Owners have filed 146 complaints on the Saturn Astra, covering 2008–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (90 reports). Worst years by volume: 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2009, 2008. 4 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 7.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Saturn Astra
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 146 Astra complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 90 Read
Airbags did not go off no response from onstar after crash
Air bags failed to deploy
The contact owns a 2008 saturn astra. The contact state that while driving 25 mph, she crashed head-on into a tree and fractured her ribs, sternum and vertebrae. The air bags did not deploy and the contact suffered major injuries to her ribs and back. The contact was taken to the hospital and a police report was…
Electrical System 15 Read
Owner was stop n go city driving pulled into his home driveway noticed smoke coming from under dash. Parked car and immediately contacted fire service. Car dash ignition area burst into flames and was heavily damaged by fire. Fire was extinguished quickly by firefighters, extremely fast moving fire and excessive…
The contact owns a 2008 saturn astra. The contact stated that the horn was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the electronic control module for the horn failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired for the electronic control module. The failure recurred…
The contact owns a 2008 saturn astra. The contact stated that the horn failed to activate. The dealer stated that the cim clamp needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred a month later. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired again. The failure mileage…
Power Train 14 Read
Basically this vehicle did the same thing as your recall #12V46000 for the saturn aura, see below: 2008 saturn aura power train:automatic transmission:gear position indication (prndl) NHTSA campaign #12V460000 date announced: september 18, 2012 vehicles affected: 426,240 summary: general motors (gm) is recalling…
When attempting to shift the vehicle from reverse to forward the shift lever went into position however when my wife stepped on the gas to go forward the vehicle was still in reverse. Apparently the shift cable failed and the vehicle could not change gears. She was left with a vehicle that was unsafe to drive thus had…
When you put the car in reverse the lights light up on the gear shift, and will not engage. I then put the car in park and back in reverse. 2nd time I had an issue that car would not start even though it was in park, I someone try to jump it, thinking it was the battery, because I have gone through 5 batteries because…
Steering 6 Read
The contact owns a 2008 saturn astra. The contact stated that the front end of his vehicle was out of alignment. While driving at any speed, he can feel the front end swaying to the side. The manufacturer stated that the roads were the cause of the failure and not the vehicle. They refused to service the vehicle. The…
Original owner of a saturn astra 2008 xr with less than 40,000 miles. Car started losing power steering at low speeds (I.e. Turning from a stop, parallel parking, any movement that didn't require actively applying the accelerator such as backing up, slowing to take a curve, etc). Dealer states need to replace electric…
Vehicle steering became very difficult, nearly unresponsive. Vehicle was dangerous. Electro-mechanical power steering pump failed. Chevrolet/gm dealer is only entity capable/authorized of making repair as it has to be computer programmed. Kbb value of car approximately $4,473. Cost of repair $1,700 (38% of car value)
Structure 3 Read
Bought 08 astra jan 27, drove to az. Car drove fantastic. On 6/18/2008 I took it to saturn because I kept hearing a high pitch chirping noise upon acceleration. It only makes this sound if the AC is on. It sounds like the belt is loose the tech told me it was because the engine is not strong enough to handle the AC…
Last spring I was driving down the street, and noticed that my passenger side mirror glass was missing. The glass lost the adhesion to the plastic backing. Even with many reports in online forums, and with hundreds of sales of mirrors on ebay, both onstar and the dealership stated there were no service bulletins or…
The driver was entering the vehicle and when the driver's side door was shut, the passenger side side mirror glass fell off and shattered. This left a black piece of metal where the mirror should have been. Because the glass fell off so easily, this could have easily happened while on the road from a gust of wind or a…
Tires 3 Read
I bought a saturn astra -- brand new. I recently found out that the tires had plugs in them -- at least two tires with two plugs. The tires were not new and are damaged. I called gm, filed a complaint, took the car into the dealer, and was told that the tires were damaged. Gm just contacted me and said they are not…
My tires are frequently getting sidewall bulges. This happened on a new 2008 saturn astra after it was about 6 months old. The first time it happened the dealer told me that it was a safety issue so I purchased a new tire. Then it happened again. The tires are hankook p225/45r17
The contact owns a 2008 saturn astra equipped with primewell valera sport as (na) tires, size: 225/45/zr17 (na). While the contact's daughter was driving 65 mph, the vehicle shook and the traction control warning indicator illuminated. While pulling over to the side of the road, the contact noticed a tire rolling by.…
Engine 3 Read
The contact owns a 2008 saturn astra. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact activated the emergency brake in order to stop the vehicle. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic who diagnosed that the cpm failed. The…
While making turn car stalls. Also when putting in gear slips out from drive to 2nd from reverse to neutral
Bought car at 35000 miles now at 107000 and have replaced ignition coil pack 3 times. Misfires in 4th cylinder cause car to jerk and heave at highway speeds and run rough also fuel in plugs
Engine And Engine Cooling 2 Read
The vehicle caught fire and burned beyond repair. I was driving the speed limit on a major highway. I heard a very loud thump under the hood. I pulled onto the shoulder to investigate, when a car pulled beside me and the driver told me that there were flames coming from the bottom of my car. The flames quickly grew…
I bought a 2008 saturn astra 4dr hatchback xe on march 26, 2008. On june 26th, the check engine light came on and I notice that when I step on the gas, the acceleration seems to be limited. I took the car to the dealership on 6/28/08, after the on-line diagnostics through on-staron 6/26 indicated that there seems to…
Astra years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 37 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.9 |
| Worst single series | 10 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 7.6 years |
A model average of 3.9 hides a worst series at 10. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Astra?
By complaint volume, 2008, 2009 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Astra years are the cleanest?
2009, 2008 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Saturn Astra have?
146 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2008–2009. Of those, 4 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.