2008 Saturn Outlook problems
NHTSA has received 926 complaints about the 2008 Saturn Outlook, and 27% of them involve lighting. Next are electrical system (18%) and drivetrain & axles (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 926 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 30
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 783 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 36 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 106 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 236 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 137 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 115 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 56 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 44 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 21 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 21 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 10 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 783 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 60,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 45,000 miles (218 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 30 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 83% of model years in our database.
It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 saturn outlook. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle became uncontrollable and hydro-planed. The contact crashed into a tree and the air bags failed to deploy. There were five children in the vehicle who sustained injuries from bruising, contusions and lacerations that required stitches. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage yard.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 saturn outlook. The contact stated that upon inspection, he noticed that the passenger front head lamp was inoperative. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and a technician concluded that wiring harness had melted and caused the bulb to fail. He then added that the other head lamp would soon fail. The vehicle was repaired at an expense of$ 360.00. The failure mileage was 41,000. The current mileage was 42,000. Updated 10/27/09. Updated 10/29/09.
The gas pedal on my 2008 saturn outlook has stuck in the full throttle position four times since I purchased the vehicle. The latest was just today when I pulled out into traffic and to merge with them I applied full throttle. When I released the throttle the car just kept accelerating because the gas pedal was stuck under the floor mat. I had to put the car in neutral, pull off the road, and adjust the floor mat to release the gas pedal. This is easily reproducible and has happened four times already.
8/17/2011 - j0511 head,cylinder left bank replaced as there was excessive play in camshafts r & r motor assy replace bank 2 cylinder head and new timing chain re-installed. 01/11/2012 - 3-5 reverse clutch plate replaced transmission slipping into 3rd gear,transmission rebuilt. 02/20/2012 leak was found in front transmission connector area, seal was replaced & rechecked. On 12/01/2012 truck going back into shop for transmission leak again and clunking noise.