Model-year matrix

Saturn Vue
which year?

Compare every Saturn Vue model year the EPA recorded, 2002 to 2010. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Saturn Vue year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Saturn Vue?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Saturn Vue years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2003

620 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2003 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2008

406 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2008 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2006

300 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2006 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Saturn Vue model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2009 Saturn Vue

NHTSA complaint allegations: 118
Combined EPA economy: 18–28 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 8
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,200–3,400
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelssteering 40electrical system 36power train 14

Open the 2009 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2010 Saturn Vue

NHTSA complaint allegations: 6
Combined EPA economy: 19–28 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 7
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,200–3,250
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 3engine 2steering 1

Open the 2010 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2010 has 112 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2009.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Saturn Vue by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Saturn Vue model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2010	6	electrical system 3engine 2steering 1	19–28	7	$2,200–3,250	Dossier →
2009	118	steering 40electrical system 36power train 14	18–28	8	$2,200–3,400	Dossier →
2008	406	power train 120electrical system 88steering 88	17–28	7	$2,200–3,600	Dossier →
2007	286	electrical system 132air bags 91steering 33	19–26	5	$2,350–3,250	Dossier →
2006	300	electrical system 108air bags 93steering 30	19–23	4	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2005	170	electrical system 72power train 31steering 21	19–23	6	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2004	276	power train 93electrical system 82suspension 34	19–23	5	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2003	620	power train 321electrical system 131engine and engine cooling 63	19–22	5	$2,800–3,250	Dossier →
2002	167	electrical system 53engine and engine cooling 34power train 25	19–22	4	$2,800–3,250	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.