2003 SATURN ION Complaints

WHENEVER THE TEMPERATURE IS SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW FREEZING MY 2003 SATURN ION WILL NOT START. I SAT IN THE CAR AND TRIED TO START THE ENGINE FOR OVER 20 MINUTES THIS MORNING BEFORE GIVING UP AND CALLING OFF THE INTERVIEW I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO. IT IS NOT A BATTERY ISSUE, AS THE BATTERY IS COMPLETELY CHARGED. THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED ROUGHLY 15 TIMES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, OFTEN LEAVING ME STRANDED WITHOUT A WAY TO GET HOME. *TR

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A SATURN ION 2003 AND IT AT TIMES DOESN'T START. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND EVEN AFTER REPLACING THE STARTER. AFTER ABOUT 10-15 MINUTES, THE CAR STARTS UP. I CANNOT HAVE A CAR THAT COULD POSSIBLY LEAVE ME STRANDED MILES FROM MY HOUSE IN THE COLD. *TR

THE EVENT LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE WAS DRIVING 3 MILES FROM WORK TO BABYSITTERS. THE FAILURE IS THE CAR REFUSES TO TURN OVER AFTER TURNED OFF. THIS HAPPENS COMMONLY IN COLDER WEATHER. BATTERY WAS REPLACED, STARTER WAS REPLACED, AND THEN AFTER RESEARCH LEARNED THIS IS AN IGNITION ISSUE SATURN IS AWARE OF. *TR

SATURN ION 2003 IGNITION SWITCH AND IGNITION CYLINDER BAD 3 TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE BRAND NEW IN 2003. I HAVE HAD TO PAY TO REPLACE THE SWITCH, AT ABOUT $300., EACH TIME. NO ONE BUT A GM DEALER CAN REPLACE THIS SWITCH, WHICH FAILS ONCE THE TEMP. DROPS, BECAUSE OF GM NOT RELEASING THE COMPUTER CODES. THE IGNITION CYLINDER IS BAD, BUT AT A COST OF $100. JUST FOR THE CYLINDER AND ANOTHER COST OF $100 FOR THE LABOR, I HAVE TO LEAVE A KEY IN THE IGNITION AT ALL TIMES IN THE RUN POSITION, SO I CAN START MY CAR. SATURN HAS ADMITTED TO THESE BEING FAULTY PARTS, BUT REFUSES TO RECALL THE CARS, SO THE CONSUMER IS FORCED TO PAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR THE SAME REPAIRS. *TR

2003 SATURN ION SERVICE BULLETIN # 040845005. NHTSA ITEM #: 10007431. NO CRANK NO START WHEN AMBIENT TEMPERATURES WHEN COLD. HAD THIS CAR FOR 6 YEARS WITH MINOR ISSUES BEGINNING AS DESCRIBED ABOVE LAST WINTER SEASON IN 2008. NOW THE ISSUE IS FREQUENT, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY IF WEATHER IS COLD. I LIVE IN THE NORTH EAST IT GETS COLD HERE OFTEN. I HAVE BEEN UNEMPLOYED FOR 14 MONTHS AND CAN NOT AFFORD THE $270 SATURN IS CLAIMING TO REPAIR THIS SITUATION. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE OWNING THE SATURN ION, SATURN IS AWARE OF THIS AND IT IS A DESIGN DEFECT. WHY CAN'T THIS BE RECALLED? IT LEAVES ME STRANDED IN AWKWARD AND UNPLEASANT WEATHER CONDITIONS. I CURRENTLY HAVE TO HEAT UP MY CAR KEY WITH A LIGHTER TO MAKE IT WARM ENOUGH TO HEAT UP THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THE GREASE INSIDE. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO? THANK YOU. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 SATURN ION 1, IT HAS CONTINUALLY GOTTEN WORSE WITH THE "POWER STEERING" FAILURE. WITH THE CODE THAT CAME UP ON THE DASH, IT SHOWS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN. AFTER $835.00 DOLLARS SPENT, IT HAS GOTTEN EVEN WORSE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT PERHAPS THE MOTOR IS THE ISSUE, AT ANOTHER $400.00 PLUS DOLLARS, BUT NO GUARANTEE. IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AS IT IS, WITH THE LOSS OF POWER WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT, HOWEVER, IT IS MOST OF THE TIME, NOW. IF I NEED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY TURN, AND THE POWER GOES OUT, IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. IT'S AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED LONG AGO, BUT NOW I AM STUCK WITH THE EXPENSE OF IT..... *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION LEVEL 1. WHEN TURNING THE STEERING COLUMN OR WHEN STRIKING A BUMP THE POWER STEERING FAILED. SHE HAD TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF, TO RESET THE ERROR CODE. HER MECHANIC GAVE HER TSB 06-02-32-00. HE THEN ADVISED HER TO BE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, BECAUSE IT WAS A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER REPLACED THE POWER STEERING MOTOR AT AN EXPENSE OF $400.00. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 75,000. UPDATED 12/8/09 *CN THE DEALER REPLACED THE ELECTRIC STEERING MOTOR. UPDATED 12/09/09.*JB UPDATED 05/28/10.*JB

2003 SATURN ION WILL NOT START IF WEATHER IS UNDER 50 DEGREES. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE PURCHASING THE CAR IN 2/2004. THE SATURN DEALER STATES THEY HAVE HAD NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS BUT IS NOT A RECALL. CAR DOES EVENTUALLY START HOWEVER IT SOMETIMES TAKES UP TO 20 MINUTES AND I HAVE BEEN STRANDED AT WORK, UNABLE TO ARRIVE AT WORK ON TIME AND HAVE BEEN STRANDED IN DANGEROUS AREAS OF TOWN. *TR

SATURN ION 3 HAS INTERMITTENT STARTING PROBLEMS; IT'S BEEN CHECKED FOR PROBLEMS, BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE WITH IGNITION SWITCH WHICH APPEARS TO HAVE A SHORT OF SOME KIND. CAR STARTS, THEN SHUTS OFF, THEN WHEN TRYING TO RESTART, APPEARS DEAD, WAIT 5-10 MINUTES AND IT STARTS AGAIN. NO AUTOMOTIVE TECH COULD DETECT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. *TR

IN THE COLDER WEATHER, MY CAR (WHICH IS A 2003 SATURN ION) WILL NOT START. IT OFTEN WILL START AND RUN FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN WILL STALL OUT, AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE STARTED AGAIN FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FREQUENTLY (MULTIPLE TIMES IN ONE WEEK) BEGINNING AROUND THE DATE LISTED BELOW. I HAVE KEPT MY CAR IN GOOD REPAIR AND HAVE TAKEN IT IN FOR SERVICING ON A REGULAR BASIS; I AM CONCERNED, NOW THAT I WILL BE OUT SOMEWHERE IN A CITY (OR OTHER DANGEROUS PLACE) AT NIGHT AND MY CAR WON'T START. AS A SINGLE YOUNG WOMAN, THIS PROBLEM IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN FOR ME. I RELY ON MY CAR VERY HEAVILY TO GET ME PLACES, AND KNOWING THERE ARE MANY THOUSANDS OF OTHER SATURNS OUT THERE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AS MINE IS A SCARY THOUGHT. *TR