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Saturn VUEYears to avoid, problems & recalls

Based on 2,351 NHTSA owner complaints across 9 model years, no Saturn VUE year stands out as one to avoid, and the strongest years are 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009. The VUE has 7 safety recalls on record.

Saturn VUE
Years to avoidNoneUse caution: 2003Best years'02 '05 '07 '09Fewest complaints for their ageOwner complaints2,351Top: Electrical systemSafety recalls72002–2010 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years. Photo: IFCAR, Public domain.

Best & worst years

Saturn VUE years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the VUE median. Tap a year for its full report.

'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10
  • Avoid
  • Caution
  • Solid
  • Best
  • Not rated
2010Not rated–/1006 complaints · 0 recalls2009Best69/100118 complaints · 2 recalls2008Solid42/100406 complaints · 3 recalls2007Solid51/100286 complaints · 0 recalls2006Solid49/100300 complaints · 0 recalls2005Solid61/100170 complaints · 0 recalls2004Solid49/100276 complaints · 2 recalls2003Caution32/100622 complaints · 1 recall2002Solid62/100167 complaints · 2 recalls
Complaints by system

Most common Saturn VUE problems

All model years combined: 2,351 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.
Complaints by system
SystemComplaintsCrash, fire or injury
Electrical system68344
Power train64926
Air bags30772
Steering28621
Engine and engine cooling1485
Engine14320
Suspension12917
Structure9317
Vehicle speed control767
24 other systems56852
7 recalls

Saturn VUE recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

27%Electrical system: ignition14V-490 · 2002–2004 · Aug 8, 2014 · 202,155 vehicles–Doors: latch09V-233 · 2008 · Jun 25, 2009 · 44,451 vehicles–Spindle: arm08V-616 · 2009 · Nov 24, 2008 · 2,149 vehicles–Hydraulic power assist: hose, piping, and connections08V-470 · 2008–2009 · Sep 17, 2008 · 42,408 vehicles–Power train: automatic transmission08V-200 · 2008 · May 5, 2008 · 26 vehicles–Other: labels03V-519 · 2004 · Dec 19, 2003 · 6,134 vehicles–Front: anchorage01V-386 · 2002 · Dec 18, 2001 · 327 vehicles
3 investigations

NHTSA investigations of the VUE

  1. OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLES STICK UNLATCHEDPE09016 · 2008 · closed Jul 2, 2009
    Led to recall 09V-233
  2. TIMING CHAIN FAILUREPE06006 · 2002–2003 · closed Jun 6, 2006
    No recall
  3. REAR SUSPENSION TOE CONTROL LINKPE04052 · 2002–2004 · closed Nov 1, 2004
    No recall