Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | ||||||||||||||||
| 04V004000 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | from 06/01/2002 to 09/30/2003 | V (Vehicle) | 79204 | 12/30/2003 | MFR | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 01/05/2004 | 01/14/2004 | 571 | 118 | |||||
| Defect Summary | Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 118, power-operated window, partition, and roof panel systems. the power windows and/or sunroof may be operable after the ignition has been turned to the off position and the front passenger door is opened. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If unsupervised children are left unattended in the vehicle and operate the power windows or sunroof, there is an increased risk of injury to the child. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will upgrade the body control module (bcm) calibration. owner notification began on december 30, 2003. owners should contact saturn at 1-800-972-8876. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Gm recall no. 03069.customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236). | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||||
| 030864038 | 10/01/2004 | 030864038A | 10005573 | Aftermarket window tinting scratched or torn. *tt | 03/04/2004 |
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - REAR WINDOW | |||||
| 050848003 | 09/01/2005 | 050848003A | 10017502 | Rear defogger grid inoperative or incomplete defogging of rear glass. *tt | 11/09/2005 |
| VISIBILITY - SUN ROOF ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 040867007 | 10/01/2004 | 10012748 | Sunroof drain hose rattle. *tt | 03/14/2005 | |
| 040867004 | 06/01/2004 | 10008006 | Itch/squeak type noise coming from the sunroof area. *tt | 07/19/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 03/29/2012 | 80000 | ||
| I am not exactly sure on the dates of when we noticed the problems. so far i have had serious problems with my 04 ion's front suspension, the cheaply made plastic wiper linkages that break easy while driving down the road making it difficult and dangerous while driving in rain, the ignition lock cylinder has been replaced 3 times so far because the part fails and you cannot start your car, and most recently i went to my local dealer to ask about a clunking noise it makes when going over any bumps to find out that there is a bulletin for a known steering linkage or steering motor (eps) problem. i was told that on these cars the steering links/motor have tendancy to break! if that is to happen while driving down the road it could result in death! i've also done some searching online and found many forums/articles with others having the same problems with this specific make/model. one comment i read the person said this car is a death trap! mine and many other's 04 saturn ion's have alot of known yet serious issues but saturn still has no recalls for this car!! somebody please help fix this problem! -concerned/frusturated saturn owner. | |||
| 05/28/2011 | 58000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the contact stated the windshield wipers fractured while driving 55 mph in heavy rain conditions. the dealer advised the contact that his vin was not included in any related recalls. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who diagnosed that there was a faulty plastic windshield wiper hinge. the windshield wiper motor and transmission were replaced. the current mileage was 59,000. the approximate failure mileage was 58,000. the vin was unavailable. rk | |||
| 05/28/2011 | 58000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. the contact stated that the windshield wipers fractured while driving 55 mph in heavy rain. the dealer advised the contact that his vin had not been included in any recalls. the manufacturer was aware of the failure. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a faulty plastic hinge and replaced the windshield wiper motor and transmission. the current mileage was 59,000. the approximate failure mileage was 58,000. the vin was unavailable. bw | |||
| 12/09/2009 | 93000 | 1 | |
| I was driving down a busy highway during a snow storm, my wiper on the driver side began acting funny. then went up past my windshield kicking the wiper completely off onto the highway, making it impossible for me to see anything. i found it is something to do with the windshield motor assembly. which i am now trying to get a new one. every junk yard i have gone to says the same thing...every part that i need they pull out and it is also broken on the same models. saturn has told me there is no recall on this part. why is there no recall if it is broken in every saturn!? *tr | |||
| 05/20/2009 | 0 | 1 | |
| Knob for the defroster/air/heating failed to work. switch doesn't change it to defrost/front/floor like its suppose to. it just comes out front,can't switch. doesn't clear windshield of frost,ice,fog,etc. *tr | |||
| 09/22/2008 | 25106 | 1 | |
| Failure of a wiring harness in a front door that controls windows, mirrors and door lock. a 2004 saturn ion with 25, 106 miles had 5 broken wires in the drivers door. the left rear door has no power at the window switch. this failure is due to an inherent design flaw that forces tiny wires to bend 2 times at 90 degrees and be slammed by a door!! think of the safety of unlocking a door in a panic situation or driving with a window down in rain, sleet, cold, etc., and a fuse is not the problem. *tr | |||
| 07/21/2008 | 57000 | 1 | |
| Drivers side wiper arm won't maintain contact with windshield flips up in the air whole arm assembly seems to be loose. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES - EXTERIOR | |||
| 02/28/2006 | 1 | 03/16/2004 | |
| No specific accident has occurred but numerous close calls have occurred as a result of what apparently is a design flaw. the driver-side outside rear-view mirror cannot be adjusted (electrically or manually) over the angle ranges needed for safe driving and always available on previously owned vehicles. the mirror can be adjusted so that the driver can see well back into the vehicle (which is worthless) and only outwardly to the point that the left side of the car is still visible. adjustment to allow visibility other than straight back is not possible. the service person said that a physical stop inside the housing prevented any movement further out and there was nothing that could be done. entering a freeway this way is very hazardous since the on-coming traffic in the near lane cannot be seen. in an attempt to show the service person how it should work we went to another model of saturn and the results were exactly the same indicating that (at least) more than one model of saturn has this same visibility problem. *nm | |||
| VISIBILITY - REAR WINDOW WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 07/21/2008 | 57000 | 1 | |
| Drivers side wiper arm won't maintain contact with windshield flips up in the air whole arm assembly seems to be loose. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 12/22/2007 | 48012 | 1 | 08/27/2004 |
| Following several weeks of heavy snowfall the windshield wiper transmission on my 2004 saturn ion failed. the failure occurred on a clear day while using the windshield wipers to clean off the windshield. the failure caused a potentially unsafe condition due to the accumulation of salt residue on the windshield caused by driving on the highway. dealer replaced the windshield wiper transmission and said that the failure was caused by ice loading and cautioned me to make sure and clear away ice and snow before activating the windshield wipers. *tr | |||
| 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 | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER - LINKAGES | |||
| 02/23/2008 | 17754 | 1 | 09/27/2004 |
| Windshield wiper transmission assembly failed. driver's side pivot arm is made of plastic and broke suddenly! cannot use the wipers at all. definitely a safety problem!!!!!! *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | |||
| 06/04/2012 | 88960 | ||
| Driving down hiway when drivers side wiper went past the a post then jumped back to the base of the windshield. | |||