10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
18 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
12 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,767 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #214

Jan 042012

Ion 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
Operating the 2007 Saturn Ion with 80,000 miles on a major highway when "pwr steering" appeared on my dash display. The vehicle became difficult to control; however, I'm a 28 year old marine and I can handle the vehicle. If this was to occur to an adult over 65 years of age or to a teenage driver, then this could most certainly cause a wreck. I have been driving my vehicle without pwr steering as I can not afford the $1500 replacement/fix of the power steering problem. I'm waiting for a recall. The subject vehicle was bought new in October 2006 and I have been the only owner.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #213

Nov 072011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 35,297 miles
Odometer dings three times and reads pwr stg can barely turn the steering wheel and under 15 mph.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #212

Dec 172011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 59,210 miles
I have a problem with the power steering lights goes on and it is difficult to drive, the car has less than 60K miles and really bad that the manufacture doesn't take care of this malfunction. I need to know how to get it fix this problem because it seems that the problem came from the manufacturer.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #211

Dec 122011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 55,000 miles
The electric steering keeps going out and took it to an authorized Saturn dealer and they said that the would have to check it to see why its going out as there has been recalled on the electric steering in the Pontiac G6 which has the same problem and carries the same system and the dealer told me if its not the motor I have to pay $97.50 for them to find out its not the motor in the steering plus what it cost to fix it there has been problems with the electric steering there should be a full recall on all the one that uses the same part with the ones that have been recalled all ready this is a big safety issue and GM should pay to correct the problem not charge a customer to check what's wrong with it as there is still some warranty on the car this problem needs fixed and I don't have the money to pay out the car only has 55,600 miles on it shouldn't be having problems like this hope you can help with this issue and get GM to do a recall on this for theses cars power steering failure like that makes the car hard to steer.

- Greenwood , IN, USA

problem #210

Dec 312011

Ion

  • miles
I was driving with my young daughter in the car and as I was turning onto another road, the powering steering failed and I was nearly in an accident. I read that GM thought there wasn't enough evidence to warrant a recall for this problem! it's electronically control and has failed on thousands of people. Do we have to wait until people are fatally injured before they fix this?! we have enough to worry about while we're driving and if this senseless issue cause my little girl to get hurt, I would personally go to the GM headquarters and kick them in their multi billion dollar [xxx]! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Valley City, OH, USA

problem #209

Dec 232011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 29,000 miles
We have had three occasions in which the power steering has failed while in motion on the 2007 Saturn Ion. This is a notorious problem, over 5000 complaints for the same issue, with this vehicle and yet you have not issued a recall. Power steering going out while driving is a massive safety issue. Luckily the first time it went out I was driving and not my wife, B/C at 50+ mph she would not have been able to handle the car. The steering wheel on the car is quite small and driving without power steering is very difficult even for a reasonably experienced individual driving without power steering. You are failing to do your job and putting people's lives at risk as this is an issue that you supposedly investigated in 2009. This is completely inexcusable and an immediate recall should be issued before you get people killed.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #208

Nov 152011

Ion

  • miles
The power steering goes out as the car is driving until stopped and started again.

- Cedar Springs, MI, USA

problem #207

Dec 012011

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles
My power steering light came on and I noticed that I had lost the power steering ability. With difficulty, I steered the car to the side of the road and turned the car off and then back on and the power steering was working again. This has happened multiple times and with the research I have done, I feel it needs to be recalled for my specific Saturn. I bought the car used 1.5 years ago and did not know of any problems until now. I have over 100xxx miles on it but that should not exclude me from any recalls that may be issued in the future. I drive my car over 200 miles a day and no longer feel safe in it. This is my 3rd Saturn and I have always loved them but I am very disappointed that this has not been recalled on my car when it is a very specific problem that is happening and being recalled in other vehicles. I got an estimate of over $1000 to fix the problem but I do not have that kind of money laying around. I just hope that I do not get in an accident because of this. If that does happen, GM will be hearing from my attorney.

- Pine City, MN, USA

problem #206

Dec 152011

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles
I was driving on 95 North 12-15-2011 and the power steering warning light came on and automatically my powersteering shut off completely to where I was unable to turn the wheel at all. I turned the car off and on and low and behold the wheel as fine. Thought everything was fine untilthe next day 12-16-2011 I was driving on 95 North again and it did it a second time this time my two year old son was in the car with me (not safe at all) and it was rush hour luckily I was able to turn the car ff and on again and it worked so I could get home, this needs to be fixed and recalled as I have done my research and it seems that this is a major issue with this car.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

problem #205

Sep 032011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
The power steering stopped working while driving. A warning light saying pwr steering appeared when this happened. The car was drivable but hard to maneuver due to lack of power steering. Once I restart the car it resets and the power steering is normal until the problem recurs which is often. There is could happen on a short or long drive. I could drive a block the light appears I shut the car off it resets and I could drive for miles and it not happen again or go another block only for the problem to happen all over again. From my understanding this is a recognized issue with this make and model of Saturn and it will be fixed under warranty. How do I go about getting this fixed without it costing me since this is a known problem. I am reporting in hoping it will help to have this problem be officially called a recall by GM and Saturn and fixed once and for all.

- Belleville, NJ, USA

problem #204

Sep 022011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 112,000 miles
The power steering failure light comes on and I will have no power steering. I can cut car off and wait a few minutes and then the light is out and the power steering working. Very sporadic. Sometimes happens 3 or 4 times in 40 mile trip. Sometimes does not happen at all. If very dangerous when it happens and I am turning a corner.

- Rosenberg, TX, USA

problem #203

Aug 032011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 111,111 miles
I want to add my vehicle to the list of complainants that are having trouble with the faulty power steering issue on the 2004-2007 Saturn Ions. I have had this trouble since the beginning of August this year almost right at 100,000 miles. That makes my car ineligible for the reimbursement offer GM has. It is only good for 10 years and 100,000 miles I was just past that. However, if you are forcing them to issue a recall I don't see why they should not have to fix my car as well. The incidents, thankfully, have only occurred while I was driving, and I have been able to control the vehicle. I have been fortunate enough to not have it go out in mid turn yet, and I have not had it go out at low speeds in high traffic yet. These are the most dangerous times, I believe, for the loss of power steering. Fortunately the unit has never failed while my wife was driving. In addition to being a touch physically weaker than I am she is terrified of driving anyway, and I fear if it happened to her she would absolutely have an accident as a result. I have also had problems with the cruise control not working since I purchased the vehicle on August 28, 2006. I took it in once under warranty to have it repaired and they said it was a well known loose wiring issue. It wasn't more than a month or so later that I was having the same issue. When I took it in for repair this time, they told me it was no longer covered under warranty and they wanted $600 to repair a "known loose wiring issue" I was understandably upset about that and chose to just have a finicky cruise control since then.

- Cordova, TN, USA

problem #202

Aug 042010

Ion 4-cyl

  • 69,000 miles
I would be on my way to work or to the store and then all of the sudden my car lost all power, and would shut its self down. Therefore causing me to have to coast off to the side somewhere with my power steering locked up. Once my car would start running again any where from 10- 20 mins my power steering wouldn't function for the first 2 mins causing me to sit and wait till it kicks in. Not only does this happen, but when I get low on gas and go to fill up, after putting gas in my car it wont start!!!! I have to sit there about 10 mins cranking trying to get it to start up once I do I cant release my foot off the gas for about 3 min or my car dies.

- Huntington, WV, USA

problem #201

Oct 092011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
Intermittent failure of the electric power steering system. I read that other GM products with the same problem were being recalled, but not the Saturn. I was told that because I had a salvage title my vehicle would not be repaired under special coverage adjustment, eventhough it is listed as eligible by year, mileage, and VIN number. I feel that this defect should be corrected and would be under a recall.

- Dracut, MA, USA

problem #200

Nov 162011

Ion

  • 62,110 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. While driving approximately 10 mph, a loss of power steering occurred with the illumination of the warning indicator. The contact maneuvered to the side of the road and turned the engine off. Upon restarting, the steering began to operate normally without the warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 62,110.

- Victorville, CA, USA

problem #199

Jul 012011

Ion

  • miles
At any rate of speed, the electric assist steering motor will shut off leaving the driver to use brute force to steer the car right. The steering wheel "locks" to the left and the car will naturally drift that direction, requiring additional force to hold the car within the driving lane.

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #198

Jul 172011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 105,000 miles
The electronic power steering continually fails resulting in dangerous driving conditions. This should have been included in the earlier recall for cobalts as the parts are identical.

- Hales Corners, WI, USA

problem #197

Oct 062011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 42,504 miles
The GM dealer advised that the steering column needed to be replaced. I contacted General Motors because they had sent an earlier letter saying there could be a problem with the power steering element. The district representative subsequently advised that they do not know why my steering column needs to be replaced (e.g. cracked, leaking, corroded, whatever) but they do know it is not the power steering element. The representative did say that GM would pay for the parts but I would have to pay for the labor. I asked him to send me this in writing so I'd have it to take to the dealer but have not been able to get this despite follow-up messages left for the rep. It does seem there is an issue with the steering columns of this particular Saturn model but I guess I'll just have to wait until the power steering fails to get GM to do the right thing.

- Pompton Lakes, NJ, USA

problem #196

Oct 312011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 67,000 miles
I was on my way home when I turned on my street at about 15 mph, the warning light came on and the power steering went out. I had a hard time turning into my drive. I worry about what would happen if I were on a busy highway and this happened.

- Mount Juliet, TN, USA

problem #195

Oct 312011

Ion

  • 27,300 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. The contact was driving 35 mph when the power steering warning light flashed illuminated with a failure of the power steering assist. The steering became extremely difficult and the contact shut the vehicle off. The power steering assist resumed normal operation once the vehicle was restarted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 27,300.

- Amherst, NY, USA

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