2004 SATURN ION Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION LEVEL 2. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH THE POWER STEERING LIGHT FLASHED ON THE DASHBOARD AND THE POWER STEERING MALFUNCTIONED. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN RESTARTED IT TO RESET THE POWER STEERING. TEN MINUTES AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE THE POWER STEERING MALFUNCTIONED AGAIN. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THE DEALER INFORMED HIM THAT THE ELECTRIC ASSIST MOTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT HAS NOT HAD THE ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 141,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. INTERMITTENTLY THE POWER STEERING FAILED WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN ONTO THE EMERGENCY LANE, TURNED OFF AND ON AND IT RESET ITSELF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD TO REPAIR THE FAILURE HE HAD TO PAY $2000. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CALLED AND TOLD AND ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE REPAIR AND COST WERE THE SAME THAT THE DEALER STATED. HE THEN FILED CLAIM# 71-808240519 WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

I HAVE A 2004 SATURN ION WITH A BAD POWER STEERING MODULE. I READ TODAY THAT GM IS RECALLING 1.3 MILLION PONTIAC G5 AND CHEVROLET COBALT VEHICLES FOR THE SAME REASON. THE SATURN ION HAS THE SAME POWER STEERING MODULE AS THOSE VEHICLES SO I HOPE IT IS ALSO RECALLED. EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE IS AS FOLLOWS: START THE CAR, DRIVE AROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS, AND THE DASH DISPLAYS POWER STEERING AND THERE IS A "CHIME" SOUND INDICATING THE POWER STEERING HAS FAILED. THE POWER STEERING IS NOT FUNCTIONAL UNTIL THE CAR IS TURNED OFF, THEN STARTED AGAIN, AT WHICH TIME THERE IS ANOTHER APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS BEFORE FAILURE. THIS HAPPENS EVERYTIME THE VEHICLE IS STARTED. WE'VE BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY WANT $800 TO REPLACE THE MODULE. SO FAR WE'VE JUST LIVED WITH IT AND STOPPED DRIVING THE CAR AND DECIDED TO NEVER BUY GM AGAIN. IF YOU SEARCH GOOGLE FOR "SATURN ION POWER STEERING PROBLEMS" OR "SATURN ION POWER STEERING RECALL" THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS. *TR

POWER STEERING DISABLES RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING IN 2004 SATURN ION. CYCLING IGNITION ENABLES POWER STEERING AGAIN, BUT THEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN. *TR

MY GM 2004 SATURN ION THE POWER STEERING LIGHT COMES ON AND THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING ! IF I TURN MY CAR OFF , IT RESETS AND WORKS FOR A FEW MINUTES AND GOES BACK OUT. *TR

OUR 4 CYLINDER 2004 SATURN ION HAS HAD UNINTENDED SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEMS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. I AM A PATENT HOLDING SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE ENGINEER AND I CAN STATE ABSOLUTELY AFTER OBSERVING THE BEHAVIOR OVER AT LEAST 4 YEARS THAT THIS IS A SOFTWARE ISSUE AND/OR A SENSOR ISSUE AND NOT A STICKING MECHANICAL CONTROL. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO EVEN TOUCH OR MOVE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IN ORDER FOR THIS TO OCCUR. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY, EITHER SOME SENSOR MALFUNCTIONS OR SOME CONNECTOR BECOMES INTERMITTENT OR THE SOFTWARE MISREADS SOMETHING. AT STARTUP THE ENGINE RUNS AT AN UNUSUALLY HIGH IDLE (~800 RPM), AND AS SOON AS YOU PUT IT IN GEAR, THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD OR BACKWARD HARD AND YOU HAVE TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL TO AVOID HAVING IT RUN AWAY WITH YOU - ALL THIS WITHOUT TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN YOU PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL THE ENGINE RUNS AT BETWEEN 3,000 AND 4,000 RPM ON THE TACHOMETER FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN SLOWLY DROPS BACK TO AN IDLE (~800RPM). AS SOON AS YOU PUT IT IN GEAR AGAIN, THE CAR LUNGES ONCE AGAIN - THROW IT IN NEUTRAL - 3,000 - 4,000 RPM, SLOWLY RECOVERS. AFTER TWO - THREE MINUTES THE ENGINE STABILIZES AND THE PROBLEM IS GONE. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ALL WITHOUT TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR - EVER! THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD AND USUALLY DURING HIGH HUMIDITY OR RAINY CONDITIONS. IT IS SO UNPREDICTABLE THAT I HAVE NEVER SOUGHT HELP FROM A DEALER. IT IS NOT REPEATABLE IN A WAY THAT THE DEALER WOULD BE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE SINCE IT HAPPENS FAIRLY RARELY (SOMETIMES A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK - SOMETIMES ONCE A MONTH) AND INCONSISTENTLY. IF I WAS AN INEXPERIENCED DRIVER AND IF THIS WAS A MORE POWERFUL CAR, I WOULD NO DOUBT HAVE HAD A SERIOUS ACCIDENT BY NOW. I HAVE LEARNED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE MOTOR WHEN I FIRST START THE VEHICLE. IF IT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS IDLING A BIT FAST THEN I KNOW IT WILL TRY TO RUN AWAY WITH ME WHEN I PUT IT IN GEAR SO I JUST WAIT FOR IT TO IDLE DOWN TO NORMAL BEFORE PUTTING IT IN GEAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT HAS A 2004 SATURN ION 3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS INTERMITENT POWER STEERING FAILURE. THE STEERING WHEEL WILL LOCK UP AND MAKE THE VEHICLE UNABLE TO TURN. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE STEERING MODULE NEED TO BE REPLACED, BECAUSE IT IS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 76112.

I HAVE A 2004 SATURN ION 2. SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH THE IGNITION SWITCH IN THESE VEHICLES. MY CAR WILL NOT START WHEN COLD AND DAMP OUTSIDE. I HAVE REPLACED THE SWITCH IN MY VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES AND STILL GET THE SAME PROBLEM IN TIME. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE I LIVE IN MO WHERE IT GETS VERY COLD AND NOT ALWAYS SOMEONE TO PICK ME UP WHEN THE CAR DIES. SO I AM LEFT STRANDED IN SUB ZERO TEMPERATURES. SATURN KNOWS VERY WELL ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND WILL NOT RECALL THIS. PLEASE SEE THAT A RECALL TAKES PLACE. THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR. *TR

AFTER ONLY 9 MONTHS OF OWNING MY ION I HAVE EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH SHIFTING THE CAR IN AND OUT OF GEAR. IT IS A RANDOM OCCURRENCE AND CAN HAPPEN 8 TIMES IN A WEEK THEN NOT AT ALL FOR MONTHS. HOWEVER WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN IT IS A LIFE THREATENING EXPERIENCE AS I AM USUALLY DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. THE CAR WILL BE "LOCKED" INTO 4TH FOR EXAMPLE AND WHEN I TRY TO SHIFT TO 5TH I CAN NOT GET IT OUT OF 4TH. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP A MINIMUM OF 20 TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM, ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING. I THEN TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP WHERE THE TECH TOOK THE CAR HOME FOR 1 WEEK, EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM FOR HIMSELF, AND TOLD ME ALL HE COULD DO WAS REPLACE A WIRE AND HOPE IT HELPED BECAUSE SATURN WOULD NOT LET HIM INVESTIGATE ANY MORE OPTIONS. IT DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP MY CAR. AND SINCE THE LAST TIME MY CAR HAS BEEN AT THE SATURN DEALERSHIP MY POWER STEERING NOW GOES IN AND OUT. APPARENTLY THEY BUSTED A SEAL AND FAILED TO MENTION THAT TO ME, SO NOT ONLY DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO SHIFT, BUT ALSO LOSING MY POWER STEERING. THEY ONLY SOLUTION I CAN COME UP WITH IS TO TRY MY BEST TO GET THE CAR TO A SAFE SPOT AND TURN IT OFF AND LET IT SIT. THIS CAR HAS HAD MORE PROBLEMS THAN ANYONE SHOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH: REVERSE SWITCH GOING OUT, AIRCONDITIONING GOING OUT, POWER WINDOWS NO LONGER WORK, POWER STEERING, AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SHIFT. I HAVE TO DRIVE THIS EVERYDAY WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR WITH ME AT MOST TIMES. THIS SHOULD HAVE ALL BEEN TAKEN CARE UNDER THE ORIG. WARRANTY, AS IT ALL HAPPENED WITHIN THE FIRST 6-12 MONTHS OF OWNING THE CAR. LOL THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR BUYING A GM PRODUCT. *TR

MY 2004 SATURN ION WONT START IN COLD TEMPERATURES LEAVING ME STRANDED. IF I LIVED IN GUAM THIS WOULD BE NO PROBLEM, BUT I LIVE IN CALGARY ALBERTA CANADA AND ITS GETS TO -40 CELSIUS AND ONLY TAKES MINUTES FOR FROST BITE TO SETTLE IN. *TR