2004 Saturn ION 2 from North America - Comments

2004 Saturn ION 2. I too am having cold start issues. We live in Canada where 30 degrees is warm. Anyway in Jan it has not started 3 times. I think the PASS lock or BCM drains the battery when it gets too cold. I work in Avionics and this is a known problem when cheap electronic chips are used. The faulty ignition switch mentioned as a recall is due to the wrong grease used. It freezes and the symptom is the car battery is OK, but the car will not go into the start mode, PASS lock Symbol is not displayed with this problem. This is not my current problem it is something in the PASS lock or BCM I suspect. My complaints about this car are too long to list, main ones - seats stain from water, rims bend from small pot holes, sway bar links, hood release, stereo display and 5 set of tires. I am getting rid of this piece of junk as soon as I can.

I have a 2004 ION. When I bought it, it had 34,000 miles on it - now it is over 73,000. I loved it! Ask me if I love it now!

It doesn't need to be cold weather for it not to start. I have spent the money and replaced the starter - that was not the problem. $400.00 later - it is still failing to start! SATURN MUST KNOW THIS IS A PROBLEM!! Why then, have they not addressed the issue and changed the situation? Sounds like a Class Action Suit to me. I have an appointment at a Saturn dealer in Madison, WI tomorrow. If they tell me it is going to cost me a lot of money, I am going to contact the Better Business Bureau and the Bureau of Consumer Affairs and send a copy of my comments to the Saturn Corporate Office. I am a woman about to retire and I sure don't need to keep spending money from my fixed income on an issue that should have been dealt with long ago! Saturn should NOT be allowed to soak owners time and time again for what appears to me to be their problem.

I bought my 2004 Saturn Ion 2 in December of 2003. I have had all the problems listed in the comments above, the starting issues, the seats staining when water hits them. I've been doing a lot of searching and this seems to be a common problem. I had my ignition switch replaced once 2 years ago when it was on warranty still. It's been so-so since then and now this winter I'm having issues again. I read a suggestion from another website to buy a remote starter. Another comment suggested it was the fluid/oil that is in the ignition switch that freezes and that's why it won't crank. I'm not an expert on cars, but wanted to fix the problem and took this person's advice. I just bought a remote starter for my car and I'm installing it this week. If it is the fluid freezing, then the remote starter will bypass the switch and start it, once the car is started it will warm the fluid and there shouldn't be any problem turning the key. I haven't read all the comments above so if someone already suggested this, I agree and sorry to repeat it. Hope this helps anyone who is very annoyed with this problem that should be a recall.

Jan 31 2008

I bought an 04 Ion on Mon. this week.I immediately went on a 1700k trip. I got less than 30mpg.It's a low mileage unit. Now I've got buyers regret!

Bob J.

I have an 03 Ion 3. I bought it new, and it has 145,000 miles on it. I have had a few repsirs - bushings, sway bar - just replaced the alternator, have a wiper issue that is endlessly frustratrating and a problem with the heater/defroster selector.

Now I believe I am having the ignition switch issue. What I am reading sounds very much like it. I will try to start it and -- nothing. Wait a second and it thinks about it. Site for 2 minutes and it starts and runs for minute and dies. Wait a couple more minutes and it will start and be just fine. I never put it together with cold. It was very cold this morning, but this has happened about a dozen times now. More in the last month.

All in all, this has been a great dependable car. With all the miles I have on it, I have had very few repairs. If it needs an ignition switch - I am all over it! Thanks for the info! Great site.

I have an 05 Ion that came with only the bare essentials. No power features, no anti-theft system, not even cruise control. Anyways, I'm the second owner and bought the car at 58K. The car now has 72K.

Like dozens of you have already mentioned, the car has failed to start on three different cold mornings. (Honestly they weren't too cold... probably about 0-20 degree). it just wouldn't turn over at all.

My battery is less than 2 months old. On each occasion the car just hasn't turned over at all. Each time there has still been a charge on the battery according to my volti-meter. I'm leaning toward what yall have already mentioned about the ignition switch.

I can't seem to find the recall anywhere online though... any suggestions on where to look for this recall that some of you have mentioned?

Problems aside, this has been a great car. I've kept up on maintenance from oil changes, to filters, to lube and transmission oil. There have been no mechanical problems whatsoever aside from replacing a rear axle beam which wasn't the cars fault, but rather due to an accident. The car held up VERY well during that 30 mph spin out collision.

My 02 SL1 was great as well, but I didn't get past 60K because of getting totalled by an SUV.

Saturn is (perhaps was) a good company for working class people with its cheaper models that run reliably. Obviously buying parts and repairs is costly with Saturn, but if you're smart about hunting for junkyard parts then it isn't much more costly than any other company.

I just bought a 2004 Saturn Ion at the end of November 2007. I love the car, but there are things that I could live without like it not starting in the morning. I am a full time dtudent and single mother of a two year old. I thought we were getting a deal until one day it wouldn't start! It was very cold, and I missed an important day of classes! Ilive in Nork and the winters are not very pleasent I can't always worry about if my car is going to start! If I know what I know now I would not have bought this car! There should definitly be a recall on this!!!

Is there a recall for the ignition, as my wife has an 04 Ion that won't start, and if you go back 10 minutes later it will start without a problem. It has already cost me thinking it was a battery...

Same deal with my 03 Saturn Ion. I'll turn the key and sometimes it won't start... it just clicks and says says "service engine." If I go back 10-20 minutes later it'll start like nothing happened. Here's the funny part, If I'm in a hurry it's almost sure not to start. I'm not joking. I came to notice that when I was in a hurry I would jam the key in and crank it. When I was calm I would slowwwwly turn the key to start the electrical, then go all the way to turn over the engine and never had a problem. Problem is now, my wife drives the car and she's always in a hurry.

Add me to the list of frustrated "My Ion won't start" people. Like many of you, I started out very happy with my Saturn, but the starting fiasco and the water stains on the seats (water!) have made me regret the decision badly. I am going back to Japanese cars; reliability cannot be underestimated.

My 04 Ion started acting up in cold weather about a year ago. I changed the battery. The weather improved and the problem went away. Until it got cold again. This time I got a new starter ($400 installed) and lo and behold, it wouldn't start again. ARRGGHH! Frustrated, I found this site and feel much better now, knowing I am not going crazy (when it won't start and then half an hour later, with AAA on the way, it does). As I understand it, my options are replacing the ignition switch or disabling the anti theft system, right? How do I go about deciding how to proceed?

Thanks for the advice and support.

Cesar Valverde.

I have a 2006 Saturn ION2 with 46000 miles. It had 29,000 miles when I purchased it in Aug of 2007. I've put a lot of miles on this car in 6 months, so that means most of it was highway - WHICH MEANS I DIDN"T USE THE STARTER A LOT.

Sunday morning, the car wouldn't turn off. The switch was stuck at the on position, and the key was stuck in the lock. On the surface this might not seem like a huge problem. But it is when it happens on a Sunday with no mechanical help open. I had to pull a group of cables from the engine to turn off the car, then pull the cables from the battery in the trunk. Unfortunately, the truck switch is electric and my only available key was now stuck in the ignition. HE-HE and HO-HO on me.

Long story short: It is now Monday afternoon, and the Saturn dealer wants $500+ to replace the ignition switch. I purchased this 2006 car from them last August, and now they are telling me to spend $500 to replace the ignition switch?

Yes I'm very angry.

VERY VERY ANGRY.

I bought this saturn because my previous saturn lasted over 300,000 miles until it was stolen. It was a good car, and I made the mistake of assuming that Saturn was still a good car company. My 2006 ION2 saturn tells me that Saturn is not a good car company any longer.

Saturn was the only car company I would consider buying from. They blew their reputation with this car.

I've learned, that one good car doesn't make a good car company. Don't let a reputation or personal experience carry too much weight when buying a new car. I should have checked into the model farther before spending the money.

MY ADVICE: DON'T BUY SATURNS.

$500 ignition switch?

I have a 2004 Saturn Ion and I have the same starting problem. On most mornings I would try to start the car and it wouldn't start. Wait ten minutes and about 50% of the time it would start. If not I would have to wait ANOTHER ten minutes and it would start. Recently I took a trip to Downtown Detroit with my girlfriend and another couple and at midnight we go to leave and the beautiful Ion wouldn't start completely. I had to have it towed to my house a good 25 miles. We were stranded in Downtown Detroit at midnight until someone came and got us at 1:30 in the morning. Oh I was HOT! And now it still sits in front of my house because I am trying to figure out what is wrong. I'm wondering if there maybe is a bad connection in the starter???

I purchased a 2004 Saturn Ion for my daughter in college in January of this year. It wasn't two months and she started having ignition problems with the car. Several times she has gone to turn the engine off and get out of the car and the car remains running! With the key removed from the switch!

We're taking the car to a Saturn dealer next week. We'll see! Sounds to us like we're not the only ones who shouldn't have purchased a Saturn. Did I hear 500 dollars for the switch? What's it made from? Gold? Maybe I'll just have them put a toggle switch on the dash and bypass the trouble.

The fail to start is possibly an oil pressure issue. For some reason these things think there is low oil pressure at start up and will not start as a safety feature. I have had this happen twice now this last time is less than 100 miles after an oil change. Instead of freaking out and yelling at your service adviser ask them to check the engine diag codes. Also your problem is you thought it would be a good idea to purchase a Saturn.

Huh? Low oil pressure on startup? No. The IONs ignition switch problems stem from a bad passlock sensor and poor quality switch materials in general--has nothing to do with oil pressure.