Battery Problems of Saturn ION - part 1

For the second time the ignition lock cylinder broke. Today we unable to turn off the engine. We had to remove fuses to kill the engine and disconnect the battery. The first time it happened we were stuck in the grocery store parking lot because the key would not turn to start. In both cases we had to break the ignition lock in order to remove the lock cylinder. With the cylinder removed we can use a screw driver to start the car. The screw is much more reliable.

See all problems of the 2004 Saturn ION 🔎.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the ignition failed and as a result, he was unable to turn the ignition to the off position. The contact mentioned that in order to turn off the vehicle he had to disconnect the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the ignition lock cylinder and the ignition lock housing needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 62,000.

See all problems of the 2006 Saturn ION 🔎.

My key is locked in the ignition in the on position, and will not turn to off, the only way to turn off the vehicle is to stall it , and disconnect the battery wires to keep the battery from draining down too much.

The ignition lock cylinder in my vehicle seized up - my car was running, and I was unable to turn the key or turn the car off, though I can remove the key and the car stays running. The key is still stuck to "on" and the only way I'm able to turn the car off is to stall it (manual transmission) and pull the battery fuse. From reading forums on this problem I know this is a very, very common problem for Saturn Ions. This part absolutely needs to be recalled. In the meantime, to save hundreds at the dealer I will have to replace the part myself.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the key would become stuck in the accessory position and the vehicle could not be turned off. The contact stated that the only way to turn the vehicle off was to disconnect the negative cable from the battery. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileages were 100,000.

Today was the second time the ignition has seized up when trying to turn off the car when parking. The first time (a few months ago) we had a new ignition installed. It already is doing the same thing. When putting the car in park, the key/ignition will not move at all so we were unable to turn off the car. We had to block the airflow to the engine to stop the car and also remove unattach the battery because all of the electrical components were still on.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the key would not turn in the ignition to shut off the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was immediately taken to an authorized dealer where the battery was disconnected and a diagnostic test was performed. A part was ordered and the vehicle would be repaired upon availability. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 35,256. Updated 10/27/bf.

Tl- the contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that he was unable to remove the key from the ignition and the vehicle continued to run. The dealer advised the contact to remove several fuses and disconnect the battery. No formal repairs were made and the contact was awaiting a service appointment. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 64,000. The VIN was unavailable. Bw.

See all problems of the 2007 Saturn ION 🔎.

On 4/26/11, I took my car in for repairs and the dealer replaced the fuel pump, which was covered by a recall. At that time, I purchased an extended warranty that had a 30 day and 1,000 miles waiting period. On 5/22/11, I drove home and went to turn my key off and it would not turn off. I had to call aaa to come out and they pulled a fuse to get the engine to shut off. Then they disconnected the battery and put the fuse back in. I had to hook the battery back up to drive the vehicle to the dealership. They had to replace the cylinder lock and housing for a cost of $594. 00. This problem should be cosidered a safety issue and be subject to a recall! I have seen 138 complaints just on this issue alone. What does it take?.

For the past 5 months, the Saturn Ion 3 power steering will intermitently go out. When I first start the car the power steering works fine, and then at any random time the car makes a ding,ding noise and then there is no power steering. If the car is shut off and turned back on the power steering is fine. Then a few miles down the road it turns off again, almost every day. This makes it very difficult to turn corners. The next problem is if it is damp or cold (below 60) in the morning at 8am the car will not turn over or start, until the sun comes out and warms up the car, by noon the car starts just fine. I can get it started if I place two warm blankets on the battery and motor and wait a few minutes, then the car will start. The drivers side windows have also stopped working.

Returned home and tried to turn off car but key was stuck in the ignition. The only way to turn the car off was to remove a fuse and unhook the battery. After looking online and on this website, I find this is a common problem with Saturn Ions.

Driving with traffic, the car dies and the steering gets very hard to turn then battery light comes on. Car will restart with no further problems. This will happen at least once a week. Took to the dealer they fixed the gas tank leak and other recall parts. This continues to happen almost caused several accidents. Do not know if it is the steering or electrical. It doesn't matter what speed your going or if your going straight or turning. Please look into this problem. I have had the battery checked the thermostat, checked the fuse box checked. The dealer checked and fixed the other 3 things from recall as stated. The ignition sometimes gets stuck when the steering goes out you can not get the key to do anything until you turn the steering wheel that has no power then you can restart the car. Also the car heat gauge never goes above half way so car is not over heating.

The ignition would not engage could not start the car and replaced the entire system at 400. 00 cost. Less than a year later, the key now will not come out of the ignition and the car will not turn off. I disconnected the battery and it still would not turn off. After more than 30 minutes, and the engine overheating we were able to pull enough fuses to shut the engine off. They say I have to replace the same system again. I have heard that this is a recurring problem with this car and I can't get any answers from gm. I can not afford to replace this system again at a cost of 400. 00 please help me with.

The contact owns 2007 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the key was stuck in the ignition and she was unable to turn the vehicle off. She also disconnected the battery and the vehicle would not shut off. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 71,000.

Can't remove key from switch Saturn Ion 04 car will not turn off nor can you remove the key had to pull the fuse under the hood and disconnect the battery in order to shut car off.

My Saturn 2007 Ion will not shut off & I cannot get the key to release out of the ignition. I had to pull the ignition fuse & disconnect the battery. I called Saturn who denied the problems with the ignition systems. I went onto consumer affairs. Com, entered consumer complaints about Saturn Ion ignition lock & pulled up 50 pages of documented problems concerning the passlock system. Why has there not been a recall on this matter? not 50 incidents, 100's of incidents. My car went out of warranty 1 month ago. It is estimated at over $500. 00 to repair with no guarantee it will not occur again! please help us & check out this problem. I read that gm issued a service bulletin 04-08-45-005d concerning this matter.

I came home last night around 10:40pm, went to shut my car off and the key would not come out of the ignition - it was stuck "on". I took my car to my parents house (my dad has tools) and after several failed attempts to get the key out, I called onstar and they dispatched a local tow truck company to come. The guy was very rude and basically made me feel stupid for having this happen and acted like he couldn't help me with that, so I canceled the tow. We pulled some fuses and disconnected the battery and figured since at that time it was 12:30am that I would call Saturn in the morning. I went on the consumer affairs website and found this has happened alot to people all over the country with my same car! and nothing is being done about getting a recall, and they are charging people up to $500 or more to fix it. I think gm should recall this ignition lock and all of these charges for the defective part should be covered by them. It's not the car owner's fault that the part is bad. I only have approx. $50k miles on my 2007 Ion. I told the Saturn service department I would call them back as I am not in a position to pay that right now, so I am not sure what I am going to do.

The ignition on the 2005 Saturn Ion will lock with the vehicle in the "on" position. The only way to turn the vehicle off is to disconnect the battery, even though the car is still running. I have had the ignition components replaced 3 times in the past year and a half, and still have the same problem.

See all problems of the 2005 Saturn ION 🔎.

I have a 2003 Saturn Ion. The key "jammed" in the "on" position leaving the car running. To shut it off you have to raise the hood, pull a fuse, then go to the trunk and disconnect the battery. This is a major issue for me because the car is driven by a college, female. Gas stations, convenience stores and small children left in car, etc. . . Are a problem, because the car is running. I have replaced the shifter, and now the ignition ($463) plus tax for a lock cylinder !.

See all problems of the 2003 Saturn ION 🔎.

Beginning last week, once the car has been started , it cannot be shut off with the key. Luckily, we do not garage this vehicle! we can put the car into"park", but the key will not turn in the ignition to any other position, and the key cannot be removed from the car. To stop the car, we pull a fuse and disconnect the battery. To start the car, we reconnect the battery and replace the fuse. While this is not as life threatening as other vehicle problems recently, it is wide-spread. When I went on-line to find a solution (Saturn said all of its tech's had gone home early) I found hundreds of the same incident.

I have a 2007 Saturn Ion, about two weeks ago I went to work when I park and tried to turn the car off the key wouldn't turn off it was stuck, the only way tu turn the car was disconnecting the battery, when I got off work I connected the battery again and I was able to turn the car on but not off so every way a went for the past two weeks from 08-06-10 til now I had to open the hood and disconnect the battery I just don't have money to spent on an issue that has more the 5000 complains regarding the same problem with the ignition on a Saturn brand. . Read more...

I get to work today and I can't cut off my 2007 Saturn Ion. Contact the dealership and only remedy provided is to dangerously disconnect the wire harness under the wheel from the battery to turn the car off and then pay $300-500 dollars to have it repaired with no reason why it failed or that it won't go out again. This is dangerous and the parts are defective and should be recalled by Saturn.

This has not been a true safety item yet, but it has the potential of being one, and if you look on-line under "key stuck in ignition" you will be amazed how many people have had this problem. The car companies apparently know about it because the have installed a small cover under the steering column to remove and push a button to release the key so it can be turned and removed. Many people like us have paid over $500 and still have the problem. Looks like there should be a recall to fix this. Some folk couldn't even shut the engine off and had to disconnect the battery. That' ridiculous. I'm sure I speak for hundreds and maybe thousands of people that wish someone would do something about this problem. Please take the time to look at what is on the internet concerning this. Not everyone has a computer and access to this information. Thank you.

I have a 2006 Saturn Ion on with 43,000 miles (a well-maintained vehicle at that). The problem (a common one from everything I've read/heard): recently, I was unable to shut my vehicle off; that's correct. . . I could not turn my car off. The key was locked in the ignition with the vehicle running. After several hours, my husband and I were able to determine the best course of action (get it to a dealer, disconnect the fuel pump fuse and battery, and spend $451 to have the ignition cylinder completely replaced; the mechanic said it was defective). Not being able to shut off a vehicle is a major safety concern (for so many reasons); you can't simply leave a vehicle running, and you certainly can't leave a running vehicle unattended (although some people probably have. . . How dangerous is that?).

1. No abnormal circumstances, simply turned off at night, and returned in the morning to a car with perfectly working electrical but will not react when turning the car further. 2. It occurs randomly, the consequences are that my car is useless at the time that I need it most, the morning before work. 3. Absolutely nothing. . . It is a Saturn Ion. The issue is all over the internet, and the fix is complicated, leaving your car on for 10 minutes to get around the pass lock. If your battery survives your car will work afterward.

I recently purchased a Saturn Ion 2004 car. After 2 months, one day it just didn't turn on when I started it. I thought it was the battery. I had it checked and the battery was fine. I, however, replaced the battery with a new one, since it was the original battery. Since then, the problem of "not starting" has happened 4 times. . . . I went on the Saturn website and to my amazement, there are pages and pages of the same complaint with the same car, Saturn Ion 2004, 2005, 2003. This is a real inconvenience not knowing if when I turn my car off it will start or not. I urge you to consider how many people are complaining about this same thing. Saturn tells us when we call to take it to the service station. We then get a bill for their service, and they can't find anything wrong. We are wasting money. I believe Saturn should step up to the plate and investigate this problem instead of just ignoring it.

I purchased my brand new Saturn Ion 2 coupe in June of 2006. In the winter of 2006 I had the ignition to lock up on me and I could not get my key out and it wouldn't turn at all. Thankfully my car was under warranty and I had it towed immediately to the nearest Saturn dealer. I was told that the ignition housing and its components had to be replaced. The service guy continued to tell me that this has been a common problem. I didn't think anything else about it because mine was fixed. Now in oct of 2009 I am faced with the same problem but my key was in the on position and running. The only way to turn my car off was to stall it out because its a five speed and disconnect the battery. My car is no longer under warranty so therefore I am faced with a mechanic bill that is outrageous and I am a college student. I further investigated this problem on the internet to see if there were similar problems like mine and to my surprise there are numerous unsatisfied Saturn customers that have had to deal with the same problem. I feel that these ignitions should be investigated and recalled because they have caused so many problems. This is a hazard because this leaves drivers stranded on the side of the road, in an empty parking lot, or in unknown territory. As a female, I was stranded in a parking lot not knowing what to do and scared. I was very disappointed that the Saturn customer service man could not help me on the telephone and very unaware of customer safety.

I bought a 2005 Saturn Ion in March 2008. Since then, I have had the key get stuck on a constant basis. I had that fixed, but the key still sticks, but I push it in to release it. At least it's better than it was. The car does not like to start in cold weather. I replaced the battery. Cost $421. 00. Now, at only 45,888 miles, my steering display light keeps coming on and I lose power steering. Got is checked told cost $700 total, but the only problem no part is available. It is on back log. So, I can't afford the part and labor anyway, but no part available? what do I do now with a car I am still paying on? I feel I a m stuck with a lemon.

After coming out of carwash I attempted twice to start car. On the third try it started & then key would not turn off w/engine running when I reached my destination. I then proceeded to Saturn dealer who fortunately was open and disconnected battery to stop engine. Housing, key assembly, & cylinder had to be replaced at the expense of $598. 06. Dealer could not explain why or how situation occurred so as to prevent recurrence in future. Mileage was 40,071.

Car intermittently starts. This has been a sporadic event since December 2007. It happens perhaps once or twice a month in the colder weather. Car will start fine at one stop, then try to start it again and nothing happens. Come back 10-20 minutes later and it starts right up. Originally thought it was the old battery, but that has been replace and the problem is recurring.

We purchased our Saturn Ion (used- from a dealership) and within a few weeks it began not starting on the first try we would have to wait for 15-20 minutes to start it. Then when the morning weather turned cold it would not start. At all. In the afternoons when it would warm up some it would start again. We thought it was the battery so replaced the battery. Next morning it wouldn't start. I went online to see if there was a recall. There was none. But, I did find hundreds of posts about the same thing. I even found videos posted to youtube. Com on how it might be fixed. Scary!! also I found posts where people went to the dealerships for fixes and the dealerships fixed the problem only for it to crop up again within a short time. Please can you help? I found you by accident others would make complaints but they don't know you exist to help. Our car is basically useless because we cannot count on it to start when we need it. The date I gave you was a guesstimate of the first time it happened. We have not taken our car to the dealership because of the numerous post where folks took their cars in, had repairs , only to have the trend start over again.

I have a 2004 Saturn Ion which this morning would not start after I left a convenience store. It was a little hesitant in starting about a week ago. Both times were extremely cold compared to normal this time of year. This morning I figured it was a battery problem. Well after some internet research it would seem that these vehicles have problems starting in the cold and everyone else's description online describes what happened me to me perfectly. Wouldn't start, walked the mile home, called for a tow truck, got back, started right up with not problems.

I own a 2004 Saturn Ion, within the past 2 weeks the car will intermittently not start in the mornings. I purchased a new battery from the Saturn dealer and still have the same issue. The vehicle was placed on a diagnostic machine and the check came back with every thing being ok but the vehicle does not start. When I called Saturn their customer service rep stated there is no recall but tried to sell me an extended warranty. Can you please help me.

Once car was on couldn't turn key back to stop vehicle and couldn't remove key. Had to pull ignition fuse under hood and disconnect battery in trunk every time we wanted to start or stop the vehicle. Finally got a new ignition built and that solved the problem but of course warranty was up and this came out of our pockets.

My Saturn 2003 Ion continues to have intermittent starting problems(not related to the battery), and problems with the key getting stuck in the ignition cylinder, even after the ignition cylinder was replaced. They cannot detect a problem yet it still keeps happening!.