2005 Saturn Vue problems
NHTSA has received 216 complaints about the 2005 Saturn Vue, and 33% of them involve electrical system. After that come steering (10%) and drivetrain & axles (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 216 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 33% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 75,000 miles 166 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 | 12 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 21 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 30 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 21 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 24 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 9 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 12 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 166 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 75,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 81,000 miles (61 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 18 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Saturn Vue with enough data (77 complaints in that window).
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.
Takata recall my family and I were in a roll over accident on august 20th 2019 our airbags did not deploy at impact. We were in motion going 60MPH on cournty road 799 going towards george west tx when my vehicle was headed towards a covert and jerked the wheel to the left to avoid the ditch but the steering wheel jerked back to the right sending us on the 2 side passenger wheels and then rolling over 3 times I blacked out and when we stopped the air bags still didnt deploy.
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while stopped in traffic, a vehicle began doing donuts in the intersection, causing a multi-car accident and crashing into her vehicle. The air bags had failed to deploy. The contact sustained back and knee injuries, and both her son and grandson had body pain. A police report was available. The vehicle had not been taken to an independent mechanic or a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 35 MPH the vehicle crashed and the air bags deployed but did not inflate. The front of the vehicle was the point of impact in the crash. The contact rear ended another vehicle. There were 2 occupants in the vehicle, both were wearing seat belts did not tighten to keep contact and passenger from hitting the steering wheel or dashboard. The contact sustained neck,back, chest and tooth injuries.
I was sitting at a red light in my brand new 2005 saturn vue and was hit from behind by a medium-sized transit bus at approx. 35-40 MPH. The damage to the rear of the car was extensive and resulted in the total loss of the car. My concern is that the front driver's seat broke during the accident. The back of the seat collapsed and fell back into the back seat. The seat almost totally broke underneath and twisted to the left.
This car has a wireless gas pedal. My car would go to idle while traveling freeway speeds! The only way to rectify this was turn off the car (on the freeway) and restart it! I had it replace $400! Now, twice, it goes to idle by itself! The gas pedal does not work until I shut off the car and restart it! Also my key stills falls out (since 2006) and was not included in the recall!