general problems of the 2003 Saturn ION - part 2

Power steering lost power while daughter was practicing parallel parking (repeated turn of steering wheel). Power steering came back on after ignition was turned off and then turned back on. However, the same thing happened again after a while under the same circumstances (practicing parallel parking). The problem didn't occur during regular driving, but again in February and then in March while practicing parallel parking. A press release from general motors says all Saturn Ions from 2004 onwards are recalled for this issue and some 96 thousand 2003 model year Ions have been given lifetime warranty for this issue but I am told my vehicle isn't covered, even though it exhibits the same power loss to the steering and has the same power assist motor.

In early January my mother was involved in a serious car accident while driving a 2003 Saturn iron. "I had no control over the car and it all happened so fast" my mother said. She hit a telephone pool then proceeded to roll down over a small hill and flipped, coming to a rest on a concrete divider. When responders arrived her ignition was off and the air bags did not deploy. She was hanging upside down for almost an hour until they were able to cut her out of the car. I have contacted gm and they confirmed that her car is part of the recent ignition switch recall. Please take the recall serious, it could save your l life, and others!.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering warning lamp illuminated and the vehicle became very hard to maneuver. Also, the contact mentioned that the horn failed to turn off after being pressed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000 and the current mileage was 129,000.

I was driving on highway 395 south near edsal road exit and I lost the ability to turn the steering wheel. It became hard to turn the wheel. There was no injury to myself or the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the steering wheel became inoperable. The contact lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle flipped upside down. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact sustained injuries to the head and left leg, and a police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph and attempting a right turn, the steering wheel seized without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated that the steering motor would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 126,597. Kmj.

Slight shudder at a stoplight. . Lost acceleration and power steering. Made it to shop. Code p0420 catcon was all that came up, battery and alternator(new) tested fine and vehicle started like nothing happened. I had exhaust tested and 4 hours of general diagnostics= "the car seems fine, yes that is weird, just keep an eye on it" it twice more, and consistently felt "rough" before February 2014, (two years) got new suspension, spark plugs, fuel and coolant systems cleaned, etc. . . My car felt almost new, a little rough so I babied it. After all, it is obsessively well maintained. . . Immediately after recall ignition switch replaced by dealer, one month ago, the "really rough" feeling returned. Shifting hard, vibrating, it almost stalled at intersections intermittently. Dealer checked transmission (along with two other shops that love money). . . All say transmission is fine, but to me it felt like it was falling apart. When I had a day off two days ago, I brought it to three transmission shops, two exhaust shops, and two tire shops (who also inspected my suspension, wheel balance and brakes) all said it was fine and that is "normal" to feel that way as I approached 183000 miles. The the next day ( last night) when after ten minutes of driving, in the space of thirty seconds, I lost acceleration, power steering, radio was flashing lights, battery light and service engine warning came on along with the airbag light. . My car couldn't make it over the little hump across the intersection and I (5'3 120 lbs) was forced to push my running car across the highway that runs through town. I made it to the frontage road, barely able to turn which put me head on with another car that had to swerve around me. The car wouldn't start. Battery tested fine. Towed home.

Power steering assist turned off while driving down the highway. The chime went off and the "pwr str" message appeared in the dashboard. The loss of power steering has happened numerous times since the initial occurrence. I have tried several times to have a gm dealership replace the part due to the similar issue on similar models. Recently the 2004 Saturn Ions were recalled for this exact issue. I am not sure why the 2003 Saturn Ions were not included. I am confident that it is the same part and the same exact issue. I called the local gm dealership after the recall came out and they said that since there is no recall on the 2003 Ion, that they will not replace the defective part at no charge. Because it is the same part and the same issue, the 2003 Saturn Ions should definitely be added to the recall list.

While driving, complete electrical failure. All dash lights out. Gauges zero. Steering difficult. This continues to happen.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. While parking the vehicle, the contact noticed a creaking sound coming from the steering wheel as the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostics. The contact was not aware of the diagnostic test results. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,567.

Me and my daughter were going threw a drive threw teller in dansville, NY, as a turned to go around the building the car kept going straight. There was no steering function at all!! it had been clicking in the days before like something internally was binding. The part was available threw a-1 cardone and only took about 1/2 to change. *just happy we weren't traveling down the road @ 55 mph when it happened!.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. While driving approximately 60 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver and the vehicle jerked. The contact mentioned that the eps warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart and function normally. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

Power steering cut off and on while driving on highway. . . ( this has happened more than once) saw there is recall on 2004 and up Saturn Ion but not on 2003? don't they use the same parts? gm will offer lifetime replacement for part. . . So it would seem that I have to have a crash before gm will fix?.

- the electronic power steering stopped working while backing the car up - the malfunction indicator showed a "pwr str" message - after several re-starts the power steering continued to be inoperable (pwr str message) - the car was driven approximately 15 miles with no power assisted steering - after another start up 45 minutes later the vehicle electronic power steering resumed normal operation.

The steering wheel will stick, while turning into curvy roads and on off ramp requiring high input to correct and resulting in over correcting and swinging out of my lane. This started happening when the car was moving slow (<5 mph), but I have had it happen several times driving between 35 and 50 mph in the case of the off ramp and driving on rochester road between tinken and 32 mile. You will go into a curve and the steering will lock resulting in a loss of steering and you have to force the wheel to get any reaction. Last night was the clincher and I decided enough was enough. I was backing out of a parking spot and the steering locked hard and while trying to gain control, I heard a loud pop and then once I got the car straight, the steering wheel was cocked 90 degrees off normal. This is definatly a problem, as now the car cannot be driven, until I can see if it can be fixed and if it is worth the cost to fix.

The electric power streeing went out luckily in a parking lot at a shopping center in October 2012 the motors were replaced previously before Saturn went defunct back in approximately 2006 and at approximatley 40,000 miles. These are exactly the same motors that a recall was proposed on the chevy cruz and gm says they are not covered or no covered under the Saturn program. Now over the past 6 months the ingnition switch which gm knows has problems has shut the engine off while driving and now it's to the point where it locks intermittantly not allowing the disengaging of the engine transmission when attempting to turn off and park. Again gm says there is no recall but they have recalls on other gm vehicles. I have spent upwards of $700 dollars for repairs and batteries and enough is enough. I've read of the many nightmare on the internet and wonder if your bureau can do anything to rememy the situations. Thanks.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that when making a right turn, the vehicle would not steer back into a straight position. The contact had difficulty maneuvering the vehicle when the failure occurred. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 61,600. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the steering wheel would intermittently seize while driving 30 mph and above. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,693.

The power steering on my 2003 Saturn Ion-2 goes out just about everyday, at random, while I am driving my car. There were no events leading up to this as the issue happens at random. The problem with my vehicle has been going on for over one year and I cannot find any information on recalls for the faulty power steering. I have researched this issue on various websites/forums and have observed that I am not the only owner who has this same problem. This is a major safety issue and there should be a recall due to how unsafe it is to drive around and lose control over your steering at random.

Steering locks up in low speed turns.

Sometimes the steering wheel becomes tough to turn. During the middle of a turn the power steering seems to completely cut out. It has also cut out and needed to have the car restart for it to come back on. There was a recall on 2004-2007 Ions, but not for 2003. I find this ridiculous as it is the same issue described in that recall.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that when driving at low speeds and attempting turns, the power steering would lock without warning. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 98,800.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. While driving approximately 5-10 mph, the contact heard a loud noise outside of the vehicle followed by a loss of power steering. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they informed her that the steering rack had fractured due to internal damages. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,950.

I already have filed a complaint. I inadvertently gave the wrong VIN number. Instead of 1(j)8an12f73z183310, it should be : 1g8an12f73z183310. My odi # is 10616998. Hope this doesn't interfere with the investigation into the electronic power steering safety problem.

Power steering shuts off while driving the car. Notification sound beeps and power steering turned off is noted on dash board. Once car is turned off and re-started, power steering starts working again.

Power steering in 2003 Saturn Ion just went! not working at all.

Power steering cuts out suddenly.

2003 Saturn Ion power steering stopped working while vehicle was in use. One the engine was turned off and restarted the power steering reset. The incident caused momentary loss of control of the vehicle.

I was driving my Saturn Ion when all of a sudden the "power steering" light came on and my steering wheel locked up. I managed to pull over to a safe place, turned off the car, turned it back on and the problem went away for 20 seconds. I had to drive really slow and barely made it home. My car is only at 62,000 miles. This should not be happening. Nothing was done to correct the failure. Gm doesn't recognize this as a problem. They told me that I would be notified in case of a recall. I have read this will cost me $1000 to fix.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. The contact was driving 25 mph when the power steering seized. In addition, the windshield wiper failed and the front windows driver and passenger side windows could not be opened or closed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was notified who advised the contact that the vehicle should be taken to the dealer and they would decide if they should offer any assistance. The failure mileage was 160,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. While driving at any speed, the contact noticed that the steering wheel became difficult to turn in any direction. The vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 130,000.

I have a 2003 Saturn Ion3. The power steering stops working in warmer weather. When the temperature outside gets above freezing my power steering starts acting up. It will go out 3-4 times a week, which is all the driving I do in a week. The car has 88,000 km on it.

I was driving to a basketball game at a school and as I turned into the school, my power steering went out. It was unexpected. I drove up on the sidewalk at the school to stopped the car. I wasn't going fast but I had no idea it was about to happen. If there had been kids out there someone would have gotten hurt.

I need help, I have a 2003 Saturn Ion, the front end is broke. It swerves all over the road. They recalled many and know what the problem is. Mine they will not fix and I can't afford to pay for it. It's very unsafe and they recalled several models for the same problem and won't fix mine. The warranty just expired and I get no response from any agency. I just bought this car a few years ago and they know its a factory problem and they won't fix my car. Please help, I'm just a hard working guy trying to support his family. My wife is disabled and I struggle to get by and I can't get any help from the car company. Updated 01/28/11.

2003 Saturn Ion. September 09. Drove car. Parked. Could not get key out of ignition. Waited 10 minutes. Key came out. Had ignition switch replaced at Saturn dealer. Next week the same thing happened. Had ignition switch replaced again. (at my expense). Key continues to intermittently stick in the ignition. I can not get out of my car until I get the key out. Look at the website and read all the complaints about this problem. . Read more...