Home > Lawsuits > General Motors Corp. Saturn Vue and Ion Defective Transmission Class Action
General Motors Corp.
October 12 2007
A class action lawsuit has been filed against the vehicle manufacturer alleging Saturn Vue and Ion have defective transmissions. The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of California on behalf of 2002 to 2004 Saturn Vue and Ion owners alleging breach of warranty, consumer fraud, and unjust enrichment.
The case claims General Motors Corp. knew the transmissions were inherently defective before the lines were released. General Motors allegedly replaced failed transmissions within the warranty time with the same faulty parts. Customers often experienced a second transmission failure outside the warranty and were forced to pay for replacements and repairs themselves. The lawsuit seeks to represent Saturn Vue and Ion owners from California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma. From 2002 to 2004, 261,000 Vue's and 227,000 Ion's were sold.
General Motors Corp. Legal Help
If your Saturn Vue or Saturn Ion has had a transmission failure, please fill in our form on the right to send your complaint to a lawyer to evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.
I have a 2009 Saturn Vue xe that only has 70k miles on it and the transmission went out. I’ve only put a little less then 10k miles on it since I bought it. I’m at wits end with it. And definitely can not afford to fix it as I’m on disability retirement with a fixed income. I would like to have intense information regarding the class a suit with GM. As I believe that GM should have to pay for my transmission along with all parts and labor cost involved. Plz feel free to contact me with any and all information that I need to have it fixed. I need my vehicle for numerous medical reasons as well as day to day events. I’m at a big loss without my suv. And I’m not able to fix it. It has caused me great grief and great despair. PLZ HELP ME!!!
Thanks in advance.
Jerry from Michigan.
Posted by Jerry Neu, Jr
on
By chance is there anyone out there with a 2009 Saturn Vue xe
That’s having problems or that their transmission is gone.
I have a2009 that the transmission is gone. It only has 70000
Miles in it. I haven’t even put 10000 on it since I bought it.
I bought it privately.
Posted by Nikhil Kothari
on
my 8-year old Saturn Aura had transmission failure due to failed wave plate ($3,700 repair). There is a technical service bulletin (TSB 14404) out there for this well known manufacturing defect. But GM gave a runaround, did not fix it, and did not want to reimburse for repairs.
Posted by Nancy Carmichael-Stoner
on
I bought my 2005 vue in 2005. In 2009 the transmission failed at 67000 miles. We replaced it and paid about 1500. dollars for a "new one". Now at 87000 the new one is failing. Of course the warrenty is up because it has been more than 3 years. (what years have to do with parts wearing out is lost to me.) I am really mad. I never received form to file for the "lae suit? and I feel that Saturn should have fixed the problem with a reliable replacement. Now I find that there is a recall on the starting switch. Of course, mention trade in and they are eager to sell you a new car. GRRRRRR!
Posted by Gail
on
2003 vue bought new. Transmission went at about 97000. Sa turn "rebuilt" it. At about 25000 later, it won't go in reverse. Can't afford to repair and worthless to sell.
Posted by New Jersey
on
The first time our transmission failed, Saturn said we were responsible for $1,000 which we paid. In addition, we have also paid for towing on more than one occassion and we have experienced a great deal of inconvinience as we live in New Jersey, work and go to school in New York and have a daughter we need to commute with.
Posted by Florida
on
The sales man said the car had never been repaired and was barely driven. The car keeps breaking down and we took it in because of transmission problems and were told nothing could be done because the transmission had already been replaced in 2005. This was never disclosed and the car is not driveable and they want me to pay to repair.
Posted by California
on
My brother loss control of the Saturn Vue he was driving at highway speeds when it popped out of gear. This sudden loss of power cause him to swerve and the car to roll over. He sustained fractures to both lower legs requiring surgery for repair.
Posted by Connecticut
on
Shortly after buying the vehicle, I was stranded with children with a transmission problem. I took it back to the dealership and had it fixed under my warranty; however the transmission failed again and when bringing it in the dealership again I asked about the faulty transmission and they explained that it wasn't defected, but just needed new parts put into the transimission. Since then I've been having problems off and on. I do not feel safe in this vehicle what so ever.
Posted by Florida
on
In June of 2008 my husband drove our 2003 Saturn Vue to work and stopped to pick up our daughter from her grandparent's house, however when he put it into gear the car lurched forward and stopped working right there in the driveway. A mechanic stated the transmission "blew". The car has 54,000 miles on it and when you put it into gear it won't do anything at all. We bought the car in 2003 brand new. The cost of a new transmission is quite expensive at 3 to 5 thousand dollars.
Posted by Ohio
on
Well when accelerating from a complete stop our Vue transmission thrusts forward and continues to do so making a jolting motion for the entire car. It also runs on reduced power a lot and makes it so the car almost does not want to move. Our service engine soon light comes on constantly and stays on for days at a time. The reduced power and jolting almost caused us to get into an accident crossing a two lane highway on 8/14/2008. We are very concerned and are planning on taking it into Saturn of Findlay on Thursday 8/21/2008 to get it checked out, but we're not sure if anything will get resolved since none of them have been completely fixed as of yet based on everything we've read.
Posted by California
on
Took car into dealership at 20,000 with transmission problems. It was allegedly repaired by "flushing" out the system. Had problem again 3 months later. Both the above were under warranty. Warranty ran out shortly thereafter and within a month the transmission broke. The car now has 30,000 miles. They tell me no warranty. They will fix it for $500 but provide warranty only on the parts they will use - my concern is that the existing parts will fail as evidenced by the history of the VTI Saturn Transmission. Interested in joining the class action lawsuit.
Posted by Tennessee
on
I have incurred expenses of $1800.00 in the last six months for transmission repairs which continue to fail to work. GM keeps replacing the defective transmission with another transmission with the same defect. This inconvenience has caused me an uncountable amount of lost wages because of the hours away from work dealing with this defect. My vehicle just went into the shop again (running) and due to what the mechanics did, it's not running, leaving me without a vehicle which adds to the stress I've already endured from these transmission problems. I am unable to take my children to their appointments, daycare etc. as well as supply my household groceries etc. This long and unacceptable continuing situation has caused emotional stress for myself and family members who feel obliged to assist me, which takes time out of their busy schedules and away from their families. General Motors (GM) has stated my particular vehicle warranty expired at 12,000 miles. My vehicle has 13,352 miles. I feel this is a pre-existing condition and GM in good faith should honor the repair of this transmission problem for the life of the vehicle.
Posted by California
on
Transmission on my used 2004 ION went out and local service dealer refuses to fix it though dealer admits it is still under warranty.
Posted by California
on
After the transmission failed the first time, Saturn replaced only parts of the transmission, not the whole transmission. It again failed at 95,000 and is now costing me $3000 to have the transmission replaced again. I cannot afford to have the transmission replaced again. I am a physician who works at a small community clinic.
Posted by Georgia
on
I have a 2003 Saturn VUE. Yesterday my car started to loose speed and begin to rumble. I turned the car off and turned it back on and when it went into drive it would roll back. I took it to two service centers and they both said the tranmsission failed. They said the cost for the new transmisson was $5800. I had the car for 2 plus years. I am only at about 69,000 miles.
Posted by North Carolina
on
As I was driving down the road at 55 mph, the car suddenly slowed to 30 mph. With two children in my backseat, and a semi truck quickly approaching behind me, I had to pull over onto the shoulder. This has occured a few times. Three mechanics have told me that it was the transmission. Saturn sold me tune ups, and fuel injectors assuring me the problem was fixed. Finally after numerous visits, the service department admitted the transmission was faulty. Instead of trying to fix it, they tried to sell me another Saturn, or GM vehicle.
Posted by Oregon
on
After taking into a Saturn dealership, I was told this has been a known problem, in fact just had one in last week w/same issue. My father and I were told that this line of Vue's have a faulty transmission due to Saturn "rushing" these cars out into the market in order to be with the other manufacturers putting them out there. In 2005 Saturn extended the manufacturer warranty to cover another 2 years and up to 75000 miles so my car will now be fixed at no charge to me. However, my main issue and concern is it will most likely be fixed w/the same type of transmission so I may be going through this all over again in another 2-3 years!! My only recourse is to either sell or trade in this car, however now that the transmision is a known problem the trade-in value of my car is much lower due to no fault of my own. This whole issue has caused much me much stress, loss of time, even money as I now have to commute using public transportation until my car is fixed.
I've read about this class-action law suit and I am requesting that Oregon and Washington be added to that list. I purchased my vehicle in the state of WA but now live in OR where the Saturn dealers are aware of the issue and just had one in last week. Something needs to be done, I should not be penalized for something the manufacturer knew about before the car was released and sold to me. I have had no other issues w/the vehicle, nor w/Saturn, until this and I'm quite upset about not being able to trade it in without taking a financial hit.
I'm willing to give you whatever information you need. Please add the states of OR and WA to the class-action lawsuit so that I and others like me out here, can be heard and not taken advantage of. Thank you.
Posted by Missouri
on
I bought a 2003 Saturn VUE in September 2006 and now a year and 3 months later, on Christmas Eve, my transmission went out. We now find out that it was an extended warranty transmission because the VTI transmission has a weak spot in the CVT bands and has a “high failure rate” according to GM, owner of Saturn. They claim the CVT bands “are reliable for at least 100,000 miles” but only extended the warranty to 5 years / 75,000 miles. I am under 5 years, and 100,000 miles, but over the 75,000 mile “extended warranty” that should have been a recall, in my opinion.
From what I have been told they have now pulled the transmission off the market and can not rebuild it. Therefore they have quoted a partial transmission replacement at $5,500 and possible more if the torque converter is bad, which adds an additional $800 part, plus labor costs on top off the charge of $110 for telling me what is wrong with it in the first place (which is a bunch of bologna; they knew before I called them what was wrong with it).
After reading on the internet there are problems nationwide that Saturn is not owning up to and I don’t know who else to turn to. I can’t afford to fix it. If I trade it in on a new Saturn I have to take a loss for the repair cost on top of the trade in value difference from what I owe on it, which means I will be upside down on my loan by over $9,000, at the very least.
Saturn dealership has denied me of help and want me to go away, but I can't and I won't!I can't afford to fix it and I can't afford to take a loss. It's Saturn's/GM's faulty product and I don't feel I should have to pay a dime for the repair.
In addition to my frustration, not only is this a major financial drain on any Saturn consumer, but it VERY dangerous. We had just exited the highway when the transmission went out without a warning at all. If we had been on the highway @ 70 miles an hour or less we could have been killed, no doubt in my mind. So not only would I like to see this resolved, but I would like to let everyone know this is NOT a safe vehicle.
Thank you for your time. If you can help please contact me.
Add Your Comment on This Issue
Request Legal Help
Please complete this form to request a review of your complaint by an attorney.
There is absolutely no cost to you to submit this form. Doing so places you under no obligations and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
