Cruise Control Problems of Saturn ION

Takata recalls. . I have a 2003 Saturn Ion I was driving fine hit cruise control button once I was at 55 an my car made a clicking sound started jerking like the cruise control keeps coming on. . . I've turned car off hit brakes which should reset it but it still happens. . The car feels like its down shifting an trying to accelerate on its on the rpms hump real high wen this happens. . You be driving doing 50 mph an all the sudden car jerks like its trying to stop u feel I t in gas pedal also. . .

See all problems of the 2003 Saturn ION 🔎.

This has happened several times in recent months, but here is what happened this morning: I was on the interstate, going about 60mph, and I sped up temporarily to pass the semi next to me so that I could merge into the right lane and catch the next exit. Upon merging, I released the gas pedal but it did not come back naturally with my foot and instead went to the floor and my car started accelerating as I exited the interstate onto a flyover ramp. I immediately hit my brakes and was able to regain control of the speed, but it scared me, especially as the flyover ramp requires a slower speed along the curve. To the best of my recollection, in all cases where this has happened, I have been going at least 35 mph when it happened, and my cruise control was on but not active (in other words I had it available to me but it was not currently set at any particular speed). I have seen multiple similar complaints in forums online, but I am not aware of a recall. This is obviously an extremely dangerous issue, especially at high speeds in dense traffic. Please investigate further -- I cannot afford to have my mechanic replace all the possible faulty parts with other potentially faulty parts, and I would hate to be the cause of an accident because the car was out of my control through no fault of mine.

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The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. While driving various speeds, the cruise control auto accelerated and the seat belt warning indicator illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

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My fiance and I were driving down the road about 40 45 mph and the light up ahead changed yellow to red just before I could come to a complete stop, my car accelerated I held both feet on the brake and the car kept wanting to inch forward itseemed as if I held the gas pedal down to the floor I got within 2 or 3 feet from the car in front of me out of instinct I quickly put the car in neutral and shut it off had I not I would have rear ended the car in front of me I then waited a minute or two tops put it in park and started it, it acted normal I thought maybe there was and object or something that may have slipped by my feet while driving or my floor mat moved there was nothing there . There has been other times like right after starting it up it revs to the highest rpm possible as if its going to blow up I hurry and shut it off wait a few minutes and try again, and another time I drove about 2 miles going down the road at 45 mph as if I had cruise control on when my car doesnt have that feature which is really scary I dont know what to do please help thank you.

See all problems of the 2004 Saturn ION 🔎.

On multiple occasions this vehicle has accelerated without pushing the gas pedal, with no cruise control option, it's unsolved by multiple mechanics. Sometimes the brake works while it's happening, sometimes it doesn't, the most recent time I pulled into a parking lot where I had to hold the brake down to shut the car off, I could smell the transmission, I turned vehicle off, turned it back on and it went to over 5 rpm still, turned back off, sat and waited, it was 2am so I couldn't call anyone. After 10 minutes it finally went back to normal. That was the most severe, it's had slightly similar issues at least 4 times. First mechanic said it was a cruise control issue, then I told him I was leaving since the vehicle doesn't have cruise control at all. Don't want him working on it. 2nd one ran computer check, no issue found. Hopefully gm recalls this before it kills someone. This car has had many issues me and my father could fix, ignition switch, wiper blade transmission, coolant light but this one isn't easy.

I want to add my vehicle to the list of complainants that are having trouble with the faulty power steering issue on the 2004-2007 Saturn Ions. I have had this trouble since the beginning of August this year almost right at 100,000 miles. That makes my car ineligible for the reimbursement offer gm has. It is only good for 10 years and 100,000 miles I was just past that. However, if you are forcing them to issue a recall I don't see why they should not have to fix my car as well. The incidents, thankfully, have only occurred while I was driving, and I have been able to control the vehicle. I have been fortunate enough to not have it go out in mid turn yet, and I have not had it go out at low speeds in high traffic yet. These are the most dangerous times, I believe, for the loss of power steering. Fortunately the unit has never failed while my wife was driving. In addition to being a touch physically weaker than I am she is terrified of driving anyway, and I fear if it happened to her she would absolutely have an accident as a result. I have also had problems with the cruise control not working since I purchased the vehicle on August 28, 2006. I took it in once under warranty to have it repaired and they said it was a well known loose wiring issue. It wasn't more than a month or so later that I was having the same issue. When I took it in for repair this time, they told me it was no longer covered under warranty and they wanted $600 to repair a "known loose wiring issue" I was understandably upset about that and chose to just have a finicky cruise control since then.

The contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion. While driving approximately 55 mph, the contact engaged the cruise control but the vehicle suddenly accelerated abruptly without warning. The contact then applied pressure to the brakes, manually depressed the cruise control button and pressed the clutch to disengage the system however, the vehicle continued to accelerate. The contact was able to remove the vehicle from the highway and shut the engine off. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who performed a diagnostic test and confirmed that the cruise control module had froze in acceleration mode and disconnected the system. The manufacturer took a complaint on the contacts behalf and the contact was awaiting a response. The current and failure mileage was 80,051.

There are no events leading up to the failure. From everything I've read from other Saturn Ion owners this is a frequent and seemingly random problem. At any given time if it is cold outside the car won't start. Everything lights up, the engine turns over and catches, only to stall. Upon repeated attempts to start the car there will be no response whatsoever. The engine does not turn over. After waiting several minutes it will eventually start. This problem has occurred 4 times in the last month; twice causing me to be late for particularly important engagements. Upon reporting the problem to the Saturn dealership where I bought the car I was told that they have many complaints of the same problem, but that their staff haven't been able to resolve it. This has been their general attitude towards several issues I've had with my car. I took it to another garage and they can't find a thing wrong with it. Saturn seems to be turning a blind eye to a problem that is clearly the result of a poor design somewhere on their part. I have also had to replace control arm bushings when I was at about 80 000 km, and now need to replace struts. I am hesitant to do this though, as the general consensus among Saturn Ion owners is that bushings and struts are in perpetual need of replacement on these cars. After replacing the parts most people find that they have to make the same repairs again within 2 years. Further problems I have with my car are: trunk will not open with key, replaced wires on both front turn signals and one headlight, key would not release from ignition, erratic transmission behavior (I was told that this is a common problem and that I just have to deal with it), seat belt guides broken (front, both sides), rear seat belt "female" component falls into crevice in seat, paint peeling from front bumper without being chipped prior, and a faulty cruise control switch. Every single one of these problems has turned up again and again in the Ion owners community.

While slowing and preparing to stop for a traffic light, the vehicle began to accelerate, rpm's increased even though foot was off the accelerator. Vehicle was difficult to stop and required more than normal foot pressure on brake pedal. Once vehicle was stopped, engine continued to race. Problem was corrected by turning off the key. Problem has occurred three times randomly over the past year. On all occurrences, the cruise control was not in use.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. While driving 75 mph, the cruise control stopped working. The power steering, battery, and coolant warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact also noticed that the vehicle would no longer accelerate. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The contact did not notice any differences beforehand. The current and failure mileages were 51,000. Updated 10/16/08 the consumer also stated the key became stuck in the ignition. Updated 10/21/08.

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I was driving in the mountains of virginia and just got on a major highway called 81 north. I put my cruise control on and set it at around 60. I did this right before an uphill climb then I held onto the accelerate button to set it around 65 which was the speed limit on that highway. It accelerated slowly and when it got to the speed I wanted I let go. I got to the top of the hill and it keeps accelerating. So im now going downhill and its accelerating plus the hill was steep and I hit my brake and it doesn't turn off. I hit the clutch simultaneous to when I hit the brake and neither shut off the cruise control. I then turn the cruise control off and its still going. I then hit the clutch and yank the shifter into neutral (its a manual) and the rpm's are going crazy. I turn the cruise control button back on and then off again and it finally stopped trying to accelerate (the rpm's stopped freaking out). Not to mention I get pulled by a state trooper for speeding. After he comes back with my ticket (still shocked that the cruise control wouldn't let up) , I tell him, "well what happened was. . . " and he says "I don't need to know, I just need you to sign this paper right here. " this just happened today in roanoke, va and I live in norfolk, va so I have to drive all the way back to roanoke on March 13 to contest this ticket.

I purchased a 3005 Saturn Ion coupe 3 5/31/05 with in the past 7 months,the car has been back to the dealership 5 times. The day after I picked up the vehicle, I noticed a thumping noise in the back. After bringing back to the dealership, I was told that the rear rotors needed to be replaced. This did not fix the noise. My second trip the dealership indicated that I needed new rear brake drums. Because they were warped (future conversations with the sales manager indicated that this was completely normal, that if the car sits for a few weeks without being driven, the drums will warp, which leads me to think that Saturn should re think the quality of parts they use. ) since that time, I have brought the car in for a defective radio (which was replaced) a drivers window that wouldn't go down (motor replaced) and the cruise control not working (after 2 times, it was replaced). I finally was able to speak with the area manager last week after I called Saturn customer service to log a complaint for the second time. He offered me free basic maintenance (oil changes, tire rotations) for 2 years. This was the first time that anyone at Saturn had offered to do anything for my time/inconvenience. Very poor customer service/satisfaction.

2005 Saturn Ion, multiple problems w cruise control disengaging & not operable unless vehicle shut off, unexpected acceleration, & activating on it's own. The dealership would not believe me until the service manager witnessed this problem. When Saturn sent an engineer to review the issue he also doubted me as he had the vehicle for 1 week & was unable to reproduce the problem. When I submitted for a new vehicle under the states lemon law the service manager accused me of making this up to get a new vehicle. Saturn required me to pay $1800 for mileage depreciation to replace the vehicle & refused to honor the extended warranty which came with my original vehicle. My big error was in giving the dealer & Saturn corp 5 time to try & fix the problem. Those 2 extra attempts caused further mileage which cost me in additional out of pocket expenses.

The contact bought a 2005 Saturn Ion on 12-10-04. The first 50 miles he had to take it back to dealer because the cruise control was not working. The dealer fixed the cruise control under warranty. The dealer had to get a new computer program for the car. Since then he had to take vehicle to dealer five times because the car sputtered and died sporadically. The last two times was on 9-26-05 and on 9-30-05, and on 9-26-05 the dealer replaced the automatic transmission body control, tcm, and power train module. Repaired all wiring and connectors. During test drive, the service light was still on. He believed the dealer reset the service engine light. The contact picked up the car on 9-29-05, and on 9-30-05 the check engine light was still on. The dealership replaced the engine wiring harness at that time. The contact picked up the car on 10-03-05. He has only driven the car once sine then and the check engine light has not yet come back on. The contact has talked to a field representative from Saturn several times, and he told him to got to the ok dmv.

By 3500 miles (after 1500mi when we could have returned it), the front passenger turn signal burnt out. The car was also sputtering when we started the engine. The mechanic found a cracked head, that we were told was probably present when we purchased the car; had we known we would've returned the car. We were given a rental car, but had to drive 45 min one way to get to Saturn of green bay. Within a month, the front driver turn signal had burnt out. The wiring was replaced while we waited 2 hrs with our 3 year old. We had to drive 1 hr 1way to Saturn of appleton for repairs. In Aug 2004, the car was making a noise when we turned onto a steep grade. In mi for vacation, we had to drive over 1 hr 1way to Saturn of troy; the swaybar and mounting brackets had to be fixed. We waited for over 2 hrs with our son while it was fixed. In sept 2004, the front passenger side turn signal had to replace the resistor. We drove 1 hr 1 way for the repair, and had to wait 2 hrs with our son. We had asked about the cruise making a funny noise, but it was checked and we were told it was fine. In April 2005, the cruise stopped working and had to be fixed. It took over a week for the part to come in, and almost 2 weeks for it to be repaired at Saturn of green bay. I had to go to the dealer 30 minutes early, be driven over to my school where I teach, walk to my second school I teach at, and wait for a driver to pick me up (20-40 min past when I was done for the day). Despite everything we've been through with a new car that should need minimal care at this point, we've been basically told that we should take the $2600 hit to buy a new car while the dealer breaks even. This is poor salesmanship, and we will not be purchasing Saturn products any longer.

While driving the vehicle's trunk opened. The consumer stated that the cruise control will not set. The dealer stated that the cruise control was working within factory specs.

While driving at 30 mph in cruise control mode driver pulled right to avoid hitting and object in the road, and the right wheel locked up. When this occurred vehicle impacted a tree, and damaged the a frame and other components. Vehicle was totaled.