Saturn VUE Experience

Hello.

I am in the market for a new car (with two toddlers in mind) and have been
thinking about the VUE.

Has anyone had any long term experience with the VUE?

What are repairs like (cost of parts, cost of labor, ease of maintenance)?

Please respond to the group.

Thanks,

CD

 

I have a 2003 Vue with 31,000 miles. Mine is the AWD 4
cylinder with the discontinued CVT transmission. I've had it
in for warranty work a couple of times. The biggest concern
I have is the CVT transmission, but they exented the
warranty on that. I had to have rear suspension members
replaced (recall), but that seemed to go well. I think with
the Honda V-6 and automatic transmission it would be a
really hot little station wagon. The body and interior have
held up well. I generally like the car.

Ed

 

Just my 2 cents:, while I do have every other saturn in my family other than
a VUE, I do know many others who have had greeat experience with them. IMHO
however, your best best is to avoid the older ('04 and back 4 cyl. ) CVT
tranny altogether. Saturn realized thier mistake and since 2005 has decided
to go to the old tried and true Hydramatic transmission in thier automatics.
This makes the 4 much more responsive, reliable and quieter.

Saturn has made alot of nice changes to the new '05 VUE 4 and 6 cyl, making
it smoother and quieter, especially the 4 cyl with the new tranny. The '05
ecotec engine has been going thru some subtle tranformations and IMHO '05 is
the best I have seen for the 4cyl.

In '04, the VUE engine, a variation of the older L300 V6 was replaced with a
more powerful V6 upping the power to 250hp. This engine is greener and packs
a big punch while maintaining great gas mileage, better than many cars.

One more note, in '05 the NTSHA came out with new SUV rollover testing
techniques, which the '05 VUEs were recalled then redesigned to pass these
specific tests. Just FYI, Saturn then issued a large campaign to call back
all prior models to re-equip them with the same type of reinforcement to the
rear wheels as the '05 for free.
If you do buy a VUE prior to '05 make sure that this campaign was already
done.

Cost of ownership is quite low on the 4 a bit higher on the 6 as it is a
Honda engine. Gas is between 24-31 mpg (as ppl have actually told me).
Insurance is lower as the VUE has a 5 star safety rating all round.

marx404

 

My wife got an '05 in January. So far so good, though we only have around
five thousand miles.

Except for the ultra-mini size, it appears to be a nice car.

The two kids
(2 & 4) are easily placed in their carseats and she can throw all their
crap in the back. She got the six cylinder with teh Honda engine. I've
heard some people bitch about the timing belt, which I need to reseach,
but I figure that's a minor issue.

 

Huh ?

Try shoving 8 foot long shelving in a 94 SL if you want to see what
ultra-mini is like. I thought the VUE was a fairly large thing. I costs more
than a Dodge Caravan ( at least after all the discounts Dodge has now) and
doesn't get any better gas mileage so I'm surprised it would be considered
mini.
?
ron

 

I'm holding out with the thought that GM may use that model for their hybrid
on a couple of years or less. I hope at that time they will replace the all
plastic door panel with something cloth or leather too (personal preference
as I hate rattle prone areas). Maybe they will paint the front/rear lower
panels to match much as they did on the SL-1 SL-2 series (the SL-1 had the
cheaper black bumper panels where the SL-2 were painted to match). I know
they are painted on the Redline but the color selection is minimal (no white
and we live where it's hot and the black Redline won't cut it here -
although it looks nice).

B~

 

Well, compared to a car - yes it's bigger. But, it's still a mini (or
small) SUV....It's in the same size class as the Ford Escape.

(i.e.: Ford Escape/GMC Envoy/VUE = small/mini class ; Ford Explorer/GMC
Trailblazer = Mid class; Ford Expedition/GMC Yukon = Large class ; Ford
Excursion / GMC Suburban = "Why don't you just buy a Truck?" class

As far a the price - Supply and demand (and the additional factor that most
SUV's are 4x4/AWD - More parts/technology) Minivans sales have slowed a bit
over the last few years. With the SUV's out, the mini-van has struggled
with the "uncool" or family image. A man or woman driving their family
around on the weekend is ok with the van, but by themselves during the week
to work or running around? That's why many families are SUVing as they can
cross the divide. You can take the kids to soccer, and yet still take the
lady out at night! Can't do that with a Caravan!

Personally I don't have either - (SL2 & a F-150). Wife is trying to get me
to look at the Freestyle crossover to replace the '94 SL2. <blah> The
outside styling just doesn't do anything for me...I like the styling of the
Pacifica better, but the prices on these are outrageous too...Anyone else
have info or thoughts on any of the crossovers?

Scott

 

Well, I'm just talking from my impressions driving it. I feel way cramped -
not as bad as in a car, but still. At least my head doesn't hit the roof -
much. The shoulder room is marginal. However, it IS my wife's car.

Um, I just consider it based on size. It fits in with the other mini
car-utes like the RAV4, Highlander, Escape/Tribute, RX330...

I figure the mid-size sport utes are the Envoy/TrailBlazer, Tahoe/Yukon,
Explorer/Mountainer, PathFinder, 4Runner...

Then there's the nice-size SUV's like the Suburban or the Excursion.
--
kai - - www.perfectreign.com

kai:/> format a:
Error: The DOS concept of formatting disk media is screwed.
To format a floppy, use "fdformat /dev/fd0"
and then "mkfs.minix /dev/fd0".

 

My Father recently purchased a Freestyle (AWD with the CVT).
I was very impressed. The styling is bland, but I personally
like it better than the Pacifica. To me, the Pacifica looks
like a squashed Voyager (which is exactly what it is). I
have a Vue with the CVT. When my Father purchased the
Fresstyle I was leery because of my not completely
satisfaction with the Vue's CVT. Boy was I wrong. The
Freestyle's CVT is nothing like the one in the Vue. I was
super impressed with the behavior of this transmission.

Ed

 

Thanks for the info! And thanks for the sum up word of "bland" that I was
trying to think of when looking at the Freestyle.

Well, as I am hoping to get another year out of the SL2 (until it poops
out), maybe (hopefully) the styling will change by the time I'm ready to
look seriously. It's really only the outside styling that I don't like.
The front end in particular looks like every other Ford for the last few
years. Don't get me wrong - Every Ford I've had has been the best car I've
owned. My '99 F150 (80K) has never been back to the dealer and has only had
brakes, tires & oil changes to it. Before the Saturn, I had a '93 T-Bird
(211K) miles on it with really no problems (2 alternators and wear items)
and a '76 Granada that I tried like hell to kill and couldn't. (looked like
crap but kept running) So I'm a relatively happy Ford guy, but hopefully
they'll update the look soon....

Again, thanks -

 

Hey me:
We're closing on 50k mi. on an '03 V6 FWD VUE. So far, just the
washer nozzles and a right front wheel bearing that they warranteed
even though we were over 40k (good thing - over $400!). I am a little
concerned about some front-end creaks when turning.
Fwiw - I recently rented a brand new Explorer and Tucson - I think
I'd stick with the VUE (real partial to the polymer body panels - won't
be happy if Saturn abandons this feature).

 

Please donot buy one of these. Saturn will not back you up on these.At
99000 miles 3 wheel bearings, Intake gasket leak,and cylinders 1 and 2
misfiring,$1300.00 ( my expense) Transmission slips between 2nd and 3rd
this was a software problem.upgrade $100.00,( my expense) Broken vacuum
hose vehicle towed to dealership, wiper nozzle feel out,rear wheel
aligment that the dealship did because of the recall on stabilizers ( both
back tires ruined on my expense) and crossover pipe weld at flange came
apart at the exhaust manifold poor weld which had to be welded to get me
back on road ( my expense) ata exhaust muffler place. will never buy a
Saturn again !!!

 

99000? duh...Not under warranty, how long do you expect someone to hold
your hand?

Saturn? Sounds like you got the Honda powertrain to me...


Why people buy vehicles and never expect repair cost down the line is
beyond me.

 

I used to feel that way when my first 2 alternators died just days out of
warranty. However at 11 years and 112,000 miles those alternators are the
bulk of what I've spent so I'm feeling much better about my 94 SL1. Of
course the fact that it passed inspection last month so I've got another
"free" year on it and plenty of time to check out the '06 models and colors
has also helped my current attitude toward Saturn.
It always hurts when you've got to shell out a bunch of money for repairs
all at once, but if you amortize the total cost over the life of the car is
the cost per year that bad?
If you've got 99,000 miles it sounds like you got a very early VUE; I've
always subscribed to the folklore that cars have a lot of problems their
first year or 2 so buy a little later. 94 seems to have been a good year for
the S; I think '06 will be a good one for the ION.

ron

 

I have a 2004 VUE. It's been quite reliable and is great for
long-distance driving. It's also got plenty of power....

Best of luck with whatever car you do get.

mh