2003 SATURN ION Complaints

OUR 2003 SATURN ION HAS A PERMANENT DEFAULT, IN THAT IT WILL NOT START IN COLD WEATHER. AND THE TERM "COLD" IS RELATIVE. SATURN TOLD US THE IGNITION SWITCH IS FAULTY. THUS, WE PAID AN EXCESS OF $200 TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THIS "SOLUTION" LASTED ONLY A LITTLE OVER ONE YEAR. NOW, SATURN TELLS US THAT THOUGH WE HAVE THE UPDATED IGNITION SWITCH, IT STILL CAUSES THE SAME NO-START PROBLEM, AND WE NEED A $575 (PLUS TAX) BODY CONTROL MODULE. WE HAD TO PAY $104.54 FOR SATURN TO TELL US THIS. OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A PROBLEM CAUSED BY THE MANUFACTURER , WHICH IS LEAVING MANY PEOPLE STRANDED MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE PROBLEM SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY RECTIFIED THROUGH A RECALL. *TR

EVERYTIME THE WEATHER IS A BIT COLD, MY SATURN ION 2003 WILL NOT START. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL AUTO MECHANIC SHOP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A TYPICAL AND UNFAIR PROBLEM FOR THE SATURN ION OWNERS. THE ALSO TOLD ME THEY DO THE SAME JOB ON THESE SAME CARS APPROXIMATELY 15 CARS/TIMES PER WEEK. THE EXPLANATION THEY GAVE WAS THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH NEED IT TO BE REPLACED. THEN I TOOK IT TO MY SATURN DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE EXACT SAME THING: "THE IGNITION SWITCH NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT IS CAUSING THE PASSLOCK (SECURITY) SYSTEM TO THINK THE CAR IS BEING STOLEN AND SHUTS THE STARTER OFF." HE ALSO SAID IT WAS REALLY COMMON TO REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCHES EVERY WINTER BECAUSE THOSE KINDS OF CARS HAVE BEEN HAVING THAT SAME PROBLEM REGARDLESS WHAT THE YEAR MODEL THEY ARE. I ALSO ASKED THEM HOW MANY CARS (PER WEEK) THEY HAD TO FIX DUE TO THIS SAME PROBLEM AND THEY TOLD ME IT VARIED, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS BETWEEN 10 AND 25 CARS PER WEEK. ALSO THEY SAID THAT PREVIOUS YEAR THE WEATHER WAS SO COLD AND THE SATURN IONS WERE NOT STARTING, THAT IN JUST A WEEK THEY HAD 40-SOMETHING CARS COME IN TO GET FIX FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THEY TOLD THEY WOULD FIX IT FOR ME BUT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING. I REFUSED TO PAY BECAUSE IT WAS NOT MY FAULT, AND I'M ASSUMING PEOPLE ARE PAYING TO FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT EVEN THEIR FAULT. I ALSO CALLED SATURN AND THE CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE AT SATURN SAID THAT SATURN DOES NOT HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS PROBLEM AT THIS TIME. THE LAST THING I DID WAS A RESEARCH ON THE WEB ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND I FOUND MANY WEBSITES, BLOGS AND FORUMS THAT ADDRESS THE PROBLEM AS A FACTORY DEFAULT FROM SATURN. I READ PEOPLE'S COMMENTS AND THEY ALL SAID THEY HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR SATURN IONS AND THAT SATURN DID WANT TO ADMIT IT WAS A PROBLEM OF THEM. IT APPEARS AS IF NO ONE WAS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE ONES PAYING FOR THIS ARE THE CUSTOMERS. THIS IS NOT FAIR. *TR

2003 SATURN ION III DISENGAGES IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AS IF GEARS HAVE SLIPPED INTO NEUTRAL AT SPEEDS FROM BETWEEN 20 AND 60 MPH, SO THAT THERE IS NO FORWARD MOVEMENT SUDDENLY AND THEN RE-ENGAGES. ALMOST REAR-ENDED SEVERAL TIMES ALSO CAR WILL NOT START IF TURNED OFF FOR A SHORT TIME AND KEY LOCKS IN IGNITION. GEARS WERE RE-CALIBRATED AND IGNITION REPLACED, BUT PROBLEMS CONTINUE. *TR

MY DAUGHTER HAS A 2003 SATURN ION AND WON'T START WHEN IT IS COLD. I HAVE BEEN ON SEVERAL WEB SITES AND OTHER SATURN OWNERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. PLEASE HELP WHAT CAN I DO. WILL THIS CAR GET A RECALL. SOME OF THE OWNERS ARE SAYING THAT IT IS THE LUBRICATE THAT SATURN USED ON THE IGNITION THAT IT CAN FREEZE IN COLD WEATHER. IS THIS THE CASE. HELP IN COLD WEATHER. *TR

WHEN IT IS VERY COLD OUTSIDE MY 2003 SATURN ION WOULD NOT START. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHICH SAID HE COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT BUT WOULD REPLACE THE STARTED AND SOLENOID WHICH HAPPENED. AGAIN 2 DAYS LATER, NO START, I TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT MECHANIC WHICH RAN TESTS ON IT AND SAID HE COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT, BUT SINCE MY BATTERY WAS 5 YEARS OLD, MAYBE I SHOULD REPLACE THAT WHICH I DID. THEN 4 DAYS LATER, THE CARE WOULDN'T START AGAIN, AGAIN I TAKE IT TO YET ANOTHER MECHANIC WHICH RUNS A SERIES OF DIFFERENT TESTS ON IT AND SAYS EVERYTHING IS GOOD, NO EXPLANATION FOR THE NO STARTS. FINALLY AFTER MUCH FRUSTRATION I WAS ONLINE DOING SOME RESEARCH ABOUT MY CAR TO DISCOVER A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT BOTH THE 2003-2004 SATURN ION'S HAVING THIS IGNITION START PROBLEM AND YET THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD HAVE RECALLED IT, YET HASN'T AND SO WHILE THE ION OWNER LIKE MYSELF IS STRANDED HERE AND THERE AND MISSING DAYS OF WORK DUE TO INOPERABLE ON ONE'S PURCHASED VEHICLE, AND PAYING TOWING COSTS, REPAIR BILLS, TESTING COSTS, ETC...SATURN ALL ALONG KNEW THE PROBLEM. WHEN I FINALLY CALLED SATURN AND TOLD THEM OF THE PROBLEM, TOOK THE CAR IN AND WITH HOURS, HAD A NEW IGNITION SWITCH AND LOW AND BEHOLD YEP THAT WAS THE PROBLEM TO THE TUNE OF $179.00. I THINK IF SATURN KNEW THIS WAS A PROBLEM, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED AND FIXED ON SATURN'S TAB, NOT MINE THE CONSUMER. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 ION 2 WHICH I BOUGHT NEW IN MARCH 2003. STARTING IN DEC 2007, MY CAR WOULD NOT START UP IN THE MORNING WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE. 10-15 MIN LATER I WOULD TRY TO START IT AGAIN AND IT WOULD START UP LIKE NOTHING WAS WRONG. I HAD SATURN LOOK AT IT, THEY STATED THAT THEY "COULD NOT REPLICATE" THE PROBLEM AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG. IN JANUARY 2008, IT STARTED TO HAPPEN ON A DAILY BASIS, SO I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC WHO SAID THE BATTERY WAS CHARGING FINE AND COULD NOT PIN POINT A PROBLEM BUT SUGGESTED PUTTING IN A NEW STARTER WHICH COST ME $300. AT FIRST I THOUGHT THAT MY PROBLEM WAS SOLVED, BUT NOW IN FEB 2008 ( ONE MONTH LATER)IT IS NOT STARTING UP IN THE MORNINGS AGAIN ON REAL COLD DAYS (0-20 DEGREES), BUT 10-15 MIN LATER, IT STARTS RIGHT UP. *TR

I OWN A 2003 SATURN ION. ON COLD MORNINGS MY CAR WILL NOT START. I HAVE REPLACED THE BATTERY AND HAVE TAKEN IT TO SEVERAL MECHANICS THAT HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHY IT WILL NOT START. I HAVE BEEN LATE FOR WORK NUMEROUS TIMES AND LEFT STRANDED BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. THIS IS STILL A ON GOING ISSUE. *TR

WHEN TEMPERATURE GETS LOW, MY 2003 SATURN ION WON'T START. IT MUST SIT FOR 15-20 MINUTES BEFORE IT WILL START UP. *TR

I REGRETTABLY OWN A 2003 SATURN ION 2 SEDAN. SEVERAL TIMES, WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE BELOW FREEZING, THE CAR FAILS TO START. AFTER SPEAKING TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND DOING EXTENSIVE ONLINE RESEARCH ABOUT THE PROBLEM I HAVE FOUND THAT IT STEMS FROM A FAULTY DESIGN IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE SWITCH LEAKS LUBRICANT ONTO THE WIRES IN THE IGNITION SYSTEM. WHEN IT IS COLD ENOUGH FOR THE LUBRICANT TO FREEZE, IT IMPEDES THE SIGNAL REQUIRED TO OVERRIDE THE PASSLOCK SECURITY SYSTEM (STANDARD ON MY CAR) AND PREVENTS THE CAR FROM STARTING. SATURN WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH (AT THE COST OF THE OWNER IF THE VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY, ABOUT $300 TO $400). THE NEW SWITCHES WILL INEVITABLY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, AFTER THEY LEAK THE LUBRICANT. SATURN KNOWS OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS PUBLISHED TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN #040845005. THEY, HOWEVER, REFUSE TO ADMIT RESPONSIBILITY AND DEVISE A RELIABLE REMEDY TO THE PROBLEM. MEANWHILE, WE ARE ALL FREEZING IN THE COLD WEATHER WHILE WE WAIT FOR OUR CARS TO START. I BELIEVE SATURN IS CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT IN THIS RESPECT. *TR

VEHICLE WILL START SOME DAYS AND NOT START OTHERS. WOULD HAVE TO TRY OVER AND OVER AGAIN SEVERAL TIMES TO GET THE VEHICLE TO START. NOT THE BATTERY! *TR