2007 SATURN ION Complaints

WHILE MERGING INTO FREEWAY TRAFFIC ON THE 210W IN IRWINDALE, CA, WE EXPERIENCED MODERATE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. THE YELLOW ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON, BUT THERE WAS NO WARNING BEEP AND THE PWR STR LIGHT DID NOT ACTIVATE. WITH DIFFICULTY WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, THOUGH THERE WAS A DEFINITE INCREASE IN RISK OF COLLISION. WE INTEND TO RUN DIAGNOSTICS ON THE ENGINE CONTROL COMPUTER AND THE STEERING MOTOR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 10 MPH WHEN THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE LOST POWER ABNORMALLY. THE CONTACT HAD TO SHUT OFF AND RESTART THE VEHICLE IN ORDER TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 65,000.

TURN THE KEY BUT CAR WONT TURN OVER OR EVEN TRY TO TURN OVER THE FLASHERS WILL FLASH AND THE WORDS COOLANT, TRUNK, TRACK, ECT FLASHES IN THE MILEAGE BOX. 10+ MINUTES LATER THE MILEAGE POPS UP AND A DING SOUND IS HEARD.. I TURN THE KEY BACK TO THE OFF POSITION FOR 20+ SECONDS AND THEN THE CAR WILL START SOMETIMES. ITS A HUGE ISSUE AND I FEEL AS IF THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OR I GET IT REPLACED FOR FREE SINCE I DIDN'T CAUSE THE ISSUE AND IT HAS HAPPEN TO MANY SATURN OWNERS! I HAVE NO MONEY TO FIX IT. IM STILL PAYING PAYMENTS ON THE CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FINALLY CAME ON SO I CODED IT AND IT SAYS IGNITION SWITCH AND THAT'S WHAT THE DEALER TOLD ME BEFORE I CODED IT. THEY TOLD ME IT WOULD COST ME 80$ FOR THE PART 150$ TO PROGRAM THE PART AND 150+$ FOR LABOR. ITS VERY UNSAFE FOR ME. IF THERE'S AN EMERGENCY I WOULDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO START MY VEHICLE! *TR

HTTP://WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/SATURN_IGNITION_LOCK.HTML DEAR GM, I HAVE A 2007 SATURN ION LEVEL 2, THAT THE KEY WILL NOT TURN OFF, I'VE REMOVED THE NEGATIVE WIRE FROM THE BATTERY TO GET THE CAR TO SHUT OFF. WHERE DO I GO TO GET THIS FIXED? I LIVE IN STARKSBORO, VT, AND THE "FORMER" SATURN OF SOUTH BURLINGTON DEALER (WHERE I PURCHASED THIS CAR NEW) NO LONGER EXISTS. THE CURRENT DEALER THAT IS NOW AT THE SAME ADDRESS HAS MY WARRANTY, DO I TAKE IT TO THEM? IF I DO WILL IT BE FIXED UNDER THE WARRANTY? THE LINK BELOW SHOWS THAT A LOT OF OTHER SATURN OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE AS ME. HTTP://WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/SATURN_IGNITION_LOCK.HTML I CAN SEND YOU MORE INFORMATION IF YOU ACTUALLY NEED IT. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

WHILE TRAVELING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS THE POWER STEERING INDICATOR ON DASH COMES ON AND LOSS OF POWER STEERING . AS I PULL OVER AND TURN OFF ENGINE, THEN CRANK IT RETURNS TO NORMAL FUNCTION. IT IS HAPPENING MORE FREQUENT WITH OUT A NOTICE AND IS VERY DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY IF GOING THROUGH A CURVE WITH ONLY ONE OR TWO HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL. *TR

FIRST OFF THE CAR STARTED SPUTTERING, WHEN STOPPED TO FILL WITH GAS WONT RESTART FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, HAS JUST DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC FOR NO REASON. MAIN CONCERN NOW IS THE CONSTANT LOSS OF POWER STEERING, FIRST HAPPENED TO MY WIFE ON THE INTERSTATE WITH OUR 2 YOUNG GRANDCHILDREN AT 65 TO 70 MILES AN HOUR, IT JUST QUIT WORKING SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF HER SHE HAS 3 HEART ATTACKS ALREADY AND AM VERY SURPRISED IT DIDN'T HAPPEN THEN!!! IT HAS BEEN GETTING MORE AND MORE CONSTANT AS OF LATE, EVERY 10 TO 15 MINUTES IF YOUR LUCKY SOMETIMES A LOT QUICKER, YOU HAVE TO TURN THE CAR OFF THEN IT WOKS HOWEVER MANY MINUTES THEN MAKES A CLICKING NOISE THEN THE ALARM CHIMES AND BOOM NO STEERING AGAIN. THE CHEVY COBALT (SAME STEERING UNIT AND PONTIAC G6) HAVE HAD RECALLS FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM SO WHY HASN'T GM STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND FIXED THESE CRAPPY ION 3'S. *TR

ON 9 MARCH 2012, AT APPROXIMATELY 0900 HOURS WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE, MY 2007 SATURN ION DISPLAYED THE WARNING MESSAGE/ERROR CODE "PWR STR" AND IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER STEERING ASSIST. I WAS FORCED TO REDUCE SPEED AND, USING ALL MY UPPER BODY STRENGTH TO WRENCH THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT, PULLED THE CAR TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT WITHOUT POWER STEERING. I TURNED THE CAR OFF, READ THROUGH MY OWNER'S MANUAL, AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. IT RAN WITHOUT ISSUE FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES BEFORE THE CODE AGAIN APPEARED AND I AGAIN LOST POWER STEERING. THIS SITUATION HAS RAPIDLY PROGRESSED TO A NIGHTMARE; THE CAR RUNS FOR 15 TO 30 MINUTES AND THEN LOSES POWER STEERING. TURNING THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTING IT IS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT; ONCE IT FIRST LOSES THE POWER STEERING, IT WILL NOT RUN FOR MORE THAN 5 MINUTES WITHOUT LOSING POWER STEERING AGAIN. GM INFORMED ME THAT THERE IS NO OFFICIAL RECALL, AND THEREFORE I WOULD HAVE TO FUND THE REPAIRS MYSELF; THE ROUGH ESTIMATE WAS $1,000 IN PARTS AND LABOR. RESEARCH ONLINE SHOWS THAT GM ALLEGEDLY SENT OUT A NOTICE REGARDING THIS ISSUE, HOWEVER I CAN HONESTLY ATTEST THAT I NEVER RECEIVED ANY SUCH NOTIFICATION, AND HAD THE STEERING NOT FAILED ON MY VEHICLE, I WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AWARE OF IT. CURRENTLY, I CANNOT USE THE CAR AT ALL BECAUSE IT POSES A SERIOUS DANGER TO MYSELF AND OTHERS. AS AN ACTIVE DUTY MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES, THIS IS JUST ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE AND JEOPARDIZES MY CAREER. *JS

WITHIN THE LAST MONTH, THIS VEHICLE HAS BEGUN TO EXPERIENCE POWER STEERING FAILURES AT RANDOM INTERVALS. AS YOU ARE DRIVING, THE PWR STR LIGHT WILL COME ON AND THE POWER STEERING ITSELF WILL FAIL. THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM TIMES, OCCURRING SEVERAL TIMES ON SOME DAYS, AND OTHER TIMES GOING SEVERAL DAYS WITH NO OCCURRENCE. UPON FAILURE, IF YOU TURN OFF THE ENGINE, AND RESTART THE CAR, THE STEERING WILL WORK AGAIN. THERE IS NO SET SPEED FOR THIS OCCURRENCE EITHER. I'VE HAD IT HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY AT FULL SPEED, (60MPH) AND AT OTHER TIMES IN PARKING LOTS WHERE I'M DOING 5 TO 10MPH. I AM FILING THIS REPORT BECAUSE MY RESEARCH HAS LED ME TO BELIEVE THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM, NOT ONLY WITH SATURN, BUT WITH OTHER GM PRODUCTS AS WELL. *JS

YESTERDAY AFTERNOON I WAS DRIVING ON OUR MAIN CITY ROAD, GOING 35-40MPH. WHAT SOUNDED LIKE THE SEAT BELT ALARM WENT OFF A FEW TIMES, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT. THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN ON THE SAME DAY AS I WAS BACKING OUT OF A DRIVEWAY. IT SEEMS TO BE A SPORADIC ISSUE BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN LAST NIGHT. NOT WANTING TO TAKE ANY CHANCES, I DROPPED THE CAR OFF AT MY LOCAL MECHANICS LAST NIGHT....JUST GOT THE CALL FROM HIM THAT THE CAR NEEDS A NEW STEERING MOTOR. THIS COULD BE AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS EVENT AND THE CAR SHOULD BE RECALLED. I'M A 47 YR OLD WOMAN WITH MS AND IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO TAKE A TURN WHEN THE POWER STEERING IS OUT. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE STARTED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE PASS LOCK SYSTEM WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 73,000.