2008 Saturn VUE Saturn VUE 2008

We are 103,000+ car owners sharing real-world car information.

Join Us

2008 Saturn VUE repairs by problem area

Engine (25%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (10%)

Brakes and Traction Control (5%)

Suspension and Steering (16%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (26%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (8%)

Other (10%)

Select a problem area

Show all problems

Need advice about a specific Saturn VUE problem?

Chart based on 441 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2008 Saturn VUE.

2008 Saturn VUE electrical repair cost distribution

$2500+ (0%)

$1000 - $2499 (5%)

$500 - $999 (13%)

$100 - $499 (30%)

< $100 (53%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 87 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2008 Saturn VUE

Engine not specified

16000 mi

US $600
Heater core blew out. Tires wore uneven, aligment done and tire replacement.  Radio replaced not playing cd's. 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

257-horsepower 3.6L V6 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD

7657 mi Tail light would not shut off draining battery. Had to have it towed to dealership. Computer (control) body replaced. 
59700 mi

US $345
battery  
7000 mi Several problem Icons lit on instrument cluster. No speedometer or Tach. No sound when flashers used (but they did work) 
3500 mi Blower moter being replaced due to excessive noise. Ticking from vibration above drivers head due to a loose wire- being glued down. 
3200 mi Face vent not blowing air. wire came loose. 
87100 mi

US $900
Alternator locked up, Vue ran on battery until battery was unable to handle load. 
111000 mi

US $550
AC stopped working. Low pressure side, expansion valve, and tubing were leaking and broken. 
132000 mi

US $450
Starter or relay switch not working. intermittent starting No Crank, problems This was the actual repair for my starter in May. It had to be replaced, and now it's working great. 
1000 mi Replaced driver side rear wheel speed sensor. ABS / TC & Stability control warning lights would go on and off. They would come on for a day then off. Very random, sensor fixed problem 
62000 mi the panel that controls the gas gauge, and other items was replaced, it stopped working one day, but gave us no troubles when Onstar reset it. 
17000 mi

US $187
could not start the Vue. Called GM Roadside assistance and had Vue towed to Chevy dealer, the authorized Saturn dealer in my area. Dealer said original battery was the problem. New battery installed. 
4000 mi CD player does not work. 
6000 mi CD player quit working. Factory installed Remote Starter quit working. 
930 mi Onstar battery failed / replaced under warranty 
1860 mi Driver seat lumbar support noise / repaired under warranty 
7130 mi Battery failed. Needed auxilary boost to start. Battery replaced under warranty. 
48000 mi

US $140
Battery replacement. 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

257-horsepower 3.6L V6 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD

11000 mi Automatic climate control would not maintain constant temperature.  
14000 mi Check engine, airbag, and tire pressure light came on. Tach stopped working. Loose fuse/power block tightened and torqued down. 
18700 mi Airbag warning light stay on all the time. 
22200 mi Seat belt light came on again (unrelated to all previous issues). Code B0015, Faulty seat belt buckle assembly. Replaced left front sealt belt pretensioner. 
94000 mi

US $561
Air would only blow from the vents (no floor or defrost air flow). Problem ended up being the actuators that moved the flaps directing air to the different openings. 
51160 mi

C $250
Block heater cord caught in pulley/belt system 
29760 mi HVAC on Auto setting had a mind of its own. HVAC would switch from hot to cold and back again without input. GM had issued a TSB but only reflashed the computer when owner complained. 
39000 mi rain sensing wipers broken, intermittent wipers broken, wiper blades park in wrong location washer sprayer stopped spraying partially fixed fixed with new motor new wiper arms new column switch new washer sprayer hose 
63500 mi

US $375
Problem with the wiring behind the center stack for the HVAC blower motor. Mechanic tested everything else and determined that it must be a wiring problem so he suggested taking it to a GM dealership. A broken wire was preventing the blower from working. This was repaired at the dealer with most of the cost being the labor to take apart the dashboard to get at the wiring. 
6000 mi Temperature selector not working properly. 
56700 mi

US $400
OnStar backup battery required replacement 
59520 mi

C $1100
replace alternater & battery 
85560 mi

C $200
New battery 
23100 mi Strong bad/moldy odor while using air conditioner compressor. An after-blower part was installed. 
13000 mi Faulty battery replacement. Dealer stated that there were some defective cells within the battery - which is why it would start sometimes, but require a jump start other times. 
63000 mi

US $394
Windshield wiper motor shorted out. Not working consistently (running when they shouldn't, or not working when they should). 
95500 mi Tire pressure sensor has gone bad. Shows that the car has low pressure all the time. 
109000 mi Unrepaired electrical problems. 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

257-horsepower 3.6L V6 6-speed automatic FWD

93000 mi

US $65
Starter was loose, very probably from when transmission was replaced. It shorted out the starter solenoid. 
102000 mi Alternator inop. Replaced under warranty. 
2000 mi OnStar battery was defective and would not charge. 
70000 mi

US $194
Left headlight burned out. Replaced right one while we were at it. 
75300 mi

US $800
Replaced alternator - bad diode, excessive ripple 
89000 mi

US $244
A/C recharge and replaced the expansion valve 
86800 mi

C $250
Electrical cable coming to the battery got all accidized. Battery holding box moves out of place. 
2000 mi Battery replaced and computer program updated. There is a TSB out there about the computer not charging the battery correctly. 
11000 mi

US $350
Blown cell in battery. Battery would not charge. 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

257-horsepower 3.6L V6 6-speed automatic AWD

2500 mi The night before a scheduled oil change, the ABS, TCS and ESP lights came on and the AWD light was flashing. Vechicle part never came in. The dealer replaced the wheel sensor from another vehicle on the lot. We needed vechicle fixed because we were driving on a long trip the next morning. Lights were off when vehicle was picked up, but lights came on again ... On closer inspection, dealer found the wiring was poorly routed too close to the engine pulleys. The wire(s) had worn through and was shorting intermittently. Dealer moved wires and spliced to fix. Problem has not come back to date. On closer inspection, dealer found the wiring was poorly routed too close to the engine pulleys. The wire(s) had worn through and were shorting intermittently. Dealer moved wires and spliced to fix. Problem has not come back to date. 
6000 mi Rear door would not unlock when cold outside. It was a faulty door lock mechanism. 
7000 mi Rear door would not unlock when cold outside. It was a faulty door lock mechanism. Fuel tank was not showing full when tank was full. Replaced both (all) sending units. Successful repair. CO2 Sensor failed after Fuel gauge repair (Check engine light). Sensor replaced. 
7000 mi After repairing emission sensor, mechanic encountered NUMEROUS computer problems. Problems were severe enough to warrant complete wiring tracing. Nothing was completed as of this input due to trading this vehicle in for another exactly like it , ... 
7000 mi CD player in radio not working; new radio ordered. Defective radio/CD player replaced. 
39000 mi

US $950
windshield wiper motor failed 
52000 mi

US $900
Suddenly the battery is drained.car need jumber cabl to start could not replecate problem, the audio system is completely down, I have this problem since I bought the car, not willing to replace the radio because no sure what is the problem 
49600 mi

C $40
TPMS module bad in one of the tires. 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

222-horsepower 3.5L V6 6-speed automatic AWD

68000 mi

US $100
Driver's power seat was blowing fuse. Isolated problem to motor that moves front part up/down only. Wiring checked out ok. Replaced with higher amp fuse b/c motor is near impossible to replace on its own. 
3000 mi Rear gate latch will not unlock using key fob or power lock button, only relocking and unlock works. Sometimes requires multiple attemps. 
5000 mi Rear gate latch will not unlock using key fob or power lock button. Switch ordered. 
21000 mi Check engine light, air bag light and low tire pressure lights all on. Not turn signal flash or click inside, outside working. Turned off car removed key restarted same problem showed service advisor. Once the tech looked at it, later no problem. 
43400 mi

C $1450
Battery weak Body Control Module 
86800 mi

C $1679
Heater core leaking. Replace heater core 
74400 mi

C $300
Tire pressure sensor. While I was driving the signal of the tire pressure started flashing for one minute and the remained. I need to replace the sensor 
174 mi Purchase 09/08/08. Week 2 engine light, OnStar diagnostics said no problem, light did not go out, dealer reset, said loose gas cap. Week 3 door molding loose, dash not illuminated in day & no compass, seat loose, dealer fixed & said dash ok 
53000 mi

US $100
Starter solenoid malfunction 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

172-horsepower 2.4L I4 Hybrid 4-speed automatic FWD

91100 mi

US $800
A/C failed. Local shop replaced A/C compressor 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4dr SUV

169-horsepower 2.4L I4 4-speed automatic FWD

45000 mi

US $500
Drivers Airbag Coil failure due to minor accident. Airbag light would not shut off 
140000 mi

US $45
Replaced driver headlight. 
111000 mi

US $1300
A/C recharge 
47000 mi

US $239
My Battery was dead. I got a jump and took my car to Merchants tire and Auto. I purchased a new battery, they did not charge me the environmental fee, because I told them I was unemployed. 
89900 mi

C $206
Battery replacement 
5000 mi Compass failed. A software update repaired the problem. 
22000 mi The lighted portion of the radio that shows station, song, etc becomes intermittantly dull and thus not readable. The dealer has no idea how to fix it so he replaced the radio. He also broke the door handle and speaker while doing the repair 
4000 mi Radio: CD player was either skipping or would play for a random amount of time and quit. FM radio stations would fade out even when within sight (less than 100 feet) of transmitting tower. 
620 mi Fuse block in engine compartment severely corroded, cause check engine faults. 
1000 mi Cd in player quit in the middle of a song-would not eject-fortunately close to dealer when it happened. After powering down vehicle and restarting, player once again functioned and disc ejected without incident. The player has worked ok since. 
3000 mi CD/radio replaced after previous CD eject problem reoccurred. 
9000 mi Cruise control too jerky with transmission; new software upgrade repaired the problem, although it took a few hours to get the vehicle's computer to accept it. 
5000 mi Wipers were making a "thumping" sound when running. It was determined on a previous trip the wiper motor was loose and bolts were stripped. Parts ordered and this trip was to replace part. 
12000 mi Rain sensing wipers were no longer sensing the amount of rain on windshield. Either the wipers would engage when there was no rain or the wipers would not start when driving in rain. Dealership ordered sensor. Dealership replaced sensor, but it did not resolve the problem with my wipers. Another appointment to research problem with wipers, service manager decided to try and replace the switch to see if it resolves the problem. Ordered switch. Switch replaced for wipers, it was determined the electrical wiring in existing switch had shorts in it, and a new switch was replaced. 
15000 mi After "bumping" wiper on, wiper would not shutdown and stalk control had no effect. Removed wiper motor fuse, replaced fuse and problem disappeared. Dealer could not replicate. 
19000 mi TPM sensor shows intermittant failure. Dealer relearned sensors (since tire rotation had occurred). Problem returned after dealer's attempt to repair. 
119700 mi

US $110
TPS sensors were changed (2 of 4 sensors likely had battery issues due to age). 
5000 mi air bag light kept coming on showing air bags not working. 
10000 mi Air conditioning had O-ring failed system leaked freon. 
54000 mi

US $575
Replaced driver side seat heating element. 
64000 mi

US $100
Seat heater element and control board replaced. Not properly repaired, went back two more times in a week. First didn't properly program module, then burned seat foam. So don't get seat heaters repaired when it is warm outside! 
22000 mi Cruise control became more erratic Power seat repair. 
41000 mi AC fan motor 
90500 mi

US $50
TPMS failed in Drivers Front Wheel. 
28000 mi The outside temperature thermometer didn't work. A software update fixed the problem. No charge. 
83000 mi

US $150
Air would only come from dash vents, no matter where I set the dial. Also, AC sometimes blew warm. There was a software update that fixed this problem. 
48000 mi

US $216
Re-wired for sensors in dash. Sensors OK.  
93400 mi

US $925
A/C not working, only blows warm air. Diagnostic visit only. Repaired at a later date.. A/C condenser replaced,  
95000 mi

US $97
Low beam headlight replaced 
53300 mi

US $350
AC was freezing up, valve replaced and system recharged.  
33000 mi

US $300
Fuel tank sensor failed (emission system) 
12000 mi Electrical system shut off during driving. Dealer found a service bulletin about new software for the BMC and installed it. 
51000 mi

US $150
Driver's side sun visor's wiring problem that almost caught on fire. Interior lights began to work intermittently and metal rod that holds the visor was hot to the touch. 

Return to top

2008 Saturn VUE 4-door

6-cylinder automatic AWD

4000 mi Dealer replaced 5 relays in fuse box under hood. 

Return to top

See TrueDelta's information for all SUVs
See TrueDelta's information for all Saturn models.

2008 Saturn VUE Electrical Problems

See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how frequently 2008 Saturn VUE problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.