Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Saturn Vue owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that the passenger's side windshield wiper was inoperable. Upon investigation, the contact self-diagnosed the vehicle with windshield wiper linkage failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the last 8-digits of the VIN were recognized as another make and model vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
The heating and ventilation is not functioning properly. This vehicle has automatic climate control. This same condition occurred under the extended warranty. The fan is able to be variably controlled for speed. The cold/hot selector does not change the temperature. The mode selector for the air distribution is stuck on vent mode. I have no heat or front defroster. The warranty fix was a computer re-flash the the h.v.a.c. Programmer. This has been ongoing for 7 days. Static or moving matters not. I do believe all motor vehicle ventilation systems should default to defroster mode! Regards, m4rk
On a rainy day the wipers will stop working then eventually start back up. While using the delay wipers they would work half the time, sometimes go fast, and even stop. You just never know if they will work which is really scary on heavy rains.
Webasto hollandia 600 sun roof completely detached from the car while driving on the pa turnpike. I am the original owner of the car and it was installed prior to my picking it up at the faulkner dealership, Saturn of jenkintown. The roof was installed by.rsc restyling in levittown, pa. I took the car to faulkner GM in trevose, pa for repairs and contacted my auto insurance company. A few days later I found out that the sun roof manufacturer had issued a recall notice for this exact problem. The sun roof was replaced at rsc and I attempted to find out why I was never notified of the recall. Faulkner GM wasn't aware of the recall notice. I contacted the owner of rsc restyling, [[redacted]}, who told me that the vehicle id numbers of cars that had these roofs installed were forwarded to the manufacturer. The manufacturer's reps claimed that my VIN was never provided to them. …
I can not utilize the inside rear view mirror totally, because the top half of the inside mirror is taken up by the backside of the OnStar panel, it is what you see in the mirror. Also, the rear seat head rest take up the lower half of portions of it, so I have to keep the rear seats lowered all the way down to utilize the lower portion of the mirror. So now I have a 2 seat SUV. When people are sitting in the rear seat, especially with 3 people, you have no mirror view at all. Dealer said front mirror cannot be relocated and glued because of the wire going to it and the rain sensing windshield. There are a lot of dead spots in this vehicle, as to seeing your way clear! Tried to remove rear headrest but was unable to.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that while driving, the windshield wipers stopped functioning and the driver began to hear a clunking noise. The contact inspected the vehicle and realized that the plastic bushing was cracked. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the wipers transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 81,782 and the current mileage was 81,800.
The driver side vanity light/visor became damaged when the internal pins that stop the visor when sliding out to adjust broke and shorted out the wiring. The wires, which run through the metal visor pole would short out and heat the metal to extreme temperatures, causing burns to the hand and possibly be able to start a fire. Dealership stated that they could not find the problem and refused to fix it. I disconnected the visor for time being until proper repairs could be made.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact was driving 5 MPH when the passenger side windshield wiper overlapped the driver side wiper. The contact pulled into a parking lot to untangle the wipers. The passenger side wiper however, was no longer operable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,842 and the current mileage was 50,862.
Tl contact owns a 2008 Saturn Vue. The contact stated that when the windshield wiper was being utilized, the wiper arms would become tangled and would not operate properly. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised him to take the vehicle into a dealer and that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Electrical issues with rear wiper and heating element(defogger) system. Pressing the rear defogger switch to turn on the heating element would instead start delivering windshield washing fluid continuously. Pressing the rear wiper switch would start the wiper in a very erratic and scary way. Whole system works in a spooky way.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Vue years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2008 Saturn Vue?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2008 Saturn Vue, 5% of the model year's 406 complaints. The component named most often is windshield wiper/washer (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Saturn Vue window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2008 Saturn Vue, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Saturn Vue window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 18% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to windows, wipers & sunroof problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.