2004 Saturn VUE V6 AWD (Honda Engine)

The Saturn Vue came in the FWD and AWD models. As built, for the AWD to work you need the driveshaft. If you remove the rear drive shaft and fix it so there would be no leakage, you could easily drive the Vue as a FWD vehicle.

The owners manual says that normal driving conditions the belt change is at 100,000 miles. Severe service schedule is every 50,000 miles.
https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2005/saturn/vue/2005_saturn_vue_owners.pdf

I have the same problem with my 04 v6 awd vue.
The issue i see is with the transmission torque converter going in and out of lockup consistently. I have noticed when i engage cruise control this problem goes away for the most part. Today i turned on cruise at 30 miles per hour after noticing the rpm fluctuation about 400 rpm. change to only about 100 rpm. This has been an issue scene day one from the dealer. no codes, the transmission has not failed nor the torque converter. I think it is an issue with the drive by wire system. when you engage cruise control the foot throttle position sensor is out of the equation. This is my best guess, you can take it with a grain of salt.

how do I loosen tension for serpentine belt

I have a 2002 saturn vue. Same thing..sounded like a jet engine ...loud humming as I accelerated . It got increasingly worse. It turned out to be the front wheel bearings. Replace them, now the noise is half as loud...have to do the rears also! 93,000 miles on it. Also, don't forget to replace the timing belt. It it goes too long and breaks, it will trash the engine...

i own a 2003 vue. it happened to me and finally the tranny went. it was a sealed transmission(cvt)do you have a dipstick to check your transmission fluid.if you dont, get saturn to look at it.a new one is 6000.00.Just hope you have a warranty.

Hey Guru???
What'd you do rank yourself a guru? Cause you sure don't KNOW what you're talking about.
Honda V6 3.5 engine is in the 2004-2007 Saturn Vues with 6 cylinder engines. It is the ONLY V6 offered. The old version was from Opel.
The trans dip stick is on the right side of the engine while the oil stick is front left.

there are over 200 system faults that turn the check engine light on, have the systems computer tested, there should be a trouble code present to ID the fault(s)

I work at a dodge chrysler jeep dealer, so I honestly don't know that you have a honda engine inside of a saturn vehicle, but I do know that dealerships are expensive. The belt itself isn't that expensive, but the labor is. A dealership would empty an ordinary person's bank account if they bough all the reccommended services. Transmission services or flushes would be helpful if you havent had one in a while, the timing belt is definitely needed, because if it breaks from old age, you could possibly damage your engine. I'm sure you keep your oil changed already. Spark plugs would be beneficial, maybe plug wires if you have them for your model. Maybe a regular fan belt and belt tensioner too, if you havent had that replaced yet. If He's offering the labor and parts all for 600, I would possibly consider that offer

I had the same problem with my 2004 VUE 2wd. There were also some electrical issues like the turn signals randomly not working. I replaced the battery and now the tranny shifts smoothly and the acceleration is much improved. Also, no more electrical problems.