2006 Saturn Vue problems
NHTSA has received 433 complaints about the 2006 Saturn Vue, and 25% of them involve electrical system. After that come air bags (21%) and steering (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 433 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 28 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 338 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 | 38 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 33 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 48 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 54 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 50 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 57 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 34 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Among the 338 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 78,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (88 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 28 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Saturn Vue with enough data (168 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.
December 20, 2008 - driving a 2006 saturn vue - I was sitting at a red light in the south bound lane of route 1 - intersection contee road. When another vehicle traveling north bound route 1 - intersection contee road drove in the south bound lane of route 1 at a speed of 50-55 MPH and hit my 2006 saturn vue (that was stopped) head on collision (frontal). The airbags in the 2006 saturn vue did not deploy on the drive nor the passenger side. Injuries were sustained in this accident.
My wife's 2006 saturn vue went out of control on a rainy road and hit a tree at direct impact. The airbag never deployed. Thank god she and my son wasn't killed and only suffered minor injuries.
The contact owned a 2006 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed under the 50 MPH speed limit, the vehicle slid on a patch of black ice; the contact was able to correct the vehicle. The contact stated that there was snow on the ground. Soon afterwards, the vehicle slid on another patch of black; the vehicle slid across the road and hit the embankment head-on.
The front passenger seat airbag is disabled at approx. 160 lbs. Otherwise the system appears to work correctly. Over time, either the sensor or the seat structure has changed and now leaves the passenger at risk even though the passenger is clearly an adult! The auto is out of warranty and the dealer requires payment even though this is a critical safety problem.
The ignition switch will not turn with the factory key to start the ignition. The key has to be jiggled, and/or removed and reinserted several times for this to start the vehicle.