2003 SATURN ION Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER TO HAVE HER VEHICLE REPAIRED ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 04V547000. SHE WAS INFORMED THAT HER VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, BUT IT COULD NOT BE REPAIRED BECAUSE THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 126,000.

ON 16 JUNE, 2009, I TOOK MY 2003 SATURN ION IN TO HAVE A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH REPLACED. THE DEALERSHIP DID A 29 POINT CHECKUP WHICH I DID NOT AUTHORIZE. THE TOTAL OF THE BILL WAS 2424.00. ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS THAT I REPLACE MY TIMING CHAIN. I QUESTIONED HOW THEY KNEW MY CHAIN WAS BAD, SINCE THEY COULDN'T EXAMINE IT. THE REPAIR ASSOCIATE STATED BASED ON HIS EXPERIENCE AND THAT HE COULD HEAR IT "RATTLE". I ASKED THE ASSOCIATE HOW LONG BEFORE MY CHAIN WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. HE SAID WITHIN SIX MONTHS. THOUGH LATER HE RECANTED HIS STATEMENT, TO SAY THAT I HAVE MAYBE UP TO SIX MONTHS BUT IT CAN GO AT ANYTIME. I HAD MY SWITCH REPLACED. I DIDN'T DRIVE A TOTAL OF NINE MILES FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND MY TIMING CHAIN SNAPS! I REFUSED TO ALLOW THEM TO REPAIR MY CAR. THE HEAD HAD FOUR BENT VALVES. SATURN WANTED ME TO BUY A NEW HEAD FOR 885.00 AS PART OF THEIR NEW ESTIMATE TO FIX MY DAMAGED ENGINE,WHICH TOTALED 2442.00. THIS FACILITY, SATURN OF YORK, SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. MY SATURN HAD 115796 MILES WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. I USE MOBILE ONE. MY FATHER HAD CHANGED THE OIL WITHIN A MONTH OF THIS INCIDENT. MY OIL LEVEL WAS GOOD, CONTRARY TO THEIR 29 POINT INSPECTION SAYING IT WAS LOW AND DIRTY. SUGGESTING I ALSO HAVE AN OIL CHANGE. *TR

THERE IS AN ISSUE THAT AFFECTS A SENSOR IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. THIS CAUSES THE CAR TO LOCK UP BECAUSE IT IS GETTING A FALSE SIGNAL THAT THE CAR IS BEING STOLEN. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT AFFECTS THE CAR'S "PASSLOCK" SYSTEM AND I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. THIS HAPPENS WHEN (1) THE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 0 DEGREES C OVER NIGHT OR AN EXTENDED TIME PERIOD. (2) THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM IS TO KEEP REPLACING THE IGNITION SWITCH WHEN IT GOES BAD. ATTACHED BELOW IS TAKEN FROM ANOTHER OWNER OF THE SATURN ION. "THE PROBLEM WITH THE ION NOT STARTING IN MANY CASES IS DUE TO A POORLY DESIGNED ANTI THEFT SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM LOOKS FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE KEY IN THE LOCK WHEN THE IGNITION KEY IS TURNED. THE SYSTEM LOOKS FOR A LOW RESISTANCE, BUT NOT ZERO OHMS, AND CAN BE TRAINED TO LOOK FOR A SPECIFIC VALUE. IF IT DOES NOT FIND WHAT IT IS LOOKING FOR, THE CAR WILL NOT START. ONE SOLUTION IS TO CHANGE THE SWITCH. ANYONE THAT CAN USE A WRENCH AND SCREW DRIVER CAN DO THIS. THE SWITCH COSTS ABOUT $30. THE PROBLEM, IS THAT THEY DON'T LAST TOO LONG, SOMETIMES LESS THAN A YEAR. A SIMPLE SOLUTION I FOUND ELSEWHERE, IS TO CUT THE WHITE WIRE FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. LEAVE ENOUGH LENGTH AFTER THE SWITCH SO IT CAN BE SPLICED BACK TOGETHER. I DID THIS TODAY, IT WAS EASY, AND SEEMS TO WORK. IT DOES GIVE YOU A SERVICE WARNING. ANOTHER OPTION, IS TO INSTALL A BYPASS DEVICE THAT IS DESIGNED FOR REMOTE STARTERS. ANOTHER OPTION, WHICH IS SIMPLER, AND DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE (I HAVEN'T TESTED THIS) IS TO LEAVE THE KEY IN THE IGNITION ALL THE TIME. USE A SECOND KEY TO LOCK THE DOORS" A SHORT SEARCH OF SATURN IONS NOT STARTING IN COLD WEATHER WILL SHOW THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. WHY THIS ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN DEALT WITH IS A MYSTERY. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STARTED THE IGNITION AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM ACTIVATED. IMMEDIATELY, THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER BEGAN TO MOVE ERRATICALLY. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. CURRENTLY, THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER IS INOPERATIVE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT ACCEPTED BY THE SYSTEM. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 62,000.

MY 2003 SATURN ION KEEPS HAVING IGNITION SWITCH ISSUES. I WAS FIRST TOLD BY SATURN THAT I NEEDED TO REPLACE MY BATTERY. DID THAT BUT THE PROBLEM STILL HAPPENS. THE IGNITION WON'T TURN OVER BUT WILL AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES. BEING A WOMAN, THIS MAKES ME VERY NERVOUS BECAUSE JUST YESTERDAY WHEN I STALLED MY CAR WHILE ON ROUTE I HAD TO HAVE MY HUSBAND PUSH ME OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL I COULD START IT AGAIN. I COULD HAVE BEEN ALL BY MYSELF AND HAD TO RELY ON TOTAL STRANGERS FOR HELP. :-( *TR

MY 2003 SATURN ION HAS AN IGNITION PROBLEM. SOMETIMES IT WON'T START. IT IS INTERMITTENT. TODAY THE CAR STARTED, I STARTED DRIVING ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, THE POWER STEERING WENT OFF, THE ABS BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. I GOT THE CAR STOPPED, TURNED OFF THE CAR. TRIED TO START IT AGAIN, TO NO AVAIL. WAITED A FEW MINUTES, STARTED THE CAR, TURNED AROUND, WENT BACK TO BEG. DESTINATION. TURNED OFF CAR. TRIED TO RESTART - NO RESTART. WAITED 30 MIN. TRIED AGAIN, NO START. WAITED 1 HOUR, STARTED BUT NONE OF THE ITEMS ON THE DASH WOULD WORK. THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE ON THE FREEWAY AND ALL THIS JUST STOPPED AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT? *TR

2003 SATURN ION. THE CAR RUNS PERFECTLY FINE HOWEVER I HAVE BEEN LEFT STRANDED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS DUE TO A MALFUNCTION INVOLVING THE IGNITION SWITCH. MOST OF THE TIME INVOLVES ME BEING LATE FOR WORK BUT TWICE I WAS LEFT IN POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. ONCE TRYING TO LEAVE A SPORTING EVENT LATE NIGHT IN DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND THE CAR WOULDN'T START, TURNED THE KEY AND NOTHING. TRIED SEVERAL TIMES FINALLY AFTER 20 MINUTES OF THAT THE CAR STARTED RIGHT UP. ANOTHER TIME WITH MY 85 YEAR OLD MOM (WHO HAS ALZHEIMER'S) AFTER BUYING GAS THE SAME THING AND IT TERRIFIED MY MOM. I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT SATURN IS AWARE OF THIS DEFECT AND THAT PROBLEMS SIMILAR TO MINE ARE VERY COMMON AND VERY FRUSTRATING TO SATURN OWNERS WHO ARE FORCED TO PAY NEARLY $300.00 FOR A NEW IGNITION SWITCH ONLY TO HAVE THE PROBLEM REOCCUR A FEW MOTHS LATER. SATURN ADMITS THAT THE PROBLEM IS WORSE IN COLD WEATHER. IF PEOPLE ARE STRANDED IN FRIGID WEATHER UNABLE TO START THE ENGINE AND HAVE HEAT, ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS AN ELDERLY PERSON OR CHILD IN THE CAR, SERIOUS INJURIES COULD DEFINITELY OCCUR. *TR

THE CAR JUST SEEMED TO ACCELERATE BY ITSELF AND THEN QUIT; AMAZINGLY ENOUGH THE SPEEDOMETER GOT SCREWED UP AND WAS SHOWING 10MPH OVER WHAT IT WAS REALLY GOING; ONLY WAY I COULD TELL WAS BY WHAT THE RPMS NORMALLY RUN WAS WAY TOO SLOW COMPARED TO THE SPEED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THE TIMING CHAIN WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE CONTACT FEELS THAT THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD PAY FOR THE REPAIR. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 128,000.

MY 2003 SATURN ION HAS A MAJOR STEERING PROBLEM THAT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL, IT SOMETIMES WILL NOT TURN LIKE NORMAL. IT IS SOMETIMES SLOW AND DOES NOT WANT TO TURN, OR WILL KEEP TURNING AND NOT WANT TO STRAIGHTEN OUT. THIS IS BECAUSE OF A FAULTY STEERING SYSTEM WHICH HAS AN ELECTRIC STEERING MOTOR. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER IONS WITH THIS PROBLEM THAT I HAVE READ ABOUT, NOT JUST THE '03. I AM NOT EVEN ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM AT HOME BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO SCAN THE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. MY SATURN WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED AND I HAVE READ THAT IT COULD COST $1200 TO FIX. PLUS THE PARTS ARE NOT EVEN SOLD AT ANY PARTS STORE. THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN ACCIDENT YET BUT THE CAR IS NO LONGER A SAFE VEHICLE AND I AM DISCONTINUING USE UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS RESOLVED. *TR