The power steering in this vehicle randomly and without warning malfunctions. Initially, the problem occurred very sporadically, and only when the vehicle was first started up and still in park. Turning the vehicle off, and then back on remedied the issue. However, the vehicle will now lose power steering while driving, causing the vehicle to be very difficult to steer. So far, it has only happened at low speeds, typically when I begin driving after stopping at a stop sign, red light etc. When it occurs, it takes extreme effort to pull the car over to the shoulder. It's as if the steering wheel is locked. Once pulled over, restarting the vehicle resolves the issue, although sometimes it takes several restarts. This is a dangerous situation that now happens daily. I was told that my 2009 saturn aura was not a part of the 2014 recalls that addressed this issue. I did not own the vehicle in 2014, so I cannot verify if the previous owner received any recall notifications. Because this is a common complaint, I believe that a recall should be issued for all 2009 saturn auras.
2009 Saturn Aura steering complaints
Page 4 of 8: complaints 71 to 100 of 210, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle steering locked up while in motion on a city street. After parking and restarting again the steering functioned, came to find out that this model has an electric steering system and does not permit steering fluid to be added.
My [xxx] daughter was driving her car and the steering went out. Her car has had the electric stability control turn on and the vehicle shut off in the middle of driving. This car is a huge hazard. I have never been notified of the recalls issued back in 2012 and 2014 regarding these issues and now no one will address them or fix them as they are expired.
Was driving down tollway (I-294) in rosemont illinois and started to exit at balmoral when I had a total loss of steering. It took extreme effort to steer car up the ramp at 30 MPH. It felt like the steering wheel was stuck and you could only turn it about 45 degrees max in either direction. I managed to drive it home on side roads for several miles while constantly fighting to maintain control. It seemed to lock-up every time I turned a corner. When turning left, you would wind up on the right lane after completing the turn. You could not make a tight turn with the vehicle! Several cars had to swerve around me as I was turning! The dashboard indicated the following "power steering/service ESC" when I got it in the garage at home, I shut engine off and then restarted. The problem seemed to go away. This is a very scary situation and I have read that gm recalled certain 2009 saturn auras for this problem. When I checked my VIN, no recalls were seen. I feel that this is a very dangerous vehicle to operate.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn and the power steering warning indicator illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken to mcgrath buick gmc cadillac (located at 1040 n center point rd, hiawatha, ia 52233, (319) 393-3300). The dealer stated that the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v153000 (steering), which was associated with the vehicle, had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 133,000.
While driving down a city street, the traction light indicator lit up and the dashboard flashed 'ESC off' and 'traction off' and the steering wheel locked up. It was very difficult to steer my car into a parking lot and out of the heavy flow of traffic.
As I was driving to work on 11/12/2019 at 6pm est, on the freeway when my steering wheel began to shake and then became stiff and hard to steer. The dashboard started dinging and the service ESC came across. I came up to the nearest exist and had a hard time trying to pull up into a parking area to see what was wrong with my car. I turned the car off waited a few minutes then proceeded to restart my car to see what will happen. The steering wheel was no longer stiff so I proceeded to get back on the freeway to head to work again. After no more than 10 minutes of driving my car did the exact same thing over again. So, I pulled up off of the freeway to try and see if I shut it off will it work again. This time it did not reset itself, so I decided to drive back home with the steering out and being hard to drive cause it was dark and late out and I did not want to chance being on the road somewhere by myself. September 2017 when I purchased the car until that day on november 12, 2018, my car had been running great and had no steering issues or concerns. When I spoke with a gmc dealer I was made aware that this make and model has many recalls including a recall with the same issues my car was having but that when looking up my VIN # it does not show that my car was part of the recall to be fixed. My car is having the same exact issues as the exact same make and model of my car and I need some assistance. I have gotten parts fixed on my car to see if it will fix the issue but nothing has worked and it is now january 9, 2019 and I still have no power steering and I have to work as well as provide transportation for my four children.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. While driving 25 MPH, the contact lost control of the steering and it required excessive force to maneuver. The contact turned into a vacant parking lot and turned off the vehicle. When the vehicle was restarted, the steering returned to normal and "service ESC" appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to george white chevrolet (1719 s high ave, ames, ia 50010, (515) 233-2211), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 192,000.
While driving my daughter to school, I made a left turn into the school parking lot at a low rate of speed and steering went out. Power steering light illuminated and dash reads service ESC. Very difficult to steer. Turned car off and went to crank again...steering restored, indicator went off.
Power steering stops working sometimes while driving on various roadways making steering almost impossible. Have found that shutting it off and restarting resets it, but this is not always possible in many situations. The limited frequency of it makes it tough to duplicate for dealership and while this is a known problem and recall for other gm vehicles, we were told our car is not on the list. Has happened for past two years. Date and information below was the most recent incident.
While operating vehicle electric power steering stops functioning and makes it very difficult to steer vehicle. Problem happens with no warning get error message on dash but issue has already occured. This issue seems very common and is very dangerous. Gm has a recall for this exact issue but does not apply to my vehicle.
With engine on, steering wheel slowly oscillates. When driving, steering wheel will 'kick' left or right suddenly, and I have to hold wheel tightly to keep car in straight line. Several times while turning, I lost power steering completely and I had to use force to maintain control.
At 64,467 miles, while driving about 45 MPH jerking of steering wheel occurred and power steering warning came on. Went off again. Keeps happening as tho it is shorting out while driving both at low speeds of 20 MPH to 55 MPH. Afraid to drive the vehicle now. Electrical steering motor is shorting out. Have not yet had repaired. Fear this car will cause serious harm, injury up to and possibly death if I continue to drive it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. While driving 40 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the electric power steering warning indicator illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited the same symptoms as listed in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the steering motor failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
2009 saturn aura stationary shows messages "service traction, ESC off, service ESC" constantly on the gauge cluster. Alongside the messages the ABS light and the ESC off icon is constantly on in the gauge cluster. When the vehicle was driven the message "pwr str" referring to power steering showed on the gauge cluster then disappears. Upon researching these issues, I have found that the federal safety agency and gm have issued recalls and tsbs regarding these issues, however the VIN for my vehicle does not show its under recall. I suspect this may be the case of vins not included in the recall system. The federal safety agency campaign number: 14v153000, 14e044000, 14v153000, 14v252000, I have contacted gm and was told my vehicle is not covered under recall and must be taken to a dealer for diagnostics under case number 8-440138641. I will take it to the dealer for the vehicle to be diagnosed, however in the case the vehicle is involved in an accident due to the ESC and power steering. I want the federal safety agency to have a record on file of these issues as a precautionary measure.
When turning left steering becomes stuck in the turning position and is almost like a jerking and not returning to a straight position. While making a left from a left turn signal on a city street.
The sec, and power steering light comes on with dinging noises.
When I am travelling at slow speeds the power steering often doesn't work. This has almost caused me to get into a few accidents. It is very dangerous. It seems that a recall was issued for my vehicle for this problem, but when I put in my VIN it says that there are no recalls.
180,000 mi power steering warning light illuminated briefly during straight highway driving. Consulted gm dealer, said fix would take a while due to parts shortage.
No power steering when starting the car
I can be driving down road my steering wheel start jerking then it quits but it will do it again
The power steering keeps going in and out while I am driving the car, I believe it is electric, when I make a turn sometimes it goes out then the turn becomes hard, then comes back in to make the turn easy
Failure at approximately 125000 miles. The power steering intermittently fails. Driving at varying speeds the ESC fail light comes on and gives a warning message of power steering failure. It requires the car to be shutdown and restarted.
Power steering went out while driving at 40mph
Vibration of my steering wheel. My electric power steering is failing. The service ESC and power steering failure messages suddenly illuminated on the dash board. The failure occurs when I try starting my car. The ESC light illuminates and locks up. I tried turning it on and off multiple times and it still locks up.
Traction control button (triangle on dash) will display then gauges start flickering back and fourth like an electrical issue and then on display it says service ESC and car will not shift into gears and you cannot steer or control vehicle properly with these issues going on. I entered my VIN because there are recalls for these issues but it says my VIN was not recalled. Once car is shut off it will reset itself I guess but it has happened several times now.
The electrical power steering assist will intermittently quit working without warning. On several occasions while turning it has stopped working causing the driver to veer into oncoming traffic because they could not steer the car back into their lane. Even while driving down the highway at normal speeds the steering has just wuit causing the driver to stop and turn the car off to reset the electronics. This condition is the same issue they had on previous years of the same vehicle so they obviously did not fix the problem, but just put a band aide on the issue to get it to pass inspection. This car is a death trap unless you are used to driving a tank without power steering!
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated that the warning indicator illuminated for the eps, and the steering wheel seized and was difficult to turn each time the failure occurred. The contact was unable to drive the vehicle due to the failure. The dealer (autonation buick gmc west sahara, 6400 west sahara avenue, las vegas, nv 89146, (702) 605-5808) was notified and was supposed to respond to the contact, but had not followed-up to provide an appointment to diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer issued two eps recalls, but the vehicle was excluded. The manufacturer also issued 11 tsbs. The failure mileage was not available.
Steering wheel shakes back and forth at idle.
I experienced a sudden loss of electric power steering assist that while driving. These has happened multiple times and is starting to occur more frequently. I have to turn the car off and then restart in order for the power steering to work. The consmer referenced recall 14v153000, stating that the vehicle experienced the same failure as documented. *js
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 Saturn Aura?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history