Your vehicle report
2008 Saturn Outlook
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 633
- Received Dec 2007 to Oct 2024
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Headlights dim or fail at night139 complaints · 22% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Water leaks into cabin during rain54 complaints · 8.5% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips35 complaints · 5.5% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #15V415000General 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.
- Recall #14V118000General 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.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 6 crashes, 19 fires, 7 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 20 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Electrical & lights
1 more problem
Airbags, belts & seats
- Airbag warning light stays on
- Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off
- Airbags fail to deploy in crashes
1 more problem
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 1 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 9 |
| 2010 | 112 |
| 2011 | 132 |
| 2012 | 37 |
| 2013 | 74 |
| 2014 | 87 |
| 2015 | 51 |
| 2016 | 37 |
| 2017 | 24 |
| 2018 | 22 |
| 2019 | 16 |
| 2020 | 14 |
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 633 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headlights dim or fail at night | 139 | 22% | – | |
| Water leaks into cabin during rain | 54 | 8.5% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 35 | 5.5% | – | |
| Transmission fails or loses power while driving | 32 | 5.1% | – | |
| Airbag warning light stays on | 27 | 4.3% | – | NHTSA recall #14V118000 |
| Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off | 24 | 3.8% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 21 | 3.3% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 19 | 3.0% | – | |
| Tail light sockets melt and burn | 15 | 2.4% | – | |
| Power steering cuts out while driving | 13 | 2.1% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 10 | 1.6% | – | |
| Transmission will not engage reverse gear | 9 | 1.4% | – | |
| Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly | 7 | 1.1% | – | |
| Ignition key sticks or will not turn | 5 | 0.8% | – | |
| Timing chain fails and destroys engine | 5 | 0.8% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 4 | 0.6% | – | NHTSA recall #14V118000 |
| Engine stalls and loses power while driving | 4 | 0.6% | – | |
| Air conditioner blows hot air or fails | 4 | 0.6% | – | |
| Windshield wipers work intermittently or fail | 3 | 0.5% | – | NHTSA recall #08V410000 |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 3 | 0.5% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #15V415000June 30, 2015691,144 vehicles affected
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.
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 recall #14V118000March 17, 20141,176,407 vehicles affected
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.
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 recall #10V240000June 4, 20101,365,070 vehicles affected
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.
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.
NHTSA recall #08V441000August 28, 2008857,735 vehicles affected
electrical system
Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 Buick lucerne; Cadillac dts; Hummer H2; my 2007-2008 Cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; Chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; Gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, Saturn Outlook; and my 2008 Buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy
Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080; Cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; Saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, Gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or Hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
NHTSA recall #08V410000August 14, 200888,809 vehicles affected
visibility: windshield wiper/washer: linkages
Gm is recalling 88,809 my 2008 Buick enclave, and my 2007-2008 Gmc acadia and Saturn Outlook vehicles currently or previously registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. If a buildup of snow or ice on the windshield or on the wipers restricts the movement of the wiper arm, the windshield wiper linkage may become detached from the motor shaft and the wipers may become inoperative.
If this were to occur, driver visibility could be reduced, which could result in a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Dealers will install a new wiper crank arm, driver's side link, and a crank arm nut. The recall began o october 13, 2008. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080, Gmc at 1-866-996-9463, Saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2008 Saturn Outlook.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN