Owners have filed 99 complaints on the Saturn Relay, covering 2005–2007. The system named most often is Service Brakes (28 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2006, 2007; cleanest: 2007, 2006, 2005. 2 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 3.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Saturn Relay
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 99 Relay complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 28 Read
The traction control and ABS goes out excessively in my 2007 saturn relay, affecting the braking system. This happens every time it is driven. There is a service message that appears. The only correction so far is to shut the engine off and turn it back on. This only works for a few minutes until it begins again
I was traveling on az state route 87 on a 6 percent downgrade. I had applied the brakes a total of 3 times for no more than 3 to 5 seconds at a time, this occurred over a 5 minute time frame. On the third application the brakes began to cavitate very badly. This caused the vehicle to sway and brakes faded out. The…
I have a 2006 saturn relay. It was an executive driven car and was purchased with 400 miles on it and the warranty transferred over to me. The traction control on this vehicle is defective. When the traction control engaged it would knock out the stability control, traction control, and ABS system. Although I have…
Electrical System 17 Read
On 1/12/15, while my 2005 saturn relay was parked in my garage, started on fire. Vehicle was not started or going at the time. Last drove the vehicle approximately one hour prior. It was determined that the ceiling component that has the buttons to open the back sliding doors, onstar and garage opening, is what…
Starter sometimes engages, sometimes doesn't engage, sometimes stays engaged. Took to dealership few times and was finally told that's the way it is
The contact owns a 2007 saturn relay. The contact stated that the vehicle came equipped with a remote unlock for the rear sliding doors. The wireless system would close and open independently when the vehicle was being driven. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the…
Structure 11 Read
I went to get my 2 year old out of the van and the whole door fell off just missing my feet. *tr updated 09/09/08
I own a 2007 saturn relay 3 minivan. The van has dual power assisted rear sliding cargo doors. During my family's evacuation for hurricane gustav the passenger side power assisted sliding cargo door did not close properly (did not latch). I electrically re-closed the door and locked the vehicle. During the week of…
The contact owns a 2006 saturn relay. The contact stated that the rear passenger side sliding door failed to close properly. The door has to be slammed shut in order for it to close. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. The vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer. The current and failure mileages…
Power Train 7 Read
The contact owns a 2007 saturn relay. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle accelerated to 80 mph. When the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle did not decelerate. The contact placed the vehicle into neutral and the speed decreased to 40 mph. The contact then shifted into park and the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was…
AWD disabled when needed in snow. It seems to be caused by icy slush. I confirmed with the dealer that the hub assembly's AWD sensor can get covered up with mud or slush and the AWD system will disable. Any AWD system that gets disabled by slush is ludicrously designed, and borderline negligent with regards to safety
Noted that driving lights flashed with wipers on delay setting. At next use, low oil pressure light & warning sounded but lights did not flash with delay wipers. Turning off engine and pulling hood latch & closing hood ended low pressure warning (oil pressure/ level were correct-false alarm). 2 days later, lights…
Fuel System 7 Read
The contact owns a 2007 saturn relay. While driving 25 mph, the contact noticed that the fuel gauge displayed inaccurate readings. The gauge showed 1/4 tank of gas when the vehicle was actually empty. The vehicle has been to the dealer for repairs, but the failure always recurs. The current mileage was 11,000 and…
We own a 2006 saturn relay 3 that we purchased in june 2007. We have become aware of a design flaw that exists in chevrolet uplanders and saturn relays that can lead to dangerous consequences. We have been advised by our dealership that gm is aware of the problem and has done nothing to rectify it. Because of the…
2006 saturn van is designed with the characteristic of running out of fuel when operating on an incline (nose up or nose down), with a 1/4 tank of fuel remaining. After this occurred the 2nd time I complained to the dealership and asked them to repair. They stated they were aware of the characteristic and that it…
Steering 6 Read
On may 1, 2009 the drivers side sliding door fell off my 2007 saturn relay. It was immediately taken to our local saturn dealership and to this day has yet to be fixed. We were very fortunate that none of our 5 children were hurt but they were traumatized by this incident and are afraid to ride by any sliding van…
1) bought our saturn relay may 30, 2006 2) took it to the dealer it to the dealer because hood rattle, said it was nothing sent me home. 3) called about the low mileage the van was making, said it was ok 4) 1 month and 26 days car breacks down repairs are made on 6/26/06 -sending unit was replace -sensory kit was…
My 2006 saturn ion all of a sudden lost its power steering while I was driving! I almost crashed! And now it going to cost over 500 or more to fix. I could have been killed, I was going up a hill on a curve. Just all of a sudden the bell rang and it popped up pwr str. I got the car stopped and turned it off when I…
Latches/locks/linkages 5 Read
The contact owns a 2006 saturn relay. The contact stated that both the driver and passenger side automatic sliding doors would not shut. When activated, the door would start to close but would not latch and then would reopen. The contact stated it takes a couple of hours and attempts before the door would close. The…
The contact owns a 2005 saturn relay. The contact stated that the rear passenger side door will not open when she pulls the handle. The locking mechanism is not releasing. She stated that the door has previously been repaired two times for motor failure. The failure began intermittently two weeks after the vehicle was…
The contact stated, while driving at 30 mph., the right sliding door opened without warning. In a two-week period, the sliding door opened twice without incident. The door was serviced at the dealer, but still does not completely latch. Updated 09/15/06
Suspension 3 Read
The contact owns a 2005 saturn relay. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, a loud rattling noise emitted outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the dealer. All four wheel bearings were replaced. The failure recurred four years after the repair. The vehicle…
2005 saturn relay w/ only 38,000 needs left front hub bearing for wheel speed sensor replaced at a cost of ~$500. ABS & t/c engages during normal breaking. Obviously faulty parts that should warrant a recall before something happens
I have a 2005 saturn relay. Three weeks ago, the "service traction control system" warning message and light and the "service ABS system" warning message and light started coming on intermittently (but both always at the same time). If I cut off the ignition and restarted the car, the messages and lights would go away…
Relay 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2005 | Electrical System | — | 1 |
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 | 49 |
| Average complaints per series | 2 |
| Worst single series | 8 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.7 years |
A model average of 2 hides a worst series at 8. 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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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 Relay?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2006, 2007 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 Relay years are the cleanest?
2007, 2006, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Saturn Relay have?
99 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2005–2007. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 1 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.