2005 Saturn ION problems
Owners have filed 755 complaints about the 2005 Saturn ION with NHTSA. Steering accounts for 35.8% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of electrical system at 30.7%.
Complaints755
Crashes49
Fires5
Injuries29
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Steering 35.8% · 270
Electrical system 30.7% · 232
Air bags 4.5% · 34
Exterior lighting 4.1% · 31
Power train 3.8% · 29
Engine 2.9% · 22
Fuel/propulsion system 2.8% · 21
Unknown or other 2.6% · 20
Severity
Of those complaints, 49 describe a crash, 5 describe a fire and 29 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 5 model years of the Saturn ION in this data, 2005 draws comparatively few complaints; 2006 is the outlier year.
Filings have fallen off, 11 in the last three years against 20 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 61,000 miles.
In owners' own words
With less than 60,000 miles on the car, the power steering light displayed on dash and power steering was no longer working. Once parking and restarting the car, the steering seemed to be working as we drove around the neighborhood and then yet again less than .5 Mile later traveling between 10-15mph in the neighborhood, the power steering light again displayed along the dash and was nonexistent once again. Steering
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn ION. The electrical power steering failed as he was driving various speeds. He had to drive onto the side of the road, turn the engine on and off so that the vehicle would reset. The failure has occurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they will replace the power steering motor for $500. The manufacturer was not called. The failure mileage was 52,250. Steering · reported at 52,250 miles
On my 2005 Saturn ION 3, the power steering went out while driving. I turned the car off after pulling over and restarted and it came back. I read that others have had the same problem. Why is there no recall on this. This is a dangerous situation to lose power steering at high speed. Power steering is electrical. On most web sites discussing this, it seems to be a regular problem with Saturn owners. Steering · reported at 29,853 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…