10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,419 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2006 Saturn Ion:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #9

Aug 142017

Ion

  • 170,000 miles
Door would not open from the inside, or the outside. Almost impossible for a person with chf and knee issues to exit. Not to mention, if there was an accident.

- Toney, AL, USA

problem #8

Oct 202016

Ion

  • 87,000 miles
The drivers door will not open. Appears the latch is broken

- Apple Valley, MN, USA

problem #7

Oct 282012

Ion

  • 81,000 miles
A lowes box truck hit my passenger side and took out the mirror and front panels. I'm getting really disgusted with GM. They owe me $696 for my ignition switch I had to replace long before they decided to recall anything. I just want my money back. Thank you.

- Chino Valley, AZ, USA

problem #6

Jul 022014

Ion 4-cyl

  • 96,200 miles
Trim panel designed to cover window frame on front doors of the coupe body style flew off at highway speeds with no warning. Panel struck vehicle in the next lane. Have since discovered the same trim on the other side is also loose. Photo of where the missing piece attaches is available at I.imgur.com/C5abklcl.jpg - this piece is large enough to easily break a windshield or cause injury to a pedestrian if it comes off at highway speeds.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #5

Feb 082014

Ion 4-cyl

  • 64,000 miles
I was driving home early one morning and my ignition had shut off like it had many times before this time the weather conditions being snowy and slushy caused me to get stuck and the vehicle was yanked into the ditch. I had called the claims number after my car had sat at the dealership for about 2 months maybe longer and they told me since the claim was not filed as of the recall came out they are not responsible for it. There is nothing that GM can do they will not refund me for the money to replace my radiator, condenser, and cooling fan that I needed repaired at that time to make my vehicle run. I did not have money at the time to fix the cosmetic damage in the fender and the bumper so that is still broken. The claims department advised me since it was so long after the acident they could not check the vehicles records to see if the vehicle had actually shut off. Now the reason my car is sitting at the dealer ship is because this time my car was stuck running the key is in the on position and couldnt be turned off. I would like some action to be taken or someone to contact me in order to get this taken care of.

- Orchard Park, NY, USA

problem #4

Dec 092013

Ion

  • 59,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The contact was making a right turn at 15 mph when the driver's side door opened without being engaged. The contact also stated that he was unable to shut the engine off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where the contact was informed that the ignition barrel switch seized and was fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who confirmed the failure and also stated that the door latch was fractured. The ignition barrel switch was repaired but not the door latch failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 59,000.

- Langley Afb, VA, USA

problem #3

Oct 192013

Ion 4-cyl

  • 72,500 miles
I recently experienced a malfunctioning door latch actuator. On two separate occasions, driver was trapped in the car because neither the interior or exterior door handle would actuate the door latch, opening the door. Exterior, interior manual, interior power and remote power locks were repeatedly actuated to no avail. Eventually, the door finally opened after using a hangar through the window cavity to bump one of the linkage arms. If there were an accident, this could pose a serious threat to a successful evacuation.

- Richmond Hill, GA, USA

problem #2

Oct 152010

Ion 4-cyl

  • 67 miles
When I first got my 2006 Saturn Ion, I was the first and only owner bought it from the Saturn dealership with less than a 50 miles on the car. Before 30 days of owning the automobile it quit on me in the middle of busy intersection endangering myself and my children. I took it to the dealership where they have claimed to fix the ignition switch on the automobile, several weeks later the same problem occurred they then replaced the key. Then months later my alarm started going off spontaneously, the battery went dead on the automobile which I have replaced 3 times, the ignition switch went out again I had to replace that myself out of pocket in March of 2009. Still after replacing the battery, getting the ignition switch fixed twice, and having the electrical parts looked at the car still continues to have the same problems. If I get gas why the car is not cranked it will not crank back up for hours!!! it will go dead while I'm driving on a freeway does this all the time! this Saturn Ion has caused me nothing but money and problems since I've had it I purchased a additional warranty on the automobile when I bought it and they refuse to replace or fix any of the work on the automobile when I only have gotten my car serviced with Saturn they do all of my oil changes, and maintenance and charge me a arm and leg to maintain the maintenance on the automobile. I have had to pay so much money on this automobile for maintenance that should not even be a issue at this time my car doesn't even have 84K on it yet. The engine seems to shake when the car sits still, the car quits if the engine is not running when you get fuel, the car quits at red lights, the car power steering gets real hard to turn when you try to turn the steering wheel, the Saturn Ion is definitely a dud! you can smell gas sometimes coming from this automobile, and the battery is in the trunk of the car...so when it drains my battery goes go dead. The defects on this automobile will kill someone one day.

- Arlingotn, TX, USA

problem #1

Jan 152008

Ion

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The power steering failed and nearly caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle on several occasions. The failure occurred while driving 70 mph; however, the speed has varied. The connecting panel on the driver side of the vehicle between the two doors on the outside of the vehicle fell off onto the freeway. The current mileage was 42,000 and the failure mileage was 40,000. Updated 09/16/08. Updated 09/18/08

- Dear Born Heights, MI, USA