Wheel bearing or hub failure on the 2003 Saturn Vue
Only 4 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When wheel bearing or hub failure gets reported
There are 12 reports of wheel bearing or hub failure on the 2003 Saturn Vue, 4 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 102,000 miles. It is the 16th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 41,500 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $350–$1,200 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 3 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2004, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2007 at 80,000 miles.
By volume the 2003 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I was notified aug., 2004 of recall on 2003 saturn vue. Called dealer for details and was told the recall was a "courtesy", not a safety problem. It was for a significant problem with the rear suspension. Heard nothing until jan. 05. I took the car in and pointed out a recurring noise in the rear. I was contacted and told the wheel bearing was worn (only have 24,000 mi. On car). I picked up car the next day - recall work completed, wheel bearing replaced, tires rotated. Driving home, I noticed a definite vibration in the steering wheel. Took it back, the tech who test drove it with me agreed there was a vibration, similar to a vibrating chair. The service manager told me there was nothing wrong, "might" be due to increased tire pressure from recall. Told me I could let some air out of the tires, but then it wouldn't be safe. I have had numerous problems with this car, most centering on the steering. Now I can't drive it without getting carsick! *nm
I have a 2003 saturn vue @51,000 miles both front and back wheel bearings need replacing. I have replaced the front at my expense ($550.77) the back one also needs to be replaced. This can be dangerous not only to myself, any passengers in my vehicle or other motorists. *jb
Wheel bearing replaced 3 times now on the same wheel. I have had to replace the wheel barring twice so far for a 2003 vue, none of this would be covered under warranty because according to saturn, it all started when I had to much mileage. I'm about to replace it again for the 3rd time and I thought I saw that there was a recall but apparently not. There is no crash to report because it makes this terrible noise that lets me know what is happening and I can replace it before it gets bad. *tr
Also reported on the 2003 Saturn Vue
Other powertrain problem
Complete transmission failure
Other electrical problem
Other engine problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
No-start or intermittent start failure
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 12 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does wheel bearing or hub failure happen on the 2003 Saturn Vue?
Across 4 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 40,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is wheel bearing or hub failure on the 2003 Saturn Vue?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed