2007 Saturn Aura XR: Steering Problem Solved!

Good to see the Aura back in the fleet. I like this car.

Excellent service, you only need to bring it back 5 times. Just curious, if that was your daily driver, do they provide a rental?

Sometimes blame (or applause) has to be applied to a particular dealership as opposed to the car maker. When my first Mazda had an unusual amount of mechanical gremlins, the first dealership kept telling me I was crazy. Since it was convenient to my house, I kept going there. Eventually I got fed up and went to a different one and the service was night and day. They took the time to find the problems and fixed them in one visit.

Hopefull you did some greater good, by having the specialist there.
 
It does seem, like a very off the wall problem. Now that its back, edmunds can go back to nit picking about the aura again.
 
;-)

I'm conflicted... if it were my car I'd be steam-from-the-ears ticked off that they put over 500 miles on it, but at the same time impressed that they flew someone out from Tennessee to fix it. I'm also curious - did they know you were journalists? This sounds like the kind of problem where they would tell Joe Sixpack that "they all do that". I can't imagine good ol' Average Joe would be okay with the mileage put on the car either.

Told you so! It was fundamentally a suspension problem that mucked up the steering rack. The shaft was just the ultimate victim of the problem. Congratulations on your persistence in tracking down the problem!

Sounds like the bad steering rack problem that plagued the '04 Malibu and G6 relatives for years. My 'Bu got 3 racks, along with intermediate shaft, steering columm and strut replacement until front end clunks finally "went away".

that was quite a long adventure but I'm glad its fixed. They should extend the warranty by 500 miles to compensate for the miles they put on the car. It was an impressive service effort although I'm sure they wish they had identified the problem much earlier.

Ouch... what an ordeal. Glad it finally got fixed. It really helps when the dealer service is good - can you imagine how much longer this would have taken to get fixed if the service sucked?

I don't think people are recognizing that they were asked to drive the car "as their own" in order to replicate the problem... Thus the mileage is understandable, and even appreciated by the staff, I would assume.

Even though the car had to stay for an extended amount of time the service and attention yourself and the car got seemed to be top notch. I dont mind taking a car in for repairs but if the service is garbage then it becomes a problem.

Mike, my initial question once reading your article is the same as blooyr's- did they know who your were?
 
Flying in corporate specialists and 500+ mile road tests is something i just can't see any manufacturer affording a typical buyer. As it is i'm sure countless buyers have had to accept the clunking steering because Saturn didn't take these steps to diagnose it.

I too have had the entire steering rack replaced on my 2007 Aura XR, and while it fixed the clunking and noises, it has left my steering feeling completely different from before.
 
Where it was smooth and linear before, it now feels like it is held together by rubberbands (sorry, this is the best way to describe it). It is just lose, jerky, and even the slightest bump in the road seems to pull the wheel in your hands.
 
So far, I have had it in twice and they can find nothing wrong. I am going back in tomorrow morning, so wish me luck. Maybe I should have them check the front suspension set up.

After reading this story I've decided I'm going to sell my Aura and move onto something else. It's not worth the trouble anymore.

I had my steering fixed, with the intermediate shaft and then some high pressure hose. The reason I bought the car over the Camry was at the time the Aura felt more fun to drive. Now it has a soggy feel and unnaturally tight feeling. Combine that with poor gas mileage (I am average 17mpg in heavy DC traffic) and I am going to go ahead and recommend people look elsewhere. It is a shame that the service at the dealership is so good.

i have a 2001 lexus gs430 - i have had the same problem - they replaced the front strut brace and retorqued it - but then the noise just comes back.

"(I am average 17mpg in heavy DC traffic) "
 
did you read the sticker before buying the car? Its rated at 17mpg by the EPA. The highest mileage you can get in a comparable car is 19mpg in the city so you arent going to do much better if you want a V6. "poor" mileage would be mileage that misses the EPA rating by a significant margin. I wish I was getting 17mpg.

1487 have you ever said if you have this steering problem in your Aura? I can't remember.

The average Joe can get this kind of attention. But if you are not persistant it will never happen. Wierd hard to duplicate noises and feels are really tough. Once enough cars have a certain problem it gets easier to diagnose. But one really random problem like this makes it tough.

SkierX hit the nail on the head here; hard to duplicate noises are really tough. And I'm sure that's one of the reasons they sent out the tech representative.
 
Also, we go to most dealers anonymously. Thanks to our blogging, Saturn is onto us and they know who we are. Having spent a good deal of time talking with them I don't feel like the service we received was due to the Edmunds connection. They really want to get things right for their customers.
-mike

Our long, national nightmare is finally over. ;)
 
I'm sticking with my decision to NOT have my Aura XR's steering issue "fixed". I'm afraid it will come back from the dealer feeling vague or rubber-band-like, as others here have experienced.
 
I'll put up with the odd feedback at parking lot speeds, if I get to keep my accurate steering feel while on the road.

I bought a new car w/ 400 miles on it - never had a problem. That wouldn't bother me - I'd be REALLY ticked if I found out they just let it sit the whole time just giving me the blow off.

My uncle is a tech at a volvo dealership, and they are constantly bringing in specialists and engineers that worked on the car because their vehicles have so many bizarre issues.
 
A good size batch of the '08 XC90's had a fuel gauge problem because they changed to a different supplier for the tank and pumps. Peoples car just randomly dying and no one was sure why until the tanks were found to be empty.
 
My uncle tore apart the customers XC90 down to the sheet metal and steering assembly. After driving it through the city, with an oscilloscope hooked up to the wiring of the fuel pump, it was found the wire running from the front to back of the car was not of high enough gauge to properly power the fuel pump anytime the vehicle turned or leaned.
 
Weird, but it shows you issues are going to come up with any car these days.

^ *sigh* -- and by "XR", I of course meant "XE" in my previous post.
 
Mike: I agree...while this blog has certainly drawn attention to your problems, I have the feeling that my Saturn dealer would've gone to the same lengths for me.
 
This certainly doesn't make me want to give up and sell the car, as MJD said above. Hell, every time I see it standing-out from all the vanilla cars in the parking lot makes me glad I bought it.

One of the truly hardest parts of selling my wife's 03 Saturn Ion and moving to a different brand was the dealership. They were the only dealership I've ever dealt with that was truly professional, courteous, and going the extra mile at....every...step.
 
Replace a faulty ignition switch 1 year out of warranty? $50 deductible instead of $170 and a pleasant dealing. Fix a sway bar with worn out bushings for a reasonable fee and apply several discounts to it? Done with a smile. Talk to me over the phone and relay common problems for the symptoms I'm experiencing? Everytime. Phone answered by a pleasant person who is competent at their job? Everytime.
 
It gave credence to Saturn's customer service motto.
 
Now they need to go back to dent-resistant doors (albeit with smaller panel gaps) :)
 
Joe

1487 "did you read the sticker before buying the car? Its rated at 17mpg by the EPA. The highest mileage you can get in a comparable car is 19mpg in the city so you arent going to do much better if you want a V6. "poor" mileage would be mileage that misses the EPA rating by a significant margin. I wish I was getting 17mpg."
 
I did read the EPA rating, back when gas was about $2.50/gallon and before the new ratings took effect when the Aura was rated 20/28. Plus, I guess I should restate, heavy DC traffic is mostly bumper to bumper highway at 55mph with random complete stops and clogged secondary roads. My last car, a 2004 Jetta GLS 1.8T with the 5speed auto was getting 25MPG on the same commute. Using the new EPA guidelines, the combined mileage of the Aura is 21 and the combined mileage of the Jetta is 22. Using the same driving style in a car rated 1mpg less than the old one, should result in similar fuel economy. So the Auras 17mpg is poor to me.

misterfusion,
 
I've had WAY more problems than just the steering with my AURA XR. I can't stand looking at the thing anymore. If one of the Saturn folks who is watching this board would like to help feel free to speak up.
 
If anyone from GM/Saturn would like to send an engineer to diagnose my leaking map lights after it rains that 3 dealerships can't solve, I would welcome it.

SO I had my XR in for another test drive this morning to try and get to the bottom of what I thought was a different feel in the steering since getting the whole rack replaced. The tech drove it with me and could not feel anything out of the ordinary for an Aura with 18,000 miles on it. They then let me drive a 2008 XR with him for comparison. The steering on that car felt smoother, but it was also a brand new car.
 
At this point I feel like maybe it is just wear and tear on the car? I swear something still might be off, but I have no suggestions for them to look at. I have the 18 inch low profile tires, which adds to the bumpiness, but the steering just doesn't feel 'right' to me. I just don't know how far to push it.
 
Mike, do you or anyone at Edmunds have any suugestions on how I should approach Saturn from here?

"1487 have you ever said if you have this steering problem in your Aura? I can't remember."
 
Do not have the problem. I hear the steering pump at low speeds when the wheel is near lock. Thats about it.
 
"Using the same driving style in a car rated 1mpg less than the old one, should result in similar fuel economy. So the Auras 17mpg is poor to me."
 
All I can say is that you are fortunate that your Jetta managed to exceed combined EPA numbers in mostly stop and gpo driving. That is definitely not normal. In urban driving you are typically closer to the EPA city number than the highway number. 25mpg is pretty good, even for a four cylinder.

Hexxum - My recommendations are that you pump up your tire pressures (Have you checked them?).
 
Also look into rotating your tires (if they use a non-directional tread, do something like rotate JUST the front).
 
Try to feel the difference, see if anything changes. If it's very similar feeling on a brand new car, I'd say wear and tear.
 
Just for shits and giggles, I will share one Saturn story which is mind-boggling.
 
My wife's 03 Saturn Ion went in for an oil change (I usually do them, but I think she had a coupon or something). About 1500-2000 miles later, I checked the tire pressure at a Wawa with a free air house.
 
"This must be wrong I thought". It was reading in the 70s to 80s.
 
So I broke out my trusty hand pressure gauge. It was in the 70s to 80s. I pressed on the sidewall. Hard as a rock.
 
I had my wife rotate the wheel out so I could see the center. Worn down almost bald compared to the rest.
 
I let air out of that tire for a solid 2 1/2 - 3 minutes straight before it came down to around 35 PSI.
 
I don't know how they did it or how it happened, but I am freaking amazed that tire didn't blow out (ironically it was the stock firestone tire, a tire brand known for stock blowout on the explorer).
 
Joe

I have an 08 XE with 18,000 miles (out of warrantee) & it has that front end thump. Local shop said the struts were worn out for whatever reason so they replaced them for $700+. I still have the same problem. Took it back to the shop and they said the bushings on the power steering rack are warn/loose & need to be replaced, and that maybe they should have found that additional problem when they did their diagnosis. They called around and had trouble finding a source for bushings as most suppliers offer only complete steering rack replacements ($300+ for the part). Eventually they did find the bushings and they have them on order -and will call me when they come in.