I don't own a Saturn, but I am working on my Aunt's 2008 Saturn Vue; that she got in April 2019. Don't know the specifics other than it has the 3.6L V6 and had 130k on the odometer when she got it. So far I installed seat covers, floor mats, and replaced the cabin filter. And I just did my first oil change on it (not fun) a couple weeks ago. Looks like the original owners stopped maintaining it after a while; as only 4qts came out and the oil was very nasty. That took care of the CEL. Right now I will see what it has for an oil breather or pcv valve (yes, I know, it doesn't have one) and open up the throttle body and intake to see what it looks like. Then clean it up if it needs cleaning. When the weather gets warmer, I will do coils and plugs.

As for me, I own a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis and a 1982 Chevy C20 (2WD). My project car is my Mom's 1986 Crown Victoria, which I am resto-modding into a weekend cruiser. I am not a mechanic, but don't mind working on cars in my spare time. I will be mining this forum for information to keep my Aunt's car running.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome.

Before you dump a bunch of money into that 2008 Vue, check the transmission for the 3/5 r-wave plate problem. Just as importantly, check with the previous owner as to whether that repair had been done previously. Its signature manifestation is a shift flare from 3rd to 4th and 5th to 6th. Some people also lose reverse. It is a manufacturing defect in the tranny and received extended coverage from GM for 10 years 100,000 miles. Now that that has expired, if it needs to be repaired the entire and transmission needs to be taken apart to get to the broken wave plate and then put back together which equals a huge labor Bill plus all the seals. The alternative is to go with a junkyard .6T70 transmission. The problem is that you do not know whether that transmission has been repaired or not. You may be able to trace it by VIN and get lucky that's some paper reported it as a maintenance event but don't count on that.

Many owners also had issues with the brakes. Specifically, the pads with not fully retract from around the rotor, leading to unwanted contact, heating of the brake pads overheating of the rotor, and the effect of the brakes applying themselves more and more as things got hotter.

Various causes have been cited. Master cylinder, collapsing brake lines that would collapse when the pressure reversed and fluid was supposed to go back towards the master cylinder but didn't. A few people even claimed that the power booster was out of adjustment.

I drove a 2008 Vue XR, had the 3 5 r wave plate issue at 98,000 miles, got it repaired under warranty, drove 20000 miles more and wrecked it. It has quite a bit of power 4 its weight and handles pretty well for what it is. I don't know that not maintaining the transmission would have much of an effect on what I've described as the transmission fluid was specified as lifetime I do believe. However if it is not full, then that may lead to other issues.

Great vehicle. Idiot design flaw.

 

Thank you for that information derf 🙂 I will talk to my aunt tomorrow and see if she still has the contact info for the previous owner

 

Welcome to the forum. I, personally, would never own a Vue, but that's just a personal choice. I don't fancy them at all. I prefer the S Series cars because they're relatively easy to work on for a mentally challenged person like me.

 

Yah, I generally stick with what I know; which are Chevys and Fords. Though, if I had money and some time, I would get a Saturn Sky and drop an LSx/T-56 in there and have some fun. There was a shop a couple towns over that specialized in LSx swaps. They had a LS2 Pontiac Solstice that sounded awesome; but an otherwise ugly car. Right now, I want to get that big Ford running and moving under its own power.

Right now I will do my best to keep that Vue running. I noticed an oil spot this morning where my aunt parked. So next time she’s over, I will get a good look at the engine and see where it’s coming from.