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:
- 96,600 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 2 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- not sure (1 reports)
- replace transmission (1 reports)
transmission 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
They put in crappy trannys, and no recalls on them because the cost would be enormous. They told me to go to a GM Dealer to verify the trans was shot. I had already had Aamco tell me it was shot. They wanted a genuine GM Dealer to say it, like they were going to help with the cost of fixing or anything, They deceived me. They, after paying $125 for nothing, said, we can't do anything for you. Then why did they act like they were gong to do something, Why tell me to go to a GM Dealer to verify it was shot and cost me money for nothing after buy a used car with a very well known bad cvt tranny. They should replace all the cvt trannys for free. Put a recall on them now..
- Mike B., New Smyrna, FL, US