Problems · by component
2009 Saturn Outlook steering problems
42 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2009 Saturn Outlook cite steering, 22% of all 192 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
42
22% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
What owners say about the steering
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I bought this 2009 Saturn Outlook yesterday from a used dealership they said there was nothing wrong with the car well I live over 100 miles away from where I bough it and about halfway home it’s it was dark outside I was driving on the highway going up a hill the motor was acting like it wanted to jump out f the car (I’m not sure exactly how to describe it) anyways it only did ur for just a second then stopped all went back to normal and today just died while driving and now it wont start wont even turn over”
“MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT WHEN THE POWER STEERING PUMP I WILL SAY EXPLODED FLUID EVERYWHERE AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NO LONGER TURN AT ALL I'M 6'1 270 ATHLETIC AND COULD NOT MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL...I HAVE READ SO MANY PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME POWER STEERING ISSUE AND AND NO RECALL HAS BEEN MADE...”
“WAS DRIVING 60MPH WHILE GOING AROUND A CORNER ON A HIGHWAY AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED. ALMOST CAUSED US TO WRECK BUT WAS LUCKILY ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AND A RECALL ISSUED. PULLED INTO A SHOP WHEN WE GET INTO TOWN AND FLUID IS FULL, IT'S NOW AT THE DEALER BEING DIAGNOSED.”
“TAKATA RECALL. I'VE HAD THIS CAR FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS AND THERE WAS A STUDDER WHEN DRIVING AT SPEEDS LESS THAN 60MPH. TOOK IT TO A DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD IT HAS A BAD TRANSMISSION. IT ALSO GET STUCK AND IS HARD TO TURN THE WHEEL WHEN TURNING AND I BELIEVE THIS IS A POWER STEERING PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED BEFORE IT CAUSES AN ACCIDENT. LOOKING AT REVIEWS ON THIS VEHICLE, I SEE BOTH OF THESE ISSUES ARE COMMON WITH THE SATURN OUTLOOK AND SHOULD BOTH BE IN A RECALL.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SATURN OUTLOOK. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A MECHANIC FOR AN UNRELATED REPAIR, IT WAS NOTICED THAT THE STEERING SHAFT SEPARATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND VARIOUS PARTS OF THE STEERING ASSEMBLY WERE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 108,700.”
“I HAVE HAD MY OUTLOOK FOR ROUGHLY A YEAR AND A HALF AGO NOW, AND MY POWER STEERING SEEMS TO GO OUT WHEN GOING A LOW SPEED AND TURNING. IT HAS CAUSED ME 2 ACCIDENTS SO FAR WITHIN MONTHS OF EACH OTHER, INCREASING MY INSURANCE TO $460/MO. ONE WAS BACKING UP, IT STOPPED TURNING AND IT BACKED INTO A VEHICLE, AND THE OTHER WAS PARKING, IT STOPPED AND I SCRAPED AGAINST ANOTHER. I SEE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY KILL SOMEONE. I'M IN FLORIDA AND WE ARE ALLOWED TO TURN LEFT/RIGHT ON GREEN. GOD FORBID SOMEONE IS SPEEDING WHILE I'M DOING A U-TURN, BECAUSE THEY WOULD DEFINITELY SMACK INTO ME SINCE IT'S SO HARD TO TURN. I AM QUITE SURE I HAVE THE MUSCLES I DO FROM TRYING TO TURN MY VEHICLE. IT HAPPENS THE MOST PARKING, U TURNS (OR SLOW TURNS IN GENERAL), BACKING UP, AND 3 POINT TURNS.”
Showing 6 of 42 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 30, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.