2007 Saturn Aura XR: Steering, Sunroof, Shifter, and Shell repair.
Well, it’s done. Our long-term Saturn Aura XR is back from Saturn of Santa Monica. Parts availability and trying to coordinate our schedules with those of Saturn’s regional tech dept are to blame for the long timetable. All-in-all, it may have taken over two calendar weeks, but the car was only at the service center for three days.
Results after the jump... Item 1: At low speed on uneven roads the sunroof would squeak. The sunroof was mal-aligned and improperly lubricated. This was an easy fix for them and was covered under warranty.
Item 2: On the very short drive from our office to the Saturn dealer, I noticed the right paddle shifter would frequently stick when pressed for an upshift. The shifter button was deemed faulty and replaced under warranty. (Sorry about the music, I wasn't aware my camera captured sound! But you can hear the click as the shift paddle goes back into place.)
By this time, though, everyone knew it was not the shell that was the rub, but the corrugated trim panel that hides the inner workings of the dash. Said corrugated panel falls behind the shell when the wheel is fully telescoped. Any attempt to push the wheel back in results in a dislodged cover. Once the cover is dislodged, which happens with even the smallest amount of force, it is irreparably warped and needs to be replaced.
On the upside, the problem will only happen to a small percentage of buyers: ones with one tall driver who requires the wheel to be at full telescope, and a second driver who requires it to be in a different position. With our heights ranging from just over 5’ to 6’3ish, we will continue to have this problem so long as we continue to let the tall people drive.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 6,154 miles
Posted by Mike Oct 16, 2007 3:03 pm
Permalink
Categories: 2007 Saturn Aura XR
ramblin
- Dec 15, 2007 9:36 am
(#62 Total: 62)
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billt9 - Oct 18, 2007 6:10 pm (#47 Total: 61)
Toyota Camrys are no good.
Saturn Auras are no good.
That's a no brainer.
The most reliable, highest quality brand: Honda.
We should all be driving Honda Accords.
Have you bought your Accord yet?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Honda Sport Fit test car
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/Comments/1738#cm
The Honda service advisor called to say our 2007 Honda Fit Sport is nearly ready for pick-up. Seems its failure to go into reverse issue was caused by dirty transmisson fluid. The fluid was changed under warranty, and they're now addressing the warped brake rotors.
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1487, the pigeons have come home to roost and I hope you are wearing a hat.
When I and many others criticized the interior quality and build quality of the Aura when it was introduced your M.O. of disregarding any issue with a GM product and attacking imports did not make the problem disappear.
The problems with this Aura can not be dismissed so easily as attributing them to an anti-detroit bias.
Detroits reputation is well deserved.
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estreka
- Oct 20, 2007 12:27 pm
(#60 Total: 62)
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subarctic north - Great Falls, MT |
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Crashtestdingo - I used grammar rules related to radius, focus, and other various latin-based words. While the word "lexus" has no standard definition, the base "lex" (meaning "the use of letters" or "a collection of letters") is latin-based. Nexus is also latin-based, though. So you might be right.
Stovt - Oh that's fine. I'm not trying to make a point. I was just curious.
Everyone - Yay! 60!
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aurakr
- Oct 19, 2007 9:58 pm
(#59 Total: 62)
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I want to thank the Edmunds editors and all other drivers for their good work in the last few months.
While I may disagree with them on some issues, thanx to their butter fingers :o) they have discovered something on the XR that appears to really need upgrading or fixing. We are speaking about what happens when the wheel is telescoped.
FYI, did everybody hear that Toyota lost their appeal on the hybrid patent issue? All in all, not a good week for Toyota. Then again, not a good week for car owners, gas at $90 a barrel. I fear the way things are going, we may look back in 10 years as this being the golden age of the automobile.
SubyTrojan
I was out of town because of work the last two days. Fill you in later. What do you and Langjie think of the trade the Chargers made? I really like it. We upgraded our receiving corps and may also get to lead the league in dropped passes:o). The Patriots look so amazing, but I would worry if I were them this week. The Dolphins always give them fits, and they appear to not have a running back available, other than Faulk.
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Astoria (New York City) NY United States of America |
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Estreka, agree to disagree on high or low revving engines. Purely a matter of taste, I like brutal low end torque and cruising at easy, low revs. I'm sure there is some appeal in screaming hand grenade engines, but its just not for me. Well, thankfully the market has both, so everyone is happy.
Benson2175, as long as we're talking about long dead discontinued cars, what about the Toyota Toyopet? Seems appropriate to bring it up considering we're getting around the 50th anniversary of that disaster.
Willin58, good find on the TSB.
Editors, or anyone who keeps track, are we getting close to a record on thread length here?
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I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree 1487. Though most of the cars I mentioned weren't 30 years old. Domestic brands suffered from high depreciation and low quality through out the nineties and 2000's. You cited the Cavalier and it was made up to 2006 or something (I guess the platform was carried over from '82 so it kind of was 20 something years old even in 2006 but never mind). You know what; forget it, enjoy the Aura, I'm sure it's a good car for your family. I'm sure your parents will be happy with it. I kind of like the styling, I just wish GM paid more attention to the details.
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langjie
- Oct 19, 2007 8:42 am
(#54 Total: 62)
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wow, not going on the aura blog for a couple of days and i missed 32 new entries
billt9...i don't like the styling of the new accord. and i was never a big fan of honda suspensions (too harsh and I drive a Nissan)
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The trim alignment can be fixed w/ TSB #07-08-110-003.
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1487
- Oct 19, 2007 6:28 am
(#52 Total: 62)
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Philadelphia PA United States of America |
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As someone that wasnt old enough to buy or drive cars in the 80s let me tell you that from my perspective they all look like crap. While Detroits cars were larger and softer handling I dont see them as any less desirable than the boxy, noisy Japanese cars of the 80s. The styling across the board was terrible, the wheels were too small, the interiors were rectangular and bland, the ergonomics were questionable, the engines were weak, etc. The only thing we can say is that Japanese cars had better gap tolerances and better reliability. I wouldn't go as far as saying they made great cars in the 70s and 80s. They were cars that could get you from A to B without breaking down and thats what people wanted.
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1487
- Oct 19, 2007 6:20 am
(#51 Total: 62)
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Philadelphia PA United States of America |
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"Stov, what I was getting at is that it seems you guys are saying that the current perception that domestics make bad cars is not deserved and it's not the domestic brands fault. "
that is absolutely a load of crap. This is 2007 and I am sick of hearing about cars that were sold when I was in diapers. Sorry, but I dont care about the Vega, Pinto or any other crappy American car that was made nearly 30 years ago, if not more. Times have changed, period. You can accept it or you can keep telling horror stories about cars that were on sale when Carter was president. Anyone with a smidge of common sense knows that since so many "imports" are made in America many of these cars use the same suppliers and are not all that different. Please explain to me how an "import" built by American workers with the same US and foreign suppliers used by the Big 3 can be far superior in quality. People who are 40 and up (roughly) refuse to admit that we are in a different era and wont let the Vega and Cimmaron and Cavalier RIP. The people who designed and approved those cars are either retired or dead. I care more about the 2008 CTS than the Vega or any other defunct american car that represent the low point of Detroit's auto history. WHat they are doing now is what counts to buyers.
I have no need to pull my telescoping wheel all the way out. Why dont you read the comments posted by Aura owners here on Edmunds and see how many people mention this issue. I did not see ONE complaint about the steering column in all of the consumer reviews I read on the 2007 Aura.
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Billt9,
I agree completely.
=).
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billt9
- Oct 18, 2007 7:10 pm
(#47 Total: 62)
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Toyota Camrys are no good.
Saturn Auras are no good.
That's a no brainer.
The most reliable, highest quality brand: Honda.
We should all be driving Honda Accords.
Have you bought your Accord yet?
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aurakr
- Oct 18, 2007 5:03 pm
(#46 Total: 62)
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So how is that Saturn Benz C300 Sport :o)
Sorry JRIZ, I apologize and will redouble my efforts to be a precise as possible. Still for any Toyota to be worse than a Saturn has got to be some kind of record, no?
As I have stated before, I am totally psyched about the future cars coming out. Hybrids, hydrogen, HCCI, diesel, the next few years should be great.
Stovt001, I tend to agree with you about high revving engines. So how to explain the 6800 redline on my XR? I can't, although it rarely sees more than 3000 in normal driving. I was raised by a father who believed that one of the greatest gifts to mankind was the V8. With the cars I had to drive, the V8s rarely went above 4000 rpm. And I still remember the question he used to ask, what is that little engine going to do when you floor it at 100, 000 miles? Meaning will it blow up when you really need it to respond? Many years later, I learned what will happen, not much if maintained properly. But I still have an suspicion about high revving engines. I'm talking about those that go above 7500-8000 rpm. Heck even the minvan will rev 5500-6000 rpm, although you really don't want to hear it. Not pretty.
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estreka
- Oct 18, 2007 4:55 pm
(#45 Total: 62)
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subarctic north - Great Falls, MT |
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Stovt - I believe it's Lexii, but I could be wrong. And the reason Lexus was such an innovation was the fact that it proved someone other than the Germans and the British could build a luxury car. And an affordable one at that.
Really? You don't like Honda engines? To me, there are few experiences like reving my 2.0L up 9,000 rpm. There's something magical about it. I do love throaty V8s, though.
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jriz
- Oct 18, 2007 4:28 pm
(#43 Total: 62)
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That's true stov, and subsequently all future long-term cars will be labeled as Saturns. The Saturn Tundra, the Saturn Rondo, the Saturn-Benz C300 Sport.
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