Automatic Transmission problems of the 2003 Saturn VUE - part 2

I had driven my 2003 Saturn Vue to work the previous night with no problems. Upon driving it the next morning, in busy traffic, it would not transfer out of first gear easily. I practically had to press the gas pedal all the way to the floor to even get it up to 30 mph. I have not had the problem diagnosed but have had quotes if it is the transmission and it is totally ridiculous that we as consumers have to pay more for someone's bad judgment on transmissions. I have read many forums where the complaints are numerous on the Saturn transmissions and now as consumers we are up the creek without a paddle now that gm has filed bankruptcy. This is a safety issue and should of been addressed before bankruptcy before not only are the consumer's wallets empty but the risk increases for our safety as well as others.

I have a 2003 Saturn Vue and the transmission went on may 5 went to the shop to be repaired on may 20 got vehicle back on the 23 and on may 25 the transmission went again took it back to Saturn of albany n. Y. And they told me it was the catalytic converter picked it up on may 27 got about 5 miles away from Saturn tried to cross a 4 lane intersection and vehicle would barely move due to transmission problems again it is a good thing there was very little traffic.

First I had to replace three of four wheel bearings on the vehicle in June of 2006 four months after I got the vehicle. Then just two months ago a sway bar link broke and broke a strut so I had to replace them. Now I am stuck with a 2003 Saturn Vue in my driveway still paying for it with a bad transmission. Everything was going good after the struts I thought I had it all fixed but then my girlfriend went to leave the driveway and there is no reverse in the vehicle.

2003 Saturn Vue w/ vti purchased July 30, 2003. Reported problems with transmission to dealer on 12/14/05. Dealer replaced original transmission at that time. Mileage was 59,721 at time transmission was replaced. On 5/1/09 when exiting the freeway, the engine started to shudder and jerk as if not getting power. I was able to pull into a parking lot and put the car in park. When I tried to put the car back into gear, it would no longer engage the drive or rear gears. After having the car towed and checked out, I have been advised must get a new transmission. This current transmission only has 78,000 miles on it.

2003 Saturn Vue. Consumer states defective transmission. After three months of purchasing the vehicle from a private seller, the consumer notice the vehicle would slip into a weird gear and the engine would sound as if it were running harder. The issue occurred at random intervals with no noticeable pattern. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and was informed that was the way it was supposed to sound, but they would inspected it. When the consumer returned to pick up the vehicle, he noticed the mileage was virtually the same and wondered if they test drove the vehicle. 4-5 weeks later, the consumer received a letter from gm stating the vehicle had a potentially defective vti transmission installed at the factory. The consumer was informed nothing could be done for him based on the mileage. The consumer stated there was a problem before the mileage on the vehicle excluded him. Also, the coolant light illuminated. The dealer found the water pump leaking.

I own a 2003 Saturn Vue that I bought new from the dealer in October of 2002. I just got my car back from the dealer last Friday with the 3rd transmission that has been installed in the car in the last 1 1/2 years. This is due to the issue that everyone has been reporting with the vti transmissions. Since the car is on it's 4th transmission (I am counting the one that came with it when I got it new) I am concerned that I will be out of luck when my mileage reaches 100,000 miles. Saturn said they would not cover any issues with the transmission after 100,000 miles even though I bought the car new. I was left stranded the 1st time, my wife and 3 kids were stranded the 2nd time (we live in las vegas and this was in the summer when it was about 115 degrees). The last time (this last week) the service engine light soon came on and I was able to get to the dealership before I broke down. You can image how happy I was when I found out that the reason for the service light was my transmission! I am honestly very easy on this car, I have never floored it or driven at really high rpm's. I want this on record so that when the day comes (and I believe that it will) when Saturn completely turns it back on me and I have to sue them in order to get my car fixed that I am a good car owner (as I am sure most of you are) who took really good care of my car and only had it serviced at the dealer. Saturn should make this right and fix these transmissions. Why am I now on my 4th transmission? why did they not fix this issue. I really hope that someone from the NHTSA investigates this issue!.

Own a 2003 Saturn Vue and have had nothing but problems with the transmission. We took it in for a recall in 2005 and they claimed they fixed it. A year later we had to take it back in to have the same problem fixed and paid for it since it was not under warranty. Currently we are unable to drive the Vue due to the same problem the trans is completely out and Saturn will not replace it, instead they want $9000 to repair the trans. The only sympathy we get is "OH 2003 Vues have bad trans in them". So we are now stuck with a car that does not run in our driveway wondering what to do with it. Every auto shop we take it to does not want to fix it because of the type of trans that it is or they tell us we have to take it to the dealer because it is "dealer trademarked" for the parts. I used to love Saturn and tell everyone they were the best and I will always own and buy Saturn products. Since all the problems and the lack of help from Saturn I no longer talk them up ,but tell everyone I know to never buy Saturn because you will get junk and they will not help you in anyway.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue. While driving less than 45 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The manufacturer could not assist because there were no recalls listed for the failure. The contact found numerous complaints online that were similar to her failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 75,000.

Saturn Vue 2003 transmission cvt transaxle 2. 2 motor trans. Quit with no warning luck being I was not in heavy traffic is there a recall on this year please help!.

Transmission/axle failed suddenly. Driving at 65mph on interstate at night when car suddenly quit moving as if it went into neutral. Engine continued to run but car would not move. Coasted to a stop on interstate after nearly getting hit several times. State trooper came by and car was towed away. I had 4 year child in car and our safety, and others, was in doubt because of this sudden failure. Saturn said transaxle was bad and repair is over $5000! but cannot get a new one or parts since gm has quit making the transaxle! this is same model that had an extended warranty on transaxle because of numerous complaints on transaxle that I was not notified of. Saturn will not repair or anything because car is over 6 years old. Same car that had numerous complaints on rear wheel bearings that I had replaced that Saturn wouldn't repair. Also never received recall notices of something with the rear axle or any notices after I purchased car new. Car is unsafe to drive on highway and gm won't repair it because the transaxle is defective. Car is a 2003 Saturn Vue.

The car was running fine with no issues for the past 2 years. My pregnant wife was driving me to work on Sunday October 19th with my 2 year old daughter in the rear seat of the car. We stopped at a stop light, when she hit the gas to go once the light turned green the car traveled about 30 feet without a problem, then with no warning the car stopped and the engine revved, we were almost rear ended by the line of cars behind us. And me and my family were left sitting in the middle of the intersection during rush hour. I had to get out of the car and push it to the side of the road. I feel this is a very unsafe problem. I brought the car to Saturn dealership, they are willing to replace the transmission with a rebuilt unit with the vti. I am concerned that these transmission are so unreliable that the next time this issue happens my family or myself may be hurt.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue. While driving between 30-35 mph, all four wheels on the vehicle locked in place without warning. The vehicle spun out and landed sideways in the center of the road. The vehicle was towed and a mechanic stated that the failure could be due to the transmission. The dealer advised her to bring them the vehicle and pay for a diagnostic. The contact has not yet taken the vehicle to the dealer because she is uncomfortable driving it again with her children on board. The current and failure mileages were 64,000.

Purchased 2003 Saturn Vue 12 months ago. 4 months after owning it, the mileage exceeded the 83,000 mile warranty and the vehicles transmission went out leaving me stranded on a back road in florida, by myself. Im a travel nurse, I was out of state at the time. It cost me 150. 00 to tow it and 250. 00 for Saturn to look at it, they wanted 6000. 00 to fix it. A small dealership fixed the vti transmission in it and it lasted another 12000 miles. It is again broke down. I owe 10000 on the car and Saturn wont recall the vehicle even though they know they have left 1000s of customers out. I have worked all my life to maintain my credit now thanks to Saturn it will be ruined. Yet they have millions of dollars and they cant help us out. Thanks Saturn.

3 months after purchasing the vehicle used, the transmission went out as I went up a hill. After a few hours of sitting it worked again so I took it to a dealer. I had purchased a powertrain warranty so repairs were covered, but the mechanic told me that there had been problems with this make/model/year. This occurred at about 55,000 miles. Now about a year later at 86,000 miles and just over the warranty limits, the transmission has trouble engaging when I put it into drive. I have since done some searching on the internet and found that this is very common yet there has been no recall.

2003 Saturn Vue, purchased 11/2002. Now starting to stall periodically when shifting into reverse, only 48,000 miles and terribly noisy, grinding sound when slowing and starting. Had kept letter from Saturn dated 3/2004 extending warranty for faulty vti transmission, only good for 5years after purchase or 75,000 miles. After viewing all of the customer complaints on the internet where transmissions have failed between 50-60,000 miles. This should have been a recall. I'm unfortunately outside of my 5 year period for assistance in repairs.

I bought a 2003 Saturn Vue new in 2003, in 2006 the transmission went out , the Saturn dealer ship replaced it. Then in 2008 the transmission went out again and the dealer ship said it was know longer under warranty . Why can they not recall these SUV's to replace the transmission it cost 4500 dollars if you can find one. My car still looks like new but just doesn't run , I'm am so discussed and now Saturn is no longer in buisness so are we just out of luck?.

My complaint is against Saturn. . . My family has owned 4 Saturns in the past 8 years. . . 3 of these have had faulty transmissions after owning them for a little over 5 years. . . The other one is an 07 so it has 4 years left I guess. . . Regular mechanics will not even take a job working on them. . . Saturn wants over $4500 for a new transmission not counting labor. . . A friend of ours also had the same problem with her 2003 Vue.

The transmission on my 2003 Saturn Vue failed at only 66000 miles. This is one of those vti variable transmissions with all of the problems where gm had to extend the warranty. Mine is partially covered, but I'm still out a couple thousand out-of-pocket. Gm should have recalled all of these transmissions and replaced them with a standard automatic. They are no longer produced due to quality problems. Why hasn't NHTSA acted on this? a simple internet search shows hundreds of problems with this transmission.

2003 Saturn Vue, bought used from Saturn of appleton. They know this vehicle has a defective transmission but they continue to sell this vehicle to the unsuspecting public, knowing the repair costs are out of site. Neither the dealer nor the company cares. It is outrageous to me that they have this attitude and are allowed to get away with it. Saturn is getting alot of free advertising from me! screw us? screw them!.

2003 Saturn Vue has major transmission problems! ours has already been replaced once only 60,000 miles ago and now needs to be replaced again. I have read a number of complaints with the same problem. The Saturn corp is no help! they should be held accountable for these problems. I know as a large family we cannot afford a car payment and to pay $5000+ to fix it!.

Hey - I purchased a 2003 Saturn Vue in Feb, 2008, around may 1st the transmission died on it. Since then I have researched and found that so many people have had this problem. Which gm will not call a recall on these transmission. They are so bad that you can not find a wrecked Saturn so you can get the transmission out to replace mine. You can get a refurbished one from Saturn for $4,500. 00. To me with the problems that I have read about gm should have a recall on the transmission. Gm knows that these transmission are defected because they are not using them anymore. I would appreciate it if you could at least tell me the steps I will need to take to try and get a recall on this type transmission. Thanks.

I purchased a brand new 2003 Saturn Vue. The transmission began having problems. The car jumps into first gear. Greenbrook Saturn told me a few things that could be wrong. I paid to fix the car nothing they did worked. Now I am being told it is the transmission. Now that the car is out of warranty I am being told nothing can be done. It was in warranty when I began having the problem.

My 2003 Saturn Vue with vti transmission is basically a piece of junk!!! I have had 3 transmissions in 13 months and Saturn still charges me for labor! they only give me a 12,000 mile warranty even though they know their transmission design is at fault. They refuse to accept responsibility for their colossal mistake and their solution was to offer me a whopping 4 free oil changes! like that makes up for a $7000 transmission! they knew it was a bad design and still shafted people, they should go to jail for their actions and now should be held 100% liable for the hassles all of us who purchased this vehicle have had!.

Flagged. [ flag message - mark as unread ] subject: Saturn defect date: mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:38:45 -0500 from: "pub inq web mailbox" <pubinq@ntsb. . Read more...

While driving the car down the road and stopped at a stop sign when pulling off the car started to jerk and would not go when it did go after about a second and I was already out in the road the car was stalling and me and my three children was almost hit by oncoming traffic. Took the car into a shop and was told it was the transmission that needed to be replaced. Which a transmission cannot be found to fit this car but one which almost 8000. And now I am reading all the other complaints and now am scared to take a chance to fix it now that it may not take since all of the other people have had the same problem. Please recall this type transmission before something bad happens to someone and their children.

The vehicle was riding smoothly on the interstate. The vehicle after 25 miles of highway travel suddenly decreased in speed. At the same time the transmission responded with a load continual roar. I was on the interstate and I was able to avoid an accident and make it to the median without injury. I had the vehicle towed the remaining 30 miles at a total cost of $120. 00. I was told by the repair technician that it would take $5,583. 00 to replace the transmission that was unable to be repaired. The Saturn dealership quoted the repair at $6,000. 00. I currently owe $7,800. 00 on the price of the vehicle purchased 2 years ago. The car is under the 5 year warranty mark but has 93,500 which falls short of the extended transmission warranty. I am unable to afford to repair it and will not since I've heard stories of others needing to replace the transmission 2 years later. I can't sell the car for 2 reasons. The 1st I don't want to pass the problem on to someone else. The 2nd I still have a note on the loan and the highest offer the Saturn dealer will give us is $1,500 with or without a new transmission. I am not in a financial position to have 2 car notes with 1 car. I do not no what else to do.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue which was purchased in January 2006. While driving approximately 5 mph in reverse out of her driveway and then attempting to shift gear into the drive position, the vehicle would not move forward. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Saturn dealer where the transmission was replaced due to the failure. The replacement was covered under her factory warranty. Two years later, the same failure occurred. The dealer advised her that she would need another transmission due to failures. She has had the transmission replaced a total of three times within 4 years. No recent repairs were made to the vehicle. There were no recalls describing that particular type of failure. The failure mileages was 52,606 and the current was 135,698.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle shifted into second gear from high. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic and he stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 85,000. Updated 02-06-08. The consumer stated the dealer is not at fault but the Saturn corporation for not being included in the recall due to the new type of transmission. Updated 02/06/08.

Saturn 2003 Vue with vti transmission was purchased new in 10/02. At 76,000 miles when accelerating to get on highway, the rpm's were roaring and the speedometer was dropping. Pulled on shoulder and was able to drive car at 30 mph a few miles to the Saturn creve coeur dealer, who met us getting out of the car, and told us he could not even look at our car to go somewhere else! drove sides streets 30 mph to south county Saturn dealer where purchased. After test driving they stated they thought the range switch was bad. No longer under extended warranty it would cost $452 to replace. After read about others complaints on this site, and having never heard of a range switch I am leary of spending the $452 only to have them tell me the next time it happens that the transmission will need to be replaced. Recently had problems with ignition sticking when turning the key. They told me it was some switch then too and the next day it did the same thing. Then I was told that I needed a whole new ignition after they held the key and ground it down! I do not trust them. Car has not had a problems the past few days. I will never buy another Saturn!.

2003 Saturn Vue "vti trans". Problems with the transmission, sounds, slipping, disengaging. Went into Saturn dealer several times,each time I was told that the sounds were normal, common to all vti's, and the slipping was traction control. They did not note any of my complaints into their computer. When I talked to them no one mentioned or notified me of any known problems,nor did they notify me that the trans. Warranty for the Vue had been increased to 5yr/75,000mi. I would have brought the car in for service!recently I found out about several service bulletins in 2004, I was not notified of any. Since I could not afford the costs for repair, I "limped" along with my Vue,for as long as I could,sometimes in rather dangerous situations, until the trans. Failed. After getting the work done he told me that he was sure it would happen again soon. . Read more...

On my 2003 Saturn, the car unexpectedly will not go into drive and I am unable to go anywhere. At other times, while driving, I lose all ability to accelerate or drive above 20 mph. Extremely unpredictable and unsafe. Although I've brought the car in for service, Saturn claims they cannot recreate or fix the problem. This is a very dangerous situation.

Total failure of the vti transmission (Saturn Vue 2003, 4 cyl). Replaced 3 times. Car junked, waste of over $20,000, I can't believe there has been no recall. Multiple consumer complaints. Contact me, anyone so I can get on class action lawsuit. Saturn service and products terrible.

Saturn of manchester has advised us that Saturn is no longer utilizing the vti transmission in any of their awd 4 cyl. Saturn vehicles, because the transmission just did not work out. We have had problems with this transmission in our vehicle. However, as the vehicle gets older, it seems to require more and more transmission service. The 100,000 mile extended warranty we purchased ourselves is now almost over. As seniors living on a fixed income, we thought this automobile would last us for more than only 100,000 miles. Who would buy it knowing about the transmission? we think this problem makes this model a lemon from the beginning. We have read so many complaints about the vti transmission on this Vue. We read that over 88,000 were sold. The only thing Saturn has done, is extend the original warranty from 36000 to 75000 miles. Saturn claims to have all american parts, but this transmission seems to have been made in hungary. There is in progress a class action suite being formed against Saturn for using the vti transmission. We found the following online: "26th Mar 2007, 07:15 there is current a class action case under review in madison CO, IL for the awd 2. 2 Saturn Vue transmission. If you email or phone us, we will give you the attorney's email address, phone number, and name of the investigator and his phone number. We pursued it and have been in touch with the investigator at the law firm. He claims that he now has just about enough claims in enough states to file a class action case against Saturn corporation. Would you please be kind enough to look into this problem ASAP. See if this is true or not and let us know if we can claim our car as a lemon or get some kind of compensation? just yesterday, the Saturn service had to replace half of the vti transmission and gave us a 12,000 mile warranty on it. This warranty does us no good because we still have 13,000 miles of warranty on our warranty we purchased ourselves, so they overlap.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue. Whenever the contact drives longer than two hours at 60 mph, the vehicle will suddenly stop accelerating. Once the vehicle is turned off for at least 20 minutes, the failure no longer exists. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failure. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer, but it still persists. The current mileage was 50,400 and failure mileage was 47,000.

About to replace transmission in 2003 Saturn Vue for the fourth time in one calendar year.