04 Saturn Vue awd v6 strange problem

[johnnyphive]

:?: :?: :?:

Hey guys,

just wanted to through this out there. My car is currently at the dealership being fixed but I haven't been able to get a straight anwser as to what the problem is. So I will try and describe it as best I can and hopefully someone can just give me an idea of what the issue might be.

ok:

While idling or maintaining speed the engine will rev up or surge (pulse). I can feel this while I am driving and I can aslo hear the engine rev up and I can see it reflected in the RPMs. The RPM will rise repeatedly about 100 to 300 RPMs. Following that, there will also be a sequence of evenly spaced vibrations in the front end. (usually in a series of 3 or 4 evenly spaced 1 after the other) It is almost like a stuttering vibration. This was all occuring between 30 MPH and 50 MPH before I brought it to the service dept.

On my first service dept. visit they adjusted the TCM. And it appeared to fix the issue at least during the first day I got it back. The problem resumed again the next day. However after they adjusted the TCM it was occuring between 30 MPH and 50 MPH just like before but now it started happening between 20 MPH and 30 MPH as well. At 30 MPH the surging/pulsing was constant.

The dealership was unable to recreate the problem on their own so I had to make one of their techs drive with me and recreate the problem myself. They told me it was going to be 1 full day of labor. We are now on day 4 and I am having a hard time getting anwsers from their service dept.

I am just trying to gauge how serios the problem might be. My fear is that the transmission is slipping completely but I am not good with cars so I figured i would post here and see what ideas people have.

I just got the car on MAY 6 and this is the 3rd service visit since then. They have worked on it 2 times now for the same issue and under NH Law 1 more time for this same issue qualifies it as a Lemon.

I love the car and I don't want to go through the hassel but I don't want to get ripped off and I don't beleive the Saturn Dealership is being up front with me. So i just want to try and figure out how serious the problem is.

thanks guys
J

[Leland Lehman]

I'm sorry, I have no answer or suggestions for you, but I also have '04 AWD. You bought yours used? no warrenty? how many miles?
There are some very knowlegable people on these forums, so be patient and someone will have ideas on your problem.
Good luck, it will be worth fixing. :usa:

[johnnyphive]

Thanks for your respons. I bought it Used from a Saturn Dealership with 38k miles on it. It has a 3 month 3000 mile warranty which is up in august. Yea i hope they fix it because i really like the vehicle. I just wish their service dept would be more up front about what the problem is. I have no doubts that someone on the forum here might have some valuable insights and thats why i posted my issue.
thanks
J :yes:

[Gerry Proctor]

Sounds like the torque converter clutch to me. But give them time to get it sorted out.

[Ritz]

Sounds like the torque converter clutch to me. But give them time to get it sorted out.

Definitely some issue with the transmission. If it's under warranty, I'd demand a replacement transmission or exercise your lemon law rights. That could be an extremely expensive problem once the warranty is over.

Cheers,

[johnnyphive]

Thats what I am afraid of. I have already brought it in for service 2 times for this same issue so under NH lemon laws it will qualify after the 3rd service attempt. It was supposed to be 1 day worth of labor. Thats what I was told. I am very disturbed by the way the dealership has handled it thus far. They have been very shady when I ask them for invoices of repair. I was told I did not need them however I will be demanding them when I pick up my vehicle as they are needed for Lemon claims. So like I said the service tech said it would be 1 day and we are going on day 5 and they still won't explain the problem to me. I am very worried. I have a 3000 mile/3 month warranty which is up in august. I mentioned the transmission to the tech who rode with me while I demonstrated the issue and he was very quick to turn me away from that notion. However their lack of communication with me regarding the specific issue and what they are working on makes me think they are hiding something. Do I have to threaten them with the Lemon Law to get some answers?? Each time I go to the dealership they tell me that I will get a phonecall with updates however I never receive those calls and when I call them I don't get any definitive answers. I am very discouraged. :no:

[NOLA-Vue]

NH may be different, but in most states the lemon laws only apply to new vehicles. If I've read the post correctly your VUE is used, so probably your only recourse is the used car warranty. Lets hope that warranty is backed by good faith on the dealers part.

If it were me I am sure I would be just as frustrated as you are, but I believe I would play nice with them while they try to work it out. "Work it out" are the operative word here and not that they are stalling for time to wear you out! I hope this all works out for you. :)

[johnnyphive]

NH is different:
"Q. ARE USED VEHICLES COVERED UNDER THE LEMON LAW?
A.Yes, if the defect and the 3 repair attempts and/or 30 business days out of service occurred within the manufacturer's express warranty period."

I have a 3000k 3 month warranty.

http://nh.gov/safety/dmv/lemonlaw/answers.html#2


Thanks, I appreciate the advice and I have been very patient and cooperative throughout the past 3 1/2 weeks. I just want to be kept in the loop as far as what is happening with my vehicle and I am getting the impression that that is too much to ask from them. Who is incoveniencing who in this situation? I have not had my vehicle for the last 3 weekends (had them service it on the weekends) and its been with them since this past Saturday. So they have been "working it out" for about a month now and if its a serious problem like the transmission, then I definitely want to know about it so I can explore my options.

thanks you again for your advice and thanks in advance to anyone else who has any ideas as to what the problem might be. Unfortunately I am getting better information and more cooperation from all of you than I am from the Saturn dealership service dept.:hmpf:

[m4gician]

What I would do is pray that it is a lemon especially the Engine, because by Honda standards, and the Honda warrenty, honda must replace that engine AND transmission, so you'll be looking at a new drive train once this is through,

[mr_mike]

NH is different:
"Q. ARE USED VEHICLES COVERED UNDER THE LEMON LAW?
A.Yes, if the defect and the 3 repair attempts and/or 30 business days out of service occurred within the manufacturer's express warranty period."

I have a 3000k 3 month warranty.

http://nh.gov/safety/dmv/lemonlaw/answers.html#2



If it comes to that, you may want to verify this with the state. A 3mo/3k mile warranty sounds to me to be a dealer warranty rather than a warranty offered by GM. I'm not certain on this, and am certainly no lawyer, but it is definitely something that might warrant another look.

Mike

[johnnyphive]

I called the service dept. today and they are fairly confident that the source of the issue was the torque converter. At the time I spoke with them they said the "transmission was out" (I assume out of the vehicle) and they were in the process of replacing the T.C. So I should be able to pick it up today (if I can manage to get out of work and get up there before they close that is...) My hope is that this solves the problem and I have no more issues.
keeping my fingers crossed...:dizzy:

[20VUE06]

I have noticed something recently too... Although I have not felt the varying RPMs or the vibrations, I can see it in the tac. I notice it every once in a while when cruising... It is like the guage pulsates, right?

I have not looked at the tac when sitting in park, idling... Is this when you noticed it, or are you talking when you are in Drive, sitting a light or something?

I guess I need to start paying closer attention. I am a little over 31K miles....

[johnnyphive]

I noticed the problem when I was maintaining speed. NOT accelerating but rather just coasting with my foot on the gas to maintain speed. I never noticed it while resting or stopped. It only happens below 50mph and the symptoms are reflected as pulses or surges (revs) in the tachometer, audible noise from the engine and the series of sequencial (usually in a group of 3) vibrations or stuttering in the front end.

[millerpa]

I am a new owner of a 2004 Vue that is exhibiting this very same problem. Was there a resolution to this? Did replacement of the torque converter fix the problem?

[johnnyphive]

yea it ended up being the Torque Converter. Took them a week to fix for 1,200 bux. but i was still in my warranty period (thank god). they had to replace that part and didn't have one on hand and had to order one. i guess its part of the transmission so they had to take everything out to get at it. but its definitely fixable.

they first did an update of my transmission control module and that worked for a day.

i went back to them every weekend for 5 weeks and they never were able to reproduce it when they tested it.

I finally brought it in and MADE one of their guys take a drive with me so they could see what it was doing. Thats when they figured out what it was.

So yea take a look at the torque converter. Mines been running fine ever since!! good luck;)

[Troubleshooter]

I've been off the 'net' for a while, however this is exactly what we experienced with our '04 AWD last summer and fall.
As mentioned by Johnny, multiple trips to Saturn before I could make it do it's thing with a Saturn Rep present.
Through process of elimination, it was discovered that we too had a bad Torque Converter.
Ten days in the shop, but all on Saturn's Nickel.
Since then no more problems

Bill
2004 AWD V-6

[BobbyP]

Honda was having problems with their 5 speed auto in 2004. I believe they had them all sorted out by 2005.

[millerpa]

Thanks for feedback. Looks like I will be reaching into the pocketbook on this one. 55k mile, no wrnty...:no: