Six problems related to clutch pedal/linkage have been reported for the 2004 Saturn ION. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
My car has a standard transmission and the clutch pedal assembly failed causing dangerous and difficult shifting between gears. The end of the clutch pedal assembly is plastic and it broke at the juncture where it meets the transmission. Unbelievably, general motors (gm) knew of the problem but took no remedial action. Complaint letters on the internet clearly show gm has known about the problem for awhile but taken no action. It cost me $609. 74 to have the safety problem fixed. I reported it to gm and asked to be reimbursed. This is dangerous: I had great difficulty shifting between gears & almost got run over by other motorists when there was a delay in locating the next gear. Gm should take action on this before someone gets killed.
Tl - the contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, she attempted to depress the clutch pedal but noticed that the pedal had raised eight inches from where it normally was, preventing her from shifting gears. The contact mentioned that the vehicle eventually stalled and was towed to an independent mechanic where the technician diagnosed that the clutch pedal was fractured. As a result, the master cylinder, slave cylinder and the clutch pedal needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 77,362 and the current mileage was 79,810. Kmj.
Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the clutch pedal began to harden. Also the contact would hear a click when depressing the clutch pedal. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage and current mileage was 200,000. Dr.
The contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that he was unable to shift out of gear. The vehicle was inspected by the contact who diagnosed that the clutch pedal and the clutch master cylinder needed to be replaced. In addition, the plastic guide for the seat belt on both the driver and passenger side broke causing the seat belt to lie on the neck instead of across the chest. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 210,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The clutch pedal on the vehicle has a retainer that does not have the proper durability. After a few months, the retainer detaches and causes the clutch pedal to raise upwards. As a result, the driver is unable to properly switch gears fast enough. When the failure first occurred on July 20, 2007, the dealer replaced the cylinder axulator, master clutch, the entire clutch pedal, and the retainer. The repair lasted for 15 months. Recently, while attempting to switch gears at 15 mph, the contact noticed that the clutch had once again lost the retainer and caused the pedal to raise. The contact was unable to determine where the clutch was located, which nearly caused a crash. He called the dealer and was informed that the vehicle could not be repaired for free because it was no longer under warranty. The contact believes that this is a safety issue that the manufacturer should be responsible for repairing. He called the manufacturer directly and they refused to make any repairs. The vehicle currently has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 59,751 and current mileage was 80,210.
The failure was to the arm that held the clutch pedal in place on the 2004 Saturn Ion redline. The part broke and the clutch was completely inoperable ,as such the car was rendered inoperable. 5 minutes earlier I was on a major highway doing 60 mph at which speed I could have lost all control of the car and caused a major accident in which lives may have been lost. The deal offered to replace the plastic arm with another plastic arm. The part that replaced mine had a different part number than on the original car, I was not sure if this was just a new part number or if the part had been replaced due to previous incidents. If there was any history on this part I was not able to gain the information from the dealer, who was very unwilling to comply. The damaged part was not returned to me because they claimed they had to return all parts covered under warranty to the manufacturer.