2005 Saturn VUE

Typical pattern

7.9% of complaints about the 2005 Saturn VUE came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2005 vehicle — around the middle of the 245 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 8.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is electrical system (72 complaints), typically at 8.9 yr or about 80,844 miles.

Complaints: 215
Median age at failure: 8.8 yr
Median mileage: 75,000 n=166
Crash / fire / tow: 10.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Power train 300 mi 6 mo in service

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 BACKWARDS ONCE WITH ALL WHEELS ROLLING. VEHICLE NEEDED TO BE ENTERED AN EMERGENCY BRAKE PULLED. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE.*AK

Power train 38,889 mi 2.0 yr in service

NO WARNING WAS GIVEN AT ALL! THE SLAVE CYLINDER IN MY 2005 SATURN VUE WENT OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. STUCK IN TRAFFIC WITH MY THREE OLD SON! *JB

Power train 39,500 mi 3.0 yr in service

I TRAVELING ON RURAL HIGHWAY AND WHEN I PRESSED THE CLUTCH TO BEGIN SLOWING DOWN AT STOP LIGHT IT WAS NOT WORKING. AUTO ALMOST CAUSED ACCIDENT WHICH I WAS LUCKY TO AVOID. I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED IN AND THE SLAVE CYLINDER HAD GONE OUT. I HAD LESS THAT 40,000 MILES ON THE AUTO AND JUST TURNED OVER 39,000 RECENTLY ON THIS 2005 SATURN VUE. *JB

Steering mileage not reported 6 mo in service

SATURN VUE WITH SPORADIC ELECTRONIC FAILURE. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE FAILURE CONSISTS OF THE BRAKE LIGHTS AND GAUGES GOING TO ZERO. ALSO WHEN THE LIGHTS MALFUNCTION THE POWER STEERING IS DECREASED OR STOPS COMPLETELY. *KB

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.

2005 Saturn VUE

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other VUE model years

How to read this