2005 Saturn Relay problems
NHTSA has received 137 complaints about the 2005 Saturn Relay, and 31% of them involve brakes. Next are electrical system (18%) and body & structure (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 137 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 42,000 miles 119 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 | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 12 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 14 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 15 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 14 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 119 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 42,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 42,000 miles (37 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 89% of model years in our database.
It is also covered by 2 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.
My wife placed our 2005 saturn relay minivan in park, and stepped out to get the mail. The van immediately started backwards, with the door pushing her down. Luckily, as it pushed her down, she fell to the inside, and was able to activate the parking brake with her hand, stopping the car. She did receive a very minor knee injury, but it could have been much worse. Our two daughters were both in the car, which would have rolled down a hill and into a neighbors house, had she not stopped it.
On 1/12/15, while my 2005 saturn relay was parked in my garage, started on fire. Vehicle was not started or going at the time. Last drove the vehicle approximately one hour prior. It was determined that the ceiling component that has the buttons to open the back sliding doors, onstar and garage opening, is what started the electrical fire, which burned a whole in my roof, burned the drivers side visor, which in turn burned the driver side seat and car seat behind the driver's door.
I had a 2005 saturn. I loved everything about it. I would have rated it as the most liked car of my life. However, the steering or brakes failed and actually caused my car to accelerate. I was in a church parking lot, getting ready to park my vehicle and when I applied the brakes, the car accelerated and I was headed for a tree,when I ran over a piece of playground equipment that stopped my wild ride.
I bought my 2005 relay brand new from the saturn dealer. About 1 year later the ABS light went on and I had it serviced under warranty. 1 month later ABS light again. The hub was replaced and this fixed the problem for several months. ABS light again. This time the dealer replaced the sensor. One month later replaced the sensor again. I started having some shaking when braking then the ABS light appeared again.
Repeated problems with ABS & t/c warning lights, brakes seized up was unable to move van had it towed to a shop, t/c engages without any adverse weather or road conditions. I have spent over $2000 trying to repair the problems. Brake pads wear down quickly, replace brake pads twice a year since having the vehicle.
Other model years of the Relay
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005