Last Saturday (July 24, 2010), after several years of having "weird" readouts and adjustments at the dealership. my transmission failed on Chicago's Kennedy Expressway. My daughter and friend were in the car, which had to be towed to my my mechanic a few miles away. My mechanic diagnosed the failure as directly related to the VTi issue, which Saturn has extended the warranty on to remedy the issue at-hand.

I bought my car used (it was leased for three years prior). I was unaware of the VTi issue until yesterday, although I've taken my car to dealerships, Saturn of Chicago (went out of business in '08) and Saturn of Glenview. I have never received information regarding the VTi issue. Both dealers told me I needed regular transmission flushes when I complained of the car "riding rough" between 42K-70K miles. Although dealers received a "service bureau notice" from GM, neither GM nor dealers were under any legal obligation to pass this information on to consumers. You find out when your transmission seizes up, locks up or fails when accelerating at high speed.

I have a little over 74K miles on the odometer. My car is routinely serviced. Currently I am under surgical and medical treatment for breast cancer. I'm also single mother to my 13-year-old daughter and will have no way to get her to and from school. I still owe ten payments on my car.

I've created a Facebook page for exasperated Saturn owners: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=144610985565625#!/group.php?gid=144610985565625&v=wall