SATURN Complaints

I PUT MY CAR INTO PARK AND SHUT IT OFF, I WENT TO GET IN THIS MORNING AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START AS IF IT WAS IN DRIVE STILL, I SHIFTED IT BACK AND FOURTH AND THEN FINALLY GOT IT TO START, I PUT IT IN REVERSE TO BACK UP BUT IT ACCELERATED FORWARD. I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM GM ABOUT THIS ISSUE ABOUT 4 MONTHS AGO BUT IT DID NOT OUTLINE THE SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM, AFTER TALKING TO GM THEY WILL BE TOWING MY VEHICLE 60 MILES AWAY TO THE NEAREST DEALER THAT CAN WORK ON THIS PROBLEM. BUT THE ISSUE IS THAT IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THE ENTIRE ISSUE I WOULD HAVE WANTED IT FIXED SOONER AS THIS IS A SCARY THING TO GO THROUGH ESPECIALLY SINCE IT STOPPED ABOUT 4 FEET FROM GOING OVER THE BANK. BUT THE LETTER FROM GM SAID NOT TO DO ANYTHING UNLESS YOU START HAVING PROBLEMS, WELL THE BIG PROBLEM WASN'T THE ISSUE THE BIG PROBLEM WAS WHAT COULD HAPPEN AFTER THE ISSUE, I WISH THEY WOULD HAVE INFORMED US OF SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THEY MADE IT LIKE IT WAS HARD TO SELECT GEARS, NOT LIKE YOU WOULD DRIVE WHEN TRYING TO REVERSE OR BEING IN PARK. *KB

DRIVING ON INTERSTATE, POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, THERE WAS A WARNING CHIME, AND THEN THE POWER STEERING WAS GONE AND THE CAR BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER. I PULLED IT OVER, TURNED IT OFF. WHEN I TURNED IT ON THE STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN, I DROVE ABOUT 10 MORE MILES AND IT DID THE SAME THING. I TOOK IT IN TO MY MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD THAT GM HAD A RECALL ON THIS SAME EXACT STEERING MOTOR USED IN THE COBALT BUT HAD NOT ISSUED A RECALL ON THE SATURNS. I PAID OVER $1100.00 FOR THIS REPAIR AND I FEEL IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY THE MANUFACTURER. I AM LUCKY THAT I DID NOT GET IN A WRECK AS THIS MANIFESTED IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. *KB

OPERATING THE 2007 SATURN ION WITH 80,000 MILES ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY WHEN "PWR STEERING" APPEARED ON MY DASH DISPLAY. THE VEHICLE BECAME DIFFICULT TO CONTROL; HOWEVER, I'M A 28 YEAR OLD MARINE AND I CAN HANDLE THE VEHICLE. IF THIS WAS TO OCCUR TO AN ADULT OVER 65 YEARS OF AGE OR TO A TEENAGE DRIVER, THEN THIS COULD MOST CERTAINLY CAUSE A WRECK. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MY VEHICLE WITHOUT PWR STEERING AS I CAN NOT AFFORD THE $1500 REPLACEMENT/FIX OF THE POWER STEERING PROBLEM. I'M WAITING FOR A RECALL. THE SUBJECT VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT NEW IN OCTOBER 2006 AND I HAVE BEEN THE ONLY OWNER. *KB

THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK, I HEARD THE BEEP, THEN PWR STR SHOWED ON THE DASH. AT THE SAME TIME TURNING THE VEHICLE WAS VERY HARD. I THOUGHT IT WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT BECAUSE THAT NIGHT ON MY WAY HOME IT DIDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL. I SPOKE WITH MY HUSBAND AND HE SAID THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO HIM. IT HAS SINCE THEN GOTTEN TO THE POINT THAT AFTER THE CAR BEING DRIVEN FOR A FEW YARDS IT HAPPENS. I LIVE IN A CITY AND DO MOSTLY LOW SPEED DRIVING. I ALSO LIVE IN MICHIGAN AND IT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. ALTHOUGH IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO STEER IT WITHOUT POWER STEERING, I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME TURNING THE WHEEL. I AM VERY SCARED IT IS GOING TO CAUSE ME TO WRECK THE CAR. *KB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE BRAKE LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED EVEN THOUGH THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS NOT DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS STOPPED ILLUMINATING ONCE THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ENGAGED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE SWITCH STOP LAMP WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN BACK FOR ADDITIONAL REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000.

WHILE DRIVING DOWN A RESIDENTIAL STREET I HEAR A CLICK AND THE CARS WARNING SOUND, THEN THE POWER STEERING MESSAGE APPEARS ON THE DASHBOARD. I IMMEDIATELY NOTICE THAT MY POWER STEERING IS NO LONGER WORKING. I PULLED TO THE CURB AND SHUT THE CAR OFF AND UPON TURNING IT BACK ON THE LIGHT WENT AWAY AND THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN. THREE DAYS LATER, WHILE DRIVING TO WORK, AS I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TURNING, AGAIN I HEARD A CLICK THE WARNING SOUND, THE MESSAGE, AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AGAIN. THIS TIME I HAD TO GRIP THE WHEEL AND WORK TO GET IT TO FINISH THE TURN SAFELY. PULLED INTO A GAS STATION, TURNED THE CAR OFF, THEN BACK ON. THE POWER STEERING WORKED FOR THE 10MIN DRIVE TO WORK. DURING THE DRIVE HOME THE POWER STEERING SHUT OFF 4 TIMES, EACH TIME IT TOOK LESS TIME FROM THE RESTART OF THE CAR TILL THE IT FAILED AGAIN. *TR

I AM HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY 2006 SATURN ION, IT STARTED OUT WITH A START PROBLEM JUST ON COLD MORNINGS, WHEN THERE WAS DEW OR FROST OR IT RAINED ON THE CAR. TO RESLOVE THE ISSUE THE CAR WAS MOVED INTO THE GARAGE AND THEN I NOTICED THE PROBLEM CONTINUED EVEN WHEN CAR WAS IN THE GARAGE. THE START PROBLEM BEGIN HAPPENING EVEN IN WARM WEATHER. IT GOT TO THE POINT THAT EVEN WHEN I WOULD PARK THE CAR IN THE GARAGE I COULD GET UP THE NEXT MORNING AND IT WOULD NOT START AT FIRST IT WAS FREQUENTLY THEN IT BECAME INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. THIS CAR HAS LEFT ME STRANDED AT SCHOOL, WORK AND EVEN AT HOME SITTING IN THE GARAGE. IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I HAD TO HAVE THE AAA SERVICE TRUCK COME TO MY HOME AND JUMP START MY CAR. ON ONE OF MY SERVICE APPOINTS TO HAVE THE OIL CHANGED I MENTIONED THE PROBLEM TO THE TECH AT THE GM DEALER AND WHEN I PICKED THE CAR UP THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT GET THE PROBLEM TO SIMULATE ON THE COMPUTER AND THE THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. I HAVE NOTED A NUMBER OF BLOGS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND INSTEAD OF GM HELPING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE IT HAS BEEN LEFT UP TO THE OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES TO GIVE EACH OTHER ADVISE AT BLOG SITES. *TT

ONCE AGAIN(4TH TIME OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD),I TOOK MY VEHICLE IN FOR STEERING VIBRATION AND CLICKING NOISE WHEN I TURN. THE CONSTANT FAILURES IN THE STEERING EQUIPMENT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THERE IS MANUFACTURING PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING EQUIPMENT. *TT

AFTER HAVING THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT REPLACED (23,330 MILED), I TOOK MY VEHICLE IN FOR STEERING VIBRATION AND NOISE WHEN TURNING AGAIN AT 25158 MILES. THE DEALER ORDERS PARTS, AND THE PARTS ARE REPLACED ON 1/12/2010. *TT

THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM OF VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEN MAKING SHARP TURNS HAS PROGRESSED TO A CLICKING SOUND WHEN MAKING ALL TURNS. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN ON 9/8/2009, THE DEALER ORDERED REPLACEMENT INTERMEDIATE STEERING PARTS. ON 9/28/2009, THE PARTS WERE REPLACED. *TT