Two problems related to steering failed have been reported for the 2005 Saturn ION. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed became hard to turn while driving in reverse. The power steering indicator illuminated. The contact was able to restart the engine and resume normal steering function. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
2005 Saturn Ion-3, which shares the steering system with the recalled chevy cobalt and pontiac g5, had exactly steering failure. It happened Apr. 10/2010 in a parking lot when driving at 5mph. It chimed but I observed no light on the cluster coming up. Then the steering became very heavy so I turned the car off. After restarting it is fine again. Same thing happened twice in 09 summer, both at the speeding up stage (<10mph) after a controlled stop.