These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
Tap to open
What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2009 Saturn Vue, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2009 Saturn Vue, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones
Recalls
2 recalls on file
Loading recalls
Crash ratings
NHTSA did not answer
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
Loading crash ratings
Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.
Loading fuel economy
True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2009 Saturn Vue costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Vue
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:
Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.
It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.
Red flags in a history
Salvage title
Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.
Rebuilt title
A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.
Flood damage
Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.
Lemon or maker buyback
The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.
Odometer rollback
A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.
Many owners, fast
Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.
Gaps in the records
Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.
Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.
Before you pay
Pre purchase inspection
Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.
Insurance quote
Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.
NHTSA did not answer just now, so we cannot show crash ratings. Try again in a minute. You can also check it on their site.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Steering
Nov 24, 2008 · Recall 08V616000
Gm is recalling 2,149 my 2009 saturn vue vehicles. Some of these vehicles may have been built with an incorrect right and/or left front steering knuckle. As a result of the incorrect knuckle and resulting inadequate clearance, the tie rod ball stud could pull out of, or fracture, the tie rod housing. This could cause the tie rod to separate from the knuckle.
What can happen
Although steering control of the vehicle could be maintained after a tie rod separation by the unaffected wheel on smooth roads or during light braking, with more significant suspension or braking inputs, the affected wheel could turn out and skid. If a vehicle built with two incorrect steering knuckles had both tie rods separate at the same time, steering control of the vehicle would be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix
Dealers will inspect the steering knuckles and, if necessary, replace the steering knuckle(s) and tie rod(s). The recall began on december 8, 2008. Owners may contact saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Steering
Sep 17, 2008 · Recall 08V470000
Gm is recalling 42,408 my 2008-2009 saturn vue vehicles. Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the nut securing the power steering line to the power steering pump may loosen. If this were to occur, there may be a power steering fluid leak.
What can happen
The fluid could contact hot exhaust components resulting in a possible engine compartment fire.
The fix
Dealers will inspect the nut securing the power steering line to the power steering pump. If there are no signs of a fluid leak, dealers will tighten the nut. If a fluid leak is present, dealer will tighten the nut and check the fluid level. The recall began on september 26, 2008. Owners may contact saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
125 complaints; the part named most is the electrical
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Oct 17, 2009 to Oct 7, 2025. 24% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 8 crashes, 3 fires, 7 injuries and 1 death in these complaints.
Electrical39 · 31%
Steering39 · 31%
Brakes18 · 14%
What one owner wrote about the electrical
While I am driving I have had intermittent incidents that cannot be replicated. "stabilitrak" warning light has not turned off. I have lost control of my vehicle while driving twice but was able to pull over after a few seconds. The vehicle will lose power to the dash. When I am turning the steering wheel gets very hard to turn and will turn off the radio…
Filed Dec 27, 2020NHTSA complaint 11385133Crash reported1 of 18 owner quotes
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
13 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2009 Saturn Vue, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Engine, Transmission and drivetrain, Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the electrical
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 41 complaints of 125 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
Steering55,000 to 105,000 mi
Half of these 16 complaints came between about 55,000 and 105,000 miles, the middle one around 80,000.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 2 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the electrical. It is one of the parts owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look at the electrical first.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the electrical.
Try every switch, screen, light and lock, and make sure it starts every time.
