Notchy ignition and hard 1st gear on 07 Vue

[mangler66]

Just turned 5500 kms, and although I mostly like my 07 manual Vue, 2 things are keeping me from total bliss.

The first thing is that 1st gear is somewhat hard to select. It's almost as though my shift gate lets me go too far left, and I "miss" the 1st gear track. Is the shifter gate adjustable?

The second thing is that the ignition switch is notchy. It can be hard to turn the key, almost like the steering lock has been activated, but it has not. Can you lube this with graphite? Sometimes I feel I have to apply way too much torque to turn the key, even if steering is completely straight.

[Ritz]

The second thing is that the ignition switch is notchy. It can be hard to turn the key, almost like the steering lock has been activated, but it has not. Can you lube this with graphite? Sometimes I feel I have to apply way too much torque to turn the key, even if steering is completely straight.

This is a common problem, it seems. If you take it to your neighborhood stealer, I think they'll disassemble and lube the switch gratis. My friend's '06 just had this problem and ours (at 15k miles) is now showing symptoms too. You have to jiggle the key sometimes to get the switch to turn. Chalk another one up to "low bidder" parts. sigh...

Best,

[djb383]

Our ignition switch was kinda rough when new. A couple of shots of WD-40 and 9K miles of starts/stops later, it's now pretty smooth.

[mangler66]

I was wondering if graphite would be better than wd-40, since wd-40 would attract dust. But then graphite is somewhat conductive, which could lead to some other problems?

[pdough]

The first gear issue is also another fairly common complaint for the manual. You are not missing the "gate" its just plain tougher than it should be to get in 1st gear. Try getting the car into 1st just before you come to a stop.

Mine has been this way since new and I now have over 50,000 miles. It seems a little better but still an issue when cold.

[Bigdaddy94sc2]

Something I have noticed lately is make sure you go striaght left with the shifter, and then straight up into first. Doing this seems to get rid of this issue..... I have seen it a lot lately, and everyone attacks first on somewhat of an angle.... Break it down into 2 steps and it should fix it. They can also be adjusted if you want to....

[F-Bobby]

with the ignition issue. yeah the grease they use at the factory SUCKS and breaks down and turnes to this nice black dust that can jam up the ignition cylinder. Gm reccomends using white lithium grease to lubricate the igntition houseing and cylinder. its a pretty common problem unfortunately.

[compnurd09]

with the ignition issue. yeah the grease they use at the factory SUCKS and breaks down and turnes to this nice black dust that can jam up the ignition cylinder. Gm reccomends using white lithium grease to lubricate the igntition houseing and cylinder. its a pretty common problem unfortunately.

I took mine in for the ignition issue and they just replaced the whole thing and lubed the new one with the grease they had. much better

[F-Bobby]

I took mine in for the ignition issue and they just replaced the whole thing and lubed the new one with the grease they had. much better

yeah some dealer will just replace the whole housing on the first shot to not deal with the headaches of it coming back incase lubing it doesnt work.

[Bigdaddy94sc2]

yeah some dealer will just replace the whole housing on the first shot to not deal with the headaches of it coming back incase lubing it doesnt work.


If a dealer does that lately, the warranty repair will be kicked back and they wont get paid. There is a TSB out there telling all dealers to clean and lube all cyls and housings. It goes out of its way to say not to replace housing and/or cyl at that time.

[WarnsVue06]

If a dealer does that lately, the warranty repair will be kicked back and they wont get paid. There is a TSB out there telling all dealers to clean and lube all cyls and housings. It goes out of its way to say not to replace housing and/or cyl at that time.

Do you have the TSB# and text, so I can be ready to show this to the dealer when I go in, to get mine fixed.

[Bigdaddy94sc2]

Do you have the TSB# and text, so I can be ready to show this to the dealer when I go in, to get mine fixed.

Unless they havent sold a vue in 4 years, they will know what to do. I dont have the number of it offhand, but it is fairly common knowledge what to do when we see this.

[F-Bobby]

If a dealer does that lately, the warranty repair will be kicked back and they wont get paid. There is a TSB out there telling all dealers to clean and lube all cyls and housings. It goes out of its way to say not to replace housing and/or cyl at that time.

yeah i always give it the lube job first (lol). then if they come back with teh same problem ill go ahead and do the housing. ive only put in ike 2 whole housings. but ive lubed at least a dozen of them.

[Bigdaddy94sc2]

I have done alot of them.... too many..... probably near 100 or so. Have probably done 30 housings, it is kinda a crappy design.... Fails way to easy. I have it down to a science now, I use a grenade pin to extract the cylinder, and can usually have it out, cleaned, lubed well, and back in and put together in around 8-9 mins...... repetition sucks!:upset:

[mangler66]

What do you guys use for lube? My last foray on the internet people recommended silicone lube in a spray. Not graphite, not light oil. Comments?

[WarnsVue06]

Attached is a pdf copy of the TSB for those of you who need it.:D

[Bigdaddy94sc2]

If you live in the norhtern half of the US, dont use lithium grease. Its first ingredient is water, and will freeze if you see temps that can dip into the teens for extended periods of time. We now use the S series belt track/ sunroof lube to grease them up, and have had great success.

[GearGuy]

Is there an OTC grease that is comparable?

[Complex]

Acckk. Get it fixed before it gets stuck at an inopportune time such as my story. A long read, but here it is:

I bought my VUE in September of last year. I love the thing. It is already beginning to build a legacy for itself akin to my last VW. It began here:



So, here is the story. Since I bought the vehicle the ignition would stick at times. It seemed to get worse and worse. So, last Thursday I called for service the following Tuesday (today). That night my youngest daughter, 16 months, got sick. Vomit, the mad poops, etc. She was sick Friday and got a little better Saturday. Sunday she got much worse so we took her to the hospital. They stuck her about 7-8 times and could not get an IV line in. One nurse applied the tourniquet and forgot the other stuff. She also forgot a pen and even stated she would not go through the diaper pile to get a stool sample. They did not get a stool or urine either. It was a mess. She was obviously still dehydrated. They basically sent her home with gas drops. Me and the wife were like WTF? So, as we left I was wondering if the ignition would lock. It took me about 5 minutes to work it enough to start. Phew.

We get home. Puking and vomiting even worse. Right back to the hospital. After TRIAGE, they took us right in. I think they realized the error of their ways. I explained the situation to the TRIAGE nurse and she got a call and I hear her say "Yes I do." And "Yes, I will." I knew then that they would take her right back in without a wait. Sure enough we went right back to pediatrics. My daughter is laying there with about 7 gauze strips on her arm from the previous butchery. This time they brought in a crack IV needle player. It turns out I went to HS with her and she worked on my finger last summer after a hideous cut. I gave her the finger, as it was my middle finger, and said "Do you remember me?" It was funny. So, she tells me one try in the arm, if a no go then the foot. Well, she got it initially but then it failed. Next in the foot - no problem.

Now my daughter is getting hydrated and feeling much better. She is admitted for the night because of low vitals and such. The next day she checks out as okay and she is discharged. So, on the way out to my car I am thinking "Will my car start." Heck no. I tried for about 20 minutes. No luck. My dad went up and tried for 45 minutes. So, we load up in my wife's car in the next parking lot and head home. I decide to deal with the car the next day as my service appointment is the next day anyway. I don't want to deal with the car after all that has happened.

I am a bit worried as I am pulled nose in and the lot is small. But I figure if they have the technology to take your picture from space they can get my car out of that spot. I give the dealer a call and tell them my car will be late - they say no problem. I call Saturn Roadside and they find a place that will make an attempt without me being there. I do have to go and open the vehicle. I decide to leave the key because I doubt anyone will get the key to turn. The operator was great and it takes no time to set things up. Later I get a call from the tow truck dude and he went to the wrong hospital! So the tow truck dispatcher finds another company to give it a go. Mind you the car is nose in, locked steering and jammed ignition system. I get a call from the next tow guy he can't get it with a flatbed. He will call the hook. The next guys says same - he will call in the Mr. Wolf of towing. Some company called "Advance Towing" or something like that. It sounded like Delta Force or something. At this point it is like 2 in the afternoon. My first call was at 8:30 am. I am worried the hospital is gonna notice what is going on and want my car out of there lickety split. But, this last guy calls me and says he got the key to turn! He did not have to subject my car to towing. I thank him sincerely. He I tell him just to leave the car running and I will be there shortly. I live about ten minutes away. He tells me he will leave the AC on.

I drove to the dealership and they were great. I dropped the car off and I was there about 10 minutes total. They called me about an hour later and said the car was done. The tech rep was empathetic and promised he would get the car done after all I had been through. When I picked the car up I was out in a few minutes after looking at all the new models.
The car was washed and cleaned, both in and out. Not an absolute detail, but it looked great.

On a side not I took off work to sort things out and stay with my daughter. As I was cutting the grass I cut the front leg off of this huge toad. I am convinced it was the same toad I caught last week and let him go at the edge of my yard. Poor guy - I felt awful but I think he will make it.

I think Saturn handled things great. Despite the village idiot who was impersonating the a tow driver with the first company it all went well. Saturn would call intermittently and inquire about the status of my roadside service call. I was impressed. After owning a VW I can say so far Saturn has VW buried as far as customer service. Of course, that is only after one incident but first impressions go a long way. At one point I asked the rep what they would do if my car was not tow-able from where it was at. She indicated she would call the dealer and they would send a tech to get it going.

It seems this a problem with some GM/Saturns. The lubricant is insufficient and it gets clogged with small bits of crap and shavings (soft key?). I have researched and some remedies seem to be WD40 or graphite powder. It seems that all Saturn does in remove the ignition switch, clean it, apply a better lube with a more generous amount. Time will tell if this fix works.

I know this is a long winded story but I just wanted to give kudos to a manufacturer and a dealer. I guess a moral could be that when ***** goes south even an auto manufacturer and it's dealers can come through and make your day just a little better.

[mellissam]

....

Now my daughter is getting hydrated and feeling much better. She is admitted for the night because of low vitals and such. The next day she checks out as okay and she is discharged. ....

OT- so, what was verdict? Was she suffering from something serious? Who cares about the car....LOL
Nice to hear they treated you well though....

[Complex]

OT- so, what was verdict? Was she suffering from something serious? Who cares about the car....LOL
Nice to hear they treated you well though....

Initially it was serious in that she had severe dehydration, which can be fatal in the little ones real fast - and they sent her home after the first visit! The root of the cause was rotovirus (spelling?) - After replenishing fluids via IV, she was peppy the next morning. Everything worked out. We know when she is not feeling well because she is absolutely the most pleasant baby/toddler I have ever seen. Always smiles and giggles. Even when she had pneumonia she was not too far off her normal self. Her wild thing sister on the other hand . . .
As a side note, her 4 year old cousin had it and they kept him overnight in a seperate hospital even though his symptoms were lesser.

The car made it through as well! All is great for now!

[velvue]

grettings from north of the border-- same problem with my manual '07. It wasn't just a notchy cylinder problem, eventually my key would not even turn and I thought I was going to be stranded numerous times...WD 40 did not really help... should have read the forum before taking it to the dealer-- they did not have a clue and when I suggested that they just replace the whole cylinder... nah, got a song and dance had to take the car in twice... service advisor indicated that he just received the TSB the day prior to my second visit(two days ago!!) It seems to be working now but I'm pretty sure that they just sprayed something into it... :x --ok, so I know the thread is old but my frustration is fresh.

also-- anyone else notice any misfiring problems when you put a load on 3rd-- revving above 3000 rpm?-- the dealer found no issues but it happens regularly and I swear it's missing...

[mangler66]

No missing in 3rd but my ignition is getting worse. I really should not have to jiggle the key on a 2007 car...

First gear is still notchy. And sometimes on low idle it will go lower than usual and shudder a bit. Not low enough to stall, but still noticeable. maybe some injector cleaner will help with that...

[velvue]

I've noticed the same thing when idling and I have stalled a few times on take off, almost like it's being starved for gas--will take your suggestion under advisement if I notice it getting worse.

My ignition seems to be ok, now that they lubed it up, but true... an '07 shouldn't be doing that.

[jerseycouple]

I have an 06 VUE manual transmission. The dealership has replaced the ignition cylinder three times now. I'm yet again experiencing difficulty when turning the key. I've been stranded multiple times due to the key not turning at all and the wheel locking up. I'm still under warranty and I suspect they'll change the cylinder again when I go in for service. Other than this one problem, I love the vehicle. My lease expires in February and we really want to buy it ... but want to avoid absorbing the cost of this ongoing problem once we fall out of warranty. My question is if anyone has installed a remote start and if that circumvents the key cylinder issues. Please advise.