2006 Saturn VUE Electrical System Problems

Source: NHTSA · Updated Dec 17, 2025 · 103 complaints analyzed

Owners have filed 103 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the 2006 Saturn VUE, 34% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 80,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “ignition switch” (32% of reports).

103electrical system complaints
80,000median miles at failure
5mention a crash
0mention an injury
0related recalls
40%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph

What owners describe

Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.

Ignition switch: mentioned in 33 of 103 complaints (32%)
Key turn: mentioned in 13 of 103 complaints (13%)
Off position: mentioned in 7 of 103 complaints (7%)

At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?

Based on 85 complaints that reported the odometer reading.

Under 10k miles5 · 6%

10k–25k miles8 · 9%

25k–50k miles12 · 14%

50k–75k miles13 · 15%

75k–100k miles14 · 16%

100k–150k miles28 · 33%

150k+ miles5 · 6%

How serious are the reports?

Of 103 complaints, 5 mention a crash, 6 a fire.

Saturn VUE electrical system complaints by model year

Peak: 2007, with 128 complaints

n = 683 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Model year	Electrical System complaints	Share of that year	Median miles
2010 VUE	3	50%	28,000
2009 VUE	35	30%	57,500
2008 VUE	88	22%	87,000
2007 VUE	128	45%	71,003
2006 VUE	103	34%	80,000
2005 VUE	72	42%	80,844
2004 VUE	78	28%	78,250
2003 VUE	124	20%	82,400
2002 VUE	52	31%	86,500

When owners reported it

Peak: 2014, with 46 complaints

n = 103 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Related recalls (0)

No safety recall lists electrical system for the 2006 Saturn VUE. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.

What owners report

Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.

The key can be removed from the vehicle while being driven. Also the ignition doesn't "click" off when vehicle is parked and key is removed causing the battery to drain. There have been several recalls for this issue but not with the 2006 year model. This is a dangerous problem and there are very…
Received Jan 8, 2023 · NHTSA complaint 11500710

ignition gets stuck with key and locks steering wheel, now it wont shut off all the way to left and kills my battery looks like there has been MANY ignition issues and recalls with saturns which this is pretty important to have working to drive and be safe esp as a female in this world ..getting…
Received Apr 20, 2022 · NHTSA complaint 11461547

Electrical system affected . Some dash panel lights not working & airbag light staying on
Received Aug 21, 2019 · NHTSA complaint 11245588

Frequently asked questions

Do all 2006 Saturn VUEs have electrical system problems?

No. NHTSA has 103 owner complaints about electrical system for the 2006 Saturn VUE (34% of the 300 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.

Was there a recall on the 2006 Saturn VUE electrical system?

No recall currently lists electrical system for this vehicle.

At what mileage do electrical system problems start?

The median reported mileage is 80,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.

What do owners say about electrical system problems on the 2006 Saturn VUE?

The most frequent phrase is “ignition switch”, in 33 of 103 complaints, followed by “key turn” (13).