Ignition Switch problems of the 2004 Saturn ION - part 2

2004 Saturn Ion intermittently will not start. Happened one time last winter, but has progressed this winter. If you allow the car to sit for 10-12 minutes it starts right up. I called Saturn and made an appointment to leave the car with them while I visited family in florida. I since went online and discovered that hundreds (maybe thousands) of Saturn owners have this same problem. I called Saturn service and told them what I had discovered. They made no comment but said they had replaced the ignition switch. I called a toll free number that a Saturn owner had left on an online forum and filed a formal complaint with Saturn of America. She was very polite and assured me she would call Saturn and "see what she could do for me. " the next day she said they could only give me 10% off the cost of the ignition switch which amounts to $12. I called the service manager to tell him that I expected more because this is such a common problem and should actually have been a recall. I could never reach him. He was never available (as they said--gone for the day). I then emailed Saturn of charleston/huntington wv and explained. A sale person acknowledged my email and assured me she would give the email complaint to service and someone is services would contact me. Two days later and they still have not contacted me. I told the sales person that it sadden me that $240 was more important than my future business. Why should Saturn owner pay for a common problem that they have known exist? and from what I've read a new ignition is not the solution. Often it works for a year and then same problem comes back. It has been mentioned that it could be a passlock system problem or gel inside the ignition switch that ages and loses conductivity over time. Who knows? any help would be appreciated.

My car does not start in the cold. (at or below freezing. ) I have had this problem many times so far!! after doing some online "research" I have found hundreds of other people who have the exact same problem with this car on different forums and consumer complaint websites. What is gm doing to remedy this, and why isn't there a recall on the ignition switch or whatever part is at fault? I was stuck outside in the cold today with my two small children while waiting for someone to help me. . . !!!.

I have had by Ion for 4. 5 years. I just had to replace the ignition switch for the 2nd time. The first time was about 3 years ago. I have about 65000 miles. It seems like this is a manufacturer defect that I should not have to keep paying to have fixed. There were no warning signs, just one morning it would not start. It would then start sporadically until I fixed the problem.

My vehicle on cold days will not reliably start. Turn key, all lights and indicators work but start function is electronically terminated within 1 second of engagement. The car will start after waiting for ten to twenty minutes as if nothing was wrong. After many trips to the mechanic (dealer and non) I have found many such reports on-line indicating a faulty ignition switch which fails in cold weather. The time delay in starting appears to be some type of interaction with the theft deterrent system. I will now pay to have this part replaced but suspect, as many have reported, that this will correct the issue for one or two years before it occurs again (as many others have also reported).

My 2004 Saturn Ion intermittently will not start in cold weather due to a faulty ignition switch that causes the passlock vehicle theft system to engage. I then have to wait for 10 minutes in the cold for the passlock system to reset so that I can try again to start my car. Saturn is aware of this issue and has issued a technical service bulletin for it, but has yet to have issued a recall.

The date below is the date the issue began. I own a 2004 Saturn Ion, that began with cold start issues this winter. After looking up the issue online, I noticed it is a well known issue with these cars, yet there has been no recall. When attempting to start the car on a cold morning (or midday), the car will not turn over. It often takes 10-20 minutes of trying to get the car to engage. I called Saturn, and they offered no remedy, as my car is out of warranty (only a 4. 5 year old car!) - and I cannot afford the $250 repair for the ignition switch. On December 26, 2008, I was stranded for nearly an hour and a half, and suffered frost bite and mild hypothermia.

The contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. In 20 degree temperature or below, the vehicle fails to start. The contact stated that it takes 20 minutes for the vehicle to start. She notified the dealer and manufacturer and they stated that the ignition switch can be replaced, but it would not correct the issue. The contact feels that the failure is unsafe and an inconvenience because she works at night while the weather is cold. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 53,000.

My Saturn Ion 3, 2004 will not start when it is cold. You have to wait 10 minutes and then try again to try to get the car to start. The car eventually starts. I called Saturn to inquire about this and they said that it is an ignition switch problem with their passlock system. They fix about 10 of them every week, b ut Saturn has yet to recall the switch. This problem happens almost everyday in the cold and has been happening to my car for over a year now.

My 2004 Saturn Ion does not start in the cold weather! it happened at least 8 times since October 2008. Today is March 3, 2009. Brought it to the dealer and they said they could not find anything wrong with it. Already changed the ignition switch which wasn't the problem to begin with!.

Apparently I am not the only frustrated gm owner out there. This is regarding my 2004 Saturn Ion which is maintained on a regular basis. . . When turning the key to start nothing happens. No crank, nothing. After viewing several hundreds of complaints regarding the same problem other Saturn owners have been having, I quickly knew it was my ignition. One would think that living in California the weather wouldn't have caused the problem, but almost every day now for the last month my car will not turn on immediately. Sometimes I would wait a couple minutes and it would turn over, sometimes I would wait over 10 minutes for it to turn over as well. I have been late numerous times to work and have had my car towed twice to a mechanic who ultimately cost me hundreds of dollars on parts that had nothing to do with this problem. I am in law enforcement; with that responsibility it is imperative that I be cordial and on time always. I have been reprimanded several times for being late and I've pretty much had it with this car. If Saturn supposedly knew about this problem they could have at least notified their owners and offered some sort of retribution or reconciliation for costs.

Several times, after pulling into my driveway, I turned the ignition switch to the off position and the car continues to run! after trying several different things to turn the engine off it finally quits. I am afraid that some day I will not be able to turn the engine off. I understand now that this is happening to others.

The 2004 Saturn Ion fails to start in cold weather, after getting it checked it is the ignition switch. After reading reviews it seems this is very common on this year and make. This occurs at least once a week sometimes more. It has made me late for work and even miss classes. If this is so common why isn't this part being recalled!? apparently a "security measure" has the car not starting for 10 mins, sometimes 20. Please help!.

Car does not start when it is cold outside because of faulty ignition switch. I was stuck out in sub zero temperatures for about 20 minutes until ignition switch warmed up enough to start. I will have the ignition switch fixed, but I am waiting to see if it will be covered under my warranty.

Saturn 1on 2004 bad ignition switch. . .

It seems that with the Saturn Ions, the ignition switch has a defect wherein about every two years it will fail to start when the temperature drops below freezing (due to the "connection" between it and the cars safety feature). Not a problem if you have a heated garage, or even a garage period, or live somewhere warm. But god forbid you live in an area where there is cold weather. The last estimate I got from the dealer to replace the ignition for this problem was over $200.

No warning about issue to come before it happened. The first cold morning this winter my wife's 2004 Saturn Ion-2 failed to start. After about 30 minutes or intermittently trying to start it, the car finally started. This has happened every morning where it fell below 40deg the previous night. Have taken the car numerous time to mechanics to diagnose. Original answer was I needed a new battery. Battery was replaced with stronger battery (higher cca rating) and the problem persists. Car has new battery, full tank of gas, and sits outside in the driveway. Car has had regular maintenance and oil changes done and has had absolutely no problems until this winter. My research of this issue had produced numerous other Saturn owners with this problem. And no available solutions (I. E. Replacing ignition switch) guarantee the problem with be fixed.

The contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The contac stated that the key failed to remove from the ignition on several occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed no repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 14e021000 (electrical) and had not been able to schedule an appointment. The dealer informed the contact that the part for the recall was not available. The manufacturer was also contacted and could not provide an estimated date for when the contact¿s vehicle would receive the recall repair. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.

Car began failing to turn over before warranty expired. Continuing to try would eventually succeed. Shortly after warranty expired (excessive mileage) the failure required service. Dealer replaced ignition switch which was 'sticking' and causing a security lockout.

Recently I experienced a problem with my car failing to start. I was advised by the mechanic that Saturn issued a technical service bulletin addressing this issue. The reference numbers is 04-08-45-005c, date of issue December 4, 2006 affecting 2003-2006 Saturn Ions built up to and including VIN breakpoint 6z147837. I was told by the mechanic that my car had both diagnostic trouble codes listed in this bulletin.

The ignition switch freezes up when it is cold outside. Had to get the car jump started when it was -10 degrees outside. Saturn says the only way to fix the problem is to replace the switch. According to the dealing near me, there was about 70 cars that had the exact same problem last week when it was really cold.

My 2004 Saturn Ion has been giving me trouble for around 2 years now. It's off and on. I'll drive my car to walmart or where ever and go in the store, come out and it won't start. If I give it 15-20 mins it finally starts. My dad thought it might be my battery, but that was new. We are going to try and get an ignition switch now. Hopefully that will fix it!.

I went to start my car 12-4-06 at 6 am car would not turn over. Later that day at 9:45 am car did turn over. Called car dealer and spoke to head of service department he said that since car was started problem might not show up on diagnostic. On 12-5-2006 same thing happens again in the morning car will not turn over. Had the car towed in and sat the for a few hours to find out that it was an ignition switch. (in there words the grease that is inside gels up in very cold weather and does not male contact to turn the car on. I feel that a dissevice is being done to anyone that owns a Saturn Ion. That this is a problem that they are running into a lot , but we the consumers are having to deal with it. If your car does not start and you get stranded that is a safety issue to me.

'04 Saturn Ion fails to start in cold weather. Security system prevents starting. Must warm key/ignition, and after 15 minutes car may start.

Tried to start car nothing, service vehicle light comes on. Replaced battery and next day same thing no start. After waiting 10-15 minutes car starts like nothing ever wrong . Called dealer told its going to cost $175 for new switch.

The consumer received recall 04v547000 concerning the exterior lighting: turn signal. She had the recall repairs performed three separate times. Approximately two months after the recall work was performed, the problem recurred. After the last repair, she believed it will happen again. The service dealer informed her that the vehicle was no longer under warranty, and she would be responsible for future costs for this repair. The ignition switch was replaced. Updated 11/29/05. *.

I have a 2004 Saturn Ion. It won't start when it gets cold and the chat room says its a common thing . It's the ignition switch and they know all about it but keep right on charging us to replace something they should be doing . As its been going on since 2003 Ion and still is on the 2007 Ion. . There should be a recall on all Saturn Ions gm knows but don't care. And they want us to buy gm that's a joke .

My car has problems starting when the temp. Gets below 30 degrees. I have had this "fixed" twice, and I was told this was because I needed a new ignition switch. I have found several sites where others have had the same issue. I have concluded that there is something wrong with the sensor in the passlock part of the ignition switch that causes it to not work properly when temp. Gets below 30 degrees. Saturn is well aware of this I believe and they have yet to do anything about it. It is very dangerous because it can cause someone to be stranded somewhere in the cold weather. It has also caused me to be late for work several times and has almost cost me my job.