KnownCarProblems2008 Saturn Astra Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 162 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Saturn Astra, most often about the air bags (59% of complaints, typically around 59,500 miles). It is the most complained-about Astra model year since 2000 and has 1 recall.
Most common 2008 Saturn Astra problems
Air bags
96 complaints · 59%Half of these problems showed up before 59,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Astra. The contact state that while driving 25 MPH, she crashed head-on into a tree and fractured her ribs, sternum and vertebrae. The air bags did not deploy and the contact suffered major injuries to her ribs and back. The contact was taken to the hospital and a police report was…
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Astra. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v063000 (air bags) for the frontal driver side air bag inflator; however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the…
Electrical
22 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: horn, ignition.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Astra. The contact stated that the horn was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the electronic control module for the horn failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired for the electronic control module. The failure recurred…
Owner was stop n go city driving pulled into his home driveway noticed smoke coming from under dash. Parked car and immediately contacted fire service. Car dash ignition area burst into flames and was heavily damaged by fire. Fire was extinguished quickly by firefighters, extremely fast moving fire and excessive…
Transmission
17 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 49,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
When attempting to shift the vehicle from reverse to forward the shift lever went into position however when my wife stepped on the gas to go forward the vehicle was still in reverse. Apparently the shift cable failed and the vehicle could not change gears. She was left with a vehicle that was unsafe to drive thus had…
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Astra. The contact stated that the gear shift lever failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000. The VIN was not available.
Engine
10 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 47,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Astra. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact activated the emergency brake in order to stop the vehicle. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic who diagnosed that the cpm failed. The…
The vehicle caught fire and burned beyond repair. I was driving the speed limit on a major highway. I heard a very loud thump under the hood. I pulled onto the shoulder to investigate, when a car pulled beside me and the driver told me that there were flames coming from the bottom of my car. The flames quickly grew…
Visibility and wipers
8 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 42,000 miles. Parts named most often: rearview mirrors/devices.
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Astra. The contact was driving 60 MPH when both the driver and passenger side mirrors detached from the vehicle suddenly. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who advised that each mirror would have to be reinstalled. There were no recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not…
Last spring I was driving down the street, and noticed that my passenger side mirror glass was missing. The glass lost the adhesion to the plastic backing. Even with many reports in online forums, and with hundreds of sales of mirrors on ebay, both onstar and the dealership stated there were no service bulletins or…
Steering
6 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles.
Problem has occurred twice in four month period. On both occasions the vehicle was in motion going 30-40 MPH. Without warning the assisted power steering ceased operation. In a matter of seconds, the steering wheel became stiff, difficult to turn, and the turning range significantly decreased. No warning lights…
Vehicle steering became very difficult, nearly unresponsive. Vehicle was dangerous. Electro-mechanical power steering pump failed. Chevrolet/gm dealer is only entity capable/authorized of making repair as it has to be computer programmed. Kbb value of car approximately $4,473. Cost of repair $1,700 (38% of car value).
Wheels and tires
6 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles. Parts named most often: sidewall.
I bought a Saturn Astra -- brand new. I recently found out that the tires had plugs in them -- at least two tires with two plugs. The tires were not new and are damaged. I called gm, filed a complaint, took the car into the dealer, and was told that the tires were damaged. Gm just contacted me and said they are not…
Takata recall, parts not available; passenger side outside mirror fell off while car was parked; fuel door will not unlock; air conditioner makes a squealing and rattling noise; car is slow to accelerate when air conditioner is on; occasionally unable to turn key in ignition because steering wheel locks up; one tire…
Other or unspecified
6 complaints · 4%The vehicle will not register the correct gear on the shifter assembly display, shows park or all lighting indcators illuminate simulteaneously, impossible to determine exactly which gear it is actually in, most times reverse even though the indicator lights are not accurate. Dealer recommends changing both the…
Early morning, parked in grocery store parking lot. Finished shopping, loaded groceries in trunk, tried to start car...key did not even turn in lock at first. Then all gear lights came on, but no engine start. Tried several times. Then I called aaa. They said it was not battery, but got it started by turning key to…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Saturn Astra recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator on saab 9-3 and 9-5 vehicles and will replace the driver's frontal airbag module on saturn astra vehicles, free of charge. The recall began on march 1, 2017. Owners may contact saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007 or saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for this recall is 28810.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 saab 9-3 vehicles manufactured may 31, 2002, to february 15, 2011, 2006-2009 saab 9-5 vehicles manufactured june 7, 2005, to may 28, 2009, and 2008-2009 saturn astra vehicles manufactured april 11, 2007, to july 24, 2008. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Questions about the 2008 Saturn Astra
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Saturn Astra?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (96 complaints, typically around 59,500 miles); electrical (22 complaints, typically around 77,000 miles); transmission (17 complaints, typically around 49,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Saturn Astra have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 3, 2016 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Saturn Astra?
- It is the most complained-about Astra model year since 2000, with 162 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.
Other Saturn Astra years
- 2008