Owners have filed 462 complaints on the Saturn SKY, covering 2007–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (305 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2009, 2008, 2007. 13 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 7.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Saturn SKY
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 462 SKY complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 305 Read
Was rear ended at high rate of speed then hard impact on front end while I was stopped--no deployment of my air bags--5 car accident other car air bags deployed, was on a highway. Ignition switch replaced prior to accident per recall. Accident and police reports were filed
I have a 2007 saturn sky redline and crashed it. Onstar dispatched the call as an "airbag deployed accident". The airbags did not deploy. I bruised my rib cage badly from slamming into the steering wheel, even though it was a low mileage, frontal impact. The car is still in repair
2007 saturn sky traveling in excess of 50 mph with traffic south on rt2 in edgewater md in the right lane of a 6 lane divided highway. A 2007 kia traveling east across the 6 lanes of traffic failed to stop for stop sign. Sky hit kia head on in to the passenger side of the kia centered on the pillar between the front…
Service Brakes 62 Read
No brakes upon startup! Ran over my dog because of the problem. I can't believe this defect made it to market
Brakes fail to work on start-up. For the first 60 seconds it takes excessive pressure to bring the car to a stop. I have had numerous close calls and one small accident where I could not stop for a bicycle in my drive way. Just a matter of time before someone gets serious injured. Saturn claims it is normal for the…
I was traveling at 20 mph about 25 minutes into morning commute when the vehicle in front of me impacted another vehicle. At this time I applied my brakes to the floor along with my clutch. I felt my ABS working, but the car did not stop in the approximately 30 feet of space and I impacted the car in front of me.…
Electrical System 42 Read
The vehicle was being driven at highway speeds, upon avoiding a collision with another vehicle, the saturn sky I was in had collided with the concrete center divider and became airborn. The airbags did not deploy after first colliding with the divider, nor after it had landed back onto its wheels. Hazard lights were…
The contact owns a 2007 saturn sky. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph and applying the brakes, the engine stalled without warning and caused the driver to crash into another vehicle. The driver sustained injuries to the back. The vehicle was destroyed and a police report was not filed. The contact stated…
The contact owns a 2009 saturn sky. The contact stated that the air bag system malfunctioned during hot weather. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times; however, they were unable to diagnose the failure. The contact stated that the electrical system caused the air bags to malfunction and other components…
Power Train 10 Read
The limited slip differential failed on my 2007 saturn sky. The failure of this component caused the car to suddenly and violently fishtail while making a left turn at normal highway speeds. The car subsequently smashed into the center median, then bounced into the adjacent lane where it collided with a large SUV. The…
2009 saturn sky base model (2.4-liter inline-four engine 177 hp). Issue#1: in motion, happens on both city streets/highways) at about ~30mph (and up to ~70mph), the transmission will shift down a gear hard enough to pull your body forward violently. My fault codes are p0011 and p0022 being the 'principle' code…
The contact owns a 2007 saturn sky. While driving 40 mph, the differential leaked. The vehicle was only two months old at the time. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that it would take three weeks for the part to arrive. The failure was repaired 4 times. The contact was stranded 30 miles from home…
Exterior Lighting 6 Read
The instrument cluster is set deep into the instrument panel for styling purposes. As a result, the gauges are very dark and cannot be read during daytime driving. Gm should make a software patch available to turn on the back lighting to the gauges day or night when the ignition is turned on. Other vehicles are setup…
The gauges illumination is very poor since the gauges are so deep set in the dash. I can hardly read the speedometer during the day, isn,t very bright even at nite. The mfg. Should do a recall to upgrade the dash lights
Instrument panel lights are not illuminated during daytime, making it difficult to see the speedometer, gas gauge, etc. This is true whether the car is in motion or not. The instrument panel lights should be on whenever the ignition switch is on
Steering 5 Read
On july 23, 2008, at approximately 1:30 a.m. I was driving a 2007 saturn sky approximately 40 mph down the road. While driving, I placed my left signal light on and began to attempt to change lanes. At this time, while attempting to change lanes, the steering wheel turned to the left, however the tires did not…
First incident happen when I arrived at work. I got into a parking place and shifted the car into park. Then went to shut off the car by turning the key. The key would not turn and so I could not turn my car off. I had to cut the car off by opening the hood and taking the fuel pump fuse out to shut it off. The key…
The contact stated while slowing down at 10 mph, the vehicle shuttered through the steering wheel. The dealership was unable to determine the problem, but the power steering pump was replaced in a repair attempt. Updated 11/21/2006 - when the consumer drove the vehicle in reverse or at 5-10 mph, and made a sharp turn,…
Parking Brake 4 Read
Sudden failure of parking brake which could lead to possible accident/injury/death
2007 saturn sky redline. Consumer states the sensor has failed and the airbag and perhaps the seat belt mechanism will not activate *tgw the consumer was informed it would cost $600 to replace the sensor. Also, the emergency brake would not hold. The consumer was informed the rear brake calipers needed to be replaced…
The contact owns a 2007 saturn sky. While the vehicle was parked on a hill, the emergency brakes made an abnormal noise. The contact stated that the gear needed to be in first gear to keep the vehicle from drifting. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the cable needed to be…
Visibility 3 Read
The contact owns a 2009 saturn sky. The contact stated that NHTSA campaign number: 17V061000 (air bags) exceeded a reasonable amount of time for repair. The contact received the recall notification in march of 2017. The contact spoke with hendrick chevrolet (100 auto mall drive, cary, north carolina 27511, phone (919)…
I was trying to turn the AC on because it is 102 degrees outside. When I was turning the knob on the climate control module to cold it never changed it stayed blowing hot. Also when I tried to get the fan to blow towards me it was stuck in the mode where it blows on the floor. While it is stuck in the mid and wont…
Wiring to my air conditioning blower burnt on my 2007 saturn sky. It would work off and on, finally brought it in to dealer. I was told by service tech that if I kept using it might have caused a fire. Wires are on backorder which leads me to wonder if this might be a problem on all saturn 2007 sky's
SKY 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 | — | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 7 | — |
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 | 100 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.6 |
| Worst single series | 19 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 7.6 years |
A model average of 4.6 hides a worst series at 19. 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
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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 SKY?
By complaint volume, 2007, 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 SKY years are the cleanest?
2009, 2008, 2007 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Saturn SKY have?
462 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2009. Of those, 13 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.