2004 Saturn ION Ion-3 Special Edition review from North America

Will not start on cold mornings despite new battery. Dealer claims that the terminal was loose and would not refund diagnosis fee when proven otherwise.

Passenger front and rear windows stopped working. Dealership (erroneously) claimed that 2 new regulators were required. I took it home and found severed and worn wires in drivers side door where insufficient wire protection was installed at the factory. Dealer did refund half of the diagnostic fee.

Vibration in front at highway speeds, and a clunking noise up front when I go over even a minor bump in cold conditions. Most likely worn bushings. Started at 60K miles. I refused to take it to the dealer since they are clearly idiots primarily interested in soaking customers for as much as they can.

Too many loose interior panels and components to list.

The sound system is very nice, but the clock on the radio looses 10 minutes to actual time over approximately a month.

The dealership supposedly changed the oil at one point, but the change oil indicator came on shortly after. I took it to another oil change facility and their belief is that the oil had not been changed for at least 10K miles since it was basically sludge. The dealer (supposedly) did the previous oil change as well. I now change my own oil (painful experience).

I love the location of the instrument panel in the center of the console. This aids in checking speed without taking eyes off the road.

Access to the oil filter is through a plastic cap that is VERY cumbersome to remove without the right tool.

This would be an awesome car if it was not falling apart. It is too bad that GM had to step in and mess up a good thing (Saturn that is). My previous car was a '95 SL and it was great, but based on my experience with this ION, I will not step foot in another Saturn or GM dealership, even though my father is a GM retiree and I get the family member discount.