Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||||
| 3510 | 10016520 | Supplement to 05-06-01-003a - wrong throttle gasket part number. *tt | 09/20/2005 | ||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||||
| 040868001 | 03/01/2004 | 10006131 | Service manual update regarding the cruise control inoperative/malfunctioning diagnostic table. *tt | 04/21/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 09/20/2012 | 75755 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion-3. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel became inoperable. the contact managed to exit the roadway without incident however, experienced extreme difficulty in turning the steering wheel. the dealer was notified of the failure who advised that the repair was not under recall and offered no additional assistance. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 75,755. and the current mileage was 75,756. kmj | |||
| 09/20/2012 | 75755 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion-3. the contact stated that while driving at 50 mph the vehicle power steering was stalled and was inoperable. the contact managed the vehicle and exited out the road. the vehicle power steering was not able to turn at all and no warning lights were illuminated at all. the dealer was notified of the failure who stated that the vehicle repaired was not under any recall or warranty and offered no additional assistance. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 75,755. and the current mileage was 75,756. lg | |||
| 01/03/2012 | 91100 | ||
| When entering a highway and gathering speed, i removed my foot from the gas pedal and the car continued to accelerate. i applied the brakes but the car reached 85mph. i hit the gas pedal and the vehicle began to decelerate. i pulled off the road and turned off the vehicle. i restarted the vehicle and drove home (10 miles) without further incident. | |||
| 12/01/2003 | 1000 | ||
| The litany of problems with this unsafe and unreliable vehicle is long and varied. multiple transmission problems, electrical issues, losing power while driving, etc.. gm and saturn knew of these issues, especially the ones concerning the vti transmission, yet they chose to continue to put the public at risk by denying their responsibilities to correct these problems. the only real way, in my opinion, to make this right is to fully recall and replace these vehicles. this car has been nothing but a nightmare since i bought it brand new in late 2003 and continues to be a hazard. please force gm to do the right thing and get these cars off the road before someone gets killed. | |||
| 01/24/2011 | 129000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph when the throttle suddenly jammed and the vehicle was reving uncontrollably. the contact had to place the vehicle in neutral and coasted to the side. after getting out of his vehicle and inspecting it he went under his hood and placed the throttle back in its proper place. the vehicle was then towed to his home. it has not been inspected by a dealer nor has it been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 129,000. tb | |||
| 02/10/2010 | 17000 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 11/06/2008 | 67000 | 1 | |
| While slowing and preparing to stop for a traffic light, the vehicle began to accelerate, rpm's increased even though foot was off the accelerator. vehicle was difficult to stop and required more than normal foot pressure on brake pedal. once vehicle was stopped, engine continued to race. problem was corrected by turning off the key. problem has occurred three times randomly over the past year. on all occurrences, the cruise control was not in use. *tr | |||
| 09/15/2004 | 1 | ||
| I purchased vehicle in 2004 brand new. the car continues to have a high idle creating a very dangerous driving situation. i must reset the battery once a week to restore it to normal. it seems to be fine for a week and high idle comes back. i have difficulty starting the car in the cold winter months. i must turn the headlights on to warm up the battery before trying to start car. saturn was no help. now i am stuck with a lemon! help! *tr | |||
| 12/22/2007 | 42000 | 10 | 03/16/2006 |
| 2004 saturn ion 1 the car revs it's engine to over 3000 rpms when you put the car into park and idle. if you shut off the car it is ok, but if you put it into gear the car the lurches forward unsafely. *tr | |||
| 09/01/2004 | 10 | 05/20/2004 | |
| Multiple episodes with this car of sudden acceleration especially when putting car into drive or reverse. roadside assistance has had to start car for me 2 times. another time the car stalled while idling 4 times within 30 minute drive. tonight the car lost power completely while i was driving. i see multiple complaints on this page for the same problem. saturn has not been able to find any problems on their computer. i would like to fight this with the lemon law but i am so afraid to drive this car now that i want to just get rid of it as soon as possible. *jb | |||
| 09/15/2005 | 1 | 03/17/2005 | |
| Dt: 2004 saturn ion. while driving on the freeway at approximately 60-65 mph the vehicle began to slow down to almost no power. the rpms went to the red area, and the engine began to make a strange noise. the consumer coasted off the road, after a block or two she got back on the freeway. when driving at freeway speeds the vehicle began to do the same thing again. the vehicle was then taken to the dealership. the vehicle is currently at the dealership and they may not be able to get to it until monday. this happened on september 15, 2005. *ak (11/15/05) *sc | |||
| 07/15/2004 | 13 | ||
| While the vehicle parked while running the vehicle idling high on its own. the driver noticed while driving the vehicle would hesitate and would stalled. the driver tried to restart,but was able to do so. the driver was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer. the mechanic informed the driver that the vehicle was operating as design. *nm (possible valve sticking) when accelerating from stop, the vehicle would hesitate, then take off at a high rate of speed. this would also occur in reverse as well. there were times when accidents would almost occur. there would be high rpm's of 6000 plus. this was an intermittent problem. it was believed to be a problem with the vti transmission. additional problems: wind noise when sunshade was cracked, turn signal would not cancel on turns and the chime would go off and was an intermittent problems, the driver's side dash seemed loose and or misaligned, and the wipers would not clear the window. *sc | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||
| 12/02/2004 | 4000 | 1 | 08/07/2004 |
| Accelerator got stuck, the car continued speeding, tried to brake but brakes worn out, was ineffectice, crashed 5 cars because the car wont stop.*ak | |||
| 02/02/2004 | 3 | ||
| While releasing the accelerator pedal vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. driver applied the brake pedal and the vehicle continued to accelerate. driver was able to maintain control of vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection numerous times. however, the mechanic could not duplicate the problem. this information was provided by susan's mother brenda o'brien.*ak | |||
| 09/14/2004 | 150 | 1 | |
| While driving accelerator pedal, which was not bolted down, came off, causing the driver to lose shoe and it was wedged between the floorboard and the pedal. there was nothing there to secure the pedal. there were no end caps to keep the pedal in place. consumer asked for another vehicle equal in value to the one that was purchased. dealer offered consumer a vehicle of lesser value because they could not locate one of the same value. *ak | |||
| 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) | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||
| 03/29/2004 | 3500 | 2 | 01/27/2004 |
| By 3500 miles (after 1500mi when we could have returned it), the front passenger turn signal burnt out. the car was also sputtering when we started the engine. the mechanic found a cracked head, that we were told was probably present when we purchased the car; had we known we would've returned the car. we were given a rental car, but had to drive 45 min one way to get to saturn of green bay. within a month, the front driver turn signal had burnt out. the wiring was replaced while we waited 2 hrs with our 3 year old. we had to drive 1 hr 1way to saturn of appleton for repairs. in aug 2004, the car was making a noise when we turned onto a steep grade. in mi for vacation, we had to drive over 1 hr 1way to saturn of troy; the swaybar and mounting brackets had to be fixed. we waited for over 2 hrs with our son while it was fixed. in sept 2004, the front passenger side turn signal had to replace the resistor. we drove 1 hr 1 way for the repair, and had to wait 2 hrs with our son. we had asked about the cruise making a funny noise, but it was checked and we were told it was fine. in april 2005, the cruise stopped working and had to be fixed. it took over a week for the part to come in, and almost 2 weeks for it to be repaired at saturn of green bay. i had to go to the dealer 30 minutes early, be driven over to my school where i teach, walk to my second school i teach at, and wait for a driver to pick me up (20-40 min past when i was done for the day). despite everything we've been through with a new car that should need minimal care at this point, we've been basically told that we should take the $2600 hit to buy a new car while the dealer breaks even. this is poor salesmanship, and we will not be purchasing saturn products any longer. | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - LINKAGES | |||
| 08/20/2005 | 15051 | 1 | 08/10/2004 |
| Cold car start - backed from garage, while idle seemed very high. drove one block and throttle seemed to stick. foot off gas, car still traveled at 30mph and would not slow. rpm at 2000. stopped car and found that gas pedal cable linkage at rotating connection to throttle body did not fully return to full release position until manually moved full stroke about ten times. - car will be taken to dealer for inspection. | |||