrs/36k mile warranty then gm requires owner to pay $400 to repair their engineering defect. . .

My 2008 Outlook has been in the shop now three times for leaks. They can never find the leaks. Now I have the inner lining of the ceiling leaking with water from the rain and all my leather seats are wet, the inside of the windshield was wet along with all my lights dripping with water. I have read on so many forums how the electrical problems all started with these leaks and we should have a recall before anyone gets killed from the car dying on the highway while driving.

Headlight-dis-failed and wireharness melted.

Passenger side low beam headlight harness (female socket) melted.

Driver side headlight wire harness arcs and causes light to fail. Replacing lightbulb temporarily fixes issue. Light fails and causes loss of light while driving at night. Also, potential fire hazard.

Right headlight would work sometimes and others not. Took into the dealership to have repaired and warranty does not cover. Dealership tried to charge me 300 just to replace the harness. Needless to say my car is parked for now and hubby will be replacing his self. Harness cost $25.

On 8/26/2011, I replaced my drivers side headlight bulb and noticed a burnt wire smell but did not notice anything visually, approximately one month later I noticed that my light was out again the next day I bought a new bulb. I started the process of changing out the bulb but noticed it was back on so I stopped. A few days later the bulb was out again so I changed the bulb and noticed that the burnt smell was very bad and the plug on the wire harness and the wire insulation had melted. . Read more...

Low beam headlamp connector melted.

Right headlight low beam connection has melted. Was able to remove bulb, but badly burnt, can not replace lamp.

Electrical failure- the headlights operate intermittently and produces a safety issue. I was ticketed in March for no headlights then 3 days later it started working. Now 2 days ago it went out again. Prior to this, I informed the dealer that our radio and driver side passenger window operated intermittently as well but they could not troubleshoot the problem at the time, as if worked well. It appears to be a consistent problem with gm cars and we need an intervention.

I purchased a 2008 Saturn Outlook in February of 2011. My passenger headlamp (low beam) electrical harness connector to the bulb melted and caused a sparks to come out to the headlamp protector. . Also damaging it. .

The wire harness for the low beam headlights has melted. It is a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The wires and the plug appear to be insufficient for the amount of electricity flowing through them.

Been having intermittent problems with the drivers side low beam not working, have been on a few occasions to make it work cycling light switch and now that does not help either. Was researching ways to attempt to repair and my sister inlaw also has a Saturn Outlook and was telling me hers ended up being the harness, and after seeing all the threads about this happening to alot of other Saturns I think I will be taking my wife's car to a local dealership to be look at for safety reasons.

I have a 2008 Saturn Outlook. When going to replace the headlamp bulb all of the wires have melted. Now I will have to pay for a new one due to the fact my warranty had just expired. Thankfully the car did not burn up due to the fact on was on a twelve hour drive with my family.

The low beam connection melted.

Our 2008 Saturn just had to have the driver's side low lamp headlight fixed. Melted harness piece. We had to pay for this one because we are out of warranty time (60k miles). The passenger side lamp went out while under warranty. It's ridiculous that we just spent $279 to have a light repaired that seems to be a recurring problem with Saturns. . . Before that we had the whole passenger side airbag light problem. The car doesn't sense when someone is sitting in the front passenger seat. Dealership said car is out of warranty and it will cost us because it's probably a faulty sensor. This is our second Outlook. Lemon-lawed the 2007 and thought we'd give them another chance. Not Smart on our part in retrospect!.