SATURN Complaints

WAS RIDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 70MPH AND ALL THE SUDDEN I HAD NO POWER STEERING. I AM NO TERRIFIED TO DRIVE THE CAR DUE TO THE FACT IF IT KEEPS GOING OUT I DON'T WANT TO WRECK. I HAVE CALLED MANY MECHANICS AND THEY HAVE BEEN TELLING ME THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON THIS CAR. PLEASE HELP ME FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG. TODAY IT HAPPENED TWICE TO ME. WHEN I PULL OVER AND RESTART THE CAR IT WILL WORK FOR AWHILE. I HAVE SEEN MANY ARTICLES ABOUT THIS I FOR ME THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN. NOW THAT SATURN IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS WHAT AM I TO DO? *TR

THE POWER STEERING TO MY 2006 SATURN ION WENT OUT WHILE I WAS MERGING FROM AN ON-RAMP TO A MAJOR HIGHWAY DURING RUSH HOUR GOING APPROXIMATELY 50MPH. IT TURNS OFF AND ALERTS ME EACH TIME I TURN THE CAR ON. *TR

I AM EXPERIENCING A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS WITH MY 2006 SATURN ION. THE POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING, THE SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING (IT REMAINS AT 0 REGARDLESS OF MY SPEED), ALSO THE ODOMETER DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK EITHER - MY MILEAGE DOES NOT INCREMENT WHEN I DRIVE. MY CAR REGISTERS A DIAGNOSTIC CODE OF P0502: VEHICLE SPEED SENSOR A CIRCUIT LOW INPUT. I SAW POSTS ONLINE IN VARIOUS FORUMS FROM 2007 SATURN ION OWNERS WHO SAY THAT THEY RECEIVED LETTERS FROM GM IN 2009 TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM FIXED UNDER WARRANTY BUT WHY DIDN'T I GET A LETTER IN 2009? GM AND THE NHTSA HAVE APPARENTLY BEEN AWARE OF THIS AND "WATCHING" THE PROBLEM FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW - IT'S GM'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX THIS SINCE THEY DIDN'T FOREWARN ME AND ENCOURAGE ME TO GET THIS FIXED BACK IN 2009 WHEN THEY KNEW ENOUGH TO HAVE 2007 SATURN ION OWNERS TAKE THEIR CARS IN TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM FIXED. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 35,000 MILES ON APPROXIMATELY DECEMBER 2, 2008, (THIS DATE IS APPROXIMATE AS I DON'T HAVE RECORDS OF THE FIRST FAILURE, GM WOULD HAVE RECORDS OF THE REPAIR WITH EXACT DATE AND MILEAGE) WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY AT 70 MPH ON A SLUSHY DAY, POWER STEERING FAILED. WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE NEXT EXIT AND HAPPENED TO BE NEAR A SATURN DEALERSHIP. WE STOPPED THERE IMMEDIATELY AND THE CAR WAS KEPT THERE WHILE THE STEERING COLUMN WAS REPLACED AS WARRANTY WORK. THE CAR NOW HAS 105,000 MILES ON IT THIS PART WITH APPROXIMATELY 60,000 MILES ON IT FAILED AGAIN AND POWER STEERING WAS LOST ON OCTOBER 21, 2010 WHILE DRIVING DOWN A HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR. WE WERE ABLE TO PULL THE CAR OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SHUT IT OFF AND RESTART IT WHICH CAUSED THE POWER STEERING TO RETURN. WE COMPLETED THE TRIP WITH NO MORE OCCURRENCES, BUT IN DRIVING IN TOWN, THE POWERSTEERING HAS CONTINUED TO FAIL. I HAVE STARTED RIDING THE BUS AND DON'T FEEL IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE MORE THAN A FEW BLOCKS AT A TIME. I HAD RECEIVED A LETTER INDICATING THAT IF THERE WERE POWER STEERING ISSUES WE SHOULD CONTACT THE DEALER. WE DID SO AND THE GM DEALER TOLD US THAT OUR CAR DOES NOT HAVE WARRANTY WORK AVAILABLE AND THAT THEY ARE UNAWARE OF ANY ISSUES WITH STEERING ON THE SATURN ION. WE HAVE CONTACTED GM AS WELL, BUT THEY HAVE NOT RESPONDED. *TR

DISCOVERED THE DRIVERS SIDE HARNESS HAD MELTED WHEN CHANGING THE DIM HEADLAMP. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING FAILED AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN PULLING HARD TO THE RIGHT WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 101,314.

I WAS DRIVING MY 2005 SATURN ION AT 50 MPH ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THE POWER STEERING WARNING ALARM SOUNDED AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAYED POWER STEERING FAILURE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TURNED OF THE ENGINE AND RAISED THE HOOD TO CHECK THE FUSES. THE FUSES WERE GOOD, SO I RESTARTED THE CAR AND THE POWER STEERING DISPLAY WAS CLEAR. I DROVE A FEW MORE MILES AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I HAVE DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE ON SATURN ION AND OTHER GM VEHICLES WITH ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. THIS COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS FOR MANY DRIVERS WHEN THIS HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING! IT IS HARDER TO STEER THE SLOWER YOU DRIVE. *TR

WHEN THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONER BLOWS NOTHING BUT EXTREMELY HOT AIR. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU DO WITH THE CONTROLS. THE FAN IS ON HIGH AND THE LIGHTS ON THE CONTROLS BLINK.

THERE IS A VERY STRONG SMELL OF FUEL IN THE CAB OF THE VEHICLE AND OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE FUEL PUMP SEEMS TO HAVE A LEAK. *TR

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE EXPRESS WAY, AND MY POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT FLASHED ACROSS MY MILEAGE, AND I LOST ALL POWER STEERING. VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER CAR. I GET TO WORK TURN MY CAR OFF. AND WHEN I LEAVE WORK, I START MY CAR AND I HAVE FULLY FUNCTIONAL POWERSTEERING AGAIN. BUT NOW WHEN I DRIVE IN THE COURSE OF 2MILES MY POWER STEERING FLASHES THE WARNING LIGHT AND I LOOSE ALL POWER STEERING. I CAN TURN MY CAR OFF AND RESTART IT AND I ONCE AGAIN HAVE POWER STEERING. WHEN I DRIVE IN A COURSE OF 15 MILES MY POWER STEERING FAILS AND SHUT COMPLETELY OFF ABOUT 15-20 TIMES. THIS IS VERY VERY DANGEROUS AND VERY INCONVENIENT. I HAVE A SMALL CHILD AND THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE ME TO HAVE A WRECK. AND SERIOUSLY INJURE MYSELF OR HER. *TR