2003 Saturn ION from North America - Comments

I have been with my girlfriend all day trying to start her 2003 Saturn Ion. We just bought this car used only two weeks ago.

Now I read most of above comments, and am awed at how many people are having the same problem.

Our car will not start, and will not turn over and the padlock system won't go away. We live in Wisconsin and has just reached the 32 degree mark.

We let car sit about 20 minutes and tried again. Still wouldn't start. We then waited an hour, still nothing, we waited three hours more, still nothing. Now hoping it will work in morning, we wait.

We have called Saturn and all they said was to wait 20 minutes, an hour or have it jumped and all attempts had failed and now we are most likely stuck paying for a tow and new ignition switch.

We both are not happy with the complaints and the car itself due to this problem. Saturn needs to recall this vehicle... and give us our money's back. Then we will be happy :)

Also left out in cold in Wisconsin.

So glad to have found this web site. I have a 2003 Saturn Ion that was purchased brand new. It has about 90,000 miles on it. I have had the same no start issue. It happened last winter 2x and now this winter 5x last week! We had the battery checked and everything was fine. It again would not start today, so I decided to do a bit of research. I am printing out all of these posts and taking them all to the Saturn dealership tomorrow. I am not paying a cent for them to fix this problem. And, I will NEVER buy another Saturn again.

I purchased my Ion3 in February of '04. I live in Ontario, prone to sub-freezing temperatures in the fall/winter. I had no problems the first year, however, it was a mild winter. The second year I had the no-start in cold weather problem, called the dealership and they replaced it. Last year, it happened again. I called the dealership and they said the same thing as the year before. I was able to park inside a garage for the rest of the winter and did not have the problem again. This morning, it was the same thing again and it was only -7C! The car is now beyond warranty and my husband and I are not willing to face any costs to have this looked into and fixed again. I am just glad that my husband's car is reliable!

I just wanted to thank this forum for their comments and suggestions to this frustrating problem. I own an 03 Ion and my troubles began last April. Well in New England the weather has been getting colder and twice in one day my car wouldn't start so I called my local Saturn dealership. I printed out a few pages from this forum, including the step-by-step cold start problem dated 30 Dec 2006, and brought them to the dealership. They made photocopies then proceeded to fix my car. In the end they said their hands were tied, but since I brought in paperwork, or as they called it "ammunition", with all these testimonials of frustrated Ion owners having the same problem, they didn't charge me for replacing the ignition switch. They put it under a "special warranty" and said that if I had any more problems to come back. I was thrilled to hear that I wouldn't be charged. So I suggest you take some evidence with you when you go to the customer service dept for the repair. It can't hurt. Now we'll see if this fixes the problem.

This is amazing. My wife brought our 2003 ION brand new, in the March of 2003. Currently, has about 111,000 miles on it. Starting in the winter of 2004 we have been experiencing the same problem, like clockwork. Every time it gets cold the car will not start. Ironically, we took the car to the Saturn dealer, a few years ago and was told the same as exact thing as many others, "the starter may be going bad and we cannot diagnose it now, because there is no problem present".

Just this morning I have had this problem four times. The weather in Philadelphia was a high of 32 degrees.

I am calling the dealership first thing on Monday morning.

I am going to print out all of this posts, to prove my point our point.

Thanks to everyone who has shared their story!!!

I just want to add my 2 cents worth. DITTO to everyone's comments. What a relief to read these comments-my boyfriend and I have been completely perplexed for several years until just today when he did a Google search on Saturn Ion battery and found this site. HOLY COW! I've been dealing with this for the past 3 years and got the same response from Saturn and local car mechanics... I can understand why a non-Saturn mechanic would not know what is going on, but SATURN? BS. And since they are clearly aware of the problem, where is that "outstanding customer service" they bragged about-why have none of us received any correspondence about this? And why, when we have brought our cars in to remedy this known problem have we gotten the runaround??? That is NOT even close to minimal customer service, in my book.

So, now we are going to do what several of you have done-print ALL of these posts and take them to the dealership and insist that they fix the problem at THEIR cost. My car is out of warranty, but I complained about this when it WAS in warranty and they did NOTHING! It their fault and they SHOULD repair or recall on their dime. AND GM WANTS A BAILOUT? For what? So they can continue pulling the wool over people's eyes? I think not!

I must say that I HAVE enjoyed my Saturn vehicles over the years, but since moving to a colder winter climate (from the SF Bay Area to Mount Shasta) this problem is very frustrating.

I too have an 03 Ion with the "cold-start issue". It started when I first bought the car in 06. The first year I replaced the battery. I thought I had fixed it. This issue is so intermittent that it didn't do it again until the next winter. Now in late 2008 it has been acting up more regularly.

I am an aircraft mechanic so I am quite handy and know how to fix mechanical/electrical problems. The issue I am running into is the "reprogramming" of the passlock system to accept the new ignition switch. Like aircraft these days, cars are more and more computerized and take special diagnostic equipment and software. If this is a known issue to Saturn then my other problem is paying to have it resolved. If it can be resolved.

Thanks everyone for your input. I am not sure what direction I will take this yet. Whatever it is, I am going to make sure it gets fixed and fixed right.

I too have a 2003 Ion and have had EXACTLY the same issues many of you have had. My issues started immediately after purchasing the car. My CD player broke and they fixed it THREE times until it was actually fixed, my hood latch broke on two different occasions, several rattling noises, my windshield wiper transmission blew, among a million other small issues.

The no-start issue is of course the biggest problem. I have been having that problem every winter since 2004. I have printed out these comments, I made a complaint on http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ (as EVERYONE else should!) and I'm printing those complaints out. I will call Saturn and if they won't pay for it or if they do and I still have issues, I'm calling my local TV station to report this.

Saturn customer service is the absolute worst and I have not been treated fairly from the beginning. I will certainly NEVER buy another Saturn and I will make sure everyone I know knows that. Thank you for all your comments! Though I do feel as though there is something more we could be doing...

I will add my experience to the crowd. Same thing. I heat my key with a lighter before I insert it and so far it starts. Where it wouldn't start before at temperatures under 17 deg.f. It now will start even at -8 first time.

My husband and I purchased a 2003 Saturn Ion 3 for our son to have a reliable car to take to college, which is four hours away. You can imagine our frustration when our son calls us to tell us that he went to the grocery store or to get gas and comes back out to a car that won't start. Last year at this time he was having this issue and I happened to come across this site and was very happy to hear that the posting on 2/14/08 had a solution. We immediately bought the GM pass-lock bypass and thought our worries were over. It did seem to help for a bit but yesterday he was on his way home for the Christmas holiday and stopped on the thruway to get gas, got back in his car and nothing. After 20 minutes the car started right up and he made it home safe and sound. He then told us that it had happened several times when the cold weather hit but didn't want to worry us. My husband and I are at our witt's end and constantly worry about our son getting stranded somewhere. I don't like to blame car companies, there are plenty of lemons out there but when a car company hears so many complaints and doesn't own up to the problem it is very hard not to point fingers!! Get your act together and do a recall!!

I bought my 03 Ion new. The first two winters I had intermittent problems starting in the winter. I finally did some research and came across threads like this and called the local dealer and corporate. They insisted that because the problem couldn't be "reproduced" there was nothing they could do.

I am a level headed person, but while talking to their corporate office I had to hand the phone over to my husband because I was about to explode. I then spent a couple of hours filing reports to BBB and, I want to say the FTC, that handles recalls (this has been a few years ago and I'm not positive that was the agency).

Amazingly, 3 days after filing the reports, the local Saturn calls. Magically, they have just received a notice about the problem I am having. Coincidence? Maybe.

I will never, ever buy another Saturn or buy from the local Saturn dealership again. Their customer service is atrocious and the fact they haven't had this problem fixed is ludicrous. I figured they would have had it recalled by now, and I just didn't know since mine has been fixed.

By the way, since being fixed, I've had no cold weather starting problems at all- live in Indiana.

I am so happy to have found this page. I've been having the hard start problem (especially in cold weather) for over 4 months now. In the mornings, it doesn't want to start, when my dad comes to fix, it starts perfectly. What would be the best way to fix this problem? Should I buy the bypass for GM passlock system or should I have the dealership install a new ignition? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm also going to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfm to file a complaint (everyone should).

I have absolutely had it with my 2003 Saturn Ion 2. I went with the Saturn because it was supposed to be one of the better models of GM cars, and I've regretted it since. I bought it at 38,000 miles, and it now has 90,000 on it. My first frustration was to find that as soon as it got slightly chilly out (about a month after I got it) the steering wheel started to whine. I promptly went out and bought power steering fluid and then had to call the dealership service center embarrassed that I couldn't find where to put it in. Only then am I told that it's electric power steering, and I actually have to bring it in, to 'have the boots lubed' which will cost at least $60. OK, so, maybe I'm naive about cars, but why would it be a better idea to have 'electronic power steering' where you can't simply pour in some power steering fluid to get it to stop making noises. I'll tell you why, so they can make money off of you.

So then, my second winter with the car, which was considerably less mild than the first, my windshield wipers decide to stop working, when I'm on the interstate, an hour and half from home, in a blizzard. I look up the problem online (after barely making it home alive) and find that there is a service bulletin on the wiper housing assembly. Thankfully I have a couple of somewhat mechanically inclined family members and I end up 'only' having to pay the $130 for the part, as they fixed it for me.

So then my third winter with the car (this one). Even colder than the last, I find my car doesn't want to start. I can't decide if it's the same problem as you all. I live in northern Iowa and it obviously has been brutally cold at times. So it does the not wanting to start thing, but it shudders horribly and makes a chirping noise, and then does NOT start when I try again after 15 min. When it first started I replaced the battery (to find out that it's located in the trunk - seriously?) because I decided it was probably due for a new one. $90 - put it in myself. Still wouldn't work. 2 or 3 of the times, I've been able to successfully jump start it (which is ludicrous with it having a month and half old battery) but the other several times, I've had to wait until the temp warmed up, which has been up to a week!! If I drive it around for about 40 min after I get it to start (if I actually get it to) it will start fine for the rest of the day.

I don't know about you all, but I'm so sick of this money-pit of a car that I have lost all faith in Saturn (possibly GM, we'll see) and if I didn't still have 2 1/2 years on my loan, I swear I would junk it and get a different car. In the meantime though, my hands are tied and my boyfriend and I have to keep missing, being late to, and getting rides to work, when it decides to act up, sometimes several times a week. Thanks Saturn.

Thank Goodness for sites like these that keep consumers informed and aware of issues. I have had my 2004 ION 2 for 5 years and have under 30000 miles on it. This winter was the first time I have had regular start-up problems.This will be our third Saturn vehicle and have always loved Saturns. Saturn needs to own up to this problem and take care of it. ALL these people can't be wrong!

I bought my '03 Ion in the fall of 2006 and that winter I began experiencing the same no-start problem. I took it to a dealer who replaced the key, saying the security chip was bad. I've had the same problem ever since though. I only found this forum yesterday and am relieved to know I'm not the only one with this problem. This morning at 15 degrees F my car, of course, didn't start. I tried warming the key up and stuck it in the ignition for fifteen minutes and the car started fine. I also called the East Coast manager of Saturn who told me they couldn't do anything about it because it's not a recall. I am never going to buy another Saturn again and I am going to advise everyone I know not to by one. Saturn is going to lose a lot of customers for their lack of service!