2005 Saturn Vue: Reliability Data

215
Total Complaints
75,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
19
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

47,600 25th Percentile
75,000 Median Mileage
105,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
55
POWER TRAIN
17
STEERING
17
AIR BAGS
13
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
13
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
10
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
9
ENGINE
9
SERVICE BRAKES
6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
5

Severity Assessment

19
Crashes
3
Fires
18
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"1) PURCHASED 2005 SATURN RELAY VAN; 2) ALL LIGHTS ON VEHICLE ARE VARIABLE. THIS IS AT ALL TIMES. IT IS DISTRACTING WHILE DRIVING AT DARK PERIODS. LIGHTS VARY LIGHT OUTPUT, NOT MAINTAINING STEADY OUTPUT. SATURN HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT ALL RELAYS HAVE THIS PROBLEM, AND STATED TO MECHANIC THAT THE ALTE..."
"1) PURCHASED 2005 SATURN RELAY VAN; 2) ALL LIGHTS ON VEHICLE ARE VARIABLE. THIS IS AT ALL TIMES. IT IS DISTRACTING WHILE DRIVING AT DARK PERIODS. LIGHTS VARY LIGHT OUTPUT, NOT MAINTAINING STEADY OUTPUT. SATURN HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT ALL RELAYS HAVE THIS PROBLEM, AND STATED TO MECHANIC THAT THE ALTE..."
"MANY INCIDENCES OF SATURN VUE ROLLING BACKWARDS NON-STOP IN DRIVE (GEAR). TOLD UPON EACH OF 5 REPORTS THAT ALL AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS ROLL BACKWARDS IN DRIVE. VEHICLE HAS ALSO ROLLED (NOT SLID)4 TIMES FORWARDS IN PARK DOWN THE DRIVEWAY INTO THE ROAD WITH ALL WHEELS ROLLING. IT HAS ROLLED BACKWAR..."

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 55 complaints
25th: 60,000 mi Median: 80,844 mi 75th: 105,000 mi
POWER TRAIN 17 complaints
25th: 45,500 mi Median: 63,500 mi 75th: 90,031 mi
STEERING 17 complaints
25th: 79,883 mi Median: 100,500 mi 75th: 112,561 mi
AIR BAGS 13 complaints
25th: 71,250 mi Median: 105,557 mi 75th: 119,750 mi
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 complaints
25th: 93,500 mi Median: 127,000 mi 75th: 145,579 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

IL: 21 NC: 19 FL: 16 CA: 16 TX: 14 MI: 12 NY: 10 PA: 8 VA: 7 OH: 7

Who Files Complaints?

11.6%
Original Owners
88.4%
Second+ Owners

Saturn Vue — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
200222015
200387242
200436036
200643328
200741614
200857225
200917114

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