2004 Saturn ION 2 from North America - Comments

I own a 2004 Saturn Ion 4 door sedan which I bought new in 2004. At approximately 45,000 miles I started having trouble starting my car. When I would attempt to start the car, the car would make a clicking sound from the starter motor, but would not turn over. At other times it would click for a second and then start. A short time later I received a problem code on the dash board "PWR STR", which I later found out stood for power steering, and it would appear whenever the car wouldn't turn over. I brought my Saturn to a Saturn Repair Service at approximately 50,000 miles. After I signed a repair order stating if I refuse repair service I would agree to pay the diagnostic fee which was over a $100.00, they couldn't tell me what was causing the problem. Their solution was to change everything, such as, the body computer, ignition switch, and ignition for only $1,500.00. After hearing the fee I told the Saturn mechanics that I refuse to pay $1,500.00 for a service that may not fix the problem. I now have 68,000 miles and went through 2 rebuilt starters and 1 ignition switch "not from Saturn" and still have the same problem. I recently went on-line to check for a recall and discovered that not only is my Saturn Ion having these problems, but hundreds of other Saturn Ion owners are having the same problem. Fed up with the same problem I went back to the Saturn Repair Service who said they could fix the problem "PWR STR" for $2,000.00. After I received their estimate I declined their service and drove to Honda.

I own a 2005 Saturn Ion, with 32000 miles. Yesterday, I had the key get stuck in the ignition, while it was in the "Run" position. It would not rotate to the "Off" or "Lock" positions, so I couldn't shut off the car. I looked in the owner's manual and tried prying off the panel, under the steering column, as it suggested, where it said I would find "plunger", that would allow me to rotate the key and remove it. The was no plunger of any sort... nothing that moves.

Fortunately, it is a 5-speed, so I stalled the engine, to shut it off, then disconnected the battery cables, to keep the dash lights from draining the battery.

I plan to take it to the Saturn dealership, tomorrow. It is still under warranty. I'm glad to know others have had this problem, so I won't go for the "we've never seen this before" line. I will insist they explain the problem and tell me how it is going to be corrected, so it doesn't happen again.

I'll let you know how that turns out.

I have an '04 Ion. I've been having the same "no start" scenario described above by so many others. Has anyone had the problem of blowing the little 2 amp ignition fuse when the switch starts acting up? Mine seems to be affected by very hot weather. I live in south Texas. Also, have any of you attempted to change the switch yourself? I do all of my own mechanic work, or at least I did until this little Saturn headache came along.

I own a 2004 Saturn Ion and we just experienced the Ignition Switch going out also. My husband was 4 hours away on a business trip and stranded because the car would not start. It cost us $1100 to fix the problem!!! Who has that kind of money? We don't! There should be a recall on this! It is absolutely crazy! I will never own a Saturn again!!!

Fed Up.

Yes, the stains really get me annoyed too! I had the same problem with the ignition. I just got it back from Saturn, because it was shutting off while driving and even on the highway! They claimed to have fixed the 2 problems (I have had the ignition replaced multiple time previously) and I got stuck 2 hours later. I got a little 'click' then it wouldn't start, and had to get it towed back to Saturn. It's almost a week and they still have it. Nothing comes up on the diagnostics test, so I am very upset.

I have an answer to your problem with the back seats. open the trunk, and at the top, you'll see to little pull things, theyre black (parallel to eachother) just pull them.

Hi, My daughter has a 2004 Saturn Ion, Seems like she has the same problem as you all. Her battery looses its charge over night now that its getting cold here in New England. Also she tells me her key gets stuck often. I changed the battery, but it seems to only last a day or so then goes flat again. She bought this little car used with high mileage. She just turned 19 and sank all of her savings into it. Can anyone tell me is there a recall?? Will Saturn do ANYTHING to help? What can we do? Thank you so much for your help. You can email me at sdyer@metrocast.net.

My friend also has the ignition problem. The only thing that helps is that he leaves the keys in the ignition or drives without using the key so it will not wear out unless he really needs to lock the ignition, when he parks in Minneapolis. Saturn refuses to fix his car and this all happened at about 37,000 miles or so.

I have a 2003 Ion and have had the ignition switch replaced 2 or 3 times already. Now it needs to be replaced yet again. This is my second Saturn and I was thinking my next car would also be one - but this is ridiculous!

I would just like to say Never buy a Saturn!!!

They're pieces of plastic!!

I received a brand new 2004 Saturn Ion quad coupe when I was 16. At first I was in love with this car, it was sporty and fun and went fast enough for me! As time has passed now I do not feel that way at all. I live in central Minnesota, so it gets pretty cold here. My first winter was fine I didn't really notice anything funky. But around the second winter things were getting weird. Every once in a while I get out to my car for school and it would just click, not even try and turn over. So after a few attempts I gave up and lit a cigarette, and gave my car about 8 minutes (the security feature time) I never really noticed, but when I was done smoking I hopped in and tried it again. To my amazement it started. It did this to me every once in awhile, but nothing too bad where a cig couldn't fix it (not literally of course). And then I was parking in the garage and I rarely had problems.

My 3rd winter I started really getting annoyed. I'd have to hang out an extra half hour/hour after work waiting for my car to start, it was so annoying. If it was going to be around plus or minus 10 degrees around zero I had to be in the garage. It had also left me in a few parking lots for 30 minutes or so.

Now this will be my fourth winter with this same car at 75,500 miles. And my car has made me late to work 3 separate times, like really late, already. I've also been stranded at a friend's 3 diff times.

So I've been just researching the heck outta this thing and I guess majority concludes you need a new ignition switch. Well I did get one of those today and we'll see how long this lasts. The folks at Saturn were really helpful though and let me come in whenever I could get my car to start since it didn't want to for hopefully its last time.

It seems to me that if you use the remote to unlock the car after it will not start it does disengage the security system. But I'm not to sure.

I have a 2003 Ion sedan. I thought that when I bought it, it would be the end to my seemingly endless car trouble. I was wrong.

So far to date I have replaced: bearings, bushings, sway bushings, wiper mechanism, battery, hood release handle and cable both rear blinkers twice within 2 weeks. I am in the process of replacing the shocks, front brakes and possibly the starter.

As soon as the temp hits -2, it will not start and it is a miracle if it does. I had it to the shop 2 times 3 days apart. I am lucky and have found a shop who are super helpful and won't make me pay a diagnostic fee...

The ignition problems everyone else are having haven't happened to me yet, but I assume it's coming.

As far as the no starting in the cold, I live in a place where the temp reaches down to -45 or more.. I cannot be stranded in the middle of no where for hours to see if it wants to start today.. I am going to try a car warmer for on the drivers floor to see if that will keep it warm enough for the security system to not engage every time I try to start it.. will let you know. I would rather spend 100 dollars once than up to 2000 multiple times to fix the same problem.

NEVER buying Saturn again.

My 2005 Ion just hit 50,000 miles, but I've had problems since nearly 20,000. My car won't start if it drops below 30 degrees, but if I wait 10 minutes it will. Then, when I try to turn it off and take my key out it will turn off, but my key will be stuck in the ignition for a min or so and it'll only let me pull it out after the security system "clicks" a few times. Talk about a pain.

To add to it, my dash and radio have problems. Every other time or so that I hit my 1st pre-set button or my volume knob, my display will turn completely off and I can't adjust my radio at all for a few minutes. Or the display will show random lines. And a few times this past summer my radio and clock would just shut off, then back on, then off. And when it was working the clock would be slow and would reset every time I turned on my car. I bought some fuses and went to change them, but before I did that stopped happening and hasn't happened in a few months.

Is there a way we can bypass the Passlock system on a 2005 Ion? I'm having the same problem with my car. It will not start as soon as it's below 0 degrees celcius. Even my dealer never heard of this problem. WoW I'm starting to hate this car!

I too have been having the same problems listed above. I live in Wisconsin and bought an 04 Ion in May. I didn't have any problems until late November, and then one morning the car wouldn't start before work. The engine would just barely turn, but not complete start. I was frustrated so I just kept trying to start the car and finally it started after about 10 minutes of trying. I thought it was a bad battery so I got that replaced, but then it happened to me again a few weeks later. It just happened to me again this morning. Does anyone know if it is possible to disable the pass-lock system without purchasing any new parts? (i don't want to have a remote starter)

I have been having this same problem... My 2004 Saturn Ion will not start in the morning if it's been a cold night (30 degrees or lower). It takes me 10-15min to get it started. I bought my 2004 Saturn Ion 2 months ago. It's got 54k miles on it and I feel as though I have made the biggest mistake buying a Saturn Ion. I have to deal with this almost every morning which I feel is unfair. The dealership thinks I'm crazy every time I call. I will not pay to have it fixed; I honestly feel as though Saturn should cover the tab for this since it seems as though I'm not the only one with this problem. Any suggestion on how I can get out of this car after only 2 months?