Four problems related to service brakes have been reported for the 2005 Saturn VUE. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Saturn VUE based on all problems reported for the 2005 VUE.
Driving to maryland from charlotte nc. I was on the hwy going approx. 65. Car completely shut off, no noise, no warning. As the car slowed down, I coasted to the side of the hwy to a stop. Looked down at the gear shift, it was in drive. The ignition was in the on postion. I put on the break and put the car in park and shut off the ignition. Waiting a few seconds, I turned the key. The car started up and the chime went off. It was the chime that the car makes when you open the door and the keys are still in the igntion. ( a series of quick dings) I didnt open the door. All I did was start the car up. I continued, no problem. The same thing happened again on Saturday November 29th. 2014 on the highway going around the same speed. The car jerked slightly and shut off. This time it was at night. I coasted to the exit that was coming up. Had trouble sterring because the steering went out, head lights dimmed. Car slowly came to a stop at the top of the exit. Same situation. Ignition on, car in drive. I put my foot on the break and put the car in park and turned the ignition off. Turned the ignition back on. Car started up and the chime that goes off if you open up the door with the keys still in the ignition, went off again. The same as before.
At 24,000 miles this 2005 Saturn Vue needed the entire brake system replaced. Then when backing up and then putting the car in drive it would not speed up. I had to stop, put it in park, put it in drive again before it would move. This was at 28,300 miles, turns out the transmission went and had to be replaced. Now at 35,533 the drive shaft is rusted and center support is blown out. I asked Saturn what the life expectancy of this vehicle is and received no response. There were no accidents related to these failures because I realized something was wrong and took it in for service immediately. However, this vehicle has had more serious and costly repairs at 35,533 miles than vehicles with over 100,000 miles. Driving it is very stressful as I never know what will happen next.
(1) air bags-I was involved in a multiple-vehicle accident caused by black ice in Dec, 2005 and not one of the airbags deployed. This was concerning. (2) brakes-from day one, when it rains, my brakes sound like an old person trying to move. (3) ignition-too many times to mention. When I would put the key in the ignition and try to start the car, it wouldn't move and I'd have to jolt the "frozen" steering wheel to finally get the key to turn/car to start. (4) I've seen both the brakes & ignition issues in other people's posts. Just wanted to put this out there for information's sake. Otherwise, the car's been great to me. 10 years old, only 47k miles on it and I just recently had to replace the battery for the first time ever.
The vehicle has major wind noise. . . You can not even hear the radio or conversations in the vehicle due to this noise. The car also has a rattling coming from the driver and passenger side of the car, we can not identify the source. The vehicle also rolls back on a hill when in drive. The brakes also squeal and the dealership says they are fine, but we do not believe they are. These problems have been going on since may 2005 and till now (1/18/06) Saturn has not fixed any of them.