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Saturn Complaint - Bad transmissions/service - 2003 saturn vue transmission
2003 saturn vue transmission - Complaint
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN -- I have a 2003 Saturn Vue that I purchased used in June 2005 with 37,000 miles on it. I have always maintained the appropriate oil changes and check ups that come with owning a vehicle.I had to replace the same part (something to do with the passenger front tire). That was around $55 each time along with the fee for putting it on. During the summer of 2006 it started making some weird sounds. I took it in to the dealership (Saturn of Grand Rapids 28th St.) which stated that they could not find anything wrong with it. I ended up paying for the visit and walking out with no answers. My fiancees friend had a neighbor that was a mechanic at the Saturn dealership. He wanted us to bring it in because it most likely was the transmission. They were finding that at around 75,000 the transmissions were going out in them and at which the was the same time the warranty just happened to expire. So, my fiancee got fed up with the noises and took it back to the same dealership (the closest one to us within an hours drive) which in turn checked it all out again. I received a phone call from my fiancee that it was for sure the transmission. They could get it fixed for about $5,500. The manufacturers warranty expired at 75,000 miles of course which we had already learned before hand. The mileage was just over it. I wanted to fall over. We didn't have that kind of money on hand. I drove and met him there. One of the saleswoman had been talking to him about some options. I introduced myself and began talking about what to do now. She instantly started talking about other vehicles they had on the lot and walked us over to a car on display in the store. I told her I had alot on my mind now because I owed a little over $14,000 on the Vue still. She walked away for a few minutes then returned. She stated that she and her boss had discussed some things and they could get me in the car for around $450 a month and that they could only give me around $4,000 for the Vue. I said absolutly not. I would be stuck with $10,000 added on top of the cost for the car. But of course, she started talking about how the original problem would be taken away and we would have a new running car, and not have to worry about trying to take care of the bill. I was so angry that she said that. HELLO!!!!! I would have a bill STILL! A much higher one and owe a whole lot more in the long run. I walked out. A few days later I had a voice mail from the woman wanting to know if i had thought about and/or made a desicion about the car. The one she insisted on showing us.I nearly blew a gasket at the nerve of her. In the beginning of November my fiancee was leaving my inlaws house luckily with myself following behind him when the vehicle stopped and wouldn't move. We towed it back to my inlaws (les than a block away). It has sat at their house ever since and it is now April. We have been down to one vehicle the whole time trying to get the kids to the babysitter and both of us to our jobs vand trying to raise our children and maintain a home. We have absolutely no way of coming up with that kind of money to fix that piece of junk. I always let people know about what happened and that I would never recommend or buy a Saturn ever again. Please if anyone has had a success with getting help with their junk of a saturn transmission please... let me know
Comments:
Posted by tpet1967 on 2007-06-12:
Hi Mad Mommy,
Your story is mine 100% except the dealership I purchased my Saturn at was, a Ford dealer and after pretty much the same exact thing of the trans going and them offering us the same deal about trading in our broken down car and only offering us $4000 and leaving us a balance of $10,000 I didn't stop there. I wanted to talk to the owner of the dealership (who by the way never did speak to me) about how I thought their dealership frauded us (because the difference in our stories is that besides the SATURN warranty, we purchased a FORD warranty, (we weren't told there was an existing 75,000 warranty and we purchased a FORD 75,000 warranty). Guess what, FORD cannot work on SATURNS, so I too had to drive my vehicle 1 hour away for oil changes, service on noises, the steering column was making a clicking noise that was covered, I also brought my vehicle in several times for a delay, when I would put it in gear, at both the FORD and SATURN dealerships(I would first have to take it to FORD to get permission for me to take it to SATURN so that the FORD warranty would cover any cost). In the past 15 years we have purchased 5 cars from the same dealership and the same salesman who told us the the 75,000 mile warranty would cover us to over 100,000 miles because there was 32,000 miles when purchased. After many attempts to get the FORD dealership to pay for the transmission I thought I was going to have to get an attorney, when suddendly the SERVICE Manager called to let me know that they were willing to make a deal. (They would pay half and we would pay half on what he first told me was a used transmission and the cost would be $2000 each. I was offened at first because the NEW transmission would of only cost $4750.00, so I called him to ask why it was so much, he at first rudely told me that was what it was and that was the deal. The next morning I received a phone call apologizing for a GIANT misunderstanding, the $4,000 was for a rebuild, their new offer is a used transmission they pay half and we pay half of $2250.00, which as the MONTHS go by now , without finding a used transmission is still a nice gesture, but since I've realized, we had a SATURN Warranty all along and didn't need to purchase the FORD warranty and the fact that I had to put miles on my vehicle to go to SATURN 1 hour away attributed to the overage of the 75,000 miles. I am scared to call and push the issue now because there isn't anything in writing for them to keep the deal about paying half, if I were to fight and lose in court, because I feel we were frauded into purchasing a FORD warranty when there was already and existing warranty I would be screwed. So MADMOMMY that is my story if I learn of anything I will be sure to post it. Everyone I tell our story too thinks we should fight for a new transmission free of charge, because firstly the vehicle was brought in several times for the delay when I would put it in gear and I was told by FORD and SATURN that is was a computer chip and it was suppose to do that, neither place never recorded my complaint for that because both places told me that it was suppose to be like that and never looked at my transmission, secondly the salesman (who by the way is no longer there) told my husband we would have coverage to over 100,000 miles, THE WARRANTY situation, if that isn't considered fraud what is, how do you sell a good 15 year customer a warranty they don't need (which we purchased after 3 attempts by the salesman to get us to purchase it for only and additional $13.00 per month and coverage to over 100,000 miles. Thirdly the fact that FORD could not work on Saturns and it had to be driven back and forth over an hour away attributed to the WARRANTY overage which is only 4000 miles over. The more I talk about it the more I want to fight the dealership, we were good customers for 15 years, my husbands family buys their vechicles there and my husbands Company buys their vehicles there every year I do have a legitimate complaint and know lots of people to tell it too. Thanks Toni Williams VINELAND NJ
Your story is mine 100% except the dealership I purchased my Saturn at was, a Ford dealer and after pretty much the same exact thing of the trans going and them offering us the same deal about trading in our broken down car and only offering us $4000 and leaving us a balance of $10,000 I didn't stop there. I wanted to talk to the owner of the dealership (who by the way never did speak to me) about how I thought their dealership frauded us (because the difference in our stories is that besides the SATURN warranty, we purchased a FORD warranty, (we weren't told there was an existing 75,000 warranty and we purchased a FORD 75,000 warranty). Guess what, FORD cannot work on SATURNS, so I too had to drive my vehicle 1 hour away for oil changes, service on noises, the steering column was making a clicking noise that was covered, I also brought my vehicle in several times for a delay, when I would put it in gear, at both the FORD and SATURN dealerships(I would first have to take it to FORD to get permission for me to take it to SATURN so that the FORD warranty would cover any cost). In the past 15 years we have purchased 5 cars from the same dealership and the same salesman who told us the the 75,000 mile warranty would cover us to over 100,000 miles because there was 32,000 miles when purchased. After many attempts to get the FORD dealership to pay for the transmission I thought I was going to have to get an attorney, when suddendly the SERVICE Manager called to let me know that they were willing to make a deal. (They would pay half and we would pay half on what he first told me was a used transmission and the cost would be $2000 each. I was offened at first because the NEW transmission would of only cost $4750.00, so I called him to ask why it was so much, he at first rudely told me that was what it was and that was the deal. The next morning I received a phone call apologizing for a GIANT misunderstanding, the $4,000 was for a rebuild, their new offer is a used transmission they pay half and we pay half of $2250.00, which as the MONTHS go by now , without finding a used transmission is still a nice gesture, but since I've realized, we had a SATURN Warranty all along and didn't need to purchase the FORD warranty and the fact that I had to put miles on my vehicle to go to SATURN 1 hour away attributed to the overage of the 75,000 miles. I am scared to call and push the issue now because there isn't anything in writing for them to keep the deal about paying half, if I were to fight and lose in court, because I feel we were frauded into purchasing a FORD warranty when there was already and existing warranty I would be screwed. So MADMOMMY that is my story if I learn of anything I will be sure to post it. Everyone I tell our story too thinks we should fight for a new transmission free of charge, because firstly the vehicle was brought in several times for the delay when I would put it in gear and I was told by FORD and SATURN that is was a computer chip and it was suppose to do that, neither place never recorded my complaint for that because both places told me that it was suppose to be like that and never looked at my transmission, secondly the salesman (who by the way is no longer there) told my husband we would have coverage to over 100,000 miles, THE WARRANTY situation, if that isn't considered fraud what is, how do you sell a good 15 year customer a warranty they don't need (which we purchased after 3 attempts by the salesman to get us to purchase it for only and additional $13.00 per month and coverage to over 100,000 miles. Thirdly the fact that FORD could not work on Saturns and it had to be driven back and forth over an hour away attributed to the WARRANTY overage which is only 4000 miles over. The more I talk about it the more I want to fight the dealership, we were good customers for 15 years, my husbands family buys their vechicles there and my husbands Company buys their vehicles there every year I do have a legitimate complaint and know lots of people to tell it too. Thanks Toni Williams VINELAND NJ
Posted by fleecedbygalpinsaturn on 2007-09-04:
My expereince with saturn service department has been that they will try to sell your repairs that don't need to be done. Sell the car, buy something not made by GM.
Posted by Lidman on 2007-09-04:
My expereince with Saturn is that saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Along with the planets Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, it is classified as a gas giant (also known as a Jovian planet, after the planet Jupiter). It was named after the Roman god Saturnus, equated to the Greek Kronos (the Titan father of Zeus) and the Babylonian Ninurta. Saturn's symbol represents the god's sickle . The day in the week Saturday gets its name from the planet.
Posted by RCawdor57 on 2007-11-18:
I am assuming that the people posting about Vue transmission problems have the VTI transmission. The VTI transmission is a wonderful piece of crap that fails continuously. My Vue has the FWD 5 speed manual which is not a new design and has been around for ever. It should last to 500,000 miles or more if taken care of. I currently have 105,000 miles on my Vue (4 cylinder engine, 5 speed FWD manual) with no problems so far.
Posted by KymH on 2007-12-27:
Well I can definitely feel your pain. I am a single mom and my Saturn Vue is only four years and I'm having transmission problems already! Of course when I called the dealership, there wasnt a powertrain warranty on my vehicle. Up til now I was very satisfied with my Vue, now I'm VERY UPSET! I don't know what I'm going to do, the car only has 60,000 miles, this is ridiculous.
Posted by Momthreetimes on 2008-01-11:
We have a 2003 Saturn Vue, bought in 2005 with 46,000 miles on it.
At 59,000 the transmission went, the company told us the transmiission had been recalled and replaced it. However they would not cover our towing or car rental charges.
It is now, 2008 and the vehicle has 117,000 on it, 2 and a half years and 59,000 miles and guess what the transmission went again. The dealer wants 5225.00 to repalce it!!!!
How it it possible that we are having to put a third transmission in????
There are postings all over the internet about problems with 2003 transmissions, and Saturn acted like they had never heard of the problem before.
We are fixing it, and trading it in, worst car we have ever owned.
Don't they relize, that they have lost us as a customer, our kids, our families, our co-workers, and anyone else I can tell, as potential customers.
WARNING: Don't buy a SATURN!!!!!!!
At 59,000 the transmission went, the company told us the transmiission had been recalled and replaced it. However they would not cover our towing or car rental charges.
It is now, 2008 and the vehicle has 117,000 on it, 2 and a half years and 59,000 miles and guess what the transmission went again. The dealer wants 5225.00 to repalce it!!!!
How it it possible that we are having to put a third transmission in????
There are postings all over the internet about problems with 2003 transmissions, and Saturn acted like they had never heard of the problem before.
We are fixing it, and trading it in, worst car we have ever owned.
Don't they relize, that they have lost us as a customer, our kids, our families, our co-workers, and anyone else I can tell, as potential customers.
WARNING: Don't buy a SATURN!!!!!!!
Posted by PittsburghMom on 2008-04-11:
My husband and I also had many issues with the transmission on our 2003 Saturn Vue. In September 07 we were able to trade it in after months of anguish. During the time that I was fighting with Saturn (I involved a zone rep and would encourage you to do the same), I did some online research and found a law firm that has filed a class action lawsuit against Saturn for this very reason. They are making some progress now, so if you are interested and have questions about the class action suit, contact Ron Hoover at Lakin Law Firm. His email address is ronh@lakinlaw.com.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Posted by jessicax08 on 2008-06-27:
I just bought a used 2003 Saturn Vue, 4 cyl. It had 78,000 miles on it. I bought it on a Monday, and we were starting the car up on that Thursday, and the car was acting horrible. Thankfully, we have a limited waranty, that lasts 30 days, 1000 miles. The dealer ship was a Chevy dealer, so they were not excatly updated on how excatly the Saturns are, but I loved everything about the vue, until it acted up.. just three days after I bought it. Heads up, don't buy the vue.. unless its a 2004 or up, and make sure its a 6 cyl, or greater. The engine of a 4 cyl. for that big of a car works the engine too hard, and thats why there are so many problems.
Posted by Heather V. on 2009-01-14:
Oh my goodness. I am absolutely speechless that so many others are having the exact same problem with their Saturn VUEs as me and my husband. Long story short, our 2003 Saturn VUE 2WD, bought new off the lot, has been nothing but trouble since we bought it in September 2003. I'll only focus on the transmission problems we are having. The original transmission went bad in 2007, of which we paid ~$6,000 to replace. Now, less than 2 years later, the VUE had to be taken in due to a strange noise. The dealership called us to let us know that the 2nd transmission was now bad and needed replacing. The 2nd transmission is under warranty, but much to our dismay, Saturn will only pay 75% of the replacement costs - which leaves us with out of pocket expenses of $1200 to put a 3rd transmission in the car. I am so mad that I don't know what to do.
Needless to say, we will NEVER own another Saturn or GM product. We need the bailout - not the piece of )@#($&* automakers.
--Pissed off in NC
Needless to say, we will NEVER own another Saturn or GM product. We need the bailout - not the piece of )@#($&* automakers.
--Pissed off in NC
Posted by Lynnatl on 2010-12-02:
Your story is mine too. I bought my S2004 aturn ION quad 3 used in 2006 and found out later that the Saturn dealer I bought it from had just put a transmission in it knowing the problems with the transmissions on those cars. They sold me a car knowing there was class action lawsuit pending on it. Two years later the transmission went out. The dealer paid for the transmission and I paid for the labor costs $500. They only helped because I asked for it....nobody offered it...this is when I found out about the class action lawsuit. Here it is two years later and the transmission has gone out again. I have 1 payment left on this car and now it is sitting in my garage and cannot be driven. I called GM's customer service to find out what they could do to help me considering this will be the 3rd transmission for this car. I know it needs a transmission. Duh, everything else works but when you put the car in gear it won't move. I've been here before. I also had a transmission specialist look at it and they confirmed it. But, GM insists on making me pay to tow the car to a dealer ship that would cost me in excess of $50, get the car inspected by the dealer and pay $100 for that and after I put out over $150 they can then tell me how they can help me. They are being so unreasonable and insensitive to my situation especially considering they know this car has a history of transmission problems. They insist on making me pay for towing, making me pay them to tell me what's wrong with the car ($100 inspection fee) and I have no clue how much they are willing to discount the service if I let them repair it. I hope this is helpful to someone. PLEASE DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY! THEY ARE UNREASONABLE AND DON'T CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS!
Posted by JUSTINA ADKINS on 2011-06-20:
I PURCHASED A 2003 SATURN VUE 2.2 4 CYL. TRANSMISSION HAS WENT OUT. I TOOK IT TO A GM DEALER. THEY CHARGED ME $1100.00 TO FIX IT AND IT NEVER DID. SATURN JUST SAME AS LAUGHED AT ME AND HUNG UP. IVE OWNED MY SUV FOR GONE ON 7 YEARS. JUNK YARDS, TRANSMISSION SHOPS, ON LINE HELP. NO SUCH THING. IT BURNS ME UP TO THINK THERE ARE SUCH UNCONCERNED PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT DONT CARE AFTER THEY GET THEIR MONEY. ITLL ALWAYS COME BACK TO HAUNT THEM.
Posted by mike in ct. on 2012-09-10:
YES ITS TRUE SATURN BUILT A VTI TRANSMISSION BUT THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT IS BY HAVEING GM INSTAL THE REMANUFACTURED ONE NOW AVAILIBLEAND IF YOURS IS UNDER 100.000 MILES GM IS ONERING THE (( RECALL )) ON THE VTI TRANSAFTER GETTING BURNED BY SMITH BROTHERS TRANSMISSION I JUST HAD MINE REPLACED AGAIN NOW IM SUING IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT THEN IM GONNA TRY GETTING THE BALLENCE SETTED BY GM!!RECALL IM $10.000 INTO SO FAR!!BUT IM AFRAID I MIGHT BE OVER THE MILEGE SET FOR THE RECALL CLAIM! GOOD LUCK
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