2003 Saturn ION 2 Quad Coupe from North America - Comments

Engine has a "squeak" or "rattle" sound when coasting through a parking lot and on some turns.

Doors "creak" like a 5 yr old car would, over speed bumps, or just every now and then.

Passenger door was scraping the car.

Trunk is misaligned and scrapes against the bumper.

There was no armrest installed when I bought the car.

12 volt adapters kept going out (I stopped using them, because I got tired of taking it in to be fixed).

The paint on the rear spoiler was messed up (bubbling/fading).

Above the driver's side, there is a "ring" that is under the paint, and requires buffing out or painting. I was told they would have to take off the seam of the windshield and it might not ever seal correctly again.

It is good on gas.

The factory stereo is really good, and even sounds better than some of the upgraded systems someone might buy.

The back doors cannot be opened unless the front door is open (that would be nice for someone with kids).

The car handles well in rainy conditions.

I just found out the new 2004 version has a lot more upgrades, except I paid almost $1,000 more and got less.

I have the Saturn 2003 Ion 2. It has 6,000 miles on the odometer. Saturn as you know has a thirty day money back promise. Within this time I brought the car in because it shifted very rough from second to third gear. It was examined by a tech, I was told it was all OK. A month later it was examined again, then to find it needing a transmission.

Some mornings I would start the car and it smelled like gas. Brought it back, it needed an exhaust. They replaced everything from the CAT and back.

My front right headlight kept going out. Turns out there was a short.

I will now be bringing my car back this week for the trans. fluid that is all over my driveway.

The best part of my experience is that I have been offered to purchase the EXTENDED warranty each and every time I brought the car in.

I bought an Ion 2 just over a year ago, I've got 20333 miles on it, and I haven't needed a thing done to it.

The transmission does shift funny, a new "Power Braking" aspect where it will downshift on its own to hold a speed going down a hill. This is actually not a bad feature, but it has some bugs to be worked out. It also doesn't up shift sometimes when it should.

Bottom line, I would buy another one in a heartbeat, I just wish I had waited a year for the Red Line edition.

I own a 2003 Saturn Ion Quad Coupe Series 2. I bought it in May of 2003 (have 16000 miles on it now) and already have had the valve body replaced on it, and there is a problem with the transmission that makes some grinding noise at about 10 mph. The alloy wheels are junk, I drove on a gravel road and they got all chipped up, luckily the dealership replaced them, but still knowing that I payed extra for them, they should at least be a good quality. I have actually called and spoke to someone at Saturn (not just the dealership) and they said that the Saturn engineers are working on it. Since the VTI transmission was first used on this model of car there are still some bugs to be worked out. Overall I really enjoy the car, I get a lot of looks and compliments on it. It has some get-up-and-go to it, though the automatic downshifting is something to get used to. The seats do stain easily, and even though they have dent resistant panels doesn't mean they don't scratch. In fact, it scratches really easy so I need to see about getting them buffed out. I do like my car and I want to keep it for a long time.