Transmission plates and gears blew out. This happened while driving and could have easily caused an accident had I been on a more crowded road and/or going a faster speed. There is a service bulletin from gm (#307164) regarding harsh shifting or no reverse which may be a broken clutch wave plate dated 3/1/2011 action #10038284. What that bulletin fails to indicate is that the damaged/broken wave plate can cause the gear to "explode" taking out the other gear. Since a service bulletin was issued it is highly likely that this is a known problem. My car has 67k miles (7k out of warranty). Clutch wave plate broken. This issue needs to be looked into. If gm knows this is a problem (which the bulletin indicates) then they should be responsible for any and all repairs for same. This is a major complaint by many on various forums.
2009 Saturn Aura transmission complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 65 of 65, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My car will not go into park. I was reading on it and it said that the shifter cable has been recalled before. We do not know if it was fixed, and we need to get it fixed before it causes an accident. The recall number that has been entered in 2012 is 12v460000. Can you please tell us what we need to do.
The car does not go into reverse and does not seem to get out of third gear. The car will only get out of third gear after the engine revs and seem to shift hard. Stalls on highway and city streets and at times cant go faster than 20-25 MPH. I changed the transmission fluid the other day which seemed to help temporarily however it went back to the way its acting currently. Please help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift into park. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for further inspection. The contact was not included in the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 09v073000 (power train) and 12v460000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 86,057.
Transmission clutch plate cracked per dealership. Car started shifting hard. Had the transmission failed on the expressway it could have caused an accident.
Car stopped, no accident involved. Local mechanic inspected and told me that the transmission cable had broken. Brought to courtesy motors in lafayette, la.. I was informed that the 2009 model was not a part of the recall that involved other saturns that had been recalled through 2008. I purchased my 2009 in late 2008 and I would think that the same type part was used in the 2009. Gmc will not repair the part at their cost. I think that the 2009 models should have been recalled as well as all other model years, for the safety of those buyers of 2009 models (the last year they were sold)..
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. While driving 65 MPH, the power steering failed without warning. The contact had to use excessive force in order to get the vehicle off the highway. In addition, the gear shifter indicated the incorrect position. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.
Merging onto 65 MPH highway when car would not accelerate past 45 MPH. Engine was high revving and jerking as it was trying to change gears. Consistently debilitated until vehicle would no longer move.
Transmission completely failed after 3 months after warranty was up and have read that this is a wide spread issue that gm is not addressing.
While at highway speeds (55-75) power train surges, and cruise control will not engage. Also ESC service indicator warning light turns on. Contacted dealer and gave them this information. Had my car serviced on 7/14/2014 with new spark plugs, fuel line cleaning and new brakes (front and back) and the ESC indicator illuminating intermittently. Still have issues. They say that my VIN indicates that I do not have a recall for my vehicle. But, my car is showing all the tell-tale signs for what is described in gm recall #13036 from 5/14/2014.
When driving my car will briefly lose power. Gas becomes unresponsive. Once everything kicks back on the transmission will not shift, and dash displays service ESC, traction, power steering, ABS. After this happens car will not start after it's shut off. Sometimes it just flickers, causing brake lights to stay on, blinkers to cut in and out.
On 12/06/2013 my pregnant daughter, my 15 year old and 2 year old daughter were driving home in our 2009 saturn aura. As she began to turn into a busy highway, the engine began to shake and the vehicle suddenly stopped mid turn in the middle of a busy intersection/hwy. Passer drivers pulled over and helped push my girls to safety. Aaa was contacted and the vehicle was towed to my home. I contacted the dealer and I was informed that my car was no longer under warranty and that I would have to cover the costs of servicing the car. The vehicle continues to lose power and try to shut off at certain speeds. Abs and traction lights come off and on, and keys get stuck in the ignition. Unexpected shut off occurred again on 12/17/2013.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated that when the vehicle was secured in park, it would roll away in either direction. The vehicle also had to be secured in neutral in order to start and the emergency brake had to be applied in to stop the vehicle from moving. The vehicle was not taken to dealer. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign id number 12v460000 (power train) however, the VIN was not included and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 82,540.
I was making a left turn onto a one way. Traffic was clear enough to enter. My car sputtered and the ESC service light came on. Then service traction light. Then check engine light. I stepped off the gas then stepped back on it. The car then died. I was turning into 40 miles per hour traffic. I thought fast because there were 3 vehicles approaching quickly behind me. I hit the hazard lights. The car that was approaching slammed on brakes and blew at me in frustration. We sat in the middle of the street for several minutes. When I finally got the car to start again it jerked really hard when putting it into gear. I could not get the car to go past 25 miles per hour in 40 MPH traffic. This all happened while my [xxx] year old son was in the back seat. I am afraid of my car! Its been to the dealership twice. Each time its giving them the same error code and they are not sure whats going on with the vehicle. I have contacted gm customer service regarding the issue. I have a claim number and was told I would be contacted the next day. Its now two days later and no one from gm customer service has contacted me. I am now several hundred dollars in the hole because of this. Why is there no recall. I fear that my vehicle will get us in a terrible accident considering I take the highway to work daily. What am I to do? *tr parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle lost forward momentum and the tachometer indicated 5000+ rpms. I was able to get to the shoulder and call for a tow truck. After extensive research on-line and with personal contacts which work for a gm dealer, it is most likely the 3-5-r wave plate which has rendered the vehicle hazardous to drive. After towing home and letting the vehicle sit it started fine but it has a new whining sound coming from the engine. Shifting from park to reverse results in mixed results. Some instances it will actually shift into reverse and propel the vehicle backwards. Shifting to drive I have the same mixed results, with no forward movement noted on most occasions. The harrowing experience of losing drive while at 60 MPH is enough of a safety concern to warrant further exploration into a recall of the vehicles affected with the same transmission (6t70/6t75) which are installed in various models of gm products since 2007. The common repair varies from replacement of the defective wave plate to complete transmission replacement. Either option is very costly to the consumer and with a "known" defect that affects gm vehicles with as little as 40,000 miles on them.
Had transmission flushed at 50,000 miles. Shortly after about 60,000 miles I started to feel a difference in the way it shifted, when I got 50 MPH the power train seemed to shake. Now it's worse than before, any thing over 50 and it shakes. This happens in final gears ( 5th & 6th ) seems to bounce back and forth & not locking into either one. This only happens when you are cruising, never on acceleration or deceleration and it's intermittent, comes and goes,
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated while sitting at a traffic light, she attempted to accelerate but the vehicle would not move. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection where they stated the 3/5 way plate in the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The car has seemed to miss shifts with the engines revving, a delay, and then a hard upshift for several years on an intermittent basis. The dealer it was purchased from couldn't find anything wrong with it. On june 25 and 26, it acted up more then usual and the transmission finally failed to provide any forward momentum after about 20 feet and 5 MPH even though the tachometer showed 5000rpm while pulling out into 55 MPH traffic on a 2 lane country road about noon on the 26th. This was very upsetting and is certainly a safety issue. I was able to get it to go by using the manual shift feature for a bit and then it settled down again. I took it to my local mechanic that very day and was advised I would need to go to the gm dealer as it was a problem with the computer programming in the transmission. When I contacted the dealer they said they were unaware of any issues like this. I found that hard to believe as similar issues have occurred in coworkers gm cars and are also reported on the internet in saturn and gm forums. They kept the car for 2 days, initially saying there was no problem, and then said there might be an update after all to the transmission software and installed it. I do not feel comfortable with this and again find myself somewhat incredulous that gm would be unaware of a problem that my small town mechanic was.
The car would not go into park as a result the car would roll forward or backward with the engine off. It was also difficult to restart as it would not engage in park. Took it to a gm dealer, who said it was not a recall as the aura has a six speed transmission and only auras with a 4 speed transmission were covered when the shift link breaks.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the transmission failed and would not switch to the next gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 85,000.
2009 saturn aura. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle transmission shift cable recall notice and seeks reimbursement for repairs. *smd the consumer stated on december 3, 2012, he attempted to park the vehicle. When he shifted the gear into park, the vehicle started rolling backwards. He quickly applied the brake. He tried to start the vehicle again, but it wouldn't start, even though the shift lever was set to park. He let his foot off the brake again, and it still rolled backwards, so, he quickly applied the emergency brake. The vehicle was towed to a dealership. The dealer informed the consumer, the problem was that the transmission shift cable was broken and needed to be replaced, at a cost of $ 554.90. The consumer then discovered gm issued a recall for the same issue for his make, model and year. When the consumer contacted gm, he was informed his vehicle identification number was not included in recall # 12v46000 and he was not eligible for reimbursement. The consumer stated his vehicle should be included in the recall, as his vehicle was manufactured within the dates listed.
I was driving this morning with no problems then suddenly I was driving up a slight hill and I could tell my gears were changing at a abnormal rate then when I came to a complete stop at the stop light it seem fine then when I started going again it took about 5 secs for the car to move then it had a bump feeling when changing from 1st gear to second gear then I came to a complete stop in a parking lot I turned off my car then turned on my car and then my gear shift was able to move but my car was still in park when I had it in reverse and neutral.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated the vehicle stopped when he shifted it into park. Upon releasing his foot from the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to roll forward. In order to stop the vehicle, the contact applied the emergency brake. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the shifter cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired since the parts were not available. The contact was also informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 09v073000 (power train:automatic transmission:lever and linkage:column shift). The failure and current mileages were 42,800.
When accelerating, the 6 speed automatic transmission does not engage and have almost been hit twice from behind when merging onto highway.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 saturn aura. The contact stated that the shifter does not have an indicator dial or light to indicate what gear is being used. He stated that he is always off by one gear whenever he starts his vehicle. The issue has been ongoing since the vehicle was purchased in january of 2009. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle was designed in that manner and there was no failure. The failure mileage was 1,000.
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