2005 Saturn Relay: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 137 complaints
137
Total Complaints
42,109mi
Median Mileage
Electrical System
Top Issue
3
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

13,079 25th Percentile
42,109 Median Mileage
90,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System
20
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
14
Service Brakes
9
Exterior Lighting
6
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
6
Door
6
Traction Control System
5
Service Brakes, Electric
5
Latch
5
Rotor
4

Severity Assessment

3
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"HEADLIGHTS, DASH LIGHTS AND INTERIOR LIGHTS GO DIM/BRIGHT/DIM/BRIGHT ETC. AT NIGHT WHEN ACCELERATION WITH FOOT OR WITH USE OF CRUSE CONTROL. NOTIFIED SATURN AND ALSO DEALER. THEY BOTH SAID THIS IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE RELAY. DEALER ALSO SAID THEY HAD THE SAME PROIBLEM WITH THE L SERIES. SATURN NO..."
"HEADLIGHTS, DASH LIGHTS AND INTERIOR LIGHTS GO DIM/BRIGHT/DIM/BRIGHT ETC. AT NIGHT WHEN ACCELERATION WITH FOOT OR WITH USE OF CRUSE CONTROL. NOTIFIED SATURN AND ALSO DEALER. THEY BOTH SAID THIS IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE RELAY. DEALER ALSO SAID THEY HAD THE SAME PROIBLEM WITH THE L SERIES. SATURN NO..."
"PURCHASED 2005 SATURN RELAY TO GET BETTER GAS MILEAGE THAN PREVIOUSLY OWNED YUKON @ 11 MPG, AFTER IN DEPTH DISCUSSION WITH LAFAYETTE LA. SATURN DEALERSHIP SALESMAN ABOUT THE REASON FOR NEW CAR PURCHASE. ASKED IF THE STICKER INFO OF 18 MPG (WITH A STATED RANGE OF 15-21) CITY WAS RELIABLE. I WAS ADA..."

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 20 complaints
25th: 2,939 mi Median: 80,000 mi 75th: 110,967 mi
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 14 complaints
25th: 28,250 mi Median: 42,054 mi 75th: 77,000 mi
Service Brakes 9 complaints
25th: 79,500 mi Median: 86,175 mi 75th: 104,125 mi
Exterior Lighting 6 complaints
25th: 2,878 mi Median: 20,800 mi 75th: 80,000 mi
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 6 complaints
25th: 7,266 mi Median: 15,000 mi 75th: 17,700 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

GA: 14 CA: 10 PA: 10 VA: 7 NY: 7 TX: 7 TN: 6 MD: 6 MA: 6 FL: 6

Who Files Complaints?

35.8%
Original Owners
64.2%
Second+ Owners

Saturn Relay — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
2006322
2007210

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