2003 Saturn VUE

Typical pattern

10.7% of complaints about the 2003 Saturn VUE came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2003 vehicle — around the middle of the 228 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.2 yr in service. The most-reported system is power train (313 complaints), typically at 6.3 yr or about 75,000 miles.

Complaints: 852
Median age at failure: 6.2 yr
Median mileage: 68,500 n=642
Crash / fire / tow: 6.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Power train

313 reports · 75,000 mi

6.3 yr

2.2%

Electrical system

129 reports · 86,000 mi

7.8 yr

6.2%

Engine cooling

62 reports · 53,510 mi

5.5 yr

3.2%

Suspension

49 reports · 37,707 mi

2.3 yr

14.3%

Steering

45 reports · 83,000 mi

6.5 yr

11.1%

Air bags

41 reports · 65,100 mi

6.5 yr

36.6%

Engine

29 reports · 100,000 mi

11.4 yr

3.4%

Structure

23 reports · 50,000 mi

4.3 yr

8.7%

Fuel system

21 reports · 40,000 mi

4.2 yr

9.5%

Speed control

20 reports · 40,000 mi

2.7 yr

10%

Visibility

19 reports · 15,000 mi

1.8 yr

Equipment

15 reports · 41,000 mi

3.3 yr

6.7%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

14V490000 2014-08-08

Electrical system:ignition

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2002-2004 Saturn Vue vehicles manufactured September 11, 2001, to April 6, 2004. In the affected vehicles, it may be possible for the key to be removed from the ignition when the ignition is not in the "Off" position.

If the key can be removed from the ignition when the ignition is not in the "off" position, the vehicle could roll away: (a) for an automatic transmission, if the transmission is not in the "Park" position; or (b) for a manual transmission, if the parking brake is not engaged and the transmission is not in the "Reverse" position. This potential for rollaway increases the risk for a crash and occup

In owners’ own words

Equipment mileage not reported 1 mo in service

THE CONSUMER NOTICED THE DESIGN OF THE AIR CONDITIONER AND THE LOWER CONDENSER ARE EXPOSED TO DAMAGE BY ROCK AND GRAVEL STRIKING FROM THE ROAD, THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER ARE NOTIFIED. MR THE CONSUMER FEELS THAT A SHEILD OR DEVICE SHOULD INSTALLED TO PROTECT THE UNIT. THE CONSUMER WILL ALSO EXPECT SATURN TO REPLACE THE UNIT REGARDLESS OF THE MILEAGE SHOULD THE UINT FAIL BECAUSE OF DAMAGE. *SCC

Equipment 22,000 mi 1.9 yr in service

CAR HAS NUMEROUS NOISES WHICH DEALER SAYS THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT. THE MAIN NOISE IRRITANT SOURCE IS THE STEERING COLUMN. TECHNICIAN DROVE CAR WITH ME AND STATED THAT SATURN HAS A ELECTRONIC/MECHANICAL COMPONENTS THAT MAKE GEAR-WINDING NOISES AND CAN'T BE REPAIRED. DEALER REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.*AK

Equipment mileage not reported 3.0 yr in service

I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE FOLLOWING IN MY 2003 V4 MANUAL SATURN: CD PLAYER STOPPED WORKING, MY SUNROOF FELL APART. I HAVE HAD ALL FOUR TIE ROD ENDS REPLACED AT INDIVIDUAL SERVICE DATES, MY ROTORS WERE GROUND LAST NOV AND NOW THEY BEEN REPLACED. MY TIRES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED LAST YEAR AFTER ABOUT A YEAR OF OWNERSHIP. *JB

Electrical system mileage not reported 2 mo in service

CONSUMER STATES VEHICLE HAS BROKEN DOWN 3X IN THE LAST 5 DAYS. DEALER HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE "BCM", THE MAIN BRAIN/COMPUTER OF THE VEHICLE IS FAILING. TS

Other VUE model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.