Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 03/01/2013 | 239512 | ||
| I was driving at night on a country road when a deer ran out in front of me and the car struck it. the car sustained some front end damage and the cabin filled with smoke. the seat-belts locked up but the airbags never deployed. now the airbag light is on and the seat-belts are locked up. it concerns me that with everything that happened that the airbag should have when off | |||
| 10/21/2006 | 63793 | 3 | 11/10/2004 |
| Driving car in front stops fast. i turn to miss but not enough, so we crashed. no air bag come on, no motor kill, no fuel kill. and we where going 35 at the max. *nm | |||
| 06/10/2005 | 2 | 10/16/2003 | |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the vehicle was involved in a front end collision on june 10 2005 the vehicle moved across the other side of the road and was hit by two others trucks. these were more of a side impact. it was hit head on by a semi truck the driver was ejected from the vehicle and her husband was killed. he has filed a complaint with the manufacturer. both occupants were wearing there seat belts. daughter flew out from under the seat belt of the vehicle, she was the driving. they were going the speed limit, and the roadway was wet. on the police report they listed it as hydroplane. none of the air bags deployed. there was no warning light on prior to the crash. the vehicle was just in the shop for an oil change. there are pictures, police report and repair invoices available for the odi office. the police report stated that she had done nothing wrong.*ak | |||
| 11/20/2004 | 8600 | 2 | 04/28/2004 |
| Problems: a. air bags didn't deploy . b. driver's seat collapse and dent rear-ended while stopped at a railroad crossing. upon impact seat flew back, hit back seat and dented. our stopped car was then pushed into the stopped vehicle in front. our car was smashed at front and back and neither front nor side airbags deployed. no skid marks reported and no brakes applied by offending car so our 2004 saturn ion took the full impact and was sandwiched between a camry from behind and a gmc jimmy in front. woman in jimmy taken by ambulance to hospital since she was pregnant. my son driving the saturn had his wife pick him up and proceeded to e/r where he was diagnosed with cervical strain. driver of camry had her husband pick her up. all 3 vehicles were towed. our saturn will most likely be totaled. we took pictures as did the police in spokane, wa.. *ak | |||
| 08/03/2004 | 816 | 1 | 07/21/2004 |
| On july 21, 2004, i purchased a new 2004 saturn ion quad coupe and on august 3, 2004, i experienced tread and belt separation on the driver's side front tire. i was traveling approximately 40-45 mph, heard a loud noise and suddenly lost control of the car and discovered i had no brakes either, (the tire had ripped the brake lines). i was only able to stop the vehicle after hitting a road sign. the tire in question, came standard on the vehicle (which had 816 miles on it) and was a firestone firehawk gta 03, (p205/55r16). i suffered a fracture to my right forearm, multiple contusions, approximately $6000 worth of vehicle damage, (not including the immediate depreciation of a brand new vehicle), and ultimately loss of my employment related to no transportation. i called the saturn customer svc. center and they towed the vehicle to the dealership. they kept the vehicle there for more than 30 days, when they had a saturn representative fly down from tn to tell me they have no responsibility, even though not one of the 6 airbags deployed, and that i should contact firestone, however in the meantime i must immediately removed the vehicle from their premises!! i filed an incident report and shipped the tire to firestone, per their request, only to be told 28 days later that they do not have any responsibility since the damage was a result of a 360 degree spin cut through the tread. my insurance told me that if i filed the claim through them that i would be heavily penalized since it was obvious that i was not at fault. so, i lost my job, spent all of my savings, got behind on all of my bills and all i have to show for it is a new car that is not drivable! *jb | |||
| 05/10/2004 | 2 | ||
| Vehicle involved in a crash and air bags did not deploy. *mr the consumers daughter was involved in 2 incidents with this vehicle. the daughter was hit by a harley davidson f150 truck in the first incident where she turned and the harley hit her in the front passenger side and the second incident occurred when the daughter drove 4 miles, and parked, then fifteen minutes later the gas pedal stuck and she was unable to release it. the brakes had become inoperative. the vehicle was placed in park along with the emergency brake and shut off. *sc *jb (duplicate report - see odi ref. no. 10074368 *mjj) | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 06/11/2008 | 80000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. while driving in the rain at approximately 50 mph, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the median. the vehicle rolled over three times. the driver's frontal air bag failed to deploy. the contact received injuries to her leg and neck. the manufacturer took a report. they offered medical assistance, but would not investigate the air bag failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. minnesota state police filed report number e08405161. the current and failure mileages were 80,000. | |||
| 12/03/2007 | 45000 | 1 | 02/28/2007 |
| On 12/03/2007 at 8:41 am i was involved in an automobile accident on i-240 east in memphis tn. i was trailing traffic in the passing lane, when traffic came to a complete stop. i didnt react in time and suffered a frontal collision to a 2004 saturn ion that i own. i was travelling approx 30-35 mph when i struck the back of the vehicle. the airbags did not deploy and the seatbelt tensioner failed resulted in my going headfirst into the steering wheel. i have since had to have tests at the doctor for migraines and still experience the aftereffects of this accident. *cn | |||
| 12/03/2007 | 45000 | 1 | 02/28/2007 |
| On 12/03/2007 at 8:41 am i was involved in an automobile accident on i-240 east in memphis tn. i was trailing traffic in the passing lane, when traffic came to a complete stop. i didnt react in time and suffered a frontal collision to a 2004 saturn ion that i own. i was travelling approx 30-35 mph when i struck the back of the vehicle. the airbags did not deploy and the seatbelt tensioner failed resulted in my going headfirst into the steering wheel. i have since had to have tests at the doctor for migraines and still experience the aftereffects of this accident. *cn | |||
| 09/16/2005 | 15450 | 1 | 05/20/2004 |
| Dear nhtsa associate, i had a 100% parallel, full frontal impact, no angle, as my new car traveling 35 mph hit a large delivery van twice the weight of my vehicle with a square and steel bumper that was stopped ( 1 mph according to police report ). the front airbags did not deploy and my neck and head were impacted on to the steering wheel even though i was using my seatbelt properly. the force was sufficient to strain the belt and injure my head. i had a cut on the top of my forehead in the middle, a concussion, and i am currently being treated for migraine type headaches by a doctor that have occurred daily since the accident. i placed the car into the care of a saturn owned body shop for repair and asked that the airbag deployment system be tested for functionality. instead, i was given a 1-800 number for saturn corporate headquarters to call. they said the first step was to send me the airbag manufacturing information booklet and to call back after reading it. i did so and asked that the airbags be tested while in the care of the saturn body shop, as the type of impact and miles per hour exceeded the minimum standards for air bag deployment contained in the manual they sent to me. instead of granting clearance to the dealership to test the airbags, in light of my valid argument of their documentation contradictions, saturn corporate instead issued me an internal case number 1-17876541 and told me someone in their legal department would contact me within 6 to 8 weeks. i mentioned i would have the car back before then and would be afraid and nervous driving it as i am sure the airbag system in the front is not fully functional. they actually said they could deny testing the system at all. nothing has been done to address the safety issue, the body damage was fixed, at a cost of almost 7 thousand dollars to the front end, including cutting out a piece of the frame and welding a new section in.*jb | |||
| 09/13/2005 | 21000 | 1 | 08/11/2005 |
| Accident at approximately 40 mph - airbags did not deploy. *nm | |||
| 08/02/2005 | 1 | 10/20/2003 | |
| 3 vehicle accident. i collided with another vehicle and my air bags deployed. however, my driver's side air bag deployed incorrectly. rather then one large air bag, it came out in two pieces due to a failure in the steering wheel opening completely to release the entire air bag. this left the top portion of the steering wheel exposed. *jb | |||
| 01/18/2005 | 24800 | 1 | |
| While driving 30 mph consumer's vehicle was involved in a frontal collision. upon impact, the dual air bags did not deploy. no injuries reported. *ak | |||
| 08/06/2004 | 8900 | 1 | |
| The air bag lights were on. dealer told consumer that he would have to wait until he is called. consumer stated that he is afraid to drive without air bags.*ak | |||
| 05/10/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving through an intersection the vehicle was hit by another vehicle on the front right side. the consumer stated that both frontal air bags did not deploy upon impact. the driver sustained minor injuries as a result. please provide any additional information. *nm | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | |||
| 08/12/2004 | 3 | 08/11/2004 | |
| Picked up my brand new saturn ion-2 on 11 aug 04 at 6:30 p.m. from the saturn of fayetteville, nc dealership. rove the vehicle to take my daughter to school on 12 aug o4. 12 aug 04, milage at the time of incident: 56 miles hile driving at approximately 35 mph preparing to make a left-hand turn, the air bag ready light came on. it remained on for 10-15 seconds. after making a left hand turn, while traveling approximately 8 miles per hour, the air bag ready light came on again, and remaind on for approximately 10-15 seconds. 3 aug 04. vehicle milage at the time of incident: 87 miles the next day while driving the vehicle to the saturn dealership for a service check, the air bag ready light came on again and remained on fro approximately 10-15 seconds.. vehicle milage :102 at time of service the saturn service depatement told me that they could find no indication that the light ever came on, but if it happened again, then bring it back.*ak | |||