When pressing on the brakes in reverse, they fail to stop the resistance is very hard, like stepping on a brick, and it does nothing to slow the vehicle. I had to throw the emergency brake on and put the car in gear in order to stop it from rolling backwards.
2008 Saturn Sky brakes problems
72 complaints (39% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 250. 6 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 72
- of this car's complaints
- 39%
- typical mileage
- 250
- crashes
- 6
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Power assist: vacuum13
- Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip13
- Power assist5
- Power assist: hydraulic2
- Foundation components: disc2
- Power assist: vacuum: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings1
- Antilock1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Saturn Sky brakes problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Saturn Sky brakes
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Inadequate brake power assist
In model year (my) 2007, pontiac solstice and saturn sky vehicles equipped with the 2.0l turbocharged engine used an auxiliary vacuum pump to supplement the engine as a source of vacuum to the brake booster during low vacuum conditions, such as immediately after a cold start.the vacuum pump operation was controlled by switches that sensed booster vacuum, turning the pump on when booster vacuum dropped below a specified level.in the my 2008 solstice and sky vehicles (the subject vehicles), general motors (gm) eliminated the auxiliary vacuum pump and replaced it with the optimized hydraulic braking (ohb) system.the design intent of ohb is to supplement engine vacuum, in conditions where low vacuum is generated by the engine, with hydraulic pressure generated by the stability control system pump controlled by the electronic brake control module (ebcm). For up to about aminute after a cold start, when the system is in ohb assist mode, the driver must press harder on the brake pedal to achieve desired deceleration.also, when the ohb mode is activated, the driver can hear and feel, through brake pedal vibration, the stability control system pump operation.starting in late april 2008, gm changed from the ohb system back to the vacuum pump system design.odi is aware of 264 non-duplicative complaints to odi and gm alleging inadequate brake power assist in the subject vehicles when applying the brakes just after a cold start, including one incident involving a crash into a tree during a driveway maneuver.to address these concerns by consumers, gm has issued threetechnical service bulletins.on june 4, 2007, gm released an informational bulletin (no part replacement or software updates), bulletin# 07-05-22-002, to dealers explaining the functionality of the ohb system.on november 29, 2007, gm released a service bulletin, bulletin# 07-05-22-007, with instructions to recalibrate the ebcm with revised software to make ohb operation feel more like a normal vacuum assist system.to improve cold start braking performance comparable to my 2007 vehicles, gm released a third service bulletin in two parts, bulletins 07-05-25-007a (april 29, 2008) and 07-05-25-007b (may 16, 2008), for automatic and manual transmission vehicles respectively.these bulletins released new engine control software to change the idle strategy after a cold start so that more vacuum is available for brake power assist.beginning the week of june 23, 2008, gm will begin sending letters to consumers to make them aware of the availability of most recent calibration.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
PE08016
What 2008 Saturn Sky owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
When first starting engine in the morning or after vehicle sits for a bit, the breaks literally do not work. This is a known problem across the internet and one that nobody at the service department at any dealership has a clue how to fix. If my car rolls into the street of my steep inclined driveway? I'm dead. It happens every day. The attachment is one of thousands.
My car was parked in the driveway on an incline, emergency brake was set. My car rolled down the driveway and off an embankment. The emergency brake was still up when it stopped. The car was a total loss.
I started my 2008 saturn sky and while backing the car out of the garage I almost hit the garage because there is virtually no power assist on the brakes upon startup. I have seen that there si a tsb out on this for cars sitting extended periods of time. This car only sits overnight at most. This is not a one off event. If my wife or daughter were driving the car they would defiantly hit something because of their inability to apply enough pressure to the brake this could easily lead to an accident .
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 saturn sky. While reversing down a hill, the brake pedal was depressed and started to shake without warning. The contact stated that the brakes failed and the vehicle rolled backwards and stopped at the bottom of the hill. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
The 2008 saturn sky redline failed the hawaii state safety check because the parking brake does not function. The dealer that did the safety check could not fix the parking brake.
Brakes/ vacuum does not function properly when starting the vehicle. Took it to gm for a few adjustments (which did not work) and they say that the car must be warmed up for 1 minute or more before driving. That is unacceptable living in warm weather climate. Why should I have to wait to drive a new car in order for the brakes to work and be safe. It's a safety issue and now I cannot let anyone drive my car, or go to a valet in fear that they will hit something or someone.
Brakes fail when the engine is cold which could cause an accident.
After first starting, the vehicle has no brakes. This issue occurred the first time I backed it out of the garage. The brakes were very soft and I had to keep pumping them. I contacted the dealer and they said that you have to let it warm up first. I took the car in and told them that this was unacceptable and could result in an accident. They made an adjustment to the brakes, however, they are very hard. This is a very serious problem and it needs to be addressed.
I bought this car (2008 saturn sky redline, automatic, build date 7/07) used from a personal owner on 3/15/2014 with 56,607 miles on it. After leaving it in my garage overnight I started the car and proceeded to drive out of my garage. At the end of my short driveway I applied the brake pedal to stop before I turned onto my street. The brake pedal did a series of pulsations and went almost to the floorboard without stopping the car. The car continued into the street before I could get it stopped. At first I thought I had a bad master cylinder or a brake fluid leak but as I continued on slowly I eventually got a full brake pedal and the car stopped every time as normal from then on. After getting home I researched my problem and found that many 2008 sky redlines were experiencing the same problem. Evidently gm made a change on some of the 2008(only) redlines braking system by omitting a "vacuum assist pump" or something like that. Gm changed the brake system back to include this pump in the 2009 model's. The brake problem on this car, and other 2008's, is extremely dangerous. I was not warned of this condition from the seller, which is not gm's fault, but these affected cars should be recalled and equipped with the regular braking system as on the 2007 or 2009 sky redlines. I also found out that there was a sticker on the outside of the dash from gm on "some" of the new 2008 cars telling of this type of system and what to do....but it was just a sticker the new owner pulled off as it was not meant to be permanent. By placing these stickers on the new cars gm knew there was a negative, possibly fatal, aspect to this braking system. They did nothing to correct it on the affected cars but did change it the next model year because of owner complaints I'm sure.
Questions about the 2008 Saturn Sky brakes
Does the 2008 Saturn Sky have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 72 complaints about the brakes of the 2008 Saturn Sky, 39% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2008 Saturn Sky brakes problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 250 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Saturn Sky brakes?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Saturn Sky have bad brakes?
The Saturn Sky model years with the most brakes complaints are 2008 (72 complaints) and 2007 (10 complaints).
Other 2008 Saturn Sky problems
Airbags 94Electrical 18Seats 6Engine 4Seat belts 2Wheels 2Acceleration 1Body 1Driver assistance 1Fuel system 1Lights 1Visibility 1
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