"How reliable is the 2004 Saturn Vue?"

"Based on 360 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Saturn Vue has a median complaint mileage of 85000 miles. The most common issue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Saturn Vue?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Saturn Vue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, accounting for a significant portion of the 360 total complaints filed."

2004 Saturn Vue: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 360 complaints

360

Total Complaints

85,000mi

Median Mileage

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

40,500 25th Percentile

85,000 Median Mileage

124,072 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

SUSPENSION:REAR

SUSPENSION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

STEERING

AIR BAGS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WATER THAT COLLECTS IN BOLT HOLE WELLS IN ROOF RACK RAILS CAN PROMOTE CORROSION. EVAPORATION IS THE ONLY WAY FOR THE WATER TO ESCAPE. MANUFACTURER SHOULD PROVIDE A SET OF SEALING PLUGS AND CORROSION INHIBITING GREASE/GEL TO SEAL OF THESE HOLES.*AK"

"ROOF RACK SCREW HOLES HAVE NO WAY TO DRAIN WATER. RESIDUAL WATER SITS IN THE SCREW HOLES OF THE RACK AND HAS STARTED TO RUST THE SCREWS. RACK SCREWS HAVE NEVER BEEN TOUCHED SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, BUT ARE RUSTING. BAD DESIGN AND SHOULD BE FIXED.*AK"

"RANDOM OBD CODE P0571 CRUISE/BRAKE SWITCH MALFUNCTION SINCE PURCHASING THE VEHICLE ON 6 DEC 03. THE SWITCH HAS BEEN REPLACED. THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN CHECKED SWITCH ALIGNMENT, CONNECTORS. NUMEROUS FAILURES CURRENTLY WAITING SINCE 29 JAN ON ENGINEER TO LOOK AT FREEZE FRAME DATA FROM THE COMPUTER. *J..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 53 complaints

25th: 60,000 mi Median: 96,000 mi 75th: 130,832 mi

POWER TRAIN 44 complaints

25th: 72,250 mi Median: 97,000 mi 75th: 142,000 mi

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 38 complaints

25th: 50,000 mi Median: 83,000 mi 75th: 100,500 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17 complaints

25th: 96,000 mi Median: 139,300 mi 75th: 170,000 mi

SUSPENSION:REAR 16 complaints

25th: 18,078 mi Median: 60,050 mi 75th: 86,783 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 34 CA: 28 OH: 26 FL: 21 TX: 20 NY: 19 PA: 19 NJ: 17 WI: 17 CO: 15

Who Files Complaints?

26.4%

Original Owners

73.6%

Second+ Owners

Saturn Vue — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2002	220	79,300	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	15
2003	872	65,100	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	42
2005	215	75,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	19
2006	433	78,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	28
2007	416	80,448	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	14
2008	572	79,432	POWER TRAIN	25
2009	171	77,500	STEERING	14

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28