2004 SATURN ION Complaints

I OWE A 2004 SATURN ION AND LIKE MANY OTHERS, I HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY IGNITION SWITCH. THE POWER STEERING ALSO GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN 2006 AND STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS 3 MONTHS AFTERWARDS. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY MY VEHICLE UNTIL I WAS LOOKING FOR A PART VIA THE INTERNET AND RAN ACROSS OTHER COMPLAINTS. IT'S A SHAME THAT GM HASN'T DONE A RECALL. THERE ARE SEVERAL CONSUMERS AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM. *TR

2004 SATURN ION WILL NOT START RANDOMLY NO CRANK NO START ISSUE WHICH IS FROM GM'S FAULTY PASSLOCK SYSTEM ITS NOT JUST COLD WEATHER RELATED IT WAS 50 DEGREES THIS MORNING WHEN IT HAPPENED BUT WHEN I CAME HOME IT STARTED JUST FINE ITS DONE THIS ALOT OVER THE YEARS AND ALWAYS AT THE WORST TIMES I KNOW IM NOT THE ONLY SATURN/ GM OWNER WITH THIS PROBLEM AND THERE ARE EVEN TSB 'S RELATING TO THESE ISSUES WHY ARE WE STUCK DEALING WITH GM'S FAULTY ENGINEERING. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE AUTOMOBILE THE POWER STEERING LIGHT COMES ON AND THE POWER STEERING FAILS. THE CAR MUST BE PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF FOR 30 SECONDS, THEN RE-STARTED. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES GET ABOVE 55-60 DEGREES F, AND HAPPENS AT LEAST EVERY 3RD TIME AUTO IS DRIVEN. NO REPAIRS MADE AT THIS TIME. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY POWER STEERING ALARM ON MY DASH CAME ON AND MY POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING. I HAD TO PULL OVER AND TURN OFF THE CAR. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING. THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES WITHIN 30 MINUTES. IT HAPPENED AGAIN SEVERAL HOURS LATER AND AGAIN TWO DAYS LATER. I HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE I AM WAITING TO TAKE IT TO A MECHANIC. *TR

I WAS DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED, AND THE POWER STEERING SUDDENLY WENT OUT ON MY 2004 SATURN ION. I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE WHEEL INTO A PARKING LOT. SUPRISINGLY, WHEN I TURNED THE CAR BACK ON, THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM CAME ON AS WELL. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT HOME, BUT I ALMOST CRASHED. NO WARNING. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING ONLINE, AND HAVE FOUND THAT OTHER 2004 ION USERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS, AND WHILE GM RECALLED THIS ISSUE ON COBALTS, IT'S IGNORING THE SATURN 2004 SAME ISSUE. *TR

MY 2004 SATURN ION2 RANDOMLY WON'T START. IT'S GENERALLY HAPPENS IN THE MORNING. I INSERT MY KEY, THE INTERIOR/ EXTERIOR LIGHTS COME ON, AND THEN I TURN THE KEY. THE ENGINE WILL NOT CRANK AND WILL NOT MAKE ANY NOISE. I TRY NUMEROUS TIMES TO START IT, BUT IT WON'T CRANK OVER. THEN, BETWEEN 10-30 MINUTES LATER, IT WILL START. MULTIPLE MECHANICS ARE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. I SUSPECT THAT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PASSLOCK SYSTEM AND ONE OF THE WIRES MALFUNCTIONING. *TR

I AM SENDING THIS AS A WORRIED SON OF A 2004 SATURN ION 2 OWNER. MY MOTHER HAS CALLED ME SEVERAL TIMES ASKING ABOUT THE STEERING ON HER CAR. SHE WILL BE JUST DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND SHE HEARS A CHIME AND SEES A LIGHT ON HER DASH INDICATING LOSS OF POWER STEERING. WHEN SHE RESTARTS THE CAR THE ISSUE GOES AWAY. ALSO ON MARCH 31ST 2010, THIS HAPPENED ON HER DRIVE TO WORK IN CITY DRIVING CONDITIONS, ONCE AGAIN HAVING TO SHUT OFF HER CAR TO RESET THE STEERING TWICE IN 5 MILES. THE PART CAUSING THIS IS THE SAME PART THAT IS BEING RECALLED IN 1.3 MILLION GM CARS CURRENTLY BUT THE SATURN ION IS NOT ON THE LIST. I URGENTLY ASK YOU TO INCLUDE THESE CARS ON THE RECALL. WITH VERY LITTLE TROUBLE I HAVE FOUND MANY PEOPLE ON MANY MESSAGE BOARDS WITH THE SAME ISSUE MY MOTHER IS HAVING WITH HER CAR. PUT YOUR SELF IN MY PLACE, IMAGINE YOUR MOTHER WHO LOVES TO GO VISIT HER FAMILY OVER 100MI FROM HOME AS OFTEN AS SHE CAN, DRIVING ON I-35 IN MINNESOTA TO THE MINNEAPOLIS -ST. PAUL AT 65-70MPH AND HAVING TO PULL OVER ON AN INTERSTATE SEVERAL TIMES PER TRIP SO SHE CAN TURN OFF HER CAR ONLY TO RESET THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM. THEN HAVING TO SAFELY MERGE BACK ONTO THAT INTERSTATE. I WOULD HOPE YOU WOULD BE AS WORRIED AS I AM. IF NOT YOUR MOTHER THEN WHAT ABOUT YOU SON/DAUGHTER, WIFE/HUSBAND OR ANY ONE YOU KNOW HAVING TO DO THE SAME THING, ALL BECAUSE OF A PART THAT IS ALREADY BEING RECALLED IN OTHER CARS. GOD FORBID SHE GET INTO AN ACCIDENT AND GETS HURT OR WORSE HAVING TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE. I DO KNOW THAT MY CHILDREN WILL NOT BE IN THAT CAR UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED. I UNDERSTAND AN ACCIDENT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AT ANYTIME BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE CAUSED BY A KNOWN FAULTY PART. TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY BEEN EFFECTED WITH TOYOTA'S ISSUES, LETS NOT LET THIS ISSUE TO CAUSE THE LOSS OF ANY OR ANY MORE INJURIES OR DEATHS. *TR

1. DRIVING CAR NORMALLY - DROVE ABOUT 1/2 MILE 2. POWER STEERING WENT OUT -- RECEIVED MESSAGE PWR STR SIMILAR TO RECALL CHEVY COBALT RECALL ID#10V073000 3. THE FAILURE DID NOT CORRECT

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT 60 MPH, MY 2004 SATURN ION III LOST ITS POWER STEERING. THE CAR CHIMED AT ME AND DISPLAYED A "PWR STR" MESSAGE. THE CAR INSTANTLY BECAME MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL, ESPECIALLY IN TURNS AND AT LOWER SPEEDS. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT TO WORK. WHEN I RESTARTED MY CAR LATER IN THE DAY, THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN. BASED ON A BRIEF ONLINE SEARCH, THIS PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE COMMON WITH THE SATURN IONS. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE ION HAS THE SAME POWER STEERING MOTOR/MODULE AS THE CHEVY COBALT. A RECALL HAS RECENTLY BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR THE COBALT'S POWER STEERING ISSUE.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING FAILED SPORADICALLY. THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE FAILURE. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE HAD TO SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTART IT IN ORDER TO RESET THE POWER STEERING ASSIST. PRIOR TO THE RECENT FAILURE, A YEAR AGO; THE POWER STEERING COLUMN WAS REPLACED. THERE WERE NO FURTHER REPAIRS MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 84,000. UPDATED 05/11/10. *LJ UPDATED 6/1/10 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN SHE PUT THE GEAR IN DRIVE, THE POWER STEERING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE STEERING COLUMN WOULD BECOME STIFF AS IF IT WAS LOCKED. THE VEHICLE HAS ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. THE STEERING MOTOR WAS REPLACED. UPDATED 06/24/10.*JB