For days leading up to event, I would shift into park but continue to move forward or backwards. It took several attempts to actually shift the car into park, e.g. If I took my foot off the brake, while gear shift was in park position, car would idle forward or back. On the day of part failure, I arrived home from work, could not get the car into park, so I set the emergency brake and turned car off. After 10 minutes, I tried to leave for a dr's appt and car would not start. I had to have car towed and replace gear shift cable. Mechanic said it was completely frayed.
2007 Saturn Aura transmission complaints
Page 7 of 7: complaints 161 to 184 of 184, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Two nights ago when I parked the car I noticed that the doors didn't unlock when I placed the car in park. I shut the car off, manually unlocked the door, pulled the hood release and stepped out. The car rolled a little. I jumped back in and applied the parking brake. I tried to start the car to move it forward but it would not start, like the battery was dead. After checking the battery connections etc. I realized that the remote key fob operated the locks just fine so possibly no battery issue. I moved the shifter to n turned the key and it started right up. Moved the shifter to park, again nothing. I moved it to park one more time and the doors unlocked just like normal. Since that night everytime I park the car I have to play with the selector/shifter a little to get the trans. Into park.I am now going to always apply the parking brake until resolved.
The shift cable failed when I parked the car in a parking lot. When I got back into the vehicle it would not start. I opened the hood and checked the engine. I got back into the car and turned the key to the on position. I shifted the car into neutral and tried to start the car again. The car started and I shifted it back into park. I got out of the car to shut the hood and the car began to roll backwards. I was able to get back in the car and apply the brake. I then shifted the car back to neutral and applied the parking brake. The car was no longer reading accurately on the shifter. When shifted to park, the car was in reverse.
2007 saturn aura - pulled into parking space following multiple short trips during the same day, braked to a stop, & turned off ignition. Automatic door locks did not engage to open position, car began rolling forward in spite of shifter being in the park position. The only noticeable problem with the car prior to this event started about 1 month prior when it appeared that the brakes were responding a little slower than usual when slowing down or stopping.. The car then would not start, the car rolled while the shifter was in the park position. While this auto was up on a jack stand it was able to be started momentarily, the front tires were spinning rapidly in spite of the car being in the park position. Emergency brake had to be applied to prevent car from rolling forward. Car was towed to service garage, the shift cable and bracket were found to be broken and had to be replaced. The car has approximately 50,000 miles on it with no known history of damage .
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 saturn aura. The contact stated that while parked with the engine shut off, the vehicle rolled backward approximately one car length. Prior to the failure, the contact had difficulties removing the gear shifter from park. After the failure, the contact found that the transmission was starting to jerk when shifting between gears. The contact took the vehicle to a personal mechanic and was told that a cable for the transmission could possibly be loose. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 saturn aura. The contact stated the shifter cable on the transmission was broken. The failure prevented the vehicle from starting immediately. When the vehicle finally started it would only shift from park to drive. The vehicle was taken to the dealer the following day and after inspecting the vehicle they stated the shifter cable was broken. The vehicle could be repaired but it would cost over $500 since there were no recalls or related warranties. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the repairs would not be covered under any recalls or warranties but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 86,000. Updated 09/15/11*lj updated 09/16/11
2007 saturn aura , 79,000miles. I am an owner of a gm vehicle as well as an employee of gm. Sunday ,july 10, 2011. Drove car for about a half hour returned home and stopped in drive way. Placed vehicle in park , turned off ignition , removed key and released brake. Car begins to roll down hill. Depress brake to stop car. Checked that prndl was in park, reinserted key to operate gear selector. Vehicle would not go into park.then set emergency brake and looked under hood. Cable connected to selector on top of transmission is broken and will not operate gear selector. The car is in drive or reverse and does not start. Even after manually moving selector forward park will not be selected.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 saturn aura. The contact stated that the vehicle was in park with the brakes depressed. As the brakes were released, the vehicle began to roll backward. The dealer diagnosed that the shift cable was fractured and would need replacing. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 57,000.
Our car was not able to be shifted out of gear. The car would move while the transmission lever was placed in park. The car remained in drive. The same thing happened 2 days later but the car remained in reverse even though the shift lever indicated it was in park. I was told by my dealer the shift cable broke and I'm not responsible for a $460 repair bill.
I purchased this saturn with 32k on it, two days after having the vehicle it started overheating and the air conditioner went out. I contacted the dealership because it was still under factory warranty. It took them a week to fix the vehicle because they had to completely rewire a few things. One month after that happened, I noticed when I turned I felt a popping in the floor board on the driver side. I again contacted the dealer and they had me bring the vehicle in and stated something was loose in the axel shaft and they 'fixed' the popping by tightening it up. Three months following the above events, I noticed the popping started again. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they replaced the front ball joint, rack, and pinion. I drove away from the dealership and immediately had to turn around and return the vehicle because the problem continued. At that point they had the vehicle for five months straight. They say they replaced everything from the steering column down. Every time I called for an update they always had a different answer. I have replaced the rotors on this car 3 times now and it only has 60k. The service airbag light continues to stay on. The dealership says they replaced the airbag coil but yet it continues to come on. Now the transmission is slipping constantly in 5th and 6th gear. This car has been the worst car I have ever owned. I will never purchase another gm product again. I have had nothing but issues with this car since the day I brought it home. My husband was called to deploy to iraq and we had a 2 week old baby so we had to get a bigger car before he left. We only had 3 days when he was called up to leave (he was inactive reserve and was called up). I did not have time to research this car before we bought it. If I could do it all over again I would never even consider this car. Reading into it now, it seems a lot of people have had the same issues with this car.
Shifter cable broke. Shifter lever was placed in park, but the transmission not in park which allowed the car to roll. Thankfully, car was parked on level area so car did not roll away and no one was hurt.
About 6 days ago I pulled into a park and turned my car off but it wouldn't start back up. I had onstar perform a diagnostic test and my transmission and engine was fine. Finally I was able to start the car in neutral, but I had to leave the car in park and use the emergency brake in order to turn the car off and remove the key. So from then on I was unable to place my car in park and I had to start it in neutral. Then last night at 2am my shifter cable broke completely, I am unable to put the car into any gear or start the car. I tried to have onstar tow me home but they can only tow to a dealership so I had to call aaa. I see that there are several complaints about this but nothing has been done to fix it. Please investigate this and force the dealer to do a recall on the 2007 saturn aura.
2007 saturn aura, transmission cable failed this morning.won't start--not properly engaged in park.the cable appears to be not in the correct position and does not coordinate with position on drive shift.
I have been having intermittent problems with my 2007 saturn aura where I put the car in park, shut off the engine and the whole control panel goes black and the door locks won't open. Then I can't restart the car. I found myself stranded for 3 hours on a dark deserted street a couple weeks ago in some pretty cold winter weather.I am a single 67 yr. Old woman and didn't know what to do. I called aaa and they never showed up so my son came out and was eventually able to start the car by pressing down hard on the brake, turning the ignition key and moving the shift gear into neutral. The car started. The car would work fine for awhile and then have the same problem.yesterday I had this happen again but this time I couldn't press the brake down and it wouldn't start in neutral. Even with the car in park, it would roll. I also noticed that the "service traction" warning went on and it also kept displaying the "ice possible" warning even tho the pavement was dry. I had the car towed to a repair garage and they found the shifter cable snapped. I am presently having this replaced. This part was recalled in auras for 2008 & 2009 but not 2007 even tho it is the exact same part. Being stranded and having the car rolling is very dangerous, especially in winter. I only have 34,000 miles on this car and have nothing but problems with since the third month I owned it. Mostly it was brake problems in the first 2 years - warped rotors and excessively worn pads. I still also have a problem getting my key out of the ignition when the weather is cold. The car starts, drives ok, but after I shut it off, I can't get the key out. Again, another problem and another safety issue. Who can afford to leave their key in the ignition and go to work??? This car is a lemon and yet beyond the time frame for the lemon law to be pursued. This car should be recalled before someone is seriously hurt.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 saturn aura. The contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward with the gear shift selector placed into park. He then attempted to place the vehicle into reverse but no matter what gear the vehicle was in, the vehicle continued to accelerate forward causing him to crash into his front porch. The failure was similar to recall 09v073000 (power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift). Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified and the vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The current and failure mileages were 91,950. Updated 05/12/11 *bf updated 06/06/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 saturn aura. The contact stated that the shift cable broke as a result the vehicle kept moving forward even though he had placed the shifter into 'r' and the shift indicator showed 'r'. He was surprised that the vehicle moved forward instead of backward. Fortunately, there was no one or objects immediately before the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated the transmission shift cable had to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted who was unable to assist because the vehicle was out of warranty and it was not included in recall 09v073000 (power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift). The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 45,071 and the current mileage was 45,726. Updated 3/28/11 *cn updated 03/31/11
Brake lights come on while driving day or night and when pedal is depressed lights do not come on. Must drive with foot depressing brake pedal in order for lights to remain off. This is serious as the driver behind thinks that I am riding the brakes and then when I do need to brake there are no brake lights.
In march 2009 there was a recall on the shift cable for the 2008 and 2009 saturn aura but not on the 2007. I own a 2007 aura and the shift cable recently snapped in half while driving. My car was literally stuck in drive on an incline. After my mechanic purchased a new cable he noticed that the design was totally different which lead me to research the recall on that part. I don't understand how a part can be recalled but only for certain years and not all 3 years the car was made. This part is exactly the same in the 2007 and I want to be reimbursed. The dealership said no way cause they are not required. Can someone please help me.
Failure of neutral safety switch on the transmission shift lever.
I purchased my car new off the lot while out of state. I have had several issues with this vehicle. I am unsatisfied with saturn that they are not willing to look into these issues and fix, repair or replace the parts to fix the problems. Unless continuously my expense. The brake lights are lit while driving down the road, and when you place your foot on the pedal and apply pressure, the lights will go off, thus removing your foot from petal, 8 seconds, the lights for my brakes are back on. Mind you when you apply the brake, the lights go off, so explain this to the officers that stop me, and give me a ticket for repair because I don't have brake lights when stopping!! Not to mention the times of being almost rear ended because of this issue! Getting it fixed and it continues to reoccur is getting old. Does someone really have to be killed to fix this problem? The braking system in general with the rotors and pads has been a consistent repair replace factor. I have replaced brake pads, had rotors turned, had them replaced, etc minimum of every 10,000 miles due to the rotors being warped, causing severe shaking in the front end. Service garage at saturn dealer just says this is a continued problem with the aura vehicles, but nothing is getting resolved. Again, does someone really have to be killed to get these real issues settled? These are issues with the brakes, not with something minor. Again, issues with the air bag service light coming on, and the garage not finding a repeating error, occurs yet occasionally. Fix by turning car off and restarting. Inflate tire signal repeatedly occurs, yet to find actual cause for this issue. These are the real concerns I have with this vehicle, minor issues are the doors filling with water, pealing of interior on black areas of door molding, handles. Failure of increase of immediate speed when wanting extra power to pass or coming in on ramp to highway traffic and does not kick down immediately.
While driving on entering onto the freeway while pressing accelerator down car not responding immediately.
It appears that the 2007 saturn aura does not meet fmvss 102 section 3.1.4 relating to transmission shift lever positions identification. My aura does not indicate which gear is selected. There prndil lettering is backlit but there is no identification of which gear the transmission is currently in (I.e. There is no pointer/light highlighting 'd' when in drive).
While attempting to pass another car on the highway, the car did not immediately respond to the accelerator being press down, resulting in my car being nearly rear ended at over 50 MPH. Similar near misses have happened several times since I purchased the car. When trying to pass other vehicles, merge onto a highway, or when pressing the accelerator to quickly gain speed after slowing down momentarily, there is frequently a one to two second lag between the press of the accelerator and the response of the car. I have mentioned it to my saturn dealer who could not reproduce the issue. I have also seen the same complaint on numerous web sites (eg. Saturnfans.com) and as far as I can determine it seems to be an issue with the drive-by-wire/6 speed automatic transmission combination. I've been told by both the dealer and my own research that a delay with this type of system isn't unusual, but I find that hard to believe as the problem is downright dangerous. I don't believe this is something a dealer can readily fix as it seems to be a design problem based on everything I have encountered in my research into finding other owners with similar issues.
2007 saturn aura with a slight grade problem customer stated that while driving on the highway the car would start to stumble and would not downshift as soon as it should**cc the consumer stated while driving the vehicle while in cruise control everytime the vehicle approached a slight grade in the highway the car would stumble and not downshift like the vehicle was supposed to, the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer informed him they couldn't find anything wrong. It was not until the vehicle was test driven by a mechanic that the mechanic stated he would take the vehicle to see if there was a calibration fix or recall. The consumer stated the mechanic informed him there was not a fix but to wait to see if gm would distribute a recall for this vehicle.
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