My mileage seems to be dropping for whatever reason. Maybe I'm getting sloppy, not real sure. Still above 30 mpg, so that's still pretty darned good!!

 

Grrr. Hooked up the trailer this morning to take my racing kart to the track...

After the harness upgrade, the trailer lights no longer work right!!!

Turn signal and brake lights come on properly, telling me everything is wired correctly, but there is no longer any power flowing with the headlights on!

This will be the 2nd time I have taken this car back in to have a problem with the trailer wiring harness (installed by the dealer as part of the 'tow package' option). After the initial install, it wasn't any where close to being right (brakes caused one side to light, not the other, turn signals didn't work, headlamps caused a different side to light up.

 

Sorry for the troubles. I've had my share of headaches over the trailer lights on my jon boat trailer, but since I did the wiring, I guess I know who to blame.

I'd be surprised if the two are related, though. Is this the first time you've towed since the harness install? I just don't see how the new hybrid wiring harness could mess with the trailer lights...

 

Yup, first time Ive towed since the harness upgrade.

Works fine if I hook it up to my miata, so I know it's not the trailer.

 

We finally had the harness update done. We're probably one of the last to do it. My wife called and said the check engine light illuminated, but the car seemed to be running fine. I met her at the dealer, and sure enough, I hopped in and it was fine. No light, no problems. Since the service dept had just closed, they couldn't scan it, but I was pretty sure what was causing the problem. She took it home, and later that night I took it out. It seemed to behave as normal (this was Thurs). Since we made an appt for next Tuesday, I wanted to make sure it was OK to drive over the weekend. Finally, when returning home that night, the light came back on and hybrid activity stopped. A restart didn't help.

On Friday morning, the light was off again. I followed my wife to work, and there were no problems. I called my retailer, and asked if I should drop it off now or keep it for the weekend. They said to drop it off whenever--they may get to look at it earlier. I brought it in around 1 PM, and they set me up with a rental (Toyota Corolla). By 4:30 the same day, they were done. We picked it up that evening, all better and nicely washed. So far, it operates just the same, or maybe just slightly smoother at lower RPMs. My wife said it doesn't "creep" as much in D now, but that was all she noticed. Charging/assisting seems the same.

In short, I'm happy with my retailer. Hopefully our mileage will continue to be good, but I have no doubts that it will.

 

We just had the wiring harness and software update done today. The weather in our area turned quite chilly the last week or so with temps in the low 40's. The auto stop and charging weren't working that well with this change. Driving home after the upgrade we noticed the charge needle moving into the charge zone a lot more than normal and auto stop was working at every stoplight. We also took the opportunity to top up the gas tank. Keeping our fingers crossed for a mileage improvement! :-)

 

Hi All,

I've just picked up a 2007 Saturn Vue Greenline and I'm concerned that it does not have the harness or the software upgrade installed. I'd asked the dealership if it was installed but they did not know what I was talking about.

Later, the salesman told me that it was previously installed, but I'm not sure if they know what this is.

Is there a way to check to see if I have it installed, such as a part number on a component that I'm able to check?

Thanks.

 

Greetings and welcome to the Forum.

Most of us got the recall notice starting this past September. If anything, the Saturn dealer should be able to find out the pertinent information for you. I'm sure that they can (and should) check with Saturn/GM central and find out if it was installed. The only issues that may arise from not having it installed is that your "Check Engine" light may turn on from time to time. This for some has led to the engine shutting down at times. If this happens, just let it sit for a while and then it should restart. The software upgrade is a common occurrence for these vehicles. In six months we've had three upgrades.

Hope this helps.

 

I seem to be getting around 25-26 MPG when I drive very conservatively.
I've seen some posts that mileage and charge/assist behaviors have improved with some of the software updates so I'm trying to determine if my VGL is performing properly and getting the best mileage it can.

• I'm finding that the auto-stop doesn't happen as frequently as it seems it should.
• When the auto-stop does engage, the engine will start if I turn on any heat in the car.
• The charge/assist gauge only rarely edges into the assist side.

Is this normal?

Thanks for any advice!

 

How long is your typical trip? Given cold temps, the GL won't shut down until it is warmed up completely. I find it won't shut down for at least a few miles, but that's ok (for us) because we have only a few stops on its typical commute.

As for the heat, here are a few tips to try: Use the heat early on (it heats up quick ) to get the interior nice and warm while the engine is less likely to auto-stop anyway. Once warm, back the temp control down a bit. Also, keep in mind that the defrost, defrost/floor blend, and floor settings typically engage the compressor. This will keep it from performing auto-stop as well. Unless necessary, I keep it on the floor/vent blend setting as it won't run the compressor.

Winter blend gas tends to unfortunately reduce mileage anyway, so it's tough to say. Nearly everyone who regularly posts their mileage sees a loss in the winter months. Good luck!