Oddly enough on this particular day, I had used my spear keys instead of my daily keys (so this key had no wear and tear). I had stopped at CVS on my lunch break, opened my car door and the car kept making a DING DING sound - so I checked to see if I had left or turned on my lights and they weren't on, so went into CVS. When I came out of CVS, I unlocked the door and put my key in the ignition only to realize that the top half of the key had broken off inside ignition. To my surprise the car started. However on several occasions I’ve gone to my car and tried to start it and realized that the battery was dead because sometimes the key doesn’t shut the car off without you knowing it.

When I took my car to the dealership for a recall on the electric power steering, I had shown customer service and told that it wasn’t a common problem and it would not be fixed. I refuse to dump anymore money into this car since my car has less than 45,000 miles and I’ve had to replace the sway bar twice in 7 months. RECENTLY, tires and then told I need another $1,400 to fix the suspension and struts & other miscellaneous things. I’ve taken care of my car with oil changes, tire rotations, etc and it infuriates me that I’ve purchased a car and had to invest over $3,000 prior to paying the car off and the car still needs additional repairs.

For about the past year I've been experiencing the same problems with the ignition key sticking as the other complaints I've read. I was thinking it was only my car and was searching for a the cost of a new ignition set. Then I found this website and realized I was not the only one with this problem and Saturn should have come up with a fix years ago. I have only 85k on the vehicle but I've past the 5 years on the warranty.

What can we do? A new ignition set is expensive! I've owned cars that were over 40 years old and never had this type of problem.

Update from Oct 9, 2013: I found somewhat of a cheap fix for the key sticking in the ignition. I sprayed the key with silicon and a little into the ignition and the key doesn't stick as much as it has in the past. Let's hope this keeps working.

ignition interlock my car won't turn and can't get the key

I have owned my Saturn 4 years now. In the last 3 years I have had to replace the ignition and key cylinder 3 times and i had to pay for it every time. 240.00. I complained to the Attorney General of Ky and got turned down due to not being a safety issue. Well I seem to think that when your car won't turn off that should be a safety issue for the customer. I tried to go through GM customer service and got turned down all 3 times !!! Im was treated like a dismissed customer !!! I hate GM and i think that when this part broke the first time the company GM should have taken care of this and recalled this car or at least paid for the part to be replaced every time it broke. I t 's not a good feeling when you go places for enjoyment and have to worry about your car turning off when you stop the car. and worrying about the key getting stuck and I have had the sway bar links to be a problem too !! And the rack pinion rattles all the time and sounds like your car is going to fall apart !!! GM don't want to back up their defective parts !!! I hate GM !!! I WILL NEVER OWN A GM AGAIN !!!

I cannot get the key out of the ignition when I stop the car and try to turn it off. I have to sit there and keep turning the key back and forth multiple times to turn the car off and get the key out. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING! GM NEEDS TO RECALL THESE CARS! They have too many problems. I owned a 1997 Honda for years and never had any problems like this. It ran like a charm and I owned it up to 200,000 miles. As soon as I can get rid of the Saturn I will. GM WAKE UP! Help us out and FIX THESE CARS!

PARKED VEHICLE. WENT TO TURN IT OFF AND KEY WOULD NOT TURN BACK TO OFF POSITION. CAR WOULD NOT STOP RUNNING. FINISHED DRIVE HOME. TRIED ACCESS TO SWITCH INSIDE COLUMN AS POINTED OUT IN DRIVER MANUAL. ALSO TRIED TURNING WHEEL BACK AND FORTH, SHIFTING, ETC. AS POINTED OUT IN MANUAL. KEY WOULD NOT COME OUT. DISCONNECTED BATTERY AND PULLED FUSE ON INJECTORS TO GET IT TO STOP. TOOK TO DEALER THE NEXT MORNING, AFTER LEAVING IT PARKED OUTSIDE, UNLOCKED WITH KEYS INSIDE THE CAR, AND STARTING IT BY RECONNECTING BATTERY AND INSERTING FUSE. CYLINDER KIT AND HOUSING KIT WERE REPLACED AT DEALERSHIP AND 1 SET OF KEYS WERE REPLACED. TOLD THAT BOTH KEYS WOULD WORK. TESTED THEM IN DEALER LOT, NEITHER SET WORKED WELL IN THE TRUNK OR THE DOORS, BUT THEY BOTH STARTED AND STOPPED THE CAR. BILL CAME TO $701.11. I LEFT DEALERSHIP TO GET LUNCH HALF A MILE AWAY, WENT THROUGH DRIVE THRU AND THEN TO OFFICE ANOTHER HALF MILE AWAY. PARKED CAR TO GO INSIDE, KEY TURNED VEHICLE OFF BUT WOULD NOT COME OUT OF IGNITION. DROVE BACK TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY RECHECKED IT, APPARENTLY SPRAYED SOME GRAPHITE INTO THE IGNITION, TESTED IT SEVERAL TIMES AND AT THIS POINT WORKS, BUT I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THIS NOT HAPPENING AGAIN. RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWS ME HUNDREDS OF OTHERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM AND NO RECALL TO THIS POINT. NOT EVEN AN INVESTIGATION.

My 97 Saturn Ion has been a great car, up until the key got stuck in the ignition and I couldn't turn it to the off position. Luckily, I have a standard shift, so I intentionally stalled it out, then disconnected the battery. Nothing will dislodge the stupid key, so I am currently getting estimates on the cost to fix it. Will need an new ignition and reprogramming, estimates are ranging from $250 to $650. Don't have it, so I guess I'll keep disconnecting and reconnecting the battery in order to use the car until I save enough money. This problem definitely warrants a RECALL, as every mechanic I talked to acknowledged that this was a known problem with Saturn Ions.

have been the owner of a 2007 Saturn Ion for 3 years. The key would not come out of my ignition and my car would not turn off. I turned the wheel from side to side, even drove back around the block and tried switching gears... nothing. I tried the owners manual and I still had no luck, The owners manual says to remove a small plate underneath the steering wheel and stick your finger inside and move the /"plunger/" towards the drivers side door which should release the key. Well, there is no button, switch, or anything of the sort in that little hole, just some grease and wires. I unhooked the battery in the trunk and NOTHING!! THE CAR WAS STILL ON!!! SO finally I unplugged the wire under the hood which runs the computer system and my car turned off. It stayed in the ON position all night with the key stuck in it, They are issuing cheap keys that are tearing up the tumblers. So they are saving money on the keys and making money off of you.

I have owned my Saturn ION since December 2007 and the first problem was the car would not turn off. From then on until now (and it is iffy if the problem is fixed) I have had problems with the ignition key being stuck. It has been repaired, replaced and the complete housing unit replaced, up to 3 times now. I love my Saturn ION; however I am 73 yrs. old and do not need this type of problem, thank god it is not a more serious problem. I would be interested to know of any other problems people have with their 2007 Saturn ION 4 dr. sedan. Thanks

My key wont turn back easily. It started as an intermittent problem and became a huge issue. I took it to the dealership to be fixed and the repair lasted for about 2 weeks, at most, maybe even less. It started back every once in a while but now is doing it 75% to 80% of the time. I narrowed it down to something not engaging in the steering column when the car is put into park. Sometimes it does and I hear a click. I took it to the dealership today and was told that during the last fix, they changed a small actuator in the steering column out. I'm due to bring it to them on Tuesday (2/10/09). We'll see what happens.

2007 Saturn Ion Key Stuck - cannot remove key from ignition switch. First began as intermittent problem, has become very frequent. Park and turn off car and then key will not rotate all the way off and key will not remove. Have to sit and screw around with it for a while or leave it in. Car isn't even a year old yet! I suppose warranty will cover it for now, but leaving my car at the dealer is a huge inconvenience.

GM recently celebrated their 100th anniversary - so why they still cannot make an ignition switch that works properly - well, it is just unacceptable.