What breaks most · 2000 to 2010 model years
Saturn Aura problems by year
Owners have filed 1,257 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Saturn Aura across model years 2000 to 2010. Three years stand out: 2007 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2008 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2009 for steering complaints. The quietest years are 2000.
- Years to check closely: 2007, 2008, 2009
- Fewest complaints: 2000
- Complaints on file
- 12572000 to 2010, all trims
- Worst year
- 2007568 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 417 fires · 27 injuries · 2 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 80kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 16Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Steering (2) | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | Air bags (1) | |
| 568 | 13 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (171) | |
| 375 | 16 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (110) | |
| 304 | 11 | 5 | Steering (149) | |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | Air bags (1) |
What fails on the 2007 Saturn Aura
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 30% |
171 | 6 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 17% |
98 | 4 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 16% |
92 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2007 Saturn Aura |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 13% |
73 | 1 | Shop brakes parts for the 2007 Saturn Aura |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 11% |
64 | 0 | Shop exterior lighting parts for the 2007 Saturn Aura |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 11% |
63 | 2 | Shop engine parts for the 2007 Saturn Aura |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 10% |
59 | 1 | Shop steering parts for the 2007 Saturn Aura |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 7% |
42 | 1 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2007 Saturn Aura |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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The car does not seem to go into park when you do think you have it in park it isn't another gear and as lurched out and almost smashed a couple people that have helped me with the car it also seems to have a tendency to roll because it is not fully going in the park and i cannot even start it
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Broken gear shifts. Put car in reverse to park and car shut off gear shift went loosely back and forth. Car rolled back on it's own potentially causing an accident. Gear shift broken. Car engine would not start. I put key in ignition and it lit up dashboard and windows let up and down but vehicle didn't move.
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Takata recall when starting the vehicle power steering light comes on and the wheel is hard to turn after restarting the car a few times the light went off and the wheel is back to normal. Now when driving the wheel shakes and makes noise.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Saturn Aura years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2009 carry the most filings on the Saturn Aura. The 2007 alone has 568 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Saturn Aura problem?
On the 2007 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 171 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Saturn Aura problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Saturn Aura complaints that include mileage is about 80,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.