CarComplaints.com Notes: The Saturn Ion was a compact bundle of hurt wrapped up in a cheap, plastic shell. With so many defective components and a safety rating that a bicycle would be ashamed of, it’s a blessing this car only lasted five model years.
The 2003 (and 2004) Ion was cursed with GM’s flawed attempt at a continuously variable transmission, known as the VTi. It had such a high failure rate that a class-action lawsuit was filed against GM, eventually prompting a settlement and a warranty extension. GM discontinued the VTi for the 2005 model year – surprise, surprise.
The 2003 Ion was also part of one of the largest and most controversial recalls of all-time. A defective ignition switch in millions of GM vehicles could accidentally turn the car off and disable important safety components like the power steering and airbags. The problem resulted in at least 13 deaths, but what made it worse was that GM knew about the issue for 10 years before doing anything about it.
So was the transmission warranty extended? Yeah. Was the ignition switch recalled? Eventually. Is this car safe to drive? Not really. Honestly, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
10.0
really awful- Typical Repair Cost:
- No data
- Average Mileage:
- 101,000 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 1 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- not sure (1 reports)
fuel system problem
Helpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2003 Ion problem yet. Be the first!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I was picking my daughter up from school one day and I smelled gas. At first, I was the only one who smelled it. A few days go by and they still think I am crazy because I smell gas. A day or two later, I am leaving a store by my house and I smelled it more than ever. This time my daughter smelled it.
So, I go home and the next morning I go start it and I immediately smelled so much gas that I could barely breathe! I shut the car off and when I got out, I saw what looked like every drop I had in my tank was on the ground, under the drivers seat. Since I had no way or means to get it looked at, it sat there the whole time and the battery died of course. So yesterday, there is knock on my door and it is the gas company forcing me to have my car towed because they needed to dig the ground up. I tow it to a garage, which cost around $65 or so and they end up telling me my fuel line needs to be replaced and it will cost over $600.
I literally have no money. I finished college over 6 months ago, with a 3.91 GPA and haven't found one company to give me an opportunity without any hands-on experience. So, after $60,000 of schooling, I am stuck with no car and no job. So, this has definitely brought me down and no I am not feeling bad for myself it is just that I have been trying so hard to think positive and to be optimistic about everything. I don't know what to do. I definitely think it should be a recall. They have a recall on fuel filters but the premature rotting fuel lines are a fire danger as well. Any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for letting me rant!!
- Jennifer M., Manchester, US