2008 Saturn Aura: won't start

Filed Oct 31, 2025 · Airbags, Electrical · AL

The power train has failed the car won't start the fuses and relays are burning up and the transmission shifts so hard at a jolt almost. The service ecs ecm and service airbag indicator staying lit and the back passenger airbag looks like it's about to deploy it's a safety hazard I love my car I've only had it a year and I don't know what is happening or why.

Filed Mar 9, 2023 · GA

Stuck in drive something to do with the Shifter cable have to use the emergency brake to stop the car and if shut off it wont start back up

Filed Jan 1, 2022 · Transmission · IN

The list goes on. Shifting issues started and we've been trying to figure it out among other issues.. Transmission shift cable. Power train transmission. Car randomly won't accelerate while driving. Dials not moving periodically. Coolant holds normally then randomly is emptied like their is a leak. Fill it up & it sucks it on like it won't hold it. Thirsty. Coolant leak but no service light. Car overheated for awhile but now doesn't. Wouod just shoot up to red zone. Got a call last night that it wasn't shifting right & sounded bad. Wks before randomly hard shifted. Our kid was stranded in the cold. Got to him & the car wouldn't shift from neutral. It rolled backwards on him & he threw on the parking brake thankfully!! Scary ordeal & thankful he is ok. When shifting gears, the shifter moved but sounds like it's not connected to anything & the gears don't shift. It stays in neutral. Car won't start. He also randomly has battery issues when his alternator & battery are good. Car just won't start randomly. It is available for inspection once we get it home.. I was led here thinking, it has to have recalls & we weren't notified then I saw recalls for this make & model, just not ours. No warning lights this time. Service engine has came on before them go off intermittently. We've had it connected at auto zone & fixed a few codes it through then service light went off. It's reduced engine power while driving & doesn't accelerate. Drives slow. Reduced power. All these previous issues now the shifting cable. :(

Filed Apr 27, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 152,840 miles · FL

I bought my 2008 saturn aura xr used off a car lot last year around march I started having starting issues in may shortly after buying the car . I have replaced the starter battery & other costly things but still have the no start no crank issue with my car it's still driveable but when the car heats up my car wont start until after the car cools for about 30 minutes to an hour my car is not showing signs of overheating this problem is very stressful & dangerous I'm tired of being stuck when I go places also sometimes my car doesn't go past 20 MPH & I have to pull over shut the engine down and wait 15 minutes & my driver seat stopped working

Filed Feb 4, 2020 · Electrical, Lights · GA

Head light stopped working then when I tried to start car again would turn over try or anything starter was checked battery and alternator checked if it ever cranks can't turn off or it won't crank again for 2 plus hours checked relays seems as if it may be wire shortened out when won't crank

Filed Dec 13, 2018 · Electrical · MI

I took my vehicle in for an "electric power steering assist" recall. Drove it there, but had to tow it off because the shift cable broke. It will not shift into any gear, just stuck in drive. Also wont start now I assume because it wont go in park. The lock buttons/ windows dont work either

Filed Jun 3, 2018 · Transmission · IL

Broken gear shifts. Put car in reverse to park and car shut off gear shift went loosely back and forth. Car rolled back on it's own potentially causing an accident. Gear shift broken. Car engine would not start. I put key in ignition and it lit up dashboard and windows let up and down but vehicle didn't move.

Filed Aug 14, 2017 · Electrical · 41,000 miles · PA

While driving and at speeds between 35 MPH and 55 MPH the car shuts off like the ignition was turned off and when put in to natural while still moving try to start car and it won't crank, it is difficult to get the car off the road and stopped. Car is now in park, try to start and the engine will not crank, needs to set for 30 or so minutes and now will crank. I replaced the ignition relay but did not fix the problem. This has happened to me 6 times in the pass 4 weeks. No documentation.

Filed Jul 19, 2017 · Transmission · 157,000 miles · MI

While my daughter was driving on a city street utica road and gratiot in roseville mi the engine shut off without any warning. Luckily no one was behind the car when it shut off or on the freeway at the time or it could have been a bad situation or accident. The car would not start back up just clicking in ignition when turning key in the ignition. Had to call for a tow at 10pm. Shop said something went wrong with timing chain and compression test showed no compression in cylinder 4 possibly bent valves. I recently received a letter from gm regarding a condition when increased resistance in the body control module resulting in voltage fluctuations or intermittency in the brake apply sensor dated march 2017.

Filed May 15, 2017 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 36,000 miles · KY

The first sign of problems was while driving the automatic locks started locking and unlocking themselves. This would happen off and on with it locking and unlocking very quickly and repeatedly, ceasing and then starting it again forapproximately 2 or 3 days. Then it would stop all together for 3 or 4 days maybe a week and then repeat the same pattern. I also noticed a couple of times while my car was parked in my driveway the brake lights would be on. I'm not sure if they went off when I parked my car and got out for the day or if they just suddenly came on while my car was parked. I only noticed this around 3 or 4 times. The main event which brings me here is I was driving doing around 30 miles per hour on a side road when suddenly I could not control my steering easily. Around the same time or seconds after my dash lights started going crazy and all of them flickering off and on. I immediately started to brake my vehicle to come to a stop because it scared me. I was seconds from my destination and my husband was with me and we decided very slowly make it to the bank parking lot. As I turned my car started acting as if it was just failing to run. My husband says this was the transmission. As I turned and started to brake to a stop my brakes did not work as they normally did. Once stopped my car died and would not turn over. We thought the battery died. We then got a jump and the car died again this time not starting back at all.

Filed Aug 10, 2015 · Transmission · OH

2008 saturn aura. Consumer writes in regards to transmission shift cable recall repair issues. *smd the consumer stated she received a recall letter in november 2012. She scheduled an appointment at the dealer and the repairs were made in january 2013. However, sometime in early 2015, it became difficult for her to shift gears, particularly between reverse and drive. Finally on july 3, 2015, while trying park, the gear would not move from drive to reverse. After quite a struggle she was able to get the vehicle into park, remove the key and set the parking brake. However, when she tried to re-start the vehicle minutes later, the ignition would not start. With the vehicle still in park, with the parking brake set, the vehicle began to roll forward into another vehicle when the battery was being jumped. Fortunately, the consumer was able to stop the vehicle before it made contact with the other vehicle. In order to start the vehicle she had to find where the neutral was on the transmission;park on the gear was reverse for the transmission; drive for the transmission was between neutral and reverse; and park for the transmission was absent requiring the emergency parking brake to hold the vehicle in place. An independent mechanic replaced the transmission shifter cable and the bracket that was replaced back in january 2013. The original part, that was not a problem at the time, was replaced with a part that became a problem later. The consumer referenced recall # 12v460000.

Filed Jun 19, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 80,000 miles · IN

On saturday, june 14 my car would not start. I moved the floor gear shift deeper into the park position and it started. On monday, june 16 I parked my car after purchasing an item at drive-through window. When I attempted to start it, it would not start. The gear shift moved through all of the indicators (prd...) and the car began to roll backwards nearly hitting another car. I called for a tow, and the driver noted the problem. Today, pep boys completed repair of the the gear shift assembly. There was a missing part. The incident notice (http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2008/saturn/aura/recalls/) recall id # 103875 - power train:automatic transmission:lever and linkage:floor shiftplushide details recall date: apr 30, 2014 model affected: 2008 saturn aura summary: general motors llc (gm) notified the agency on april 29, 2014, that they are recalling 56,214 model year 2007 and 2008 saturn aura vehicles. Consequences: if the transmission shift cable fractures while the vehicle is being driven, the transmission gear selection may not match the indicated gear and the vehicle may move in an unintended or unexpected direction, increasing the risk of a crash. Furthermore, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, despite selecting the 'park' position, the transmission may not be in 'park.' if the vehicle is not in the "park" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders. Remedy: gm will notify owners, and gm dealers will replace the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact general motors at 1‑800‑553‑6000. Gm's number for this recall is 14152.