Hello, I recently purchased a Saturn in the fall of 2019 and a problem came up which I was hoping to get some help. Between 45-55 mph my Saturn seems to run rough, like the sound your washing machine makes when its out of balance: There is a slight vibration that runs through the steering wheel and the gas pedal. The noise sounds loud near the front passenger side like a "whop whop whop whop whop whop whop." When the car's speed goes beyond 55-60 mph the sound begins to disappear, by 70 mph it is entirely gone. The sound is not present at speeds below 40 mph. What is interesting to note, is that when I am operating between 45-55 mph and I either take my foot off the gas pedal or decelerate by breaking or coasting the sound remains until I come to a complete stop or the car enters into a lower gear. That said, as soon as I accelerate and reach 45-55 mph the sound is present once again.

Any thoughts?

 

What kind of saturn?

 

Sounds like a bad half-shaft (or axle if you prefer) to me. BUT I'm NOT a mechanic. Keep that in mind. Find a parking lot where you can do some figure 8's and roll down you windows and do some figure 8's at various speeds. You should hear some clicking and pops if it's one of the axles. They shake and shimmy under load at different speeds if one is defective.

 

Oh I'm sorry about that:

2007 Saturn Ion 3

Style / Body: Sedan 4D
Engine: 2.2L I4 EFI
Miles: 108,300

I would also like to add this. Sometimes the sound continues past 60 mph, but this happens when I am cruising at 55 mph and then need to quickly accelerate. For example, today while cruising at 55 mph (RPMs 2500) I pushed slightly on the accelerator with the same pressure I would when trying to accelerate at lower speeds, however the car didn't respond. So I pushed the accelerator harder revving up the engine up to 4000+ RPMs. At this point the car did accelerate up to 70 mph with the sound still present. The flow of traffic slowed a bit, and I settled the car into a cruise of 60-65 mph. After about a minute or two maintaining this speed, the sound disappeared and I noticed that the RPMs also had dropped to 2000. Its as if the car got stuck in a lower gear, but then finally made the necessary shift.

As for recent car repairs here is the following:

1. At 106,000 miles: EVAP sensor was replaced and hoses leading out from it were replaced and/or cracks were sealed as necessary. Some electrical components were also replaced
2. At 107,400 miles:

• Front and Rear Brakes were inspected (Brakes @8mm front; rears @50%) and readjusted
• Oil and filter change

4. At 107,900 miles: Front struts replaced and car re-alignment

The sound I am referring to appeared between 106,000 and 107,400 miles. Hopefully this is useful.

 

Hmmmmm, maybe it's in the transmission. Have you ever changed the fluid and filter?

 

Ugh...say it ain't so. That was one of the fears lingering around my head.

 

I don't think its the transmission.

You said you can feel it in the gas pedal and steering wheel.

I had a similar issue when I had warped rotors. Yes, they can be warped out of the box. Yes if they are over or under torqued it can cause early failure.
Also could be a tire off balance. When was the last time you had them rotated and balanced?
I would look at that, then take a look at the axles. Inspect the hubs and control arms while youre in there too

 

What Dead said.

Wheel out of balance, slightly warped rotor.
You mentioned front struts being replaced but not an alignment..? If significantly out of alignment, could be exacerbating either of the first two things I mentioned. The fact that it disappears at higher speeds pretty much indicates it is a resonance, meaning in this case it is a mass dependent frequency at which a group of components is moving.