Saturn Best and Worst Years by Model
7 Saturn models, 7,564 NHTSA owner complaints and 33 recall campaigns for model years 2005–2025. Pick a model to see which years to avoid and which are the safest bets.
Saturn models ranked by owner complaints
Sorted by popularity. Years to avoid / best years come from each model’s own Complaint Index.
Verdicts are based on NHTSA owner complaints and recalls per model-year, compared within each model. This is not a reliability rating. How the Complaint Index works.
| Model | Years | Complaints | Recalls | Years to avoid | Best years | Top issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn Vue | 2005–2010 | 1,286 | 4 | 2006, 2008 | 2010 | Electrical System |
| Saturn Sky | 2007–2010 | 516 | 5 | 2007 | — | Airbags |
| Saturn Aura | 2005–2010 | 1,436 | 5 | 2007, 2009 | — | Steering |
| Saturn Outlook | 2007–2010 | 1,352 | 10 | 2008 | 2010 | Electrical System |
| Saturn Ion | 2005–2008 | 2,688 | 5 | 2006 | — | Steering |
| Saturn Astra | 2008–2009 | 164 | 1 | — | — | Airbags |
| Saturn Relay | 2005–2007 | 122 | 3 | — | — | Brakes |
Saturn model years with the most complaints
Raw complaint counts (not adjusted for age or sales). Click through for the breakdown.
- 2006 Saturn Ion · 1,235 complaints · 4 recalls Avoid
- 2007 Saturn Ion · 876 complaints · 5 recalls Caution
- 2008 Saturn Outlook · 633 complaints · 5 recalls Avoid
- 2007 Saturn Aura · 607 complaints · 3 recalls Avoid
- 2005 Saturn Ion · 573 complaints · 3 recalls Good
- 2007 Saturn Outlook · 511 complaints · 5 recalls Caution
- 2008 Saturn Aura · 432 complaints · 4 recalls Caution
- 2008 Saturn Vue · 406 complaints · 3 recalls Avoid
- 2009 Saturn Aura · 390 complaints · 4 recalls Avoid
- 2006 Saturn Vue · 300 complaints · 0 recalls Avoid
How we rank Saturn years
For each model we compare its own model years using the Complaint Index: complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and “Do Not Drive” recalls reported to NHTSA, adjusted for how long each year has been on the road. The top quarter of a model’s years is marked Avoid, the bottom quarter Best. Because NHTSA publishes no sales data, models are not ranked against each other. Full details in the methodology.