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2008 Saturn Outlook Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 633 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Saturn Outlook, most often about the lights (39% of complaints, typically around 45,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Outlook model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2008 Saturn Outlook problems
Lights
247 complaints · 39%Half of these problems showed up before 45,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights.
The passenger side low beam on my 2008 Saturn Outlook went out. We replaced it then 2 weeks later it went out again. We took it to the dealer and he said we needed to replace the socket because it was burned out and this is a common problem with this car. I have not yet corrected the problem because I do not have the…
2008 Saturn Outlook 45k miles- driver side low beam light wiring harness melted into the bulb socket and will need to be replaced. Estimated cost $400.
Electrical
164 complaints · 26%Half of these problems showed up before 57,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, 12v/24v/48v battery, ignition.
My passenger headlight turned off at about 30,000 miles, the bulb was replaced. Two weeks later the same headlight turned off again. I took it back to the dealer when they told me it was under warranty and would replace the faulty wire harness. Now my car is at about 57,000 miles, no warranty and my driver side…
My passenger headlight turned off around 11/12/10, the bulb was replaced. Two weeks later the same headlight turned off again. I took it back to the chevrolet dealer and they want me to pay $285 to fix the problem. I don't think that its right to make US pay for something that is completely faulty. This is really…
Transmission
127 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, clutch assembly.
My wife and I own a 2008 Saturn Outlook xr with just a hair under 80k miles on it and within the last week or so we have started having some weird transmission issues related to shifting between gears. From 1st to 2nd gear the transmission seems to ?slip? Momentarily causing the engine to rev mid shift. It also seems…
My transmission on my 2008 Saturn Outlook went out and was replaced (with a brand new transmission) under warranty in april 2012. It is going out again and the warranty is expired, november 2012. When I bought the truck, the dealer was trying to push an extended warranty on me, stressing over and over that it covered…
Air bags
97 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 82,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
In the past few months I have noticed that the passenger side air bag on my 2008 Saturn Outlook says off even when a full sized adult is sitting in the seat. Sometimes if you move around in the seat or get out and then get back in it will come on but there are not guarantees. I took it to my dealer and they informed…
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the passenger presence module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The…
Engine
52 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 78,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
I was traveling about 60 MPH on hwy. Car shut off and back on, it was also raining. Smelt really bad like a fire. Went straight home, took car to shop the next day. The water leak I thought had been fixed was leaking into the electrical board caused a burn out while I was driving because it was raining.
Driving on a small highway and the stabili rak light blinked and a chime rang. Error message came on to service stabilitrak while car began to buck and lose power. Had trouble getting car to accelerate - car kept bucking and it was very dangerous and I was afraid of getting hit from behind since I couldn't maintain…
Body and structure
46 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 67,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Water leak from sunroof traveled down the driver's pillar and through the dash, onto the floor. This caused an electrical shortage which caused the emergency brake warning bell to sound. Water was also leaking out of the curtain airbag badge on the pillar potentially compromising the airbag. Water soaked the driver's…
I took this vehicle to an automatic car wash. About halfway through, water started pouring into the vehicle through the overhead console and the passenger side a pillar because of a leaking sunroof/moonroof. I understand from research that this is a repeated issue with these vehicles, yet gm will not fix them.…
Steering
45 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 83,000 miles.
Steering suddenly without warning became very stiff. Unable to complete turn. Had to slam on brakes to avoid an accident. Forced to urgently replace power steering unit at great expense. This is a safety issue and should be investigated with potential for recall or reimbursement for replacement expense.
I had just pulled out on a interstate highway, and the vehicle acted like it did not want to shift gears. The check engine light came on and I could not accelerate any faster than 40 MPH. I pulled off the side of the road and waited on a tow vehicle. The steering has been very stiff also in the last few months.
Visibility and wipers
36 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: sun/moon roof assembly, windshield wiper/washer, defroster/defogger/hvac system.
After the vehicle sat in rain (sun roof closed of course), water was noticed running down the a pillar and out the sunvisor brackets and pooling on the floor. Upon inspection, it was noticed that water is building up in the sunroof bracket/frame and overflowing into the vehicle. It's likely the sunroof drain channels…
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. While driving various speeds, the windshield wipers failed to work without warning and impacted the contact's visibility. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the wiper linkages failed and that the windshield wiper linkages, the wiper crank arm, and…
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 Outlook recalls
Body and structure: hatchback/liftgate
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on november 15, 2016. Owners may contact buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for this recall is 15240.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 buick enclave vehicles manufactured january 3, 2007, to february 29, 2012, 2009-2012 chevrolet traverse vehicles manufactured july 6, 2008, to march 9, 2012, 2007-2012 gmc acadia vehicles manufactured september 15, 2006, to february 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 saturn outlook vehicles manufactured august 17, 2006, to march 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Air bags: side/window
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on june 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and gmc owners at 1-866-996-9463. Gm's number for this recall is 14030. Note: vehicles repaired as part of customer satisfaction campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 buick enclave and gmc acadia and 2009-2013 chevrolet traverse and 2008-2010 saturn outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (siab) wiring harnesses may result in the siab and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamb
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Visibility and wipers: linkages
Risk: If this were to occur, driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new wiper crank arm, driver's side link, and a crank arm nut. The recall began o october 13, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 88,809 my 2008 buick enclave, and my 2007-2008 gmc acadia and saturn outlook vehicles currently or previously registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. If a buildup of snow or ice on the windshield or on the wipers restricts the movement of the wiper arm, the windshield wiper linkage may become detached from the motor shaft and the wipers may become inoperative.
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
Loss of headlamp illumination
Summary
As of july 16, 2014, out of a population of 248,453 subject vehicles, NHTSA received 473 consumer complaints of inoperative head lamp. Many of these complaints indicated that the head lamp harness suffered damage from overheating. After reviewing the complaints, odi found: -69% (328) alleged that a single head lamp was inoperative. -18% (86) alleged that both head lamps were inoperative but not at the same time. -9% (41) alleged that both head lamps were inoperative but the complaints did not indicate whether the failures had occurred at the same time. -4% (17) alleged that both head lamps were inoperative at the same time. -one additional complaint cited wire harness damage to both sides bu
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Summary
In a letter dated august 27, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) notified NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall (NHTSA recall number 08v-441) to address a safety relateddefect that can result in engine compartment fire in approximately 850,000 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield washer fluid option.the subject vehicles of this investigation comprise over three-quarters of the recall population. According to gm, a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the windshield washer fluid heater module may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor or cause smoke and in rare cases it may cause a fire.as a remedy, gm
Questions about the 2008 Saturn Outlook
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Saturn Outlook?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: lights (247 complaints, typically around 45,000 miles); electrical (164 complaints, typically around 57,000 miles); transmission (127 complaints, typically around 80,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Saturn Outlook have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 30, 2015 (body and structure). 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 Outlook?
- It is the most complained-about Outlook model year since 2000, with 633 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.