2000 SATURN AURA Recalls, Complaints & Safety

No recalls found for this vehicle.

Complaint Statistics

4 total complaints

Top Reported Components

Component	Complaints
STEERING	2
POWER TRAIN	1
STEERING:COLUMN	1

Incident date: Mar 2, 2016

TESTING

Incident date: Nov 5, 2007

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, A LOUD ABNORMAL NOISE EMITTED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN AREA. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME TIGHT AND WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THA... Read more

Incident date: Nov 5, 2007

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, A LOUD ABNORMAL NOISE EMITTED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN AREA. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME TIGHT AND WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THA... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2013

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE ROLLED AWAY ALTHOUGH THE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE EMERGENCY BRAKE HAD TO REMAIN ENGAGED IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE FAILURE FROM OCCURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER ... Read more

NHTSA Safety Investigations — SATURN AURA

Investigations opened by NHTSA into potential safety defects. These are separate from recalls and may or may not result in a recall.

EA — Closed — Model Year: 2007

Transmission Shift Cable Failure

On April 29, 2014, GM submitted a Part 573 defect information report initiating Safety Recall 14V-224 to remedy the subject vehicles equipped with four speed automatic transmissions manufactured before October 31, 2007.On May 22, 2014 GM expanded 14V-224 to include MY 2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu/Mali... bu Maxx and MY 2005 - 2008 Pontiac G6 (total recall population 1,131,113).GM will install a replacement shift cable assembly to remedy the affected vehicles.The subject shift cable's protective outer conduit (jacket) deteriorates with time and use.Jacket deterioration could lead to a tear of the conduit material which allows moisture to reach the lay wires, potentially causing them to corrode and weaken.The lay wires provide support to the inner core wire that performs the shift detent actuation of the transmission.Without sufficient lay wire support, the shifter position inside the vehicle and the actual transmission gear selection may not align.A complete loss of shift function can occur when the core wire fractures and fails fully.The failure data supports that the problem affects subject vehicles equipped with four-speed automatic transmissions. Aura vehicles manufactured with other transmission types use a different shift cable assembly, as do four speed equipped Aura's manufactured after October 31, 2007.Transmission shift cable failure can cause multiple shift function failure modes.One involves an engine no-start condition where the gear shifter is in the park position but the transmission is actually in drive or reverse gear (engine starting is inhibited in this circumstance).A second involves non-powered vehicle movement where the driver turns the engine off and moves the shifter to park but the transmission fails to engage the park gear; the vehicle may roll away if the driver exits without setting the park brake.A third involves powered vehicle movements, where the driver moves the gearshift but the transmission fails to engage the intended gear, and the engine remains running.For instance the driver can shift to park but the transmission may remain in drive or reverse, resulting in vehicle movement when the driver does not expect it.Another failure involves the driver shifting to reverse but the transmission remains in drive, resulting in the vehicle moving in a direction opposite to that the driver intended.Another failure mode results in complete loss of shifting.Both NHTSA and GM have received complaints alleging one or more of these failure scenarios, and in some cases consumers report experiencing multiple problems over the course of several drive cycles.In one incident, the vehicle unexpectedly moved forward after the driver placed the gear selector in park resulting in the vehicle striking a fixed object (porch railing).Among the crashes identified above, nine involved property damage and two involved minor injuries when the vehicles rolled and struck the driver as they exited the vehicle.The recall action initiated by the manufacturer appears to address the safety risks of concern to ODI.Accordingly, the investigation is closed.The VOQs cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers: 10274914, 10404010, 10432953, 10446285, 10458417, 10495979, 10547333, 10354195 , 10404496, 10435560, 10447211, 10461922, 10498567, 10547683, 10374834, 10405577, 10435633, 10447303, 10464207, 10513116, 10553840, 10378975, 10409341, 10435653, 10449759, 10464388, 10513875, 10554335, 10382559, 10411913, 10435677, 10452089, 10467958, 10516001, 10565628, 10383044, 10412157, 10435996, 10452662, 10478887, 10522732, 10566451, 1039013Read more

PE — Closed — Model Year: 2007

Transmission Cable Failure

GM advised that the shift cable's protective outer conduit (jacket) deteriorates with time and use.Variables that affect jacket life include installation variability (routing, etc), environmental and temperature effects, and material quality.Jacket deterioration could lead to a tear of the conduit m... aterial which allows moisture to reach the lay wires, potentially causing them to corrode and weaken.The lay wires provide support to the inner core wire that performs the shift detent actuation of the transmission.Without sufficient lay wire support, the shifter position inside the vehicle and the actual transmission gear selection may not match.A complete loss of shift function can occur when the core wire fractures and fails fully.GM asserts that the problem primarily affects the four-speed equipped subject vehicles, but not the six-speed transmissions, and notes that similar cable installations are used in other model and MY GM vehicles (2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu and 2005-2008 Pontiac G6). In reviewing consumer reports ODI notes multiple failure modes that occur as the cable allegedly fails and shift function is affected.One involves an engine no-start condition where the gear shifter is in the park position but the transmission is actually in drive or reverse gear (engine starting is inhibited in this circumstance).A second involves non-powered vehicle movement where the driver turns the engine off and moves the shifter to park but the transmission fails to engage the park gear; the vehicle may roll away if the driver exits without setting the park brake.A third involves powered vehicle movements, where the driver moves the gearshift but the transmission fails to engage the intended gear, and the engine remains running.For instance the driver can shift to park but the transmission may remain in drive or reverse, resulting in vehicle movement when the driver does not expect it.Or the driver may shift to reverse but the transmission remains in drive, resulting in the vehicle moving in a direction opposite to that the driver intended.Another failure mode results in complete loss of shifting. Both NHTSA and GM have received complaints alleging one or more of these failure scenarios, and in some cases consumers report experiencing multiple problems over the course of several drive cycles.In the crash incident reported to NHTSA (ODI 10383044) the driver reportedly placed the gear shift selector into park but the transmission remained in drive causing the vehicle to unexpectedly move (accelerate) forward and strike a building.In one of the crash incidents reported to GM, the driver placed the shifter in park but the transmission remained in reverse.When the driver exited with the engine running, the vehicle continued (accelerated) in reverse and struck a building.In the injury incident reported to GM, the driver reportedly placed the shifter in park, exited the vehicle, and was struck when the vehicle unexpectedly rolled backwards. ODI is upgrading this investigation to evaluate the frequency of shift cable failure, the consequences, and the scope of vehicles that may be affected, including the models, model years and transmissions types.Read more

SATURN AURA — All Years Overview

Complete safety history for the SATURN AURA across all model years (2007–2010).

34 Total Recalls

2,223 Total Complaints

2 Investigations

79 Reported Crashes

19 Reported Fires

5 Reported Deaths

SATURN AURA — Year by Year

Compare recalls and complaints across model years. Click any year to see full details.

Year	Recalls	Complaints
2010	6	2	View
2009	9	587	View
2008	10	677	View
2007	9	947	View
2005	0	6	View
2000 (current)	0	4

Other SATURN Models

Model	Recalls	Complaints
ION	40	5,467	View
SL	29	2,891	View
SKY	22	623	View
OUTLOOK	21	1,939	View
SC	20	379	View
SW	17	274	View
LS	16	1,885	View
SC1	13	554	View