2008 Saturn Outlook Reliability Data: Problems & Recalls
Avoid The 2008 Saturn Outlook ranks worst of 4 model years, with a complaint index of 100 and 633 complaints led by electrical system failures (52% share). It carries an Avoid verdict, tied to five recall campaigns and a high rate of headlight and airbag-related reports.
Based on NHTSA complaints per model-year, not a reliability rating. Methodology
YearToAvoid Scorecard
- Complaint Index
- 100/100
- #1 of 4 Outlook years
- Verdict
- Avoid
- vs. other years of this model
- Complaints
- 633
- unique NHTSA reports
- Recalls
- 5
- distinct NHTSA campaigns
- Crashes
- 6
- reported in complaints
- Fires
- 19
- Injuries
- 7
- Top issue
- Electrical System
- NHTSA overall rating
- Not rated
- EPA combined MPG
- 18.5
- 16 city / 23 hwy
- Injuries / deaths
- 7 / 0
Top 2008 Saturn Outlook problems
Share of this year’s NHTSA complaints by component group. Groups with 15+ complaints have their own page.
- Electrical System328 (52%)
- Transmission & Powertrain127 (20%)
- Airbags97 (15%)
- Engine62 (10%)
- Structure & Body51 (8%)
- Steering45 (7%)
- Visibility & Wipers35 (6%)
- Other32 (5%)
- Brakes28 (4%)
- Fuel System8 (1%)
A complaint can list more than one component, so shares add up to more than 100%. Shares are % of complaints.
What owners report
- Headlights fail or go completely dark after the wiring harness overheats and melts near the bulb socket.
- Some owners smell burning odor and see melted plastic around the headlight fixture even without visible flame.
- Airbags fail to deploy in frontal crashes, including one crash at highway speed with multiple injuries.
- Sunroof drain holes clog and let water leak into the console, damaging wiring under the passenger seat and triggering smoke.
- The brake master cylinder leaks into the brake booster, causing extreme heat near the driver's foot while driving.
- An engine warning light and loss of acceleration preceded a stall and underhood fire in one case.
2008 Saturn Outlook recalls
5 NHTSA recall campaigns list this model year.
- NHTSA 15V415000Jun 30, 2015Structure & Body691,144 vehicles
Structure:body:hatchback/liftgate
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
- NHTSA 14V118000Mar 17, 2014Airbags1,176,407 vehicles
Air bags:side/window
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
- NHTSA 10V240000Jun 4, 2010Electrical System1,365,070 vehicles
Electrical system
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Remedy: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
2008 Saturn Outlook fuel economy and fuel cost
- City
- 16 MPG
- Highway
- 23 MPG
- Combined
- 18.5 MPG
- Annual fuel cost (EPA)
- $3,500
- 15,000 mi/yr
- Fuel
- Regular
- Current regular gas
- $4.32/gal
- national avg.
EPA figures; median across configurations of this model year. Estimate your own cost with the fuel cost calculator.
2008 compared with other Outlook years
Frequently asked questions
- What problems does the 2008 Saturn Outlook have?
- NHTSA lists 633 complaints for the 2008 Outlook, mostly electrical system issues (52% share, 328 complaints) involving melted headlight wiring, plus airbag non-deployment and transmission complaints.
- Is the 2008 Saturn Outlook the worst year for this model?
- Yes. Among the 4 model years with data, 2008 ranks worst with a complaint index of 100 and carries an Avoid verdict.
- Does the 2008 Saturn Outlook have recalls?
- NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for the 2008 Outlook, covering electrical system wiring, airbags, wipers, and structure/body components.
- What year Saturn Outlook should I avoid?
- Based on NHTSA data, 2008 is the year to avoid, with 2007 rated Caution and 2009 and 2010 rated Good and Best respectively.
- At what mileage do 2008 Outlook problems usually appear?
- Electrical system complaints show a median failure mileage of 48,410, while airbag complaints show a median of 82,000 miles.