Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-54
Right Front Passenger door had a scratch in it when the car was delivered. It took many calls and several trips to actually get it fixed.
Left Hub Assembly replaced around 12,000 miles.
Right Front Headlight would turn on and off intermittently. Problem was a bent pin in the fuse box.
Hood Release replaced around 20,000 miles.
When the Hood Release was replaced the dealership cracked the interior trim by the release. The dealership didn't tell me I had to find it myself.
The Headlights have turned a milk white and the parts are on order.
Replaced tires at 32,000 miles. The tires were cupped and I believe it was caused by the defective Swing Arm Bushings.
Swing Arm Bushing replaced at 32,000 miles on left and right front to correct a terrible noise when going over speed bumps or like itmes.
Currently there is a noise in the left front that sounds like the last time when the hub assembly was replaced.
There is a clunking when shifting out of drive/reverse into park/neutral. Seems to be the right front half-shaft causing the problem.
Transmission from time-to-time slips. Would take to dealer, but the problem is so intermittent it is likely they would do anything with it.
Dealership doesn't seem to care too much about customer service. The attitude of the dealership where I take the vehicle is terrible.
I really liked the car when I purchased it. Now though I'm looking at trading it in. I'm tired of dealing with the attitude of the dealership and with all the problems. I would go to another dealership, but the next closest on is 90 miles and I'm not traveling that far.
I would not recommend this car to anyone. In the back on my mind I'm thinking if you 've had all these troubles and there aren't many miles on the car, what is it going to be like when there are more miles.
I had less trouble with my 1997 Ford Escort in 129,000 miles than I've had with the Saturn ION at 34,000 miles.
I would recommend that you stay away from this car.
Couldn't agree more with the general comments about the ION. I have a 2003 Saturn ION 3 that I have taken into the dealer 5 times for the same problem of the left front running lamp and blinker going out (can you say L-E-M-O-N L-A-W?) Corporate Saturn told me that they "knew about this particular problem for awhile". Isn't that defrauding a customer by knowingly selling a defective product?? We have a law against that in California known as SB 1781. Maybe Saturn should look into that law.
Interesting comment about the milky white headlamp cover - I noticed this happening on my as well and thought that maybe it was just my imagination.
I purchased a 2003 ION Coupe that was enhanced with aftermarket upgrades. These included (but may not be limited to) modification to suspension (re: lowered vehicle), aftermarket exhaust, 17" rims, low profile rubber, tint and stereo upgrade.
Purchased in October 2003, I have accumulated (40,000Km (24 854 Miles) and have had many issues with my new car.
Have already replaced 2 sets of front tires due to a bad wheel alignment which had been there from the beginning. The upgraded rubbers and wheel alignment were at my expense, but the stock all-terrains were replaced at n/c.
Weather stripping on the rear passenger door was ripping off. The entire door was replaced. Tint on the window for the new door was supposed to be installed, but it's been over 3 months.
Suspension is very noisy and an extremely bumpy ride.
Modified exhaust system and or engine rattles during acceleration. I thought this one was my imagination until I started driving the loaner car yesterday.
Excessive engine noise in cab. Originally the steering 'boot' was replaced or greased which reduced the noise, but not eliminated it.
Now, it's in the shop because a lug nuts and the bolt or rod which it is secured to is snapping off. There is no evidence of twisting which may be cause by over-torquing and since the removal of the first snapped off bolt there was a re-occurrence of the very unique and easily identifiable noise which indicates to me that a second one is floating around loose in the hub (conceals lug nuts) on the aftermarket 17" rim.
I've had 2 or 3 life threatening problems. I don't know if my car is safe. Sure doesn't seem like it.
Suggestions on how to approach the dealer or manufacturer regarding these serious issues would be greatly appreciated.
Please email me at f@quic.ca.
I'm sorry, but I think that except for the problems with the lights, all of your problems are due to the modifications the previous owner did to the car. If that job was not done right (and many of them are not), it could create all of the suspension and wheel problems you mentioned. My guess would be that you probably bought somebody's beat up toy, and you are unfortunately getting what you payed for. If you pound on a car and do shoddy modifications to it, there is going to be problems. If you like the car lowered, I would find somebody competent to go over the job to see what things were done wrong (I suspect many). You might also find this to be a good opportunity for you to learn about cars yourself, and you could even participate in repairing this job, or do future work on the car yourself. If you want a modified car, it would be much better for you to be able to either supervise the job, or do it right yourself, instead of rolling the dice buying a modified car second hand. Good luck.
Hello.
We also have an ion level3.this car is a junker. it has 25,000 miles on it. it was bought brand new. hmm lets see. the steering wheel rubbs really bad.said they fixed it. yeah no still doing it. turn off the key and the radio stays on with the door open one week later got it back. doing 75 miles and hour on the free way it died. no warning.no nothing. told the dealer cannot find anything. a month later same thing.75 on the free way died. shut right off. stared back up and put in drive. and nothing would not go. waited 5 min then it took off slow. they said there was nothing wrong. last time back road died. towed in cannot finde anything.. lawyer says we have a good case for the LEMMON LAW. replaced the fusebox on this thing. and thecoolant jug.. never again...this cars name is CHRISTINE.
I own a 2004 Ion QC. I have about 12,000 miles and the only problem I've had is that the dome light rattles a little. I agree with the comment directed to the individual with the modified Ion. Build your own projects, don't buy somebody else's. You should have that checked over by a professional. I was a Saturn technician until 2004. Over all, the vehicles are a good value. You are paying 15-18,000 dollars for a 15-18,000 car. Also, I feel that people who buy a car during its first year of production are asking for trouble. It doesn't matter if it is a Saturn or a Mercedes-Benz. Time is needed to work out the kinks. Unfortunately that can't be done on a test track because a professional drivers habits are much different than your everyday driver. For anyone that has an issue with a Dealership inability to repair the vehicle, contact the dealership's general manager and request that they schedule your vehicle to come in when the technical field rep is going to be there. Good luck!
Sorry, but those of you that are disagreeing with the person's assessment of their modified ION are wrong. Modified or not, the problems that occurred on that ION - i. e - noisy suspension (Faulty or poorly lubricated bushings), rubbing noise from the steering, wind noise: these are common problems being had by a LARGE portion of all Ions, not just the modified one mentioned above. And, they are happening in newer model years too, not just the first model year! Saturn knows about these problems too, there are technical service bulletins for most of these problems (which is how the dealer is so quick to diagnose the problem when you bring the car in). Saturn needs to smarten up and make some serious improvements/modifications to these vehicles. In the meantime, the 2003-2005 model years are just poor buys - period.
The left and right front hub assembly had to be replaced at 35,000 miles. Now the car has 56,000 and the left is making the same noise again. Who else is having these problems? Sounds like a good candidate for a recall.
I don't quite agree with the Ion as being such a turd. I've had few, but very odd problems with the car. One, from THE EFFIN FACTORY! IT HAD A CUT AIRBAG IMPACT SENSOR WIRE and the dealership refused to fix it. Told me I would have to pay for it, costing, and I quote, "SEVERAL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS". Outside of that.. the brake rotors suck. have warped. twice. And of course the dealer said it was "user error". The only other thing is a tweaked CV joint on the driver side, however I fully own up to that one, I drive like an idiot sometimes and broke it when playing in a bunch of pine needles.
Have a 2003 Saturn ION and at the current stages it continues to lock out when trying to start it up. It happens a lot not sure what the problem is. Anyone with similar issue please advise.
I also have a 2003 Ion III and have had many of the problems listed by others. A/C started acting weird- set rotary switch to high, but fan only ran on slow speed. Did some research and learned others were having trouble with excessive grease inside the switch assembly. Pulled mine apart and sure enough! Cleaned it all up, put it back together, works fine now! Wonder how much that would have cost? Also had the same "lock out" problem others mentioned. Took to dealer and after $250+ they replaced the starter switch. Of course I asked for the old switch, opened it up and bingo! Excessive grease. I'm still having front-left turn signal bulbs burning out even after taking it in for the recall modification.
I've been a Saturn owner since 1993, but they've really changed since then. Service is terrible at my dealership. I used to trust them, but now I'm very wary and feel they're just trying to gouge me. They used to be "a different kind of company, a different kind of car" but now are just like every other car company, producing a typical car.
Get this, even the guy who called asking for my feedback kept trying to explain away all my complaints. He just wouldn't listen and kept insinuating that I had done something wrong or that my perceptions were incorrect. Kept mentioning that Aura won "Car of the Year." So what? MY CAR HAS PROBLEMS! In the "old days" they would have welcomed my feedback as an opportunity for improvement.
I have a 2003 Ion 3. I have had numerous problems with this vehicle and would like to trade it in for something with fewer problems. I have had the lock out problem and it cost about $300. I have had to replace my hood latch twice. I have had to replace the windshield wiper transmission, there's another $250 (I didn't even know the wiper had a transmission). I replaced the O2 sensor, and know my engine coolant sensor has gone out. It keeps telling me I am out, but it is full. And on top of all of that my front right blinker doesn't work. I changed the bulb and that didn't fix it. Needless to say I don't recommend this car.
I own a 2003 Saturn Ion and only had small aggravating problems in the beginning and also periodic problems with the transmission. The second month after purchasing the car I had trouble with it moving when shifted into reverse. I took the car in and the problem was "fixed". Next I had trouble starting the car - turn the key and nothing - when reported the incident was referred to as a common occurrence. Next, my car with only 39,000 miles would not climb a hill - it just would not move - in the middle of morning rush hour traffic. The car has been at the service center for five days waiting for a new transmission. I am thankful that I took out an extended warranty on the car other wise I would go broke trying to keep it in safe running condition. I must say that the service that I have received from my Saturn dealership has been exemplary. They have been apologetic and vigilant in there efforts to repair all problems.
My daughter has an '03 Ion 3. If you need to honk you need Superman to push the horn pad. Dealer says, "no problem" "It's O.K." The headlamp assemblies have fogged up. one @ 29,000 miles was replaced by dealer. The other one fogged up 1 month later @ 30,000 miles. Dealer says It will cost $200 to replace. No other options for that. Sorry about your luck! It also shut off on the highway at 70 MPH. Just died! Then started right up. Knowing that the dealer is going to say "no problem, Can't Duplicate" I set out to kill the car. 0-90 in first gear only! @ 90 changed to D then slammed on brakes, down-shifted then punched it back to 90. Shifted to N then revved to red-line rpm's. repeated many times until I cooled off. The car has never given me anymore problems and has run great since. By The Way, It has a hell of a lot of power!!
To commenter 00:05.
You intentionally damaged your car out of anger? Yeah, that's going to help reliability issues. A fogged up headlight and one time engine stall and that's worth destroying the vehicle?
There is no way you got it to 90 in first gear without littering the highway with engine components. Fuel cut-off would occur WAY before that speed.