Upon starting vehicle and attempting to back out of driveway, brakes are inactive and vehicle continues to roll down driveway. Took it into the saturn dealership, explained situation, and I was told it was "normal", and this was something that had to "burn off" in time.
2008 Saturn Sky brakes complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 72, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When the car is not warmed up for several minutes the brakes do not work.
Brakes fail to work on start-up. For the first 60 seconds it takes excessive pressure to bring the car to a stop. I have had numerous close calls and one small accident where I could not stop for a bicycle in my drive way. Just a matter of time before someone gets serious injured. Saturn claims it is normal for the car brakes not to work properly for the first minute.
My 2008 saturn sky has a brake problem when the engine is first cranked after sitting for a few hours, there are no brakes until the car warms up.
After a cold start up and backing up the car, the brakes do not stop the car. The brake pedal feels hard when this occurs.
I have a 2008 saturn sky turbo the brakes do not work correctly when the vehicle is cold, I was told it was a vacuum problem and there was no fix. This is very unsafe and could result in a serious accident.
Upon starting the car the first time of the day, or after extended shutdown, the brake pedal has excessive travel and feels as if the car has no brakes. Upon initially attempting to apply the brake when backing out of the garage it feels as if there is a binding or grinding feel along with the excessive brake pedal travel. If I wait for the car to idle for a minute or two this does not happen.
No brakes upon startup! Ran over my dog because of the problem. I can't believe this defect made it to market.
The vehicle has very poor brake response after initial cold start. If the vehicle is put in gear without allowing a minute warmup the brakes will not function properly. Although the manufacturer and dealer recognize this issue they call this normal. If this vehicle was left in a parking garage or valet situation for extended periods it is my opinion the valet would crash this vehicle not knowing to let it warm up!! This is a much more serious problem than gm saturn is considering it to be.
Brakes do not work at start-up on my saturn sky redline. Definite safety issue. I almost hit someone backing out of my driveway. Must be fixed!!!! Dealer says this is normal, but it is not! These brakes are very scary and what if a valet or someone else other than me were to drive this brand new vehicle.
First thing in the morning, when car is in reverse, brakes fail about 3 days a week. There is a pulsating in the pedal and the car does not stop right away. When taken to dealer, they could not reproduce the effect and said it must have been humidity. Online, there are many complaints about the exact issue.
2008 saturn sky (turbo redline 2.0) - the brakes are not 100% during cold startup - especially in reverse when the engine has just been started. It seems to help if you rev. The engine slightly, almost like you need to build some vacuum pressure because the idle was too low to achieve it. Definitely not safe!
Brakes do not function when the vehicle is first started up. Car must "warm" up for pressure to build in the brake line. Not informed at dealer. Received car from lot (driven to showroom area) so thus "warmed up" when test drive taken. Brought home. Next morning started car and backed out. Only to find no brakes...very dangerous and scary.
Brakes do not work at start-up. When I start vehicle and go to drive or reverse, the brakes do not function. I try to press hard on the brakes and it still doesn't stop the vehicle. This has happened many times and there are forums on it on skyroadster.com. Also, if you do a search on the web and type in -saturn sky brakes you will find sites the same complaints. Many have the same problem. This is a brand new 2008 saturn sky redline. I'm afraid I may hit something or someone. It's very scary not to mention what if I give the car to valet??? Or let someone else drive it? This is a safety issue and must be resolved before someone gets hurt. Dealer says this is normal for brakes to be this way at start-up. I have never heard of such a thing like this on other cars. Please help!!!
Our saturn 2008 sky redline has a brake problem that my wife was complaining about every time she starts it up after it has had time to cool down. The brakes do not work properly. I tried it and found that the car can move while holding down on the brake. If you don't pump it it will not stop. I took it to the dealer today and was given a notification from the dealer service writer stating this was normal. They did take the car to check it out after I insisted. I don't care what they think is normal if I can't stop the car there is a problem. I then checked on line to see if any other sky owners were having the same type of problems. And I guess you know what is going on. This is to go on record with you that the car is not safe as is. I am concerned that this may lead to a problem during operation at speed and kill us. This needs to be dealt with now and and nat after someone dies. Our car has gotten worse over the last month since the temperature has gone down. Or it is just getting worse.
2008 saturn sky redline convertible-brake problem when the car has been sitting for a couple of hours without use, the brakes fail to work after initially starting the vehicle. According to the manufacturer, this is "normal" and cannot be fixed. It takes a good 2-3 minutes for the brakes to work after the car starts.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 saturn sky. While driving 5-10 MPH, the vehicle would not stop when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the failure would occur after the vehicle has been parked for more than two hours. The dealer stated that the vehicle was designed in that manner and advised her to let it idle for two minutes. The contact took the vehicle to another dealer and they stated that the vehicle needed a vacuum pump assist for the brakes; however, the manufacturer denied the request. As of november 28, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. The failure mileage was 5 and current mileage was 1,637. Updated 12/31/07
At start-up of my brand new car the brakes do not work. I go to reverse and the car does not completely stop. It's extremely dangerous and scary. There are plenty of forums on this issue at www.skyroadster.com this must be resolved before someone is killed.
While starting up my 2008 sky redline, the brakes do not work. I went to reverse out of the driveway and when I applied the brakes they did not work. I had to floor the brakes and it still kept going. This has happened to me 10 times and the car is only a month old. There are plenty forum discussions about this on www.skyroadster.com this must be addressed. Someone could be injured or killed. Also, what if you gave the car to a valet or someone else to drive???? Anyone would be extremely scared. It's definitely a safety issue. Please resolve!!!
At start-up in my gm 2008 saturn sky, I go to reverse. When I do reverse and apply the brakes, the car does not stop. I have to floor the brakes and it still didn't stop. This happens everytime I initially start the vehicle.
Upon starting the vehicle from a down period as short as 6 hours, the brakes are extremely ineffective and barely able to stop my vehicle when backing from a parking space. After the vehicle has run for a couple minutes the brakes appear to function like any other car. My previous mechanical experience and the research I've been able to do on the web suggest that the vacuum booster is failing to assist the brake system at initial startup. I have contacted the local saturn dealer and saturn corporate via their website without satisfactory response. This failure occurs reliably every morning, I've had two near misses almost backing into traffic when I could not stop the vehicle at an idle.
2008 saturn sky brakes fail to work when the engine is cold. Consumer states that the brakes work once the engine is warmed up. Manufacturer stated that all there turbo vehicles do that.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 saturn sky. While driving 4 MPH, the contact heard a crunching noise when she depressed the brake pedal. The stopping distance increased. The dealer stated that this was a normal occurrence for this year, make, and model of vehicle. As of november 16, 2007, the dealer had not made any adjustments. The powertrain was unknown. The failure mileage was 20 and current mileage was 2,000.
Brakes do not work fully upon startup of vehicle. Hit tree causing damage to the side of my car because the car did not stop when brakes applied.
2008 saturn sky [ redline ] brakes are inoperative for minutes after starting the vehicle. Seems to be a "normal trend with other saturn sky owners as well. Brakes are non functional for minutes after starting.
Saturn sky red line brake failure anytime the car sits for a few hours or more. No brake pressure. Car is hard to stop.
When the car is started (cold start) the brakes do not work at first. If one sits there for 2-3 minutes and lets the vacuum build up - then they work. The manufacturer fails to mention this to the buyers. I have had this occur several times. *tr I must mention that my car is a 5-speed stickshift. Shortly after purchase, I started my car - the emergency brake was on, my foot was on the brake, and as soon as I started to let up on the clutch the car jumped forward & my foot was still on the brake. Since then, I always place my car in neutral before starting. Then approximately a month ago: I went to move my car out of the garage to the driveway - I started the car, after approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute I put it into reverse, slowly backed out, and when I went to stop I had no brakes - thankfully I had the presence of mind to throw it into neutral and grabbed the emergency brake. Just missed going across the street to where children were walking to school. Then on monday of this week, I started the car, let it idle for over 2 minutes, put into reverse to back out of the garage and had the same thing happened again. I discussed this with my dealer and was told to "just let the car warm up properly". This is worrisome because I cannot let anyone valet park or drive my car for fear that someone could get hurt. It is my understanding that gm did away with an auxiliary vacuum booster on the engine so now it takes time for sufficient vacuum to build up for the braking system to work. And I have discovered that a number of people are having this same problem with the 2008 model year of the saturn sky by perusing the skyroaster.com website. Seems to have been a big mistake this is a disaster waiting-to-happen as not only is there going to be property damage caused but there is going to end up with people being injured or killed. And I do not believe that it should wait for someone to be maimed or injured for this to be looked into.
We own a 2008 saturn sky red line model. If the vehicle is placed in gear when first starting up the brakes don't work. Supposedly the saturn engineers designed the vehicle with this "safety" (as saturn calls it) feature. If you folks will go onto the saturn forum and put brake problem into their search engine there are many complaints about this problem.
At startup in sky 2008 power brakes fail to work, this happens every time car is started after sitting for more than 2 hours dealer refuses to provide any correction states its by design large number of people are having this problem http://www.skyroadster.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19220&highlight=power+brakes.
I own a saturn sky redline 2008.. The brakes become ineffective after the car sits idle for an extended period of time overnight. This occurs every day when the car initially starts after sitting idle for a period of time. It is a safety hazard every time you start your car and attempt to drive off or back out of my driveway . The brake pedal becomes very difficult to use and the stopping response time is significantly increased. I have to be very careful that cars driving past my home are no where in site before I attempt to back out of my driveway or when I leave my place of employment no car is parked behind or in front of me. I took my car to the saturn dealership and reported the failure and the service technician printed out a service bulletin that states it is normal which instructs the dealer not to do anything. The actual wording highlights indicate"important: do not attempt to repair or replace any parts for what is considered normal operation of the ohb...document id#1982132. I called saturn headquarters on september 27, 2007 and talked to customer service and they stated that they could not do anything about the failure and it should be expected with this vehicle...the woman handling the call would not give me any information on others experiencing this same problem. I also e-mailed saturn with my concern and will talk to a representative on monday, october 1. I feel it is a safety hazard and their response is unacceptable and that there should be a repair for the brake system. What if there is an accident and/or death..who will be responsible.
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