2003 SATURN ION Complaints

1) TRY TO START SATURN ION 2) IT FAILED TO START 3) WAITED 10 MIN. IT STARTS. *TR

PURCHASED AN 03 SATURN ION MAY 17, 2008. MAY 28 IGNITION LOCKED UP AND WOULD NOT TURN PAST THE ACCESSORY SETTING. IN RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM HAVE SEEN HUNDREDS OF POSTINGS FOR THIS PROBLEM. IT APPEARS ANTI THEFT SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE AND SUDDENLY LOCKS UP PREVENTING THE START OF THE CAR. CANNOT LOCATE ANY INFORMATION ON HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM, PEOPLE SEEM TO JUST BE REPLACING THE IGNITION LOCK EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS. SATURN HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT IS WELL KNOWN TO ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH SATURN AND I FEEL SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISCLOSED ON CARFAX OR VERBALLY BY THE SATURN DEALER WHO SOLD ME THE CAR. I WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED A CAR WITH A CHRONIC DEFECT THAT WILL LEAVE MY CHILD AND MYSELF STRANDED ON A REGULAR BASIS. *TR

I HAVE A SATURN ION 2003 AND SPENT THE WHOLE OF LAST WINTER HAVING TO GO OUT AND TURN MY KEY IN THE IGNITION 10 MINUTES BEFORE I NEEDED TO LEAVE ANYWHERE SO IT WOULD START. IT ACTUALLY STARTED IN 2006 AND THE CAR DID NOT START A COUPLE OF TIMES DURING THE WINTER. GEORGIA HAD A MILD WINTER THAT YEAR. UNFORTUNATELY, 2007 WAS MUCH COLDER AND MY CAR CONSTANTLY WOULD NOT START. I AM A SINGLE PARENT WHOSE FAMILY ARE 3000 MILES AWAY ON A DIFFERENT CONTINENT AND I CANNOT AFFORD FOR MY CAR TO NOT WORK WHEN I HAVE AN HOUR COMMUTE AND HAVE TO PICK MY CHILD UP BY A CERTAIN TIME EACH DAY. I HAVE LOOKED AT MANY WEBSITES AND BLOGS AND REALIZE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH ALL SATURN IONS. SATURN KNOWS ABOUT IT AND REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I TOOK IT TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP AND THEY COULDN'T FIGURE ANYTHING OUT EXCEPT I NEEDED A NEW ($80) BATTERY THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I THINK THAT IT IS A HUGE PROBLEM AND AM NOT SURPRISED THAT PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO BUY AMERICAN CARS WHEN THIS IS THE TYPE OF RESPONSE THAT YOU GET FROM THEM WHEN THEIR PRODUCT DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY. ARE WE SURE THAT IT'S NOT JUST A SCHEME FOR THEM TO MAKE MONEY FROM PEOPLE? *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY 2003 SATURN ION 3 THE MOTOR WILL STALL OUT AND LOOSE POWER WHILE DRIVING IT SEEMS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS AND A NEW ONE WAS PUT IN AND IT STILL DOES THE SAME THING. WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY IT DOES THIS. *TR

THE WINDSHIELD WIPER ARM COMPONENT ON MY 2003 SATURN ION (WHICH CONNECTS THE RIGHT AND LEFT WIPERS) HAS PLASTIC PARTS THAT WILL SNAP IN COLD WEATHER, RENDERING AT LEAST THE LEFT WINDSHIELD WIPER INOPERATIVE. THIS COULD HAVE CREATED AN EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS CONDITION, ESPECIALLY DURING A SNOW OR ICE STORM. THE REPAIR SHOP TOLD US THAT THE COMPONENT ARM HAD TO BE ON BACK ORDER, AND IT WOULD TAKE TWO WEEKS TO GET A REPLACEMENT. IT ACTUALLY TOOK FOUR WEEKS, WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT AN ISOLATED ONE. THE REPLACEMENT, WHICH COST $162.00 WITHOUT LABOR, ALSO HAS PLASTIC COMPONENTS. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS SIT BELOW THE PART ON THE WINDSHIELD WHERE THE DEFROSTER VENTS ARE AIMED, CAUSING THE WIPERS TO STAY FROZEN ON THE WINDSHIELD EVEN AFTER THE DEFROSTER IS TURNED ON. WHEN THE WIPERS ARE TURNED ON, THE STRAIN ON THE ARM COMPONENT (CAUSED WHEN THE FROZEN WIPER BLADES STAY STUCK ON THE WINDSHIELD) CAUSES THE PLASTIC PART TO SNAP, RENDERING AT LEAST THE LEFT WIPER INOPERATIVE. *TR

POWER/ELECTRIC STEERING ON 2003 SATURN ION IS MALFUNCTIONING MAKING THE WHEEL EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN AND DRIVING VERY DANGEROUS. THE INCIDENT RESULTED IN TEMPORARY LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND COULD EASILY HAVE LEAD TO A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. *TR

IGNITION PROBLEM - ENGINE WON'T START, PASSLOCK PREVENTS IGNITION. I LIVE IN TEXAS AND IT'S RARELY THAT COLD IN THE MORNINGS, EVERY TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME IT HAS BEEN A COLD WET BLUSTERY DAY BUT NOT FREEZING. CAR ACTS LIKE THE BATTERY IS DEAD, BUT FREQUENT MANIPULATION OF THE PASSLOCK REMOTE WILL EVENTUALLY CLEAR THE PROBLEM. THIS HAS LEFT ME STRANDED SEVERAL TIMES, AND IF SATURN KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AND HASN'T DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT IN THE 5 YEARS THAT IT HAS BEEN OCCURRING, THEN THEY SHOULD BE HELD CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT. THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM WITH THE IGNITION AND THE PASSLOCK SYSTEM, AND REPLACE OR REPAIR THE CONTROL MODULE AT NO COST. MY DOOR LOCKS NO LONGER WORK, AND IN SPEAKING TO OTHER OWNERS I CAN EXPECT A DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF ELECTRICAL FAILURES IN THE COMING MONTHS. *TR

MY SATURN ION 2003 DOES NOT START WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPS AND ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS COUPLED WITH IT GETTING A BIT HUMID. IF I HAVE AN EMERGENCY ON A COLD, WET MORNING I WILL HAVE TO CALL A TAXI. SOMETHING IS CLEARLY WRONG IN THE DESIGN OF THE CAR ITSELF -- IN THE SECURITY SYSTEM INTERFACING WITH THE STARTER/IGNITION IS A GUESS. SATURN WILL NOT ADMIT TO THEIR DESIGN FLAW AND/OR SHODDY WORKMANSHIP! MY CAR IS NOT RELIABLE AT ALL!! I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO TWO MECHANICS AND THE DEALER. THE DEALER, AFTER THROWING IT ON THE COMPUTER, SAID THAT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS CAR AND CHARGED ME $70 FOR ABSOLUTELY NO HELP. PLEASE HELP. SATURN NEEDS TO RECALL THIS MODEL AND FIX THEIR DESIGN PROBLEM. MY FIRST TWO SATURNS WERE GEMS THAT DROVE AND DROVE - NEEDING LITTLE CARE. THIS ONE IS SIMPLY ONE BIG DESIGN MISTAKE ... AND MY LAST SATURN. IT SIMPLY WILL NOT START. *TR

WHEN THE OUTSIDE WEATHER IS COLD, MY 2003 SATURN ION 2 WON'T START. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS OVER THE LAST 2 MONTHS. *TR

I OWN A 2003 SATURN ION2. I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH IT FROM THE FIRST DAY I DROVE IT OFF THE LOT. RECENTLY (I.E IN THE LAST 2 YEARS) WHEN IT IS PARTICULARLY COLD, THE CAR WILL NOT START. I KEEP TRYING IT THEN WAIT 10 MINUTES AND IT STARTS RIGHT UP. I HAVE SPENT $1200 TO FIX THE PROBLEM ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE PASSLOCK SYSTEM AND THE STEERING WHEEL LUBRICANT LEAKING ON THE SYSTEM. IN COLD WEATHER THIS SEEMS TO MAKE THE SECURITY PASSLOCK SYSTEM THINK SOMEONE IS TRYING TO STEAL THE CAR AND MAKES IT UNABLE TO START. THE PASSLOCK TIMES OUT AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND THEN WILL START. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM ON ALL ION 2'S AND I HAVE SEEN HUNDREDS OF LETTERS ON FORUMS PERTAINING TO THIS SAME PROBLEM. *TR