KnownCarProblems2009 Saturn Aura Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 390 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Saturn Aura, most often about the steering (54% of complaints, typically around 123,500 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Aura model year since 2000 and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2009 Saturn Aura problems
Steering
210 complaints · 54%Half of these problems showed up before 123,500 miles. Parts named most often: column, electric power assist system, rack and pinion.
Tl contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. The contact stated while driving between 40 MPH, the steering seized as power steering light illuminated and excessive force was used to steer the vehicle to the side of the road. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer…
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the power steering indicator illuminated. The failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.
Transmission
65 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 85,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the transmission failed and would not switch to the next gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not…
For two days when starting it made a weird noise but it sounded like the fan to the A/C might be going. Then my warning gauges started appearing warning of my air bag and oil. The next time I went to start the car the car would not start at all and the lights inside the car flashed and the car made a strange noise.
Electrical
59 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 93,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the brake lights illuminated independently. In addition, the cruise control ceased. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control…
When driving the vehicle, the brake lights would come on randomly and would turn off when the brake pedal is pressed. They would operate in the opposite way that they should. This is extremely dangerous because vehicles behind you don't know when you are braking. This has been happening intermittently for months now.
Stability control
59 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 106,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the electronic stability control warning indicator displayed prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering column and ESC needed replacement. The vehicle was not…
While at highway speeds (55-75) power train surges, and cruise control will not engage. Also ESC service indicator warning light turns on. Contacted dealer and gave them this information. Had my car serviced on 7/14/2014 with new spark plugs, fuel line cleaning and new brakes (front and back) and the ESC indicator…
Brakes
40 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 71,000 miles.
Brake lights illuminate without brake pedal being depressed, and do not illuminate when brake pedal is depressed while driving. Service traction, service erc, and ESC off warnings appear on dashboard. Nhtsa campaign # 14v252000, gm recall # 13036 was not applied to my VIN even though my manufacture date is 12/08…
I own a 2009 Saturn Aura. Last year, it was recalled due to a fault with a break light malfunction, causing the break lights to remain illuminated at all times. I took my Saturn in to my local gm technician to have the issue addressed at that time. Unfortunately, the issue has retuned to my vehicle within the last…
Speed control
29 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 98,000 miles. Parts named most often: cruise control.
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the cruise control was activated and unexpectedly disengaged on its own. The failure was a frequent occurrence. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and an unknown part was replaced on the vehicle. The…
Brake lights work opposite of expected. That is: they are on when accelerating and go off when braking!! This is very dangerous. I have had it to gm dealership 3 times and they say it drove fine, and charged me a diagnostic fee. Granted traction control light only goes on sporadically to cause this mess which also…
Lights
26 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles. Parts named most often: brake lights.
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the brake lights illuminated independently. In addition, the cruise control ceased. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control…
The contact owns a 2009 Saturn Aura. While driving at an unknown speed, the brake lights illuminated. While the brake pedal was depressed, the brake lights failed to illuminate; however, once the brake pedal was released, the brake lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to moran buick gmc (14000 telegraph rd…
Air bags
21 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles.
I was driving north on the hwy and the other person ran a stop sign and t-boned me on the driver side. My face and body smashed into the drivers door causing sever whiplash and some other things yet identified by an orthopedic surgeon. The drivers door and rear drivers door is smashed all the way to the seats, pushing…
I was driving north on the hwy and the other vehicle ran a stop sign and t-boned me on the driver side. My face and body smashed into the drivers door causing sever whiplash and other things not yet identified by my doctor. The drivers door and rear drivers side was smashed pushing up against the seats (front and…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2009 Saturn Aura recalls
Stability control: electronic stability control (esc)
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the bas and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an interim letter to customers on july 14, 2014. The recall began on august 18, 2014. Owners may contact general motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). Gm's number for this recall is 13036.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 chevrolet malibu vehicles manufactured may 16, 2003, through october 11, 2012, 2004-2007 malibu maxx vehicles manufactured june 25, 2003, through april 5, 2007, 2005-2010 pontiac g6 vehicles manufactured may 26, 2004, through january 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 saturn aura vehicles manufactured april 24, 2006, through may 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the body control module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the brake apply sensor (bas) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'park' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. Gm expects to send an interim notification around may 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 saturn ion, 2009-2010 chevrolet hhr and 2010 chevrolet cobalts. Dealers will replace the eps motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx, 2005-2006 pontiac g6 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, pontiac g6 and saturn aura built from mar
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, 2004-2006 malibu maxx, 2009-2010 hhr (non-turbo), 2010 cobalt, 2008-2009 saturn aura and 2004-2007 ion, and 2005-2009 pontiac g6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Transmission: gear position indication (prndl)
Risk: If the tabs were to fracture and separate, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. The driver would be able to move the shifter to 'park' and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in 'park.' the vehicle may not be able to be restarted and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible crash without prior warning.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer over the cable end or replace the shift cable as necessary. This service will be performed free of charge. Notification to owners began on on november 9, 2012. Owners were instructed to not bring their vehicles for repair until january 2013. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 saturn aura and model year 2008-2010 chevrolet malibu and pontiac g6 vehicles, equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission. On these vehicles, the tabs on the transmission shift cable end may fracture and separate.
Transmission: column shift
Risk: The driver may not be able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible crash without prior warning.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and ensure that the shift cable adjustment clip is fully engaged. In the event that the clip does not engage, the shift cable will be replaced free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before march 24, 2009. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, pontiac at 1-800-620-7668 and saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling 276,729 my 2009 buick enclave, chevrolet cobalt, hhr, malibu, traverse, gmc acadia, pontiac g5, g6 and saturn aura and outlook passenger vehicles. These vehicles fail to comply with federal motor vehicles safety standard 102, "transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect", and fmvss 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention". On some of these vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjustment clip may not be fully engaged. If the clip is not fully engaged, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. With this condition, the drive could move the shifter to "park" and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in "park".
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
Fleet vehicle recall completion audit
Summary
On november 18, 2010, NHTSA's recall management division (rmd) opened an audit query (aq10-001) to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on safety recall campaigns.it was expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets perform necessary recall-related remedies on the vehicles owned and then rented/leased for use on the roadways.rmd queried three (3) major motor vehicle manufacturers (ford, chrysler, and general motors) and requested data regarding completion figures for fifteen (15) discreet safety recalls.analysis of this data demonstrated that rental car recalls completion was neither complete nor consistent.the rental
Questions about the 2009 Saturn Aura
- What are the most common problems with the 2009 Saturn Aura?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (210 complaints, typically around 123,500 miles); transmission (65 complaints, typically around 85,500 miles); electrical (59 complaints, typically around 93,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2009 Saturn Aura have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 14, 2014 (stability control). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2009 a bad year for the Saturn Aura?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Aura model year since 2000, with 390 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.