Saturn Ion Complaints (2005)
573 consumer complaints on file.
- #10448252February 16, 2012EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
THE CAR HAS ISSUES WITH LIGHTING MALFUNCTION. MY PASSENGER SIDE RUNNING LIGHT/TURN SIGNAL REQUIRED MANY BULB CHANGES, EVERY FEW WEEKS OR SO, SINCE THE SOCKET OVERHEATED AND ACCORDINGLY RECEIVED A SIGNAL FROM THE BODY MODULE TO SHUT OFF. THIS SEEMS LIKE THE SAME PROBLEM THAT LED TO A RECALL WITH THE 2003 AND 2004 IONS. I RECENTLY WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET THIS SAFETY-RELATED ASPECT OF THE VEHICLE REMEDIED, FOR A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10447762February 13, 2012STEERING
WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE A POWER STEERING FAILURE NOTICE APPEARED ON THE DASH AND IT BECAME DIFFICULT TO STEER. UPON RESTARTING THE VEHICLE, THE POWER STEERING FUNCTION RETURNED. THE POWER STEERING HAS FAILED 8 ADDITIONAL TIMES IN THE PAST MONTH SINCE 1/14/12. FORTUNATELY WE HAVE NOT HAD AN ACCIDENT DUE TO FAILURE. I AM A LARGE ATHLETIC BUILT 230 MAN, AND I HAVE DIFFICULTY STEERING UPON FAILURE. I FEAR AN ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR IF THE STEERING FAILED AND MY 120 LB WIFE HAD TO MAKE A SUDDEN CHANGE IN DIRECTION. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10447858February 13, 2012STEERING
AT STOP LIGHT, POWER STEERING FLASHED ON DASH. DROVE ABOUT ONE MILE, WENT BACK ON, ANOTHER MILE AND POWER STEERING WENT OFF FOR GOOD. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10446951February 7, 2012ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH 3 TIMES BECAUSE I AM UNABLE TO TURN THE CAR COMPLETELY OFF. I AM STARTING TO HAVE PROBLEMS AGAIN WHERE I SOMETIMES CAN NOT SHUT IT OFF AND I KNOW THAT THESE WILL LEAD TO ME HAVING TO REPLACE THE SWITCH AGAIN. THE FIRST TIME IT WAS REPLACED AT NO CHARGE AND I HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR THE OTHER 2 TIMES. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10446788February 6, 2012STEERING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN ION. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN THERE WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWERING STEERING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH DIFFICULTY IN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 22,558.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10445924January 30, 2012STEERING
POWER STEERING SYSTEM GOES ON AND OFF. HAPPENS AT ALL SPEEDS AND IN TURNS. MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS HAVE NEARLY OCCURRED BECAUSE OF THIS. THERE HAS BEEN AN EXTENDED WARRANTY UP TO 100,000 MILES BUT IF YOU'RE CAR IS PAST IT GM REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE OF A BAD DESIGN! NOT RIGHT I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY TO BE SAFE BECAUSE OF A FAULTY DESIGN. *TT
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10444315January 18, 2012SEAT BELTS
THE PASSENGER SIDE SEATBELT HAS UNATTACHED FROM THE FLOOR.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10441219December 26, 2011STEERING
WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT NORMAL SPEED 55 MPH WE GET A DING DING DING WITH A PWR STEER LIGHT TO COME ON AND THEN WE HAVE NO POWER STEERING. LUCKILY MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING. AFTER CALLING THE SATURN DEALERSHIP IT APPEARS TO BE THE POWER STEERING ASSIST MODULE. THIS IS DANGEROUS DUE TO YOU NOT GETTING MUCH OF A WARNING. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10440855December 21, 2011ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT VEHICLE COULD NOT BE STARTED DURING COLDER WEATHER DUE TO THE ANTI-THEFT SENSOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE TO SIT AT LEAST TWENTY MINUTES AFTER STARTING IN ORDER FOR THE VEHICLE TO RESET. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED WHEN THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED WHO STATED THAT THE DEALER COULD NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLE UNTIL PROPERLY DIAGNOSED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10440259December 17, 2011STEERING
POWER STEERING KEEPS FAILING ON AND OFF DURING TURNS AT ALL SPEEDS. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10439198December 9, 2011STEERING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING MOTOR WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THERE WAS AN OPEN INVESTIGATION UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: EA11014 (STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM), THAT MAY BE RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10438497December 4, 2011STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
THE FIRST TIME IT WENT OFF WAS WHEN WE WERE ENTERING A HIGHWAY. THE ELECTRIC ALARM WENT OFF AND THEN I FOUND THE STEERING WAS NOT WORKING. IT WAS DANGEROUS AND VERY HARD TO PULL OVER WHEN CARS BEHIND ARE ACCELERATING TO GET INTO THE HIGHWAY TRAFFIC. AFTER A RESTART, EVERYTHING SEEMED OKAY. THEN ON OUR WAY BACK HOME THE SAME THING HAPPENED FOR 4 OR 5 TIMES. WE HAD TO DRIVE IN THE RIGHT LANE AT A LOW SPEED TO GIVE OURSELVES ENOUGH SPACE FOR SAFTY. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10438465December 3, 2011ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
MY 2005 SATURN ION WILL NOT START WHEN IT'S COLD, I REPLACED THE STARTER, I REPLACED THE NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH, I REPLACED THE IGNITION SWITCH, I WAS EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED. I CUT THE WHITE WIRE AFTER ROLL STARTING AS MY CAR IS A MANUAL AND TAPED OFF WIRES, CAR NOW STARTS ANYTIME I NEED IT TO, GM / SATURN NEED TO RECALL THIS ISSUE AND QUIT BEING CHEAP AND FIX THERE MISTAKES. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10437739November 29, 2011STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM, STEERING
THE POWER STEERING ON THIS CAR REPEATEDLY FAILS. AS SOON AS YOU START THE CAR THE POWER STEERING LIGHT COMES ON MAKING IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER THE CAR. *KB
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10437216November 24, 2011ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
I HAD BEEN DRIVING APPROX. 2 HOURS OF A 11 HOUR TRIP WHEN I SAW A MESSAGE REPLACE THE ODOMETER ABOUT THE POWER STEERING. I LEFT I95 USING EXIT 98 AND PULLED OVER IN A GAS STATION. THE MANUAL STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING WAS ELECTRIC, SO NO STEERING FLUID TO CHECK. I RESTARTED THE CAR AND MAGICALLY THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED AND MY TRIP ODOMETER WAS MAGICALLY SET TO ZERO. I DROVE AROUND THE FRONTAGE ROAD AND EVERYTHING SEEMED FINE SO I CONTINUED ON MY WAY. 22 MILES LATER THE SAME THING HAPPENED. I TOOK THE NEXT EXIT, SHUT THE CAR OFF, RESTARTED IT AND MAGICALLY AGAIN IT WAS FIXED WITH NO RESET OF THE TRIP ODOMETER. AGAIN I CONTINUED ON MY TRIP ONLY TO HAVE IT HAPPEN AGAIN 23 MILES LATER, AT WHICH POINT I REPEATED THE STOPPING/RESTARTING PROCEDURE AND TURNED AROUND HEADED FOR HOME. WHILE DRIVING HOME IT HAPPENED TWO MORE TIMES, THEN ONCE MORE IN THE DRIVEWAY WHEN I WAS BACKING UP. SO A TOTAL OF 6 TIMES WITHIN A 5 HOUR PERIOD AND NO PRIOR HISTORY (SINCE I'VE OWNED IT) OF THIS PROBLEM. I PURCHASED THIS CAR USED FROM A DEALER MAY 28 2011 WITH APPROX. 46500 MILES. THE ONLY OTHER PROBLEM I'VE HAD IS THE KEY NOT WANTING TO COME OUT OF THE IGNITION AFTER I'VE TURNED THE CAR OFF; AFTER I PUT THE GEAR SHIFT INTO REVERSE THEN BACK INTO PARK, THE KEY WILL COME OUT; SOMETIMES I CAN HEAR A CLICKING SOUND WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH FIXES ITSELF AND THEN THE KEY WILL COME OUT, ALSO. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10436269November 17, 2011STEERING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 35 MPH WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE THE CONTACT WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 130,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10436096November 16, 2011STEERING
ON 6/13/11, WHEN I WAS LEAVING FOR WORK I STARTED MY CAR AND IMMEDIATELY MY PWRSTR MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD AND COULD NOT HARDLY TURN THE WHEEL. CALLED THE DEALERSHIP CAUSE I RECEIVED A BULLETIN LETTER. I BROUGHT THE CAR IN ON 6/14/11, THEY SAID THEY PUT IN A NEW PS MOTOR. ON 11/6/11 THE PWR STR CAME UP AGAIN. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THEM ON 11/7/11, THEY SAID I NEEDED A NEW STEERING COLUMN AND COST WAS $897.WHICH THEY SAID THEY REPLACED. ON 11/15/11, THE SAME MESSAGE APPEARED AND COULD NOT STEER THE WHEEL. THIS IS AFTER SUPPOSEDLY THEY REPLACED THE PS MOTOR AND STEERING COLUMN. GOING BACK TODAY 11/16/11, TO SEE WHAT CRAP THEY ARE GOING TO TELL ME.WHY DOES THIS KEEP ON HAPPENING?? GM NEEDS TO FIX THE PROBLEM NOT PUT A BAND AID ON IT, BEFORE SOMETHING SERIOUS HAPPENS, AND EVIDENTLY THEY ARE NOT. BY THE WAY HOW DO I KNOW THEY ARE ACTUALLY DOING THE REPAIRS, IF THE PROBLEM KEEPS COMING BACK AND THE SERVICE ADVISOR IS SO MEAN. PLEASE HELP!! THERE IS A VERY BIG PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS AND WE & ARE FAMILIES ARE BEING PUT AT RISK EVERY TIME WE DRIVE THEM. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10435157November 10, 2011STEERING
I WAS DRIVING MY 2005 SATURN ION AT 50 MPH ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THE POWER STEERING WARNING ALARM SOUNDED AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAYED POWER STEERING FAILURE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TURNED OF THE ENGINE AND RAISED THE HOOD TO CHECK THE FUSES. THE FUSES WERE GOOD, SO I RESTARTED THE CAR AND THE POWER STEERING DISPLAY WAS CLEAR. I DROVE A FEW MORE MILES AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I HAVE DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE ON SATURN ION AND OTHER GM VEHICLES WITH ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. THIS COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS FOR MANY DRIVERS WHEN THIS HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING! IT IS HARDER TO STEER THE SLOWER YOU DRIVE. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10434156November 3, 2011STEERING
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING PROBLEMS. PWR STR MESSAGE. *TR
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10432310October 21, 2011STEERING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH AND AT A STAND STILL, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE CONTACT CALLED A MECHANIC WHO REFERRED HER TO NHTSA BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT SURE OF WHAT THE FAILURE WAS. THE DEALER NOR MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,484.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0