2008 Saturn Outlook Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Outlook years
- Far more complaints than other years 1st of 4 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 5 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 633 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Saturn Outlook. That is the most of any Outlook model year in the database (4 years). The most reported problem area is exterior lighting (247 complaints, 39%), typically at around 45,000 miles. Complaints mention 6 crashes, 19 fires, 7 injuries. There are 5 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 633owner complaints
- 5safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 6complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 Saturn Outlook problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting problems | 247 | 39% | 45,000 | “wiring harness” (39%) | $660 |
| Electrical System problems | 164 | 26% | 57,000 | “wiring harness” (29%) | $700 |
| Power Train problems | 127 | 20% | 79,796 | “wave plate” (17%) | $5,150 |
| Air Bags problems | 97 | 15% | 82,000 | “air bag” (53%) | $1,250 |
| Structure | 46 | 7% | 67,350 | — | — |
| Steering | 45 | 7% | 83,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 37 | 6% | 85,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 29 | 5% | 57,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 28 | 4% | 100,500 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 20 | 3% | 94,250 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 15 | 2% | 46,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 13 | 2% | 72,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 10 | 2% | 104,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 7 | 1% | 68,500 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 7 | 1% | 107,650 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 6 | 1% | 42,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 5 | 1% | 42,730 | — | — |
| Equipment | 3 | 0% | 36,500 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 0% | 55,890 | — | — |
| Suspension | 3 | 0% | 60,500 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 0% | 46,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 2 | 0% | 86,000 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 0% | 65,489 | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 0% | 155,692 | — | — |
| Wheels | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 Saturn Outlook recalls (5)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Structure:body:hatchback/liftgate
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
Air bags:side/window
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Electrical system
Problem: Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Electrical system
Problem: Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Visibility:windshield wiper/washer:linkages
Problem: Gm is recalling 88,809 my 2008 buick enclave, and my 2007-2008 gmc acadia and saturn outlook vehicles currently or previously registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. If a buildup of snow or ice on the windshield or on the wipers restricts the movement of the wiper arm, the windshield wiper linkage may become detached from the motor shaft and the wipers may become inoperative.
Risk: If this were to occur, driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new wiper crank arm, driver's side link, and a crank arm nut. The recall began o october 13, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Loss of Headlamp Illumination (DP12003) — opened Jun 4, 2012, closed Jul 24, 2014.
- Non-crash engine compartment fires (EA08010) — opened Jun 12, 2008, closed Sep 8, 2008, led to recall 08V441000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Transmission is failing. Reverse is slipping. Low torque trying back up inclines. Known problem with 2008 Acadia, Enclave, Traverse & Outlook per transmission shop who test drove and scanned. No code via dashboard, but scan tools and professional diagnostics verify failure. Techem has been replaced…
Over this summer I went to start my truck and all the airbags pop out expect for the steering wheel air bag and dashboard air bag
This has been a big problem for all Saturn owners. The transmissions are always going out in them. This transmission is starting to slip. Iâm surprised there is no recalls. Very disappointed.
airbag sensor on passenger seat stays off even when passenger is in seat. I have read many complaints from same vehicle since they were new. Also has electrical issues intermittently possibly from water leaking thru sunroof
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Outlook. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front windshield wiper failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with windshield wiper motor failure. The contact was informed that the…
Other Saturn Outlook years
← 2007 Outlook · 2009 Outlook →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 Outlook | 16 | 4 |
| 2009 Outlook | 192 | 7 |
| 2008 | 633 | 5 |
| 2007 Outlook | 511 | 5 |
See all Saturn Outlook problems by year, every Saturn model, or the VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Saturn Outlook?
Owners most often report exterior lighting, electrical system, power train problems. The top one, exterior lighting, accounts for 247 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Saturn Outlook?
Yes, 5 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 Saturn Outlook a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Outlook model years, the 2008 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.