Ignition Module Problems of Saturn VUE

On the first start of the day, at or below 24 degrees f, the interior items flash on and off until the electrical system warmed up. I also learned that if the ignition was on for about 3 minutes it was the same as if it was running. I live in nashville and for the last 3 years it only occurred when the outside temp was 24 degrees or below. The flashing on and off of the lights and equipment is the body control module protecting them when the charge rate is too high. It was considered an intermittent problem and who can troubleshoot at or below 24 degrees? a month ago (July) it started all the time, no flashing, no steering, no dash instruments, etc. Longer story short with the plug removed from the alternator (it controls the field voltage through the ecm/pcm) the alternator was still putting out 18. 5 volts. This definitely should not occur but something was bad wrong inside the alternator. It was boiling the acid out of the battery too. Once the alternator was removed (bench checked failed) and replaced it all went away. It will be interesting to see what happens when the weather gets below 24 degrees again. This alternator is manufactured by gm, is discontinued and no longer available from gm. Only remanufactured units from china are available at the aftermarket parts stores. There is no troubleshooting procedure in the maintenance manual for this problem. The alternator plug can be disconnected without any disassembly. This was the second failure of the alternator on this Vue the first occurred at 87,000 miles. It seems there is a design flaw in the components of this alternator.

See all problems of the 2006 Saturn VUE 🔎.

When you try to start the car when it's cold, all of the interior and exterior lights come on, radio comes on, and then the lights and radio go off and the power steering stops working. After a few attempts and about 5 minutes pass, it works properly. Some times, unexpectedly, all the lights in the car start flashing, I replaced the ignition switch, body control module, the alternator, and have a brand new battery (2 in 6mo). Nothing changes.

While operating the vehicle, the engine began to sputter and steering became difficult. Once the vehicle was stopped, the vehicle would not start with the key being difficult to remove from the ignition. Electrical lights and operations became sporadic. Diagnosis was a defective body control module.

See all problems of the 2008 Saturn VUE 🔎.

Multiple electrical issues. Sometimes car would start and other times it wouldn't. The radio would turn off when turn signal turned on. The ignition would try and eat my key and not release it. The cd player would continue to cycle with key out of ignition. All power in car would reset. Was just told that I would need a new control module.

This is the third time the drivers side sun visor and bar that extends visor was scalding hot! I turned the visor to the window for sun and burned my hand on the metal bar which did not have a plastic covering on it this time after a repair from October for the same issue. The overhead airbag was warm to touch and the lights in the car were shorting on and off continuously, even after the car was off and keys were out of ignition. Last time in ocober 2013 had repair and bought anew battery because it run down after lights stayed on all night at the dealers until they worked on it. This was a very scary situation each time this happened because the car smelled like it was going to catch on fire! I burned my left hand fingers and went to urgent care upon returning home, luckily I was not too far away. I have paid for the repairs from pat moran's Chevrolet and would like to warn you of the possible fire issue here. The stress from this experience was awful. This definitely should be on a recall for this vehicle, as I have heard others with the same problem occurring. . The simple fact is that the repair should of been done in October and this never happen again, but I know they did not replace the plastic covering also on the metal bar which extends the visor and this is where I touched it to turn and extend. I was told it was deemed safe from a repair in October, it was not. I may be possible that the high resistance short in the drivers side visor resulted in the bcm sensing an overcurrent issue. The bcm might of been removing power to that circuit as a matter of preservation. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle now after I have had another yet drivers visor put in and also a passenger side visor which is what the dealers blamed it on this time. Last time the blame was on a passenger pres module program-- .

I got in the vehicle and turn the ignition , the dashboard cluster warning lights lit up blinking off and on. The vehicle started with the warning lights continuing to blink off and on. I turned the ignition switch off and tried to start vehicle again, but it would not start and the dashboard did not light up, but rather only the mileage indicator dimly lit up. I waited 5 minutes and the vehicle started up with dashboard working properly. With months later on I noticed the ac would go haywire blowing hot air via vent and I could not turn it off or get any cold air to blow. This would all happen intermittently. Then the backup light would come on and off intermittently, but within a minute it would stay off. Then as time passed I noticed the low fuel indicator stayed on permemently and the airbag light and tire pressure light would come on intermittently when I turned left using the the turn signal and then off when I turn right using turn signal. I took it to dealership and they found multiple dtc of loss communication with various modules and loose negative terminal and had to recalibrate all ac actuators. I had checked the battery terminals prior to taking car into dealership and they were tight. I picked up the vehicle and noticed low fuel light was still on and on way home the heater came on full blast via vent and when I turned controls off nothing worked. Then the airbag light and tire pressure light came on like before intermittently. The next day the ac worked fine, but there is occationally a loud popping sound from underneith dash. I took it back to dealership and waiting to get the vehicle back.

Initial problems (may 2011) were power down while driving, losing power while driving, abs and traction dash lights went on and off while driving, onstar attempted to connect by itself even when the vehicle was shut off, draining the Vue battery. In Dec 2012, while parked with radio on, an extremely loud noise was emitted through the radio speakers. Shortly, the ignition and the entire electrical system shut down (door locks, dash lights,. . . ). The Vue was picked up by gm dealer. Extensive testing over a week or more finally indicated that the battery for onstar (under right passenger seat) failed. The vehicle communication interface module battery (vcim) was replaced. The Vue has not had this problem since, although some sensors had to be replaced. This was an extremely difficult problem to diagnose, and is potentially a lethal defect with the vcim. All traditional tests failed to pick up the problem. Astute techs at gm finally did.

Purchased this vehicle in August 2010 with 85000 miles on it, one week after buying the vehicle the body control module went out. Around six months later the coil pack went out, two months after that the front bearings went out. At about eight months the tumbler in the ignition went out. At about nine months the thermostat went out. We now are being told that the rack and pinion and transmission are bad at 116000 miles and less than 18 months since our purchase date. After extensive research I have found that we are not the only ones having these sort of issues. I also have been told that there was a class action lawsuit against the maker of the vehicle in which we were not notified of. I feel that this vehicle is unsafe and it seems quite rare that one would have so many issues with a vehicle in a short amount of time.

See all problems of the 2003 Saturn VUE 🔎.

Ignition module replaced , service engine light stay solid , advice to replace catalytic converter , after 2 months engine coil failed , 2 cylinders failed and cat converter turned cherry red due to excess of fuel burned , fire hazard and road hazard .

Car misfiring and probably needed new plugs. Was told that I needed an ignition coil pack, ignition control module and that it would more than $700. 00. Found this to be a problem with other vehicles that are my same year and make. 2003 Saturn Vue. Campaign number for the complaint/recall is 03v231000.

My service engine light was flashing today and about an hour later I started to loose power and when I pressed the gas I heard a loud noise. After doing research only I discovered there is a recall for the electrical system ignition: module on the 2003 Saturn Vue awd 6cycl.

The car suffered an ignition module failure that resulted in $1700. 00 worth of damage to the exhaust system. Only two of the four cylinders were firing. This defect has been noted by Saturn Vue owners as early as in the 2002 models. My husband, an electrical engineer, said that the defect was due to bad engineering that could have been corrected. My suspicion leaned toward "planned obsolescence" since many Vue owners had complained about this very same "malfunction". I contacted both Saturn and gm hq to legally file my complaint as well. Extra note: two other people in my family had experienced the exact same problem with their Saturns around 60,000 miles. One had it repaired (out-of-pocket) over a year ago and now has the same ignition module failure at 67,000 miles.

See all problems of the 2005 Saturn VUE 🔎.

Repeated failure of ignition control module/coil pack on 2004 Vue 2. 2 ecotec motor caused damage to catalytic converter and O2 sensor January 6, 2009 then again March 31, 2009.

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The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue. While driving at any speed, the reduced power light illuminated and the vehicle performed at half power. The dealer stated that the vehicle needed a new engine. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle beforehand. The current and failure mileages were 106,000. Updated 10/07/08. The consumer stated he experienced t he same problem that other Saturn models had and they were recalled for an ignition module problem. Updated 10/08/08.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Vue. While driving 10 mph, the engine vibrated and then misfired. The vehicle decelerated to 1 mph and the contact was unable to accelerate. The mechanic stated that the ignition control module caused the failure. The mechanic replaced the ignition control module; however, the failure continued. There is a recall for the electrical system: ignition: module (NHTSA campaign id number 03v231000) for the 2000-2003 Saturn l-series. The manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in the recall. The contact felt that her VIN should be included. As of November 15, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 82,000. Updated 01-10-08. The coil pack was replaced which did not correct the problem. Updated 01/08/08.

The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Vue. The vehicle stalled while driving in reverse and would not restart. The check engine, traction control and check engine lights came on. The failure mileage was 935. The vehicle was towed and the dealer , who stated that the failure was due to dirt in the throttle assembly. On a separate occasion, while driving 65 mph, the vehicle stalled on a busy highway. The low power, traction control, and check engine lights came on. The mechanic stated that there was a loose wire in the ignition module. The failure mileage was 1342. The vehicle stalled again , and all of the warning indicator lights illuminated. The dealerwas currently diagnosing the vehicle. The failure mileage was 935, and the current mileage was 1400.

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With only 40k miles on the vehicle, the clutch failed while driving at a speed of 35mph. I had to cut off cars and coast across two lanes to a side street. I couldn't get the clutch to engage. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and the clutch system (slave cylinder, clutch plate) was replaced. Vehicle is now drivable (can be put into gear), but check engine light hasn't gone off and cruise control no longer works. The mechanic says "no code" appears with code reader. There is also a strong odor of gasoline fumes each time the vehicle is started or is idling. A week previous to the clutch problem, there was a thumping noise under the hood and the vehicle wouldn't start. I had a flashing check engine light, which also produced "no code" with code reader. I ended up having to replace the ignition control module in order to start the engine.

In the morning my wife attempted to start the car and it did not start. When I got home from work I started the car, but the idle was very rough. I drove the car around the block (standard transmission) and it was very difficult getting the car to accelerate in first gear. As I drove the car to the dealership, the "service engine soon" light was flashing. The idle was rough, the engine was underpowered, and when I came to a complete stop, the engine would stall. The parts replaced were #12587426: coil asm, #12580215: module as, #12569190: spark plug. I do not know if the parts are available. The repairs were done at Saturn of national city in san diego county. This vehicle is a 2002 Saturn Vue. It has the 2. 2l (l4) engine. The parts and the engine are the same ones found in the Saturn l-series sedan, which had a recall for the ignition control module. I believe that recall is 03-c-06. I called Saturn's national customer service line and they said that the recall does not affect my vehicle, even though it has the same engine and same part numbers that were subject to recall for the l-series sedan.

See all problems of the 2002 Saturn VUE 🔎.

July 2005 - while driving on the freeway my dash gauges began dropping to zero and all the dash lights came on (abs, tc, check engine, etc) and the alarm bells starts dinging. The car died and I was able to get off the side of the road. When I started the car again. . All was well for a few miles when bells starts going off and all dash warning lights again come on. Car dies several times on freeway before able to get it home. Taken to Saturn dealer and they replaced a body control module. . All was well. October 2006 - another module went out - the power control module. March 24 2007 - went out to car around 11 am and started it only to notice tc warning light on. Turned ignition off and restarted - light went out. Got two block away from home and alarm bells begin dinging, all dash warning lights come on and gauges (fuel, temp) flatline. Taken to Saturn dealer and told that the body control module is out again. Car has 64000 miles on it total and has three times had a module replaced. Twice it has been the same one for over $500 each time.