2003 SATURN ION Complaints

AFTER MY CAR WOULDN'T START I CALLED CARR CHEVROLET TO ASK QUESTIONS AND THEY WERE VERY RUDE. I CALL THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE IS A RECALL ON THAT PROBLEM. HOWEVER I BOUGHT THE CAR IN CALIFORNIA BUT I LIVE IN OREGON. THE CAR IS STILL NOT RUNNING AND I'M STILL PAYING ON IT. IF THIS IS A PROBLEM ON A RECALL I NEED HELP. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, THE IGNITION KEY WAS REMOVED HOWEVER, THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO OPERATE. IN ADDITION, THE IGNITION SWITCH TURNED INTO THE OFF POSITION WHEN THE KEY WAS JARRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THERE WAS A RECALL UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 14V047000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) AND THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 128,101.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AN UNKNOWN SPEED, SHE CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CRASH WAS SO SEVERE THAT THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN A SECOND CRASH IN WHICH THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR REPAIRS AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 132,000.

WHEN DRIVING CAR SHUTS OFF COMPLETELY. HAPPENED TWICE IN THE PAST AND DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING ABOUT IT. HEARD ABOUT GM'S RECALL WITH VEHICLES SHUTTING OFF. MY CAR LAST NIGHT SHUT OFF ON ME AND AGAIN THIS MORNING. THERE'S PLENTY OF GAS IN THE TANK IT JUST SHUTS DOWN AND WON'T LET ME START. *TR

TO FORMALLY ADD THIS INCIDENT TO YOUR RECORDS, ON 2/22/13, AT ABOUT 9AM, I WAS STARTING TO BRAKE UPON APPROACHING A TRAFFIC LIGHT ON A HIGHWAY NEAR MY HOME IN ICY CONDITIONS, ONLY TO FIND THAT I APPARENTLY HAD NO BRAKING CAPABILITY, (AT LEAST ALL EFFORTS SHORT OF STANDING ON THE BRAKE, WHICH WOULD LOCK UP THE WHEELS), AND THE DASH LIGHTS SEEMED TO INDICATE THE ENGINE HAD STOPPED. AFTER SLIDING INTO THE PICK-UP TRUCK AHEAD OF ME AT THE LIGHT, THE COLLISION WAS AT A HIGH ENOUGH SPEED TO ENOUGH TO CRUMPLE THE FRONT HALF OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, BUT THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY, (I THOUGHT MY SPEED AT POINT OF IMPACT WAS ABOUT 25MPH, BUT THE TROOPER TAKING THE ACCIDENT REPORT FELT THAT IT HAD TO BE FASTER THAN THAT). I WAS WEARING MY SEAT BELT, AND HAVE SUFFERED ONLY BRUISING AND PULLED MUSCLES. ONLY AFTER READING LAST WEEK OF THE EXPANSION OF THE RECALL REGARDING GM CARS, INCLUDING MY SATURN, DID I CONNECT THE PIECES REGARDING WHY MY CAR BEHAVED AS IT DID. *TR

MY WIFE WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH HER SATURN JUST BEFORE THE DATE OF 12/24/07, THE CAR WOULD SHUT OFF FOR NO REASON OR SHE WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME STARTING IT. WE MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH, AT THE TIME, SATURN OF EATONTOWN, NJ, AND THEY TOLD US THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. IT COST $324.30 TO REPLACE THE PART. THERE WAS A RECENT DELAYED RECALL ABOUT THE IGNITION SWITCH FROM GM, 13 PEOPLE WERE KILLED DUE TO THIS DEFECT, I FEEL GM SHOULD REFUND THIS MONEY TO ME SINCE THEY KNEW THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH IT BACK THEN. I HAVE THE RECEIPT FOR THIS REPAIR IF YOU NEED COPY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES TO THE HEAD AND LEFT LEG, AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED OF THE INCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SALVAGE YARD. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 136,000.

WHILE DRIVING NOTICED INCREASE OF SPEED. CHECKED ACCELERATOR PEDAL, NOT STUCK. TAPPED ACCELERATOR WITH NO CHANGE. DEPRESSED THE BRAKE AND SLOWED DOWN AND STOPPED. SHUT VEHICLE OFF AND VERIFIED THE THROTTLE BODY WAS IN IDLE POSITION. RESTARTED CAR AND VEHICLE RPM WENT UP TO 4000 AND STARVED FOR AIR AND SURGED UP AND DOWN AT THAT LEVEL. SHUT VEHICLE OFF AGAIN AND CONTACTED GM. SAME VEHICLE ALSO HAS PASSLOCK PROBLEMS.

MY CAR WOULDN'T SHUT OFF. THE KEY WAS STUCK AND IT WOULD NOT TURN. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL MECHANIC TO FIX AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE IT. I'VE HAD A TOTAL OF 3 NEW ONES DONE SINCE THEN. I JUST FOUND OUT THAT GM ARE RECALLING SOME CARS BECAUSE OF THE IGNITION PROBLEM. I HAVE NOT HEARD A THING ABOUT IT AND THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS. I'VE HAD MY CAR FOR 11 YEARS NOW AND HAD TO PAY FOR ALL THE REPAIRS MYSELF, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THIS COULD BE SINCE I'VE LEARNED ABOUT 7 PEOPLE HAVE DIED BECAUSE THE AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY BECAUSE OF THIS MALFUNCTION. SO I'M VERY UPSET THAT I HAD THIS CAR FOR ALL THIS TIME AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS MY CAR REALLY IS. *TR

ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS THIS VEHICLE HAS ACCELERATED WITHOUT PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL, WITH NO CRUISE CONTROL OPTION, IT'S UNSOLVED BY MULTIPLE MECHANICS. SOMETIMES THE BRAKE WORKS WHILE IT'S HAPPENING, SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T, THE MOST RECENT TIME I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT WHERE I HAD TO HOLD THE BRAKE DOWN TO SHUT THE CAR OFF, I COULD SMELL THE TRANSMISSION, I TURNED VEHICLE OFF, TURNED IT BACK ON AND IT WENT TO OVER 5 RPM STILL, TURNED BACK OFF, SAT AND WAITED, IT WAS 2AM SO I COULDN'T CALL ANYONE. AFTER 10 MINUTES IT FINALLY WENT BACK TO NORMAL. THAT WAS THE MOST SEVERE, IT'S HAD SLIGHTLY SIMILAR ISSUES AT LEAST 4 TIMES. FIRST MECHANIC SAID IT WAS A CRUISE CONTROL ISSUE, THEN I TOLD HIM I WAS LEAVING SINCE THE VEHICLE DOESN'T HAVE CRUISE CONTROL AT ALL. DON'T WANT HIM WORKING ON IT. 2ND ONE RAN COMPUTER CHECK, NO ISSUE FOUND. HOPEFULLY GM RECALLS THIS BEFORE IT KILLS SOMEONE. THIS CAR HAS HAD MANY ISSUES ME AND MY FATHER COULD FIX, IGNITION SWITCH, WIPER BLADE TRANSMISSION, COOLANT LIGHT BUT THIS ONE ISN'T EASY. *TR