Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.
Chart based on 70 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
Saturn Aura XR with 80,000+ miles just stopped...pulled into parking lot couldn't move forward or backward. Was not on a main road and called for tow.
96100 mi
Replaced leaking trans cooling hoses.
16300 mi
Sound in belt upon cold start. Could not replicate. Thumping noise in drive shaft - oiled and problem gone.
152000 mi
US $3000
Rebuilt transmission
78000 mi
US $4000
Transmission was not shifting smoothly into 3rd. After dropped off, dealer even had issue shifting into reverse. Likely 3-5-R waveplate issue. Replaced entire transmission with GM remanufactured.
20000 mi
Used ’manual’ (M5) while going down 6% grade. When transitioning from acceleration to deceleration between 50 and 60, the transmission would unload and bounce/shudder until put back under load or placed into M6. Reprogramming TCM didn't help.
20000 mi
Transmission whine or grinding when remote started addressed thru P.I. #PIC4773B--loose torque converter bolts were found and tightened and the ECM / TCM were reprogrammed. This rectified the whine / grinding and fixed sloppy transmission issue. Could not fix transmission shudder, wheel imbalance, and alignment problems despite repeated attempts, car bought back by dealer.
38400 mi
Excessive noise when turning, replaced half shaft.
123000 mi
rough shifting
20000 mi
Some type of transmission leak from under the hood, drivers side.
Noticed vehicle wasn’t shifting to higher gear when accelerating and noticed CEL on in instrument panel. Pulled over, turned engine off, and checked for leaks but none noticed. Continued driving with CEL on as only 5 miles from home and car drove fine. Next day, tested the car and transmission would not shift out of 1st gear. Took to dealer, and received bad news of wave plate 1-3-5 issue.
This vehicle has been babied during its life and always been dealer serviced. No way a 13 year old vehicle with only 57k original miles should experience the number and types of problems and repairs this Saturn has required. Over the last 4 years this car has been bleeding me. I honestly doubt I’ll purchase another GM vehicle. I’ll either return to Honda or try a Toyota.
new part installed to replace driveshaft part that was making clunking sound back in December
112000 mi
US $255
Transmission shift lever was hard to move through the gears to get from drive to park or reverse. Dealer repaired under Recall 13036 but the problem remains. Going back to dealer ASAP.
37000 mi
The shifter cable broke. Engine would not crank at all, but lights/radio/key fob worked. Had TSB from GM a week prior, and was covered under warranty. had to replace shifter cable. drove car by manually engaging cable, could not park.
40550 mi
US $339
Transmission shift cable failed due to clip broken on transmission side of cable. Saturn would not cover repair even though it is similar to 2009 Aura recall. Transmission console select cable (between shift lever and trany) failed due to broken clip. Similar to 2009 model recall.
75700 mi
Recall work for shift lever cable
97700 mi
The gearshift cable that was repaired previously under a recall broke again, in the same manner. Dealer/GM gave an extended warranty to fix the problem again free of charge.
I have taken my car in for the last 3 years to have someone diagnose the problem. It is electrical and the transmission ups into 3rd gear to start out from a stop. Have not repaired fully. GM should recall VIN 106727 for tranny repair! Help!
75300 mi
Rear passenger boot leaking. Replaced under warranty
Transmission re-flash for poor shifting performance
78500 mi
Broken reverse-3-5 wave washer
97720 mi
Replaced right front outer CV boot.
120000 mi
US $4300
Transmission went out stuck in low gear
7440 mi
repair noisy shifter
8680 mi
replace interior door panels to 08 panels due to flimsy door handles on old panels. replace rear emblem due to discoloration and peeling. Reprogram transmission and engine, still shifts poorly at low speeds. replace evap purge solenoid, very noisy sou
13640 mi
Noisy transmission shifter.
78000 mi
US $75
The car shifted "hard" in third gear. They deleted the "learned memory" of "my shifting pattern". Seemed to solve the problem but over the next two weeks, it merely moved it to fifth gear. I give up!
18000 mi
Warranty replacement of transmission valve body assembly as well as ECM. Car was failing to shift out of first gear.
18000 mi
Transmission failed to shift out of first gear. Transmission valve body replaced as well as ECM.
121600 mi
US $107
Diagnose CEL and Transmission in Limp-mode (only had 2 forward gears, reverse, neutral and park.
123000 mi
Same transmission problem as prior entry. Drove car from dealership directly to transmission shop as the estimated cost was half of dealership's esitmate.
Replaced Transmission with rebuilt unit. Connection from Shift Selector to replaced transmission very loose. Lever could indicate a position other than what the transmission actually was doing (ex: Trans in "D", but Lever in "N").
Shop honored repair warranty.
3000 mi
transmission was also shifting different than usual.
They checked it and advise nothing was wrong.
66000 mi
US $3500
Transmission failed. Replaced with new transmission
74000 mi
US $3400
Failed transmission.
4000 mi
Annoying delay when accelerating from transmission. Was told it is a characteristic of the car (and is actually reported by many people on the Internet as per my own research).
7000 mi
TCM update for harsh / delayed shifting
106500 mi
US $4900
While driving transmission started kicking all of a sudden then just stopped, pulled to the side of the road turned off engine, restart it but had only one gear available, managed to get the car to the repair shop,solenoid/wave plate failed
111000 mi
rough transmission shifting when driving first thing in the morning
68300 mi
US $2000
wave plate failure destroying trans.
74000 mi
US $1100
both CV axles
68000 mi
US $3500
Transmission failure
11000 mi
Slight transmission leak caused by torn seal
20000 mi
Recalibration of transmission to improve economy.
95000 mi
TORE TRANS DOWN AND FOUND WAVE PLATE AND 3-5 DRUM DAMAGED. REPLACED 3-5 DRUM, WAVE PLATE AND OVERHAULED K7243 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID FILTER AND SEAL REPLACEMENT
180000 mi
My transmission needed repair again. Decided to get rid of vehicle instead of spending 3000 dollars.
54000 mi
US $120
The transmission self-destructed. Lots of noises and after it was in the dealer, it totally went bad.
78000 mi
Transmission failed 3 times in one week - dumped the car.
When going to pull out or overtake, severe lag in power when accelerator pressed.
16000 mi
Cruise control would not set. Automatic locks stopped working. Transmission Control unit reprogrammed with latest update.
131000 mi
US $400
Shift cable broke
60000 mi
US $1
Transmission oil coolant line leaking. Not repaired.
61000 mi
Transmission oil coolant line leaking.
141000 mi
US $3050
car would not shift into 3rd or 4th gear. I have the 4 speed automatic. I limped the car into the dealership. Replaced the transmission. I paid for the entire repair.
148000 mi
US $103
Replaced transmission shift linkage cable due to failed cable.
99000 mi
US $334
Car shudders (like driving over rough terrain) and lacks power when maintaining speed or gently accelerating uphill in 4th gear. Shuddering stops and accelerates normally if throttle is applied more aggressively to induce downshift.