Who's had the harness installed?
 

Most GL owners by now have received the letter from Saturn (as described in other threads).

Has anyone gone to the dealer and had the harness installed and the software updated? If so, please describe any changes to your GL's performance and fuel economy. Also, has anyone had the problem as described, and did it fix it?

Some of us who are pleased with our GL's current mileage (well, at least me) are a little reluctant to have the repair done, as it may change the GL's hybrid performance. That being said, we often go on long (i.e. 16 hour) trips in our GL and worry about the problem described in the campaign...

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Phil,

Had the harness installed today.

It appears that the charge/assist gauge shows charging more often now. Also seems to be showing that it is charging longer when rolling along at a given speed (25 to 30 miles per hour) with the eco light on. Have not done any highway running yet.

The assist seems to be a bit more noticeable now when it kicks in, at least it seems that way to me.

Have only driven around town and less than 20 miles so can't answer about how fuel economy is affected, at this point.

Have not noticed anything adverse at this point as a result of having the work done.

I should note that I have not experienced the problem that the harness/software change is supposed to address.

Hope this is of some help.

Robert

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Thanx for that reply, Robert!! I'm still on the fence about having this done as my Vue seems to be getting along just fine without it, but.....

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Thanks for the info, Robert. Sounds like if anything, hybrid performance may actually be better. Please let us know if and how your mileage has been affected when the time comes.

Also, out of curiosity, when was your VUE built? The data tag on the driver's door pillar should say so.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

The info on the tag indicates December 2006.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

While somewhat off topic from this thread, It seemed like a good place to offer my experiences. We got our Hybrid in late April so it's somewhat under five months old. I've read the notes about this wiring harness issue and just received the recall for it yesterday.

Interestingly, we experienced the same symptoms as the faulty wiring harness after about three months. We took it to the dealer and the service manager diagnosed a problem with the "Hybrid Control Module." They replaced said module, reprogrammed the system and the Check Engine and Battery light problems disappeared. We called to see if the wiring harness issue applied to us and they confirmed that it did.

Anyway, as far as the Control Module is concerned we have noticed neither negative or positive as far as gas mileage is concerned. However, during acceleration the Assist meter flies to the right more than it ever did and there is a perceptible improved feel of acceleration. As someone else also reported, we can see the vehicle charging at certain consistent speeds when the Eco light is on (this didn't happen as often prior).

Hope these comments prove informative.

Cheers!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Phil,

I just had the harness replacement. I have noticed no difference in the driving. I did not have the harness problem, but had it done during a routine service.

Go Bucks!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

I have had the harness replaced on mine as well. No noticable changes yet. I have had my Hybrid since March '07 and never noticed the problems related to the harness, but I work at a dealership and they were able to do it while I was at work.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

If you got the letter, you really ought to make the trip to the dealer. The fix is not intended to impact your hybrid operation one way or the other UNLESS your vehicle is one that has the wiring / alternator issue. In that case, your overall satisfaction with the vehicle should improve. To over-simplify, the wiring harness can intermittently mis-communicate with the alternator. The alternator says "I don't know what you're trying to tell me to do, so I won't do anything". That includes charging the batteries. The fix is a more robust harness to alternator interaction via the replacement harness. Again, I am over-simplifying, but hopefully now you get the gist.

Peace,

Martin

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

just to clarify....i didn't receive a letter but a call for the 'harness' fix...will go in shortly..but alot of people are saying the 'wire harness' is being replaced....yet..quote below from another thread here states...

What We Will Do: To prevent this condition from occurring, your Saturn retailer will add a wire harness and reprogram the engine control module and the transmission control module. This service will be performed for you at no charge.

so can anyone clarify..did they actually see an additional harness to correct the problem?

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

I understand the campaign, but so far, there are several people who HAVE noticed a difference in hybrid operation. Read back through the posts on this thread, and you'll notice that several (who never had the original problem described in the letter) have noticed improved assist in acceleration, as well as a change in the way the charge/assist gauge reads--so it sounds as if hybrid operation does in fact have the potential to change. And for those of us who are satisfied, that's a concern.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

What I've noticed in the thread is that people who have had the change have noticed a change in what the gauges read, not necessarily a physical change in how the vehicle operates. There may also be an improvement in the way the alternator regens the batteries. If there was a problem in terms of how much boost they were getting pre-change, the change will fix / improve that. If there was no issue with when an how much boost was being applied, there will be no change. In any event, there will not be a degradation in operation. Worst case scenario with the harness swap is.....no change. Best case scenario is that a problem that may have ocurred somewhere in time will not and unnoticed issues with level of boost will be improved.

Peace,

Martin

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Mine is in the shop (2 days so far) after the "T/C and Check Engine Lights" came on. Also the Tach quit working. They told me they were replacing the harness. I'll keep you updated.

It basically "just happened".........the car ran fine and then it started with the "clunking transmission" shifting and the other lights comming on. I made it to the dealer with no problems......so the car did not "die" as others have reported.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Put mine in this morning for the harness, sticking ignition switch and front end alignment. I've got my fingers crossed the dealership knows what they are doing!!!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

UPDATE: Had my GL almost go down. I would not avoid the recall thinking they are going to cause a problem with your car. From what I can tell there is no perceptible difference and I've only run a half a tank of fuel, but it seems to be getting slightly better milage (I've averaged about 29 MPG over 20K so far since March).

Problem is if you are more than a few miles from a dealer when it takes a dump you will be in trouble and have to have the car towed. Best I can tell is that you have 20-60 miles once the problem starts before your batteries will die.

Took about 2 days for the change out and reprogram on my car.

Just my 2 cents.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

we had ours done last week, and I just got a chance to drive it today. What a huge difference! the hybrid assist actually seems to come on in our Vue now! Before, taking off in the car was a hit or miss thing. also, trying to accelerate from say 40-45 miles per hour up to 60 was silly. the car simply had NO take off, unless you slammed the pedal to the metal, then the tranny would kick down, and the car would take off.

Driving it today was like driving the car when we first bought it. smooth power, and for the first time ever, we actually saw the assist gauge move to the right more than a hair!

I cant wait till we go through our next tank of gas to see if we get any improvement (our last tank was 22mpg, it's been steadily declining since we bought it)

I'm thinking that if the problem was this harness issue not charging or running the electrical system properly, we might also have fouled spark plugs, so I'm going to check that ASAP as well.

we havnt even made it to our first oil change in this thing yet!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

I have my appointment tomorrow. Dealer said it should take two hours for the harness, tire rotation and my 3rd oil change. I have about 500 miles of driving over the weekend planned so I will be able to get the MPG results back for all by Monday.

I have my fingers crossed as the Hybrid has been rock solid for me since mid January.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

I had the job done last week which took 2 hours to do. From watching the ScanGauge, it does seem that there is an improvement with city driving FE. Will see when I fill up next, but so far this first post recall tank is looking very good.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Got mine back today with the new harness and on the ride home The Vue GL seemed to run and shift much smoother (maybe it was because I just got out of a Cobalt rental). I'll check mileage with the ScanGuage on my commute tomorrow and see if there is any mileage improvement. On the downside, I had the sticky switch problem and told the service rep at the dealer I wanted the switch replaced, not lubed. Guess what...they lubed and cleaned it. I went to the service manager and told them the old switches were junk and he agreed but said he had to lube them first per Saturn. So I told him if it stuck they would be paying a wrecker fee as I wasn't about to lose another days pay when they should have just replaced the thing.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

John, your situation with the ignition key is EXACTLY the same as mine. I asked repeatedly that they replace the switch, but to no avail. According to corporate, they are obliged to first lube it with white lithium grease, and if it fails later, to replace it. Kind of silly if you ask me, since failure usually leads to a tow. I was miffed that they had done just the lube on ours, but since the dealer was VERY quick with the repair, explained everything fully, and lent us a loaner, I was still pleased. To be honest, ever since, the ignition switch has been fine. Hopefully yours will be too. :D

As for the harness, I guess we must be one of the last to get it done! The mileage has been quite good recently--in the last 4,000 miles we have averaged 28.9 with hardly any highway, and the last 2 tanks near 30--so I didn't want to mess with a good thing. However, it sounds like if anything, most of you are seeing improvements, so perhaps we'll get it done soon. I'll at least have it done before our long-haul trips (18 hours each way) around Christmas.

Keep reporting MPG changes post-harness!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

I work for a dealer and one of the techs asked how my Hybrid is doing, post-harness replacement. Aparently there have been several weird and seemingly unrelated problems with the VUE's comming in for the harness. One had the battery begin leaking acid all over the car, another shut down and won't do anything. He said I am one of the only ones in the area (there are 5 dealership in our area) that has been through the replacement and hasn't had other problems.
Anyone else have any kind of problems (not including the ignition sticking) since they have had the harness replaced?

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Say it ain't so!!! I got mine back Wed. with the new harness installed and so far, it's purring like a kitten. Everything in the drivetrain just seems smoother and ScanGuage is reporting about 1.5 mpg improvement. I won't really know that for sure until my next tank. I'll be filling up today and kinda expect a crappy tank as it was at the dealer for two days being test driven and sitting idleing a good amount of time. Keep us updated on anything you might find out.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Yes, Stormy's post was something I didn't want to read! Still, seems to be an exception as most others have reported success. Glad yours is still going well. Keep us updated.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Had the Harness installed yesterday along with my 3rd oil change and tire rotation. The dealer took about 90 minutes. I have already put 60 miles on it and the assist and charge gauge is acting the same as before. For me that is a relief :Dand definitely a good thing as my mileage has been solid since mid January when I had the Hybrid in for service due to cruise control/battery issue.

By the way, I went about 12,000 miles between oil changes. For me that was only 4 months. The Oil showed no sign of breakdown, sludge or particles.

On a separate note - tire wear on my Vue has been excellent. The tires have 23,000 miles on it and look brand new. Treads are still deep with no signs of exess wear. I should be able to get 60,000 miles on them. I will keep everyone posted.

I will drop another 500 miles by Monday so I should a full tank to report post harness.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Great news! Did the OLS signal the oil change? We had the OLS in our previous Saturn, an L300, and we used it. I'm amazed at how different it is in our GL, though. We drive exactly the same commute, but the OLS seems to go much longer between changes. We have 7k since the last change, and the OnStar report said we have 53% oil life remaining!

Same boat here with the tires. We're quite happy with their performance, and see no excessive wear.

Did they also do the software updates on your GL?

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

OLS did not signal the oil change. (Does anyone know if there an OLS for the Saturn Vue Hybrid?) I felt that I would get the harness, oil change and tire rotation done all at the same time. I think On Star had the oil life at ~13%. I went 12,000 miles in between changes. My next oil change will probably be at 35,000 miles or around Jan of 2008.

The tech said the software was updated but it acts the same as before. Maybe they backed up my configuration and then reloaded it. I did tell them not to mess anything up with the settings. Got to stay ahead of BigCatDaddy and Firenurse4 ;)

My recommendation to all would be to get the Harness update. It should not hurt but may help those in need.

Best wishes to all.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

OnStar gave me 14,500 miles between oil changes but I just couldn't stand to go that long, guess I'm just a little old school to think oil can keep its viscosity that long, so I have been changing mine at 5k.
Just be sure to turn your key on, pump the gas pedal 3 times real quick to reset the Oil Life Sensor.

Beware HybridVue, I'm right behind you and closing fast!!!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

I can understand not trusting an email to tell you when to change your oil, but you really oughta try it. Validation engineers are notoriously conservative in making any claims that can come back to bite the company in warranty. When OnStar reads your vehicle system status, it's reading the same info that your Oil Life Sensor would read and reporting that back to you. That is a CONSERVATIVE estimate of oil life left.

This is a clearcut example of the old adage "your mileage may vary". Engine oil life is very much dependent on driving duty cycle. The chemical changes and viscosity changes are measurable. Two neighbors with the exact same vehicle but different driving patterns will get different OnStar reports on oil life.

If you are skeptical, you can always pop the hood and check the ol' dipstick for volume and clarity (just like in the olden days when televisions had knobs and radios had dials :omg: ). In the meantime, keep your money in your pocket and those oil cans on the shelf for the guy who REALLY needs to change theirs.

Peace,

Martin

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Well the arm is healed up and so is the mileage. Hope to get caught up to real soon~ ;);)

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

Got a couple of tanks under my belt since harness change. No "crazy improvment" or loss for that matter. It does seem to stay in "eco" mode longer. Still hate the cruise controll "racing the motor" up hills, etc.....

I did have a wheel bearing go out around 14k and had a series of low milage tanks leading up to that.

Still just like the car.... but I do love the mileage!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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!!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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.

:(

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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. :confused:

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...

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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. :D

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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! :-)

Do I have the harness installed?
 

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.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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.

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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!

Re: Who's had the harness installed?
 

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 :D) 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!