Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 10/10/2011 | 110000 | 1 | |
| When i was going south on i-95 in georgia i heard a warning tone from my saturn and saw a warning on my dash that was for the power steering. immediately i could tell i had lost my power steering because changing lanes felt sluggish and a bit difficult. (not physically difficult but more difficult than usual) the light stays on and i have no power steering until i shut off the car and restart it. then it is like nothing has happened. at slower speeds this could cause an accident due to the amount of force that is required to turn. the biggest problem is not for me but for my wife who cannot physically control the car when this happens. this is definitely a dangerous problem that needs to be taken care of. *tr | |||
| 10/10/2011 | 110000 | ||
| When i was going south on i-95 in georgia i heard a warning tone from my saturn and saw a warning on my dash that was for the power steering. immediatly i could tell i had lost my power steering because changing lanes felt sluggish and a bit difficult. (not physically difficult but more difficult than usual) the light stays on and i have no power steering untill i shut off the car and restart it. then it is like nothing has happend. at slower speeds this could cause an accident due to the amount of force that is required to turn. the biggest problem is not for me but for my wife who cannot physically control the car when this happens. this is definatley a dangerous problem that needs to be taken care of. | |||
| 09/29/2012 | 106902 | 1 | |
| Out of the blue, the console made alert noises and the pwr str message appeared. the steering became almost impossible to control, as the power steering went out. fortunately, i was in a housing development and not the highway, intersection or other dangerous area. *tr | |||
| 09/29/2012 | 106902 | ||
| Out of the blue, the console made alert noises and the pwr str message appeared. the steering became almost impossible to control, as the power steering went out. fortunately, i was in a housing development and not the highway, intersection or other dangerous area. | |||
| 04/28/2012 | 113000 | ||
| The power steering went out while i was driving, making the car very, very difficult to steer. problem now recurs whenever i drive the car, beginning shortly after i start driving. | |||
| 12/14/2011 | 85487 | ||
| Multiple failures of electrical system. gauges drop to zero, the engine may or may not stop running, then the dash warning lights ( ie oil warning light, ect ) come on, and then dash returns to normal. if the car is moving the engine starts running again. one steering warning message during a left hand turn. the car was difficult to steer into and out of the corner. i am willing to turn my car over to have the steering and electrical system checked out. saturn has been unable to repair the electrical system since the car was new. the factory extended warranty was used to check this issue out as well. | |||
| 04/07/2012 | 87000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the contact stated that when traveling at any speed, the power steering light would illuminate. moments later, the vehicle would become extremely difficult to steer. however after restarting the vehicle, the failure was reset. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.the current and failure mileages were 87,000. | |||
| 12/14/2011 | 85487 | ||
| Multiple failures of electrical system. gauges drop to zero, the engine may or may not stop running, then the dash warning lights ( ie oil warning light, ect ) come on, and then dash returns to normal. if the car is moving the engine starts running again. one steering warning message during a left hand turn. the car was difficult to steer into and out of the corner. i am willing to turn my car over to have the steering and electrical system checked out. saturn has been unable to repair the electrical system since the car was new. the factory extended warranty was used to check this issue out as well. | |||
| 04/07/2012 | 87000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the contact stated that when traveling at any speed, the power steering light would illuminate. moments later, the vehicle would become extremely difficult to steer. however after restarting the vehicle, the failure was reset. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.the current and failure mileages were 87,000. kmj | |||
| 12/14/2011 | 85487 | ||
| Multiple failures of electrical system. gauges drop to zero, the engine may or may not stop running, then the dash warning lights ( ie oil warning light, ect ) come on, and then dash returns to normal. if the car is moving the engine starts running again. one steering warning message during a left hand turn. the car was difficult to steer into and out of the corner. i am willing to turn my car over to have the steering and electrical system checked out. saturn has been unable to repair the electrical system since the car was new. the factory extended warranty was used to check this issue out as well. | |||
| 04/07/2012 | 87000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion.when traveling at any speed the contact noticed that the power steering light will appear on the dashboard, moments later the vehicle becomes very difficult to steer. however after restarting the vehicle the failure corrects itself. the vehicle has not been diagnosed and no repairs have been performed.the current and failure mileages were 87,000. bml | |||
| 11/07/2011 | 90654 | ||
| 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? | |||
| 10/15/2011 | 95354 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion 3. the contact was driving 30 mph when the power steering failure warning light illuminated. the failure light went off when the vehicle was restarted. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer, but the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 95,354. | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 31263 | ||
| Power steering went out. steering got hard to turn | |||
| 06/28/2010 | 69090 | ||
| 2004 saturn ion coupe steering just went out with no warning car would not steer the dash light just goes on and steering is gone hard to control car | |||
| 11/12/2009 | 13360 | 1 | |
| 2004 saturn ion 4 cylinder straight drive transmission-mileage 20,800. power steering message keeps coming on. in daily 62 mile drive, comes on a min of 6 times. have to pull off road, turn car off, wait for electronic steering to reset and turn car back on. when message flashes, steering is extremely hard to turn. if you are in a curve or turn can lead to an accident. has been happening since nov 2009. call saturn of concord, talked to service manager. said there was recall but my vin # was not included in recall. cost to repair - $50 diagnostic test - $800 for part. called gm cust service was basically told there was a recall but it was for chev. cobalt, not saturn ion. googled and found hundreds of customers who have had the same problem with saturn ion 2003, 2004, etc. gm cust service would not acknowledge that any complaints had been filed with gm using hippa law to justify not telling me if complaints have been filed. want gm to repair my car problem at no charge. obviously manuf defect in this model of saturn. *tr | |||
| 04/19/2010 | 68000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the power steering light illuminated and the power steering malfunctioned. when the contact turned off the vehicle and restarted it, the power steering functioned normally; however, the failure reoccurred constantly. the current and failure mileages were approximately 68,000. | |||
| 04/25/2010 | 101000 | ||
| The power steering on my 2005 saturn ion just went out while i was driving, with out any warning. and after talking with other people and a mechanic it sounds like it is a pretty big problem. | |||
| 12/01/2004 | 9000 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/19/2008 | 42000 | 1 | |
| My power steering goes out randomly...mostly when i'm on the interstate. this happens about twice a week and makes it difficult to maneuver. *tr | |||
| 12/08/2007 | 65120 | 2 | 10/14/2007 |
| My 16 year old daughter was driving when all of a sudden the power steering went out. she had to pull over because she could not turn the steering wheel. this is a serious safety problem and should be addresses immediately by the manufacturer. *tr | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 09/29/2006 | 46000 | 1 | 04/01/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while applying brake pressure at 35 mph on a street, there was a loss of all power steering without warning. afterwards, the power steering failure light illuminated. the contact turned the ignition off and restarted the engine, but the power steering returned. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who determined the steering column needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified. | |||