2006 SATURN ION Complaints

SUBMISSION FROM CONSTITUENT RE 2006 SATURN ION SAFETY DEFECT. *SMD THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM WITH THE IGNITION SWITCH. SHE WAS INFORMED, BY THE DEALER, THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. *JB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS 2006 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME HARD TO MANEUVER. ALSO, THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE KEY BECAME LODGED IN THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THE POWER WINDOW FAILED TO OPEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO REPLACED THE IGNITION SWITCH UNDER THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 14V047000 (AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECTS. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000.

I WAS DRIVING TO KIDS SCHOOL AND AS I WAS TURNING ONTO SCHOOL PROPERTY MY IGNITION BINGED AND PWR STR APPEARED AT EXACT SAME MOMENT I LOST POWER STEERING AND RAN CAR UP ON CURB ONTO LAWN. I COULD HAVE SERIOUSLY INJURED IF NOT KILLED AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KID THAT DAY.. I'VE TRIED TO CALL ABOUT PROBLEM SINCE I RECEIVED A NOTICE FOR VEHICLE ALERT IN MAIL JUST DAYS B4. BUT WHEN I CALLED I WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULDN'T HELP ME AFTER ALL BECAUSE IT ALREADY WENT OUT.. WHAT KIND OF BULL IS THAT? *TR

I AM THE UNFORTUNATELY OWNER OF A GOVERNMENT MOTORS PRODUCTS THAT IS SUBJECT TO A RECALL. I HAVE RECEIVED NOW 10 NOTIFICATIONS IN ALMOST 90 DAYS DEMANDING I HAVE THIS RECALL PERFORMED IMMEDIATELY. IN THE COURSE OF NEARLY 90 DAYS, I HAVE CONTACTED 5 DIFFERENT DEALERS AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THE SAME THING; ?WE WILL TAKE YOUR NAME AND NUMBER AND CONTACT YOU WHEN WE CAN PERFORM THE RECALL?. WHILE I UNDERSTAND WITH AN INFERIOR PRODUCT, MADE WORSE BY GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION INTO A PRIVATE BUSINESS, REQUIRES RECALLS AND DUE TO THE HIGH VOLUME OF CARS SUBJECT TO THE RECALL DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT PICKING GM AS A COMPANY TO PROMOTE, PART PRODUCTION MAY BE LIMITED, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY I GET THESE LETTERS. I WOULD HAPPILY COMPLY WITH THE RECALL, AS A MATTER OF SAFETY, BUT WHEN THE DEALER REFUSES TO PROVIDE THE RECALL, I CANNOT COMPLY. THE LAST LETTER I RECEIVED WAS A POST CARD THAT IMPLIED SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES COULD RESULT AND EVEN HAD A DATE ?AS OF MAY 24TH THIS HAS NOT BEEN PERFORMED.? I AM FULLY AWARE AND I HAVE NOT SPENT OVER 3 HOURS BETWEEN CALLS AND LETTERS TRYING TO COMPLY WITH THIS PSEUDO-GOVERNMENT DEMAND. PLEASE PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON HOW TO PROCEED. THE LAST AGENT AT GM I SPOKE WITH SAID THAT THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO MAIL LETTERS AS THEY ARE DIRECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO DO SO. SO I ASK YOU, THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE, PLEASE STOP SENDING ME LETTERS TO DO WHAT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DO. I AM AWARE OF THE RECALL. I HAVE DONE WHAT I HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO DO BY EACH LETTER I HAVE RECEIVED AND I HAVE BEEN ASSURED MY NAME AND NUMBER IS ON A LIST TO CONTACT ME WHEN THEY CAN PROVIDE THE RECALL. UNLIKE THE AVERAGE AMERICAN I DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF COMMON SENSE AND TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY VEHICLES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH, THE KEY WAS STUCK. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND SHIFTED INTO DRIVE THEN BACK TO PARK WHERE THE KEY COULD BE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON SEVEN OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2006 SATURN ION ON A STATE HIGHWAY IN VT WHEN THE POWER STEERING ABRUPTLY CUT OUT ON THE CAR. SHE WAS BARELY ABLE TO STEER IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE SHE SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN RESTARTED IT. THE POWER STEERING CONTINUED TO WORK FOR ANOTHER COUPLE OF MINUTES AND THEN CUT OUT AGAIN. WE RELY ON THIS CAR AND ARE STILL MAKING PAYMENTS ON IT. THIS INCIDENT DID NOT CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, HOWEVER IF SHE HAD BEEN IN A MORE RESIDENTIAL AREA OR IF IT HAD BEEN RAINING ME, MY WIFE, OUR 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, A PEDESTRIAN, OR ANOTHER DRIVER COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN HURT OR KILLED. GM CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY NOT HELPFUL WHEN I HAVE CONTACTED THEM MULTIPLE TIMES ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH A LOCAL DEALER THAT THIS IS PART OF AN ACTIVE RECALL ON THE POWER STEERING MOTOR, BUT GM COULD NOT EVEN GIVE ME AN ESTIMATION ABOUT WHEN I WOULD BE ABLE TO GET THIS FIXED. I AM AT A LOSS FOR WHAT TO DO BECAUSE THEY ARE FAILING TO ADDRESS THIS RECALL. I NEVER EVEN RECEIVED A NOTICE ABOUT THIS RECALL OR THE IGNITION SWITCH RECALL IN MARCH. I HAD NO IDEA THAT I WAS DRIVING AN INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS VEHICLE FOR TWO MONTHS!!! THIS ISSUE HAS IMPACTED OUR ABILITY TO PERFORM DAY TO DAY FUNCTIONS SUCH AS GETTING OUR DAUGHTER TO DAYCARE AND GETTING US TO WORK. WE LIVE IN A RURAL AREA AND CANNOT AFFORD TO JUST BUY OR RENT ANOTHER VEHICLE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR HOW LONG I AM GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE PAYMENTS ON A CAR THAT I CANNOT EVEN DRIVE BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER FAILED TO BUILD IT PROPERLY AND TO NOTIFY ME AS AN OWNER OF ANY ISSUES. I AM ANGRY AND DISHEARTENED BY THIS AND I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING TO GET THIS FIXED. I AM NOW GOING TO HAVE TO USE MONEY THAT I DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR A REPLACEMENT PART FOR A CAR THAT IS RECALLED BECAUSE I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT AN INDETERMINATE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR GM TO ADDRESS THIS RECALL. *TR

THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 20 MPH IN TRAFFIC WHEN MY SATURN ION SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE PERSON BEHIND ME WAS ONLY INCHES AWAY FROM HITTING ME; SHE HAD TO SLAM ON BRAKES. I WAS ABLE TO START RIGHT BACK UP, BUT IT WAS VERY CLOSE TO CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. THE INCIDENT WITH THE CAR SHUTTING OFF HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES. MECHANIC COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM, THE PROBLEM IS STILL HAPPENING, AND I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION FOR RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 14V04700 (AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO DO THE REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE.

I WAS DRIVING THE 2006 SATURN ION IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I REACHED THE INTERSECTION AT THE END OF MY STREET AND CAME TO A STOP/YIELD. AS I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE TO SHIFT TO THE GAS AND BEGAN STEERING TO TURN LEFT, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY TURNED OFF. THE BATTERY LIGHT ON THE DASH APPEARED. I WAS ABLE TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK, TURN OFF THE VEHICLE, AND RESTART IT. I RETURNED HOME INSTEAD OF CONTINUING MY TRIP. MY VEHICLE IS AFFECTED BY THE RECALL WITH CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 14V-047. I HAD REMOVED ALL ADDITIONAL KEYS FROM MY KEYRING AS RECOMMENDED IN THE THREE RECALL LETTERS I RECEIVED, BUT I STILL BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE WAS RELATED TO THE ISSUE THE IGNITION SWITCH. I HAVE CHOSEN TO FILE THIS COMPLAINT BECAUSE ONE OF THE LETTERS I RECEIVED FROM [XXX]OF GM ASSERTED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SAFE TO DRIVE AS LONG AS THERE WERE NO ADDITIONAL KEYS ON THE KEYRING. A LINK TO THE LETTER IN QUESTION IS: HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/ACMS/CS/JAXRS/DOWNLOAD/DOC/UCM454782/RCORRD-14V047-1697.PDF INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING SUDDENLY MALFUNCTION CAUSING THE STEERING WHEEL VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN. ADDITIONALLY THE CONTACT ALSO INDICATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING AND THE IGNITION SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000. DR