Transmission Not Engage Problems of Saturn Outlook

Driving on hwy 377 and the car started to go in and out of gear. The engine was running fine but the transmission would not engage and we ended up pulling over in traffic as to not cause an accident. We had to have it towed to the dealership in grandbury TX where they said the transmission had to be rebuilt. The issue is the wave plate and it is quite often documented when you search Saturn issues on the internet. The car has 78,000 miles on it and is outside of the 5 year warranty from gm. The dealer said this repair is incredibly common on this make of gm care, ie. Outlook, acadia, traverse, encore. Looking up on the various forums on-line this same incident has happened to 1000's of people. I feel that gm knows about this unsafe mechanical issue and should be held responsible for it since it is effecting 1000's of people and could cause major accidents let alone expense to their customers who have purchased these models.

See all problems of the 2007 Saturn Outlook 🔎.

The vehicle starting jerking and lunging at low speeds. Vehicle's engine started revving in between shifting gears and would then jerk into gear. At times vehicle transmission would not engage in reverse. The dealership had to replace third, fifth and reverse gears.

See all problems of the 2008 Saturn Outlook 🔎.

Issue began as a jerky movement in reverse. A few days later, high engine rpms were noticed during acceleration which eventually led to the check engine light being lit and the transmission being disengaged. No gears were operating and car was able to be pulled off the main roads with no incidents. Many online forums describe a similar issue with the GMC acadia, Chevrolet traverse, and Buick enclave as well and across several model years for each vehicle. . Read more...

1a. The headlights on our 2008 Saturn Outlook started malfunctioning when on auto in July 2010. 1b. Our transmission doesn't properly engage, either. 2a. Our headlights went completely out on the left side, even when on manual, last Friday evening. They had been working earlier in manual, so we were unaware until pulled over by an mp and cited. We were unable to drive our Outlook at night. Saturn finally agreed to fix the wiring harness on Wednesday, but they will not fix the new bulb that shorted out due to the wiring problem. It caused us to not be able to safely or legally drive at night. 2b. The transmission often does not engage, especially when we are stopped and then try to cross traffic to turn left. This has caused several near misses and one minor accident for us. It usually occurs when we are stopped and needing to speed up to merge or cross traffic. 3a. Currently, Saturn is replacing the wiring harness but not the light burned out because of the wiring problem, stating this is a maintenance issue. They are also addressing leaks in the water and fuel pumps. 3b. Unless the transmission problem is fixed by the leaks repair, they have not done anything to correct the transmission problem.

The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook sl. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the transmission disengaged and the vehicle suddenly lost power. He was unable to accelerate; however, he was able to drive onto the emergency lane. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the entire transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that the transmission was on backorder. The manufacturer offered to cover rental expenses. The current and failure mileages were approximately 60,000.