Steering Column Problems of Saturn ION - part 2

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. While driving at 15 mph, the power steering light illuminated. The steering wheel then became extremely stiff and locked. The contact was able to park the vehicle using extreme bodily force. The dealer advised that the steering column would need to be replaced without performing a diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 47,841.

See all problems of the 2006 Saturn ION 🔎.

Power steering has went on my 2004 Saturn Ion. Upon looking on the internet, I was flooded with similar problems. This is a major problem where people's lives are at risk. The chevy cobalt has been recalled for this same problem, and contains the same electric steering column. I don't understand how this has not yet been recalled and peoples live are at risk every day. I cannot afford to fix something like this that should never be a problem because of its health risks.

See all problems of the 2004 Saturn ION 🔎.

Wife was driving home from work, and the power steering in her Saturn Ion just quit working making the car very difficult to steer. No one was hurt, but nearly caused an accident. My understanding from the dealer is that the electric motor on the steering column over heats and just stops working. Very expensive to fix, and I also understand this is a common problem. Shutting car off and re-starting makes it work again, but it has happened four other times since then.

No crashes or injuries. My power steering keeps going 'out'. One time I will drive and it will be fine, I'll start it up an hour or so later and boom for whatever reason the p. S. Light is on and I have no p. S. . From what I've been able to find out, the same ps 'column' that was also installed in a few other gm cars were recalled, but, for whatever reason the Saturn Ion was not? this has been going on for about a week. I am taking it to Saturn for a diagnostics test on mon. I am also hoping that Saturn can 'clear the codes' if this is just an electrical/computer problem. If not, it seems to me they should honor the recall set out to the other consumers for the same problem!. I bought the car brand new in 2005. It has been a great car otherwise.

See all problems of the 2005 Saturn ION 🔎.

I have a 2004 Saturn Ion (red line). In July of last year, my power steering went out while driving. You have to turn the car off and restart it in order to reset the power steering. The problem occurred twice that month and did not happen again until June of this year. It has happened 5 times since. I have noticed that the problem usually occurs when the weather is hot (over 90 degrees). Other than that, there is no set circumstance. It can just go out at any time. I contacted Saturn and they said there was a problem with some part of the steering column that was causing the problem, but the way the car is made, they just can't replace the part, but the entire steering column has to be replaced. This would cost between 700. 00 and 800. 00 before labor. I have been researching this on the internet and have found dozens of other people who have had the same problem. I feel this is a safety problem on Saturns part and the steering column needs to be recalled. I understand you have had similar complaints about this problem. I hope you take these complaints into consideration.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. While driving at approximately 25 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated on the dashboard and the steering wheel immediately became stiff. The contact shut off the vehicle and when restarting, the steering functioned as normal. The failure occurred 8 additional times and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer advised replacing the entire steering column. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 83,561.

2007 Saturn Ion. The key was turning funny in the ignition. I thought the key had bent or something. A couple days later the key will not turn in the off position. The car will not turn off. We had to take apart the steering column to pull the fuse. The car remains in this condition because I am told it will cost close to $500. 00 to fix. I google this and there are numerous websites filled with this same complaint. Gm has wiped their hands of the Saturn. I feel this is a manufacturers defect and should be repaired at no cost to Saturn owners.

See all problems of the 2007 Saturn ION 🔎.

During my drive home from work, I was slowing down for a red light, and the pwr str error light came on in my car immediately followed by my power steering giving out. I could hardly turn the wheel, but struggled with two hands to pull off the road and turn my car off. When I restarted it several minutes later, the error message was gone. I started driving again and the power steering returned. I made it home. The following Monday I took the car to return to work where I planned to take it into the mechanic near there. Again, as I was coming to an intersection and preparing to turn onto a busy highway, the error message came on again and my power steering completely gave out. I was extremely shaken up and forced the wheel to turn off to the side. Again, by shutting off the engine temporarily, I was able to get it to work well enough to get to work. My mechanic observed the car and determined that this is an electronic steering problem. To fix it the entire steering column would need to be replaced. This has an estimated cost of $1,000 and needs to be done at a certified Saturn dealer because of the software associated with the fix. This problem is exactly what was reported in the gm recall of compact cars to fix the power steering. The steering column parts are the same in the 2004 Saturn Ion 3, which is what I drive. Yet, my car was not included in the recall. Why? I am not able to drive my car until it is fixed. This is a serious safety hazard, as I am barely strong enough to turn the wheel without the power steering. I was only lucky that this did not happen while I was in different places of my commute or the consequences could have been severe.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion 3. While driving at approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel locked up. The contact pulled over and restarted. After restarting the vehicle, the steering seemed to function properly. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership informed the contact that power steering motor and steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 21,340. The current mileage was 21,342.

2006 Saturn Ion loss of power steering. Both my self and my sisters car has had to have the entire power steering column replaced at a cost of over $1000. 00 after reading the internet this is a problem with a lot of Saturn owners all the way back to 2003. This situation almost killed myself and my two children when the power steering went out doing 65 miles per hour on the interstate.

2006 Saturn Ion power steering went out in the middle of a turn. After the car has been shut off for some time, the power steering will work for a very short time (30 seconds or so) before it stops working again all together. It appears after some research that the steering column power steering unit is out. There is also a recall on a gm product that uses the exact same unit for my vehicle, although my Saturn was not in the recall.

I was driving my 2007 Saturn Ion when the electric power steering went out. There was no warning - the indicator light came on and the power steering was gone. I was lucky enough to be able to maneuver the car off the highway, where I put in park, turned it off and waited a few minutes before turning it back on. Remarkably, as quickly as the problem appeared, it went away and I was able to get back on the highway with not further problems but when I started researching the problem online I found many other complains of the same exact nature. Saturn of course will replace the steering column for about $900. There are several other complaints related to this same problem. This is unsafe and scary as hell. You can't be driving a car when the steering goes out without warning! check the internet, there are tons of complaints about this issue and something should be done. Here's a good place to start. . . . Read more...

My 2006 Saturn Ion 2 has an issue with the power steering. The light comes on and then the power steering turns off and we have to manually steer the car. There is no rhyme or reason as to when or why it comes on. We will then turn the car off, then back on and then the same thing will happen. This makes for a dangerous situation, especially when turning corners. We are currently in the process of having our mechanic look at it to see if he can fix it. Apparently the Saturn's steering column is the same one that is in the chevy cobalt that was recently recalled.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. While driving at approximately 30-40 mph, the power steering light illuminated. The contact pulled over, parked and turned off the vehicle. After restarting, the vehicle behaved normally. The vehicle was then taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint and the failure became an everyday occurrence. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000. The current mileage was 66,414.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) 2007 Saturn Ion - steering: electronic power assist - gm has recalled this on the cobalt which shares the same exact system with the Saturn Ion aswell as other gm vehicles. My 2007 Saturn Ion is experiencing this defect when I took it to the dealership the mechanic explained that this is a common issue (the power steering system randomly shorts and causes driving hazards) they said it has not been recalled yet but it is seen quite often for all gm vehicles with that system and that it is always 1 of 2 things the eps(electronic power assisted steering) or the steering column. They both have chips which are faulty he explained. Now that my wife and I see that these parts are at someone's attention but not fully we have decided to make this complaint. You may contact us at [xxx] - this problem occurs at random after starting the vehicle and can cause a wreck.

Since December, the power steering goes out several times a week on my 2007 Saturn Ion. I have not had the money to fix it, but it appears that many others are having the same problem. It appears to be a similar problem to a recall that has already been made for other gm models with a power steering motor on the steering column. If I stop and turn the car off and back on, it fixes itself. We are unsure about how to go about having the problem diagnosed and corrected given that Saturn no longer exists.

I was advised after calling Saturn a third time that I file a complaint on this website to go toward a recall of my electric power steering motor on my Saturn Ion 2. 1. One night in November 2009, while making a long drive on the highway, my power steering went out without warning. When I turned the car off and back on, the power steering came back on. 2. However, since then, the power steering started to go out more and more frequently. For the past two months, the power steering goes out as soon as I start driving the car and I drive without it 99% of the time. I have no idea whether I am causing any further damage to the car driving it like this. There is no warning of it happening other than the beep that occurs after it goes out. Sometimes the beep will be so delayed that I will go to turn and it is extremely hard and unexpected. This back and forth of having or not having power steering is obviously a safety issue. I cannot rely on skill or muscle memory alone to know the force I need to steer the car. I have not yet had a crash but I worry about it more and more. Parking is a huge problem. 3. I was told by Saturn that if I went to one of the (few remaining) Saturn dealers to have a diagnostic done, it would then contribute to a recall. I did go have this done, and the dealer told me it was "only a matter of time till a recall, since we see this problem every day now". They even started carrying just the motor since it was so expensive for thousands of people to have to replace the whole steering column. They quoted me a price for repair and I've been waiting for the recall. It is very hard to scrape up $600 to repair a part that they all know is defective. Do people have to crash and get seriously injured or die before it will be recalled? now to see other gm cars get recalled for the exact same power steering motor, but not mine, is unbelievably frustrating. There is no "Saturn electric power steering motor". . . They use the exact same part.

The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. While the contact was driving 50mph he noticed a chime noise coming from the dashboard, moments later the vehicle no longer had power steering. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact had the steering column replaced. There were no prior warnings and the current and failure mileages were 71000.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the power steering would intermittently fail over a period of one year without warning until completely becoming inoperable. The dealer advised that the electronic power assist had failed and that the power assist module and steering column would need to be replaced. The failure mileage was 42,000 and the current mileage was 58,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The contact stated while driving at approximate speeds of 65mph, the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering failed. The failure continued and became progressively worse. The dealer and advised the steering column would need to be replaced at the owners expense. The manufacturer would not offer any assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000 and the current mileage was approximately 94,000.

-the contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. The contact was driving approximately between 45-55 mph the power steering locked without warning, causing limited control in the steering of the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the side of the road and the engine was turned off. When the vehicle restarted, the power steering functioned normal for a few moments and failure continued to occur. The dealer was notified and stated that the steering column would be replaced at the owner expense. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was 10,000. The current mileage was 96,000.

I have a 2006 Saturn Ion, which I bought for my wife. I used the car to jump start another vehicle and the next day, my power steering went out. As I was making a turn into an intersection my wheel ceased to turn and I drove into some cones, which were in place to protect pedestrians. Had my wife been driving (who is very petite), I don't think she could have forced the car over and someone could have gotten hurt. From what I have heard this will cost about $600 (until recently they would force you to replace the entire steering column which would cost well over $1000). This is a ridiculous amount to spend on something that is clearly not up to a quality standard. I also cannot justify taking this to a shop. If they replace this poorly engineered part with an identical one, it is quite likely that it will just break again, to more costs. Beyond this, I cannot trust that my wife can drive this vehicle safely. If this is not addressed by the manufacturer, I have no choice other than to sell this vehicle and buy another that is safe for my family.

On Sunday, oct. 25, 2009 the power steering went out on my 2006 Saturn Ion sl3. Restarted the car and it came back on but when out again about 5 minutes later. Took the car to van Chevrolet in kansas city, missouri. The said I needed a new steering column because the power steering is run off electric motors in the column. They reset the fault and ordered a new column. When they installed the new column, the power steering motors were bad, so the put the original steering column back on. The dealer did something with the computer module and the fault hasn't come back, but they did tell me that it definitely will and the power steering will definitely really go out.

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. While driving 55 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then there was a loss of power steering. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the steering column was replaced at an expense of $950. 00 the vehicle identification number was unavailable. The failure and current mileages were 96,000.

Power steering goes out after only a few moments running. Difficulty steering at low speeds. Exact same complaints as those in the gm recall, though the 2007 Saturn Ion was not included in that recall. The power steering goes out every time the vehicle is used. Dealer said to fix it would normally require a power steering motor to be replaced, but since Saturn is discontinued, gm will only provide entire steering column assemblies as a fix. Incident date is approximate, though it recurs every day the car is used.

Nothing led up to the failure. Car was in perfect condition. Power steering just went out as I was driving down the highway. Will stay on for a few minutes then shut off again whenever car is in motion. Makes it very hard to turn and maneuver the car especially around other cars and people. I would not be able to swerve to avoid an accident. I have not got this repaired yet because the Saturn dealership quoted me almost $1000 to replace the steering column. I asked if they have done this before and they said they have found the problem before in several Ion models. After researching on the internet I found numerous consumer complaints with the same problem!!.

Electric power steering went out in the car. At first it would go out sporadically, but now it goes out within one minute of driving the car. It always goes out while driving, sometimes while in turns. It causes the vehicle to be difficult to maneuver. I took the car to the dealership, and since the power steering went out at around 64,000 miles, the car was out of warranty and they would not fix it. They stated that to fix the problem, the entire steering column would need replaced, and estimated cost around $900.

I own a 2005 Saturn Ion and the power steering was going. I took the car into the dealership, they said the steering motor had to be replaced, now they replaced it for free, but made me wait a week and sent me back out on the road with a car that had power steering that worked sometimes and not other times. Then two weeks later the entire car started to fail. The speedometer, the transmission would not switch gears, the power steering went again, and the breaks where pretty much gone. So after causing a big scene the car was looked at and found that the transmission module went on the car. So they replaced the part after making me wait two days to get my car back. My concern is why is a car that will be turning 5 years old next month and only has about 27,900 miles on it is having all these big problems. In the matter of one mouth I have has a new brain put into the car. The customer service was awful and rude. They all try to blame each other. When I went to pick the car up the service people would not even talk to me they told me to see the cashier she has my keys. I said I am not leaving here until I test drive it, she said ok, it's park in the lot on the side somewhere. I was like nice, you don't even know where my car is on your lot. So in the matter of one month I have the steering column and the transmission module replaced.

I drive a 2004 Saturn Ion. About two months ago my power steering started to go out at random times, however, when I would turn the car off and then back on it would be fine. I did bring it in to a mechanic and had it looked at. He found no error codes and no duplicate of the problem because it was at random times. A couple weeks ago it started to turn off a couple times a day. I finally brought it in again when it turned off on me on the freeway and I almost crashed when a big rig swerved. My mechanic was able to verify there was an issue with the power steering column & modular. That part was $560. 53 (not including labor). Further research into this part on my car with the help of my mechanic showed that this is a very common issue with my Saturn make. However, the story does not end here. After replacement of this part my mechanic discovered the cause for the steering breaking. The motor in this column piece fries the whole modular. The replacement part for this was another $175. 00. The Saturn factory has plenty of steering columns in stock however because of the increase in demand for the replacement of the motor, the part was on back order for a couple of weeks. Yes the whole process was frustrating and expensive but having power steering go out unexpectedly is very dangerous. Someone should not have to die or be injured in an accident before a safety recall is forced upon Saturn.

The power steering motor keeps going out on my 2004 Saturn Ion while I am driving it. It goes out almost every time I drive the car- sometimes while in the middle of a turn, making it very hard to steer. Saturn will replace the steering column for about $1000 but after reading many many people online complain of the same issue I feel it should be a safety recall!.

I own a 2005 Saturn Ion with about 46,000 miles on it. I love my little car and had hopes of owning it for years to come. However, my hopes of being a happy Saturn owner is quickly fading as I continually have problems with my steering column. First it was the ignition, which I have replaced twice, and now the power steering is turning off while im driving. Obviously this is very dangerous and it also not uncommon as I've found out by searching the internet on this very problem.

Electric power steering unit will intermittently go out, causing immediate loss of power steering. Sometimes the problem will occur just after starting the car, sometimes it will wait until after 30 minutes of continuous driving. It usually happens after a turn, but has happened in the middle of a turn, almost putting me into a wall on the freeway on-ramp. Dealer says steering column needs replaced, with expensive parts, and more expensive labor charges.

Electric power steering has been intermittent finally went out completely. I took it the Saturn dealer a while back and was told the steering column assembly had a pinched wire and bad fuse $200. 00 and the next day same thing happened took back to dealer that's when they told me $1500. 00 plus to change column I am an electronics tech at locked there was no bad fuse before or after they said they fixed it and no pinched wire with tape that they said they repaired I have searched the internet for information on this problem and found many people have the same problem this is also the same system used on the cobolt, malibu and pontiac all having the same problem I called g. M. And was told they aren't having any problems with their steering so no recalls were made , I told them about the internet postings but they hung up on me I just got a phone call from a nephew with a 2006 Saturn Ion 2 has exact same problem he's asking for my help told him I'm in same problem could not help if g. M is having this much electric power steering with their cars they should make a recall and take care of it I own several other g. M products but I'm ready to change to japanese made products more reliable this is a safety problem when you lose steering unexpectedly check the internet as I did hundreds of people with small g. M made cars are having this problem and some pay to have it repaired only to have it happen again. Thanks.

My 2004 Saturn Ion 3's power steering keeps going out. Often driving it for 10-15 miles, the power steering message will display on the message center and the power steering will go out immediately. This is extremely dangerous because at any time it will go out. It happens intermittently. It will cost 1600 dollars to get a new steering column from gm. If I drive it like it is, an accident will most likely occur. My car is only 5 years old, with 55,000 miles and I take good care of it. I am extremely upset by this which seems to be an issue that many 2004 Ions have.

We have a 2007 Saturn Ion with 45,000 miles. Yesterday the power steering motor went out. Motor is part of the steering column so we have to have it all replaced. Quote by a Saturn dealer is $1000. We talked to a local, reputable, mechanic and he informed us that driving the car in such a condition could result in the car catching on fire from the heat generated from turning without the power assist. This is an ongoing issue going back several year models of Ion's. We do not feel we should have to pay to have a safety issue fixed on the car. There should be a recall.