My wifes 2008 Saturn Vue has 65000 miles on it. Less than a year out of warranty and without warning, the transmission started to slip. I was told by the transmission repair shop that the transmission would need to be repaired at a cost of $3000.00. The shop said there is a snap ring in these transmissions that is a common point of failure. I would estimate this is a $20.00 part at best. Why would GM continue to put cars on the market when they know there are issues with them? It appears this issue has been know about since at least 2005 and continues to 2010 based on my internet research. I feel GM has a responsibility to current Saturn owners and should recall these vehicles and make all those that have already failed eligible for restitution. I have been a lifelong GM owner but I have to say this one may be my last. If you are thinking about buying GM, I say stay away from them.

We finally got our car in for the ignition switch recall and now my key is stuck in the ignition and car is dead. I have had more problems since it was replaced than I had before.

I purchased a 2008 saturn aura xr in May 2013. The first night I realized my alarm and locks didnt work unless I pulled up to unlock each door or pushed the lock on each door down to lock the car which is just irritating. Then 2 days later the left tire sensor went out, 3 weeks after getting the car my check engine light, service esc and traction control came on. We thought those issues were taken care of when I took car back to dealership but here I am 10 different shops later & no one can tell me whats wrong with my car. The car turns on & off while driving making me lose all power steering power brakes & its scary. Ignition lock light randomly comes on. Car will start freaking out while Im driving it with 2 kids in rear facing car seats in the back & Im terrified I will get in an accident with my kids in the car & not one shop can tell me what is wrong with my vehicle. Just got car back after it being in shop for 7 weeks & its worse than its ever been. I cant drive this car. Its not safe, it has a mind of its own & the dash board & everything electrical goes crazy while Im driving the car. Ive contacted saturn & email, called anyone I could. All saturn did was pay for them to diagnose my car & diagnoses was nothing was wrong. I have a video of my gas gauge jumping up & down & everything going crazy on dash board while Im driving the car. I cant get anyone to call me back now even though I have a claim # & I just want to know whats wrong with my only car. I have 2 kids 1 car & need to find out whats wrong with car & saturn wont even call me back.

I noticed about a year ago that my ignition would stay on after I removed my key from the slot. I thought this was odd, but not a problem since if I turned to the off position the motor would cut as it should. In December of this year, and again in February as I drove my car along very busy streets it turned off. The wheel froze, nothing worked as I pulled the car to the right with all of my strength. I managed to coast to the side of the road and restart my car. Both times I assumed that I had somehow hit or pulled my key. Ive since (about 10 days ago) received a recall notice in the mail. I urge anyone who knows someone with such a car to take it to a repair shop as soon as possible. My experience was quite scary and potentially dangerous.

Like so many others here, my key often gets sucked in the ignition of my 2004 Saturn Ion and either a) wont start for 15 minutes, or b) wont release after I try to turn the car off. Twice, the ignition turned off while I was driving down the freeway. Today, I had the added fun of the key locking in the ACC position and it wont turn off. I had to remove a fuse to turn the engine off. I have replaced the ignition column (I believe it is what my mechanic called it) as the key was already getting stuck and would not release the key unless I waited several minutes and would not start for 15 to 20 minutes much of the time. That was about 8 months ago. Clearly this did not help much. I cannot emphasize enough what a piece of garbage this car is. I will never own another GM car as a direct result of my experience with it. I have poured an insane amount of money into it to correct a wide variety of defects but I am done. It isnt worth repairing one more time. It is too bad that American made equals garbage.

2004 Saturn Ion 2 - The timing chain on my vehicle broke while I was driving to work and the car was disabled. The estimated repair is $6,000, which is more than the book value of the car. The car only had 100,000 miles on it. The repairman cant even find a rebuilt engine because the Saturn engines have all had the same problem. I bought the car new and did all of the recommended maintenance on it. I had planned on driving it for a few more years. I was told that the timing chain would last the life of the car and changing it was not necessary. This was told to me by the Saturn dealer, which of course is now out of business.

I have a 2001 Saturn L200 and the Engine Cradle has cracked on the front and apparently they no longer make these parts. So I own a car with 134,000 miles that runs good but not able to fix my car because they no longer make the part. And apparently because of the Cash for Clunkers, Saturn was one of the cars that everyone junked because couldnt get parts for the cars. So Thank You Saturn for making JUNK CARS and apparently you were aware because you no longer make these vehicles.

Bad Engine-Repair numerous times: I had my car repaired too many times for the life of the car from 2008. I need another car now. I need a lawyer to view the car repair lists from 3 months of purchase to current. Its awful and crazy. The dealer told me to walk away! I cant sell it; the check engine light is on and I still owe over $10,000. Where can I get a lawyer? My credit would be damaged. What can I do?

I was glad to see I was not the only person with this problem. My car is a 2006 Saturn Ion with 46,000 miles on it. Sometimes when you shut the car off, the key will not come out of the ignition switch. I replaced the ignition switch and it still does it. Thats why my other car is a Toyota!

I purchased a 2008 Saturn Vue XR on July 7, 2011. On September 2, 2011, smoke started coming through the vents with a strong smell like something was burning. It went away and didnt return for the rest of the day. Well, I didnt drive it for the rest of the day actually. On September 3rd and 4th, it did the same thing while I was driving and became worse if I turned the air conditioner on. Not even two months after purchasing this vehicle, and already the vehicles first trip at the shop on September 5, 2011. The mechanic explained that the hose for heating/air was cleared of any blockage. On September 9, 2011, I had to return it to the shop for the same problem. They gave me an oil change and checked the hose. There was no vapor/mist coming out of the vents for 2 days. The third trip to the shop was on September 16, 2011 for the same issues; strong coolant smell, vapor or mist coming out of the vents, and oily film on the windshield. On September 9th, I called and filed a complaint with Saturn customer service. I was told to take it to a GM certified dealer and have them diagnose the problem. My appointment was on September 23, 2011 at Mike Anderson in Merrillville, Indiana. On September 21, 2011, I attempted to start the vehicle and it wouldnt start. I had to use my husbands vehicle to take my child to school. In the meantime, my husband used a battery conditioner to recondition the battery and jumper cables to start the vehicle. I went to Mike Anderson Chevrolet on September 23, 2011. Joshua ** took care of me in the service department. They kept the vehicle overnight. On September 24, 2011, I was quoted $1,600.00 for Heater Core Replacement due to a fracture in the core causing an antifreeze leakage. Also, the battery needed to be replaced because it was dead again when Joshua tried to bring me the vehicle. Joshua used jumper cables and revived the vehicle.

The CVT transmission started losing fluid. No idea where the fluid was going because there was no leak. I took it to the dealership and they advised flushing transmission so we did. Now I think 6 months later after repeatedly having to add transmission fluid to a closed system that supposedly never needs transmission fluid and not to mention you have to use a special transmission fluid not the over the counter stuff, the transmission has gone completely out. Oh, and did I forget to mention the recall notice that said we didnt qualify because we had too many miles on the car. What? You put a faulty transmission in a vehicle that I purchased and you are going to tell me I have too many miles on it to qualify for the transmission to be replaced even though it was faulty to begin with?Now I am stuck with a car that doesnt move and I have to pay a loan on a car that doesnt move. The transmission costs more to fix than the cars worth.

I purchased a new Saturn Ion for my daughter. It has always had issues - 2 or 3 ignition switches, 2 or 3 power steering motors, 2 or 3 fuel pumps, bad gas mileage, clunking front end. Too many parts replaced to count 3 or 4 parts stores in town. They know me by name and I dont even have to tell them the make of the car. This thing is a wreck. Only two good things I dont have to wash it. Its not worth the money to clean it up. And I can go to Wal-mart without worrying about somebody stealing it or running into it. Last car for me from GM and I remind my kids to not buy one either.

I have a 2008 Saturn Aura XR with 62,000 mile and on two occasions when putting it in Drive and attempting to go somewhere the TRANSMISSION WILL NOT SHIFT OUT OF LOW GEAR. Dealership was closed when this happened. That was when Hurricane Irma was approaching Florida... When we did attempt to take to dealership a week later, we started the car put it in Drive again and it shifted just fine. The problem appeared to have disappeared. Today, we attempted to drive to the grocery store and it did this again... Even though it was in drive and it would not shift out of low gear... Has anyone else had this problem? And, what did it take to correct it? Thank you.

After having the car for less than a year, my key got stuck in my ignition. It took a mechanic to show me how to pull the plug on the ignition cylinder lock. Currently, I am homeless and my car is all I have. Obviously, if I cannot afford a roof over me or my childrens head, I cannot afford to have this problem fixed by anybody! I am not the only one that has experienced this problem, and I feel like suing GM for making such a stupid piece of ** plastic car! Not only is the key stuck in my ignition, but the fuel line is just hanging underneath my car. The windows wont work sometimes, and the car sounds and shifts like an old manual 4-cylinder engine! Way to go Saturn on ** up a car so bad that GM didnt even want to continue the Saturn car models!

I bought my Outlook in April 2009. So far the transmission has been replaced (warranty thank goodness) & there have been recalls on the safety airbag light & now power steering. Those are the flaws GM admits to. I have a consistent drip when it rains that can easily turn to a stream of water if Im pointing uphill or downhill. Checked the Internet & its been verified Saturn cut the drain tubing too short. Checked with GM to see if they would fix it but they said I needed to work a deal with the dealer who want going for it. Turns out the water has drained right into my fuse box so now my electrical is messed up. The fuse box is impossible to get to. Among other problems my service airbag light wont ever turn off - fuse issue or real problem, Im not sure. Worried it will cost me a fortune to fix & on one income with 2 kids thats a tough call. Then today, I turned the car off & it kept running. Key was out! Now I read there are ignition problems. Wish all these reviews were out when I bought my first almost new car ever. Teach me!

I bought my 2003 Saturn L200 in July of 2009 with only 31,000 miles on it. It was great for two years, until the Summer of 2011 when the odometer started spinning out of control. It added 50,000+ miles on it in a short time. It costs $1400 to fix the BCM (body control module) and took a month to fix. The dealer had to backorder the part. Now, my fuel pump has died repeatedly, leaving me stranded multiple times. The fuel pump at OReilly Auto Parts costs $350 and this was the cheapest price by far. Its currently at the mechanic for the third time and he is stumped. After the car died the second time, we figured we got a bad fuel pump. But somehow it is not getting power to the fuel pump. I was promised the GM would continue to uphold Saturns level of service. All Ive seen are expensive parts and time-consuming repairs. I will never buy a GM product again.

I will NEVER purchase another GM vehicle. I have a 2009 Saturn Vue with 58,100 miles that has a bad timing chain. I saw online that there has been issues with timing chains in the past. When calling, I was directed to a call center overseas. Then I asked to be directed to someone in the states and was on hold for over 45 minutes. Bottom line....nothing GM will do.

I went out of town in my 2006 Saturn Ion. While I was there, I could not turn the ignition off on my car. The key was stuck and would not turn back so I could turn the car off. Thank God, I had a spare key in my purse and was able to lock the car and leave it running. I had a few things to do in town, so my car was on for 6 hours or more. I just had to make sure that I had enough gas in it. I just found out that its going to cost me $300 to have this problem fixed.

I bought a Saturn Outlook in 2011 and it has been one of the best SUVs that I have had. It is roomy and has a 3rd row seat. I get many compliments from my passengers on smooth ride. It is driver friendly and has excellent gas mileage driving long distance and locally! I love it.

I have a 2003 Saturn Ion. This is the second time that the ignition has locked. I got the car in 2007 and in 2009, it locked. It was still under warranty so I took it in and had to pay $50 for them to look at it. They replaced the ignition and the cylinder. It is now 2011 and I am having the same problem. I just got it replaced last week for $175. My car is no longer under warranty so I had to pay out of pocket, not to mention that I no longer have a job and I am still making payments. After getting it fixed last week, it started getting stuck again today. I will be filing a complaint and will be calling Saturn tomorrow. I hate this car now and I will never get a Saturn or GM ever again!

I have a 2003 Saturn Vue. The last couple of years Ive had the same issue with my key. First it would just come out with the car on. Then periodically stick and not come out. I was just searching a website to find out where to get another key and found all these complaints. The key actually is shaved down and the teeth are almost smooth, so I know its grinding on something. I just figured with Saturn out of business, I have no recourse. Now to hear the expense it will cost is crazy. Is there anything can I do?

I have a 2006 Saturn ION with only 60K miles and it has been in the shop for manufacturer defects 3 times already. I paid 200 for the ignition lock in May since the key will get stuck and I could not turn car off. I am a single parent with kids and it was scary when your car is stuck. I also paid $300 for a new camshaft actuator and selenoid. Now in December another valve malfunctioned and I called customer service and they gave me the run-around. I dealt with a district specialist named Vince and one named Drew and they both laughed at me and told me I am out of warranty since it’s past the 5 year mark and there is nothing they can do even though the dealer told them on the phone that it’s a manufacturer defect. I was told by Drew from Saturn, “Sorry, these things happen…” They had promised to give me at least a 10% discount and the dealership told me that they had no documentation. They never returned my calls. I have paid over $1000 out of my pocket for manufacturer defects and this car only has 60k. It keeps failing—valve, keys, fuel pump. Help.

I have a Saturn Ion 2 that keeps cutting off when slowing down, going down a hill or just drinking and having to slow down while in traffic. My car was on recall. Went and got that fixed. Now my car try to crank on its own while turning my key to crank the car...what am I to do?

In January 2010, my family purchased a one owner, 2003 Saturn Vue 6 cyl. It was a great SUV until last week. That was the day the VTI transmission decided to come apart whilst I was driving on the Interstate at 70mph in rush hour traffic. Upon getting it into the old Saturn dealership, I was told by the service manager that this was a known problem, GM had an extended policy on it and I should call the above number to start a claim. I went home and looked this known problem that was not issued as a recall but rather as an internal service memo. Imagine my dismay at finding out that the previous owners had been informed of the problem, traded the Saturn in and were able to buy it all within the space of a month. It seems, according to the attorneys that filed the class action suit against GM, that the notice was to travel with the title (of course it didnt or wed not have bought the car). We were to be offered 5K in credits on a new GM car and there would be no punishment on the trade-in of the piece of junk we now owned. Because it was not recalled, Carfax, NTSB, et al. didnt warn us either.A week later, I finally got a call from GM and was told that I was outside the class, but GM would look into getting me something, no promises. The offer came through today. Theyd give us the 5K in credits toward a new GM car, but nothing else. No trade in (that 5K is the trade in) value and nothing more.

I have a 2008 Saturn Outlook and have had nothing but problems. I know that my warranty has expired but for a 3-year old truck with 70k miles, why is the airbag light going on? Also, the trunk wont open, the stability and stabilizer track is acting up and GM has nothing to say about this. How can one help me address this issue? I am expected to pay for the repairs; I dont think I should.

Saturn aura xr v6 3.5L issues - At 90k miles, check engine light came on after an oil change. Service traction comes on along with check engine light when stopping, it does this intermittently. After changing spark plugs, water pump, power steering pump that leaked, cylinder 6 ignition coil, the issues are still there.

It start making noise when turning to enter or exiting a parking. It sounds very hard when steering is turn left or right. This is my first Saturn Vue 2003 and to fix this problem it would cost me at least 2,000.00. I dont even take one of this for free.

New engine at 106,000. We just bought the Saturn 2008 Outlook at 76,000 less than 2 years ago. We have already put in $600 in fixes, and now we found out the engine needs to be replaced for $5000. This car has been a total lemon. Researching the v6 3.6 lt engine we have found out that it is a piece of junk.

The ignition switch I can put the key fine on it, but when it comes to take it, it gets stuck. Im just frustrated with it. Its just so ridiculous that i have to sit in the car and wait until I heard a clicking sound on the steer wheel column. And now with the winter, if the temperature is low like approximately 20s degrees Fahrenheit, the car wont start at all. I believe myself the company should take the action and responsibility over this. About most of the people who owns a Saturn got the same issues.

I recently purchased a 2007 Saturn Aura XE with roughly 108,000 miles on it. The car drove like a dream for a little over a month. Now its the beginning of April and I was on my way to work this morning and suddenly, my car started jerking. So at a traffic light, I put the car in neutral then back in drive and it gave a hard jerk. Mind you this was at 7:20am. So once I got to work, I called the dealer where I got the car from. At about 11:30am I was en route to take the car to the dealer and noticed it wasnt doing it anymore and nor did it do it on the way home this evening, so well see! Hopefully that was an isolated incident but will keep you posted!

I had the same clunking in a 2002 SL1 with 130,000 miles. A former Saturn transmission specialist said that he could have adjusted it for $500 if I had not run it clunking much. The transmission specialist had to replace the case with a used case and fixed it for $1000. You need to find a transmission specialist who knows Saturns. Good luck.

As some have rightly noted, RUN from GM vehicles!! I purchased a 2008 Saturn Outlook, and it has been plagued with problems - overheating, water pump failure, power steering pump leak, cv joints, struts, oil leaks, stabilitrak sensor failure, engine (sensors going out), transaxle leak, master brake cylinder failure, etc. Most of the problems occurred within 5 years of ownership. I decided to buy American and purchased a Saturn because of word of mouth reviews about the brand. Worst mistake ever!!! GM refuses to own the issues with this vehicle and declare it a lemon. I had to purchase another vehicle - a foreign one this time - because of its unreliability. Pre-owned buyers beware - DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE!!! A vehicle I thought I could have for 10 years is just a piece of crap.

Purchased a pre-owned low mileage Sky and I absolutely love this car and wish that GM would return this to production. I would love to see this car returned to production. It is economical, comfortable and fun to drive. It is also in the lower cost class of convertibles.

I have a 2005 Saturn Ion Quad Coupe. I had issues off and on for a couple years from miles 50,000 - 90,000. Currently at 105,000 miles and the last 15,000 miles, the ignition stops at ACC and is locked every single time I turn off the car. I wait and hope every time that my key will come out, but held hostage by the lockout until a miracle occurs and the ignition releases the key without rhyme or reason. Sometimes this takes 1 - 10 minutes. Makes it difficult to valet or go anywhere with friends!

I have a 2007 Ion and it has been the best car I have ever owned. I have not had a minutes trouble out of it. I am so sad that they quit making Saturns. From the salesman to the service department it was the best experience ever. I have 96,000 miles. I bought it with 7 miles on it. There has been a recall on it but it was taken care of in an expeditious manner. I heard in the news media that there may be an airbag issue but I have not received a letter. I have had three Saturns.

Saturn 200 VUE, Bad Transmission Chain - My CBT transmission chain belt went out, after only a couple of years! The car has been sitting in my drive way (not drivable) for the last 2 years! I have been awaiting a recall! I cannot believe with all the issues viewed here, still no recall has been done. Disgraceful!

Computer warning and detection symbols go on and off. But, the engine light has been on for more than 2 years. Its been reset, but comes on later. Sometimes the radio shows funky symbols. Took it in for inspection. They reset the engine light. Drove it until it came on. Went back within 50 miles of driving. The code was undetermined by the dealer/manufacturer. Dont know how Ill ever sell it with an engine light on. It can be inspected if the shop tries to repair it and you spend up to $200. But, I have never had a car that the engine light ever came on period. And, Ive had quite a few. Whats up with that.

My daughter has a Saturn ion redline that was part of the recall. Her car started to have problems starting, so she took it to a repair shop and they ran diagnostics and found nothing wrong with the car. It happened again, so she took it elsewhere and they suggested she change the battery - so she did. The very next day she had difficulty starting the car on two occasions and on the third attempt later that night it would not start at all. Since the recall had been for the car suddenly shutting down - not starting, we didnt think about the recall until after that. She had hit a hidden bump in the road before it stopped completely. She called the former Saturn dealer and told them what happened and they said it was the recall (we had read up on the forums and knew it was by then) and to have it towed to them - which we did. They gave her a Buick to drive. Today they called and said they had replaced the part and it still wouldnt start so it had to be the cars engine. They want to run diagnostics (which we had already done). Understandably, we dont trust them. Has anyone else had this experience?

Saturn Vue original trans failed at 121,500. Based on what I read, I was lucky to have had it last that long. As new GM failed to uphold the results of the lawsuit, that is to cover replacement for a defective product, I had to pay $5000 for parts and labor to replace. I was told warranty is 3-year/36k miles. I went ahead, thinking if I get three years that would be great and worth the money. Now, at 2 years and 34,000 miles, I have a failing trans and am being told that no, the warranty is only 12/12. I am screwed. Even my mechanic was told 3/36 by dealership where he bought it. Get it on paper, people. I cannot afford a new car or $5k to get another bad trans. I am stuck in PA.

Under the steering wheel lock, there is an access cover. Remove the cover and you will be able to feel the mechanism with your finger. There is a metal flange of sort that can be pressed and the key will release. Ive had this problem for a couple of years now, but it is something I can live with.

Unfortunately, I have purchased a 2003 Saturn Ion when they were brand new. It felt wrong from the beginning and it has only proven my instincts correct. Within one year, the steering has failed. It will cost $1,500+ to fix this problem. The windows do not roll up or down. The ignition has locked, another fix that has cost me $600. The wiper transmission has been replaced with the upgraded metal wiper transmission. The front airbags have failed. The gas gauge works when it feels like it. This car is better off as scrap. This car is crap! Saturn is one of the cheapest autos in history! Do not buy this vehicle or you will regret it just as I do every time I look at it. It makes my stomach turn to know that the makers of this cheap car were able to get away with selling a car to the public knowing that it is a death trap!

I had my ignition switch repaired on my Saturn Ion 2, 3 times already and continue to have problems with key getting stuck in the ignition. Spoke to Cruz Chevrolet today and he is telling me he thinks it is the automatic shifter causing the problem. My warranty just ran out in July 2014 and I told the dealership about this problem a few years ago as well as in June 2014 and July 2014. I am so frustrated. Have to bring car to dealership in 2 days.

I purchased my Saturn Outlook as a demo in July of 2007 with about 13,000 miles. My transmission failed at only 48,000 miles and was rebuilt since I was still under warranty. Now less than 20,000 miles and 2 years later, I am having the same gear change, engine light, stalling and jerking problems that I experienced at 48,000 miles. Now no longer under warranty, I am paying all kinds of service and labor fees when GM is well aware of the faulty clutch wave plate destroying transmissions in its vehicles. They need a recall on this product as it is a safety issue for Americans all across this country. Shame on GM for sweeping this issue under the rug and giving American products a bad name. It will come back to bite them in the end!

My 2000 Saturn LS now has 118,000 miles on it. 2 weeks ago it suddenly began emitting a very loud noise under the hood. It starts up immediately and drives smoothly, but when idling gets very loud. Took to mechanic. They thought maybe rocker arms had broken but they were fine. Could find no reason for the noise. They decided something must be sticking from built-up gunk so they replaced the Valve Cover Gasket, cleaned and put in some oil additive and let it run. The noise stopped, I picked the car up and it has been fine. Now 12 days later and only driven about 50 miles, it began the exact same thing, same noise, etc and it starts up immediately and drives smooth. But the noise is very loud when idling and I can hear a little bit of the noise when driving. I took it to the Mechanic this morning and left it. He did recommend a Power Steering Seal, and the output Shaft Seal has slow leak, but said it is not urgent to fix right now since I do not drive daily nor far. I see no leaks on the driveway. Any clue or suggestions on what could be causing this very loud noise? It does not overheat and oil pressure gauge indicates no problem. All fluid levels are fine and I just had an oil change and have only driven 1,000 miles since that was done. Help please!!

I just had an experience where I could not turn the key backward to turn off. It was a very scary situation. I had to find someone to show me how to pull a fuse and then disconnect the ground cable to the battery so as not to run the battery down. The key is left in the on position. It looks like many people are dealing with this and I was told that this is a Saturn/GM issue. Has anyone found recourse to correct this very common occurrence with these vehicles?

Weekly the battery has to be charged. While drinking with baby in car, the car cut off. Luckily no one got injured when getting out of traffic.

I own a 2007 Saturn Ion that I purchased new. It has 48,000 miles on it. I went to work one day and my car wouldnt turn off and the key wouldnt come out. I drove it to my mechanic who had never heard of the problem. He had to replace the ignition, cylinder, and housing for $450. I called the place I bought the car and they quoted a price of $1,100 - $1,300. He also said that with their experience with this problem sometimes they only had to replace two of the parts and might be able to do it for $600. Obviously, it had happened a lot. I would like to know what it takes to get a recall or reimbursement. If anybody has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. I dont know what to do to start a class action suit. I also had to replace my radiator in June because Saturn doesnt put a guard under it to stop the rocks from hitting it. It took $550 to replace it.

I had this problem several years ago - after 4 trips to the dealer and replaced starter, it turned out car wasnt recognizing that is was in PARK and therefore would not let me shut car off. Dealer finally fixed the problem. This was 100% fixed after they addressed the gear shift P vs D issue

I recently was involved in a vehicular accident with my 2006 Saturn Ion3. Although I was traveling at approximately 40 mph when I crashed into another vehicle, the airbag didnt deploy. By the airbag not deploying, On Star wasnt notified of the crash. Since OnStar is their premiere system, it might be good if the very thing that will get help, actually works. My car was totaled, and they dont make Saturns anymore, but maybe somebody might want to check out the airbag on these vehicles to make sure they actually work. Mine didnt.

I have owned my 2001 Saturn L300 car for more than one year now. I never knew it will give me so many problems and I am not proud of the decision I made to buy this second hand car. Moment I bought the car I had to replace the serpentine belt, crankshaft sensor and muffler. I was also told by my service experts that it had issues with water pump and that is leaking and will break one day, which I thought I ignored for some time as I had already paid lot of money in repairs. After 3 months the battery started giving problems and had to replace the same and then the water pump started making noise which I had to fix. Meanwhile while I had battery problems, I didnt notice but apparently the ODOMETER went from 64000 miles to 694000 miles and stopped working at all. On further research, I found that this is a known issue in this car and Saturn had a recall organized some time back. But now when I took the car to GM dealer for this fix, they are not able to fix the problem, not sure what I can do?

I bought a 2002 Saturn L200 in mid-2010, with verified low mileage (26,000 miles) for my daughter. In July 2011, (current mileage 39,000 miles), the vehicles timing chain broke while she was driving at highway speed. There was no warning. She was able to pull over to the median but the car wouldnt start again and had to be towed.

We have had 2 Saturn 2006 Ion ignition problems - they get stuck and we were unable to shut down the car. Now my 2008 Vue is having ignition problems where it is randomly getting stuck. The dealership service recommended that I wait until it completely breaks down. Unfortunately, all of our cars are no longer in warranty so it is out of pocket expense for us.

On 5/30/13, I was driving home from work and turning a corner when the power steering light came on in my car. A chime went off and the message PWR STR appeared. My car then died; the wheel and brakes locked. I thought I was going to hit this mom with her two kids. I panicked and grabbed the emergency brake; jumped a curb. I had my car towed to a local shop by my house completely unaware that ** GM/Saturn is aware of the powering steering failure issue and REFUSES TO ISSUE A RECALL! $1,000 later and NO help from GM, I have no money to feed my family, missed work and almost lost my job. I am terrified beyond words to drive this **. When this happened, it had 24,698 miles on it. NEVER EVER BUY this car. Thank God they are out of business. Im hopefully getting a new car - NON-GM next week because driving any Saturn (or any GM made car from what Ive read) is a death sentence. I also plan on suing GM and contacting every NY news station I can think of and reporting this issue to every single possible place I can - BBB, NJ Lemon Law Unit, NHTSA, etc. LIVES NEED TO BE SAVED.

Like everyone else, my key got stuck in the ignition and would not turn off. I had to unplug the battery and take the fuse out to get my car off. I would also like to be involved in a class action suit against GM because I dont believe that we should be responsible for their faulty parts not working. I should not have to worry about if my car will turn off or not. That should be recalled and corrected.

I bought a brand new 2006 Saturn ION. Yesterday, the key decided to get stuck in the ignition. I couldnt twist it out so I eventually ended up yanking it out. I had to disconnect the battery so it wouldnt deplete as well.

I bought a 2007 Saturn Ion Red Line edition car from Capital Auto Mall, on the Ford side of the building. Moments after driving the car off the dealership lot, the engine broke down resulting in a new engine being required. From that moment on there was nothing but problems with the company and very poor customer service - being ignored, phone calls not returned, questions not being answered etc.Capital did agree to replace the engine in the car. I had requested my warranty that I paid almost $3000 for to cover the repairs, and Capital refused my request and insisted they cover all the costs of the new engine, because they didnt want to blemish my warranty. They wanted to replace the engine with a used engine, with higher mileage than the original. The car only has 92,000 km. and the engine had 120,000 km. Thats at least 2 years of driving lost on that engine. I told Capital, No, I do not want that engine in my car, and I requested again that my warranty cover the cost of a new engine and, yet again, they refused, went ahead and installed the used engine anyways in their quick lane service.After that moment, I told them that I no longer want the car (this was just days after signing the papers) and I asked if they would just return the car and drop the loan. All they said was, No, you are committed to the loan. So I said, Okay, put me into a different car. They said, Sure, no problem. I took all my financing papers, everything I got for the car. Next day, they called me stating they could not get me into a different car, and that I was stuck with the Saturn and they did not return my paperwork. I asked several times to get my paperwork back and they keep saying, Yeah, yeah, we will find it and get it back to you. Still, no paperwork has been returned.The car sat outside their shop for 3 weeks before they even thought about installing this used engine. I called 2-4 times a week, and every time I talked to them, it was, Yeah, the car is coming into the shop tomorrow, but yet it never did, until I got real mad and personally went in there and complained. Finally, the car went in the shop.A couple of days went by with no word on the car, so I called probably 5-6 times and didnt get a phone call back. Finally, on the last try, someone answered the phone, and said they couldnt figure out what their tech did wrong installing the engine. It ran horrible; they checked the engine light. It was running lean. A couple more days went by. They asked me to come in to talk about the car, so I went in, and they explained to me how the warranty I paid $3000 for was voided by them due to not doing a mechanical inspection prior to selling the car, and that they would have to refund the $3000, and made me sign a paper stating this would happen. After signing, they gave me the keys and told me to have a nice day.At this point, the car was not back to its original condition. It had a slight exhaust leak under the hood; the check engine light was still on. Driving down the road, the whole front end of the car knocked and banged. I asked Capital to pull the car in the shop and check the subframe bolts but they refused and told me, Thats not going to happen. So I then took it to my own work, lifted the car up with a jack and checked the bolts myself. All the subframe bolts were loose as well as both front ball joint bolts, and every motor mount bolt was loose. The next day, I called Capital and asked them if it was a journey man tech that worked on my car. They had said yes, so I asked if I could see his papers and they replied, No. They had that subframe let go on the highway. It could have killed me and my brand new baby that was just born on January 27th, 2013, who I have in my car almost daily.I had given up on Capital and fixed the car myself. I fixed the check engine light, running issue exhaust leak, and tightened all those bolts. Two weeks later, I noticed blue smoke from the tail pipe. I contacted Capital about the warranty on the engine, and they said it would cover any and all repairs for 101 days as per SGI Auto Salvage warranty (engine was supplied by SGI Salvage). Basically every day I contacted Capital about the second replacement engine. They kept telling me they were looking for a new engine for about a week and half. Finally, they gave up looking for an engine told me that SGI themselves wanted to see what was wrong with the engine, and that if it was non-repairable, they would refund me the cost of the engine, and Capital stated they would find a different engine on their own or give me to money to locate one myself. I agreed to this, so I took the car to SGI.The next day, SGI contacted me telling me that there was no warranty on the engine due to it being heavily modified and sent me on my way. I then went right down to Capital Auto Mall, spoke to the quick lane manager and he told me basically that if SGI wont cover the engine, it was not their problem and there was nothing they could or would do for me. How is this fair to me? I didnt mod the car ... how the car sits is how it was bought from Capital. They reinstalled these parts without telling me about them. So now, basically, I was paying $15,000 for a piece of steel in my backyard that doesnt run or move and I have to pay for any and all repairs.This is why I bought that warranty for $3000 - to prevent this. It is not my fault they didnt do their job, nor have they even paid that $3000 back to me. I also paid for a propack auto service which cost close to $1000, and that service has yet to be performed. I have asked at least 15 times to get it done, and they keep telling me, Okay, okay, I will book it in and call you back. They never do call back. I even asked for a refund on the service seeing as they wont do it and got told no, that it wouldnt happen, like really!? I paid for it.It has been a complete gong show mess; I do not want this car anymore. It has been nothing but a headache and now they just straight up dont care. They wont help, wont cover any of their own work. Its complete BS. What can I do about this? Im sure I can supply more details, but for now these are the basics.

Please beware if you have a Saturn ION from 2004 to 2007 and your steering is making a funny noise. Please go and check it out because its a death trap you will be driving down the street and your car steering will just break off without a warning. It happened with my 2004 Saturn ION and my wife have a 2007 Saturn ION with the same problem that caused us to go and new cars for both of us. Saturn ION is the worst car to have. Almost lost my life.

I bought my VUE new in 2003. Loved this car. Just right for me. All of a sudden it started stalling out while driving down the street. All the dash lights came on, the steering and brakes were gone. All of this in rush hour traffic in Denver. Took it in...paid out just over $900 to try to find out what it was, didnt help. Picked it up on Friday, stalled in traffic on Saturday. Did some research found out this was a problem with the 2002-2004 Saturn VUE and Ion. During those years the Saturn VUE was on a car chassis or so Im told - and beginning 2005 on a truck base. I went to the GM dealer after this last brush with death and was told I probably needed a new transmission.....$3,800. Found out about the GM class action suits in California and other places regarding the Saturn VUE. I had the car towed....not driving it. Certainly not trading it in for someone else to be hurt. Looking for a good used car now.

I love this Saturn, shes 2008 Saturn Aura. Its American-made, it has a nice roomy interior, the colors are beautiful neutral, the truck space is wonderful and there are certain aspects about it like cruise control and sunroof. This is a wonderful car. It has all the things that you need including air conditioning, Heat, great radio comfortable seats, cruise control, large back seat, large trunk, its well-made and easily maintained. It gets decent gas mileage and Ive driven it for over a hundred twenty thousand miles and were still going strong. But the drivers seat is hard to get just ride in terms of distance from the gas pedal and distance from the steering wheel so that youre not up on the wheel but you have some ability to be somewhat back, the rear view mirror never seems to quite be where it needs to be, and it doesnt always have the most energetic get-up-and-go of any car Ive ever owned.

My mother purchased a 2007 Ion and has had problems with the ignition --trying to get the key out of it! She took it to the GM dealer and they said nothing was wrong. She has 3,500 miles only on it and it is not covered under warranty now because of the years. Still, the problem is going on. GM should be made responsible for the repairs! What can be done?

I am the only owner. I bought my SUV new. I only have 56,000 miles and I now need a new transmission which will cost $3,000. I maintain my vehicle with a local mechanic/receive my car maintenance there. Oil changes every 3,000 miles. The mechanic states he is surprised I need this new transmission at such low miles. I got a second opinion at a specialty transmission service garage and reverse and 1st and 2nd gears are completely damaged as my mechanic diagnosed. I have been instructed not to drive it. I have liked my Saturn but now I am upset.

Transmission suddenly goes bad when shifting from 2 to 3. It is a known problem in Saturn transmissions and I was able to find it on an internet forum. I drive my car a lot so I am 30,000 miles over the warranty for a vehicle not yet 5 years old. The problem is so common the repair shop knew exactly what it was before even seeing my car. Since this 3-5 reverse plate is a known issue, why do consumers have to wait and pay when the transmission is known to have an issue?! It is also a safety issue when you have no idea when its suddenly going to break!

Our 2009 Saturn Outlook ONLY has 53,000 miles on it. The 100,000 mile warranty was up because we have just barely had our vehicle 5 years. We have taken it to the same dealer for the life of the car, and taken very good care of it. I was driving to work the other day and my power steering and transmission completely went out. I almost lost control of the vehicle several times. It started when I was at a stoplight, when I pressed the gas to accelerate once it turned green, then my car lurched forward but only revved up. I made it work and then it wouldnt go in reverse at all!. I had it towed to a trusted mechanic. He told us it was indeed the transmission and power-steering but also that the rack and pinion broke. We had our car to the dealer several times for the whining noise to be fixed but they only ever told me they didnt hear the noise. I called GM, who told us to have it towed to a certified GM dealer and that the power steering should have been under a special coverage warranty. Turns out GM was sued and lost in court because of the power steering. The dealer then refused to diagnose my car without us paying them a $1,000 up front. I told them it had already been diagnosed, and if this was covered under their special warranty, then why on earth should I have to pay this large amount of money up front. The service manager told me he did NOT believe that our problem was covered under this special warranty and that the transmission doesnt go out because of the power steering. He said one doesnt have anything to do with the other. Well funny, then how they both went out at the exact same time. I went round and round with both the dealer and GM and neither of them want to take responsibility for what has happened. Especially considering we have documented proof (the dealer has it in their computers) that we had our car to them multiple times to have THIS exact issue fixed. I believe it is time to get another law suit started. GM needs to fix their faulty vehicles BEFORE someone gets severely hurt or dies! We had it towed a 3rd time to be taken care of by our mechanic since the dealer refused to diagnose our vehicle. Do not ever trust GM or their Certified dealers, all they care about is lining their pockets.

I bought my 2006 Saturn Ion with only 30,000 or so miles around this time last year. This past winter, it was constantly not turning on. It would take me about 50+ tries in order for it to start. I took it to several trusted mechanics who couldnt find any problem at all. Now as I am waiting for a potential employer to call me back about a job, I have no vehicle. My transmission just stopped working! The gears change perfectly fine but drive, neutral, and first and second just dont do anything at all. But reverse works perfectly well.

I called General Motors Saturn to find out about a recall on my car. I am having the same problem that thousands of people are encountering with Saturn L200, the timing chain. But I am not able to get help because my VIN # is not in the batch of whoever randomly selected the vehicles to get fixed.

It looks like I am one of many who own a 2003 Saturn Ion where the ignition lock cylinder locks up & cant remove key. It happens many times, twice this week. I went to the auto store & got a new cylinder. I tried to put in it, but now the key goes in & out easily but the whole cylinder will not turn at all, so the car cant be started! Im going to have to tear apart the steering column maybe. I dont want to have to buy another new part costing $84+ tax especially since the new parts probably are defective also. It does absolutely no good to buy the new part & it doesnt work when you install it. Since now the cylinder is completely stuck & doesnt move at all, I cant even use the car! I have to carpool my wife to her job etc, and cant afford to buy another car. Since Saturn & GM knows about all the Saturn owners having this same problem, there needs to be a major recall and a class action suit to repay all the owners for the expenses they incur because Saturn/GM stopped making new cars, and the local GM mechanics, etc. just throw up their hands and say sorry! This is a consumer nightmare.

This GM consumer is appalled that GM has chosen not to issue a recall, knowing the automatic CVT transmission in the Saturn Vue 4 cylinder vehicles are known by GM to totally fail while in operation. My Saturn Vue has 130,000 km on it and is sitting in my backyard unusable from transmission failure. GM has announced NO MORE CRAPPY CARS. Well what about our lives, and the safety of our families and love ones? GM received a lot of BAILOUT money literally from taxpayers, and this is how they are treating those people who put their lives in the hands of someone who obviously holds profit and shareholders interests above all else.

I have been complaining about an issue with my 2003 Saturn for just over 3 years. Each time I contacted GM they said that this issue was not a problem in Canada. I found numerous writings on the internet of owners having the same issue. Recently I was driving along when a warning sound came on and my message center lit up with the message PWR STR, the service engine warning light also became illuminated. This time I had a passenger in my car who witnessed how the car was a challenge for me to control and manage. I contacted 3 or 4 GM dealerships presented them with the letter of awareness I received from GM advising that I may experience this issue with my car, I was told they are not aware of the Power Steering issue and that I would need to pay for any repairs. I finally contacted GM and was told to take my car to a dealership and pay to have a diagnostic test completed and if it revealed that there was an issue with the Power Steering I would not have to pay the charge for the diagnostic test. As most people who have posted their complaint online have indicated that they have paid out large sums of money for repairs that did not resolve the issue. I was told by the dealership today November 14, 2011 that I needed to replace the Transmission Control Module @ a cost of $999.50 plus installation charge of $230.00 for a total of $1,413.93. I am posting this as I want to make sure that there is a public record should I be killed or left with injuries so severe that I cannot communicate, at least my family would be aware that this car was defective and GM did not make the necessary repairs.

I drive a 2006 Saturn Ion that I purchased 3 years ago. It has 54,000 miles on it. Two weeks ago, it developed transmission problems to the tune of $3000. Whats maddening is that there doesnt seem to be any recourse. Im still making payments. Im fearful that I have more problems ahead. Is there anything that can be done?

Christmas Day 2014 will go down as a bummer day. Car had just passed 100,600 miles just in the past few days. Well, Christmas Morning my 2008 Aura XE V6, which had never really given me any problems with the exception of some minor problems with all the door lock and some other minor problems, decided to have transmission problems and stopped working. I was driving and all of a sudden found a strange noise and immediately parked the car. I at least made it to my brothers house and was able unloaded the Christmas presents. But when I tried to back up the transmission would not function, any gear I put it in, and it did not work. Eventually I was able to get assistance from family, and was able to get it into neutral and push the car down the driveway. At this point no engine light had come on or any warning of a problem at all. The car would not change gears normally. I then was able to park the car for a bit and then find someone to follow me to the dealer in Southern California. The Authorized Saturn Service Provider I have taken the car to for years. They called me back two days later and came back with a $3800 price tag for a new transmission replacement option. I was given by my brother a note that he had read of a recall on a Saturn Cabling problem with a transmission, but when I put my VIN number on the GM Site to check for recalls it did not appear. Well, my alternatives are slim to none, when it comes to the replacement as I have investigated other places to do the work and they tell me that there is a part that needs replacing and it alone is $1200.00 all by itself. I have always been a strong supporter of Saturn products in the past. Have had 3 Saturn vehicles over the years and have held them for at least 4-5 years each. This one was a doozy. I just want to let anyone out their know that if you have similar problems it is a costly one and probably not worth fixing. I plan on seeing if there are any other remedies I can pursue with whatever agency regulates car mfg. A very disappointed Saturn owner. Also, I cant believe this was not a safety concern for V6 vehicles.

My head just might explode!!! We bought our 2008 Saturn from a certified dealer about 3 years ago. The vehicle had just about 30K miles on it at the time. Shortly after purchasing the vehicle, we noticed that the engine light would come on and the service StabiliTrak light would come on. I obviously brought it back to the dealership, as it was under warranty at that time, and they said they figured out the problem and sent us on our way. Of course, no sooner did I pull out of the shop, and they light came on again. So, back we went...they said they repaired it. Sure enough, it did it again and they eventually came to the conclusion it was just a stupid sensor and everything was actually fine!Fast forward to December 2013 and the POS starts acting up. The transmission light came on and I panicked. My brother-in-law suggested we just try putting in more fluid and see if that helps. We did...it helped for about 2 days. And then...HELL BROKE LOOSE!! The entire transmission was shot!! It had something to do about a wave plate and as a result, we needed to get an entirely rebuilt transmission to the tune of about $3,600!!! Literally, on the way home from the repair shop, the engine light started flashing! I immediately turned around and brought it back to the shop. They ran some tests and determined that it was likely some excess crap that just happened to pass through the sensor causing it to get triggered.Now, 8 months later, the engine light keeps going on and whenever I fill my car with gas, I have to rev the accelerator to get it to start!! It seemed to be running ok...but after the last fiasco, we didnt want to risk anything. So, I brought it into the shop. The technician find that there has been over 36K misfires from cylinder 2 and that the spark plug has seized. I leave my vehicle there and drive their 1994 Toyota Corolla with over 232K miles on it over the weekend as a loaner. (amazing how a 1994 Toyota Corolla with 232K miles is still running, but my 2008 with 92K miles on it is toast). Anyways, he said that they wanted to replace the spark plugs and then try moving the cylinder coil that had been connected to the #2 over to a different one to see if maybe the issue was just the cylinder coil and nothing more serious.I receive a call this afternoon telling me that it appears that the issue was not related to the cylinder coil and they suspect we are going to need a NEW ENGINE!!!!! Yep, thats right...A NEW ENGINE!!!! This car does not even have 100K miles on it and I am being told I need to put a NEW ENGINE in it??? After we already replaced the transmission!!! That is seriously wrong and a total load of crap!!It appears that both the transmission and the engine are well-known problems for this model and year of vehicle!! I guess 2007s are experiencing the same troubles!! If you look online you can see discussion board after discussion board all discussing these same issues. Saturn needs to stand up and take responsibility for producing a faulty product!!! There is no reason I should have to put in over $10K worth of repairs on a vehicle with less than 100K miles on it!! It is disgraceful!!!

Integrity of repair quote and overall dissatisfaction: Im writing you (Mr. James) this morning to voice my frustration and overall disappointment with my service experience at your dealership. My family relocated to the area in spring of 2011 from Washington State and is the owner of a 2007 Saturn Outlook, which up until this past year, has been a reliable GM product. My wife went online to research which dealership in the area would be convenient to our residence in Anaheim Hills and also provide a level of service commensurate with the GM brand. She settled on Simpson of Buena Park.Our first encounter with your service department involved dealings with James, a service adviser at your location. We brought our vehicle in with just over 73k miles for an oil change, several leaks which we noticed, and air conditioning service. During the inspection, several serious powertrain defects were identified up to and including seals which needed to be replaced, sealant and coolant leaks timing chain and gasket repairs, drive shaft repairs, service engine light illumination which resulted in cam shaft end play shims replacement, water pump replacement, etc. While a majority of these items were under warranty, there was still $373 out-of-pocket expense. We left confident that any long-term serious issue was averted due to a very extensive inspection.In June of this year, we took the same vehicle back in to your dealership for service as another leak was noticed as well as a power steering noise. After inspection and an additional $615, we picked the car up with presumably everything in working order. August 9 of this year, less than 2 months after bringing the car in, the engine light came on and there was hesitation upon acceleration. Mr. Jose was the service adviser who assisted. That afternoon when I called to check on the status of the vehicle, I was informed that the vehicle needed a new engine! Luckily, we purchased an extended warranty when we purchased the vehicle off a lease in 2010.My specific frustrations are: 1) How could such a major defect not be noticed and identified by your service department just 2 months prior? 2) How often are GM vehicles with just 87k miles required to replace an engine? 3) My dealings with the first 2 service advisers (Mr. James and Mr. Jose), while expensive, were pleasant. My current dealing with Mr. Ted has been just the opposite. The fact that he stepped in while Mr. Jose has been away on holiday has proven to be stressful and impossible to get any information regarding the update and status of the vehicle. Hes now informing me that even with the extended warranty and a $100 deductible, Im still looking at between $500 and $600 out-of-pocket expense!Mr. James, to say that our trust in GM workmanship and quality has been diminished would be a gross understatement. The fact that Im being told that we have to pay even more money to repair what appears to be a GM defective product is insulting. I question the integrity of Mr. Teds actions, as the warranty company would not authorize a new motor at the suggestion/advice of Mr. Ted and hes passing some of those costs on to us. I would appreciate your review of this and any assistance you can offer. At this point, Im thoroughly disappointed not only in the decision to purchase a GM product in the first place but also on the decision on where it should be serviced. I will also be contacting GM World headquarterss Consumer Affairs department in Detroit. Thank you for your time.

In 2002, we purchased a new Saturn L100 for the purpose of towing it behind our motor home. It could be towed on four wheels and collect no mileage. Now, after replacing the transmission, I was told that it is NOT recommended to tow this car on all four wheels. What gives?

My 2008 Saturn Vue is a mess. I need a new heater core, fog comes inside the car, my speedometer is now not working. I am afraid that it is going to blow up while I am driving it. I do not have the money for repair. It is only a 2008 and it is horrible. Help.

This is the fifth time a transmission has gone out on our 2004 Saturn Ion that we purchased brand new. The last one was a year and six months ago. They now refuse to fix it, only offering $5000 off a new GM vehicle if we surrender the car. Not only can we not afford a new car, but why would we want to purchase another GM vehicle when we have to fight them every time we need them to fix their mistake? We cannot trade in the vehicle for a used car because we cant get anything out of it with a broken transmission. Thats not fair for us since we didnt install the faulty variable transmission in all these vehicles. We suggested what we feel is fair: them buying the Saturn back with the Kelly Blue Book value. They refuse. They say they will not fix the car because it will continue to break (which again is their fault) and will only offer $5000 off so they can still make a profit out of us. We have had to fight them tooth and nail every time we needed the transmission fixed. All they care about is money. They have no problem selling faulty vehicles and then they dont stand behind them.

Vue 2.2 5MT 2004 - I bought this car after careful consideration. I needed an SUV, 5MT (I love manual) and a gas saver. Saturn Vue was one of very few vehicles on the US market which satisfied my requirements. However, before buying it, do your research (as I did)! The 2.2 engine is good on gas and has chain instead of belt (so no worries about changing it), but stay away from 2.2 CVT vehicles!!! This is the most unreliable transmission I ever heard of. I have never read a single review about CVT where the transmission wasnt changed (which costs about $5000). 5MT Saturns only come with FWD, no AWD versions, but I have never experienced any problems getting stuck even during this horrible winter. And in terms of reliability, 5MT cannot even be compared to CVT, its very difficult to kill it, only if you dont know how to drive a manual at all and shift with grinding all the time - while a CVT can die every moment, without warning.However, with 5MT, dont forget that you should change both your transmission fluid (DEXRON III, dont use VI!!! Or, I use Pennzoil Syncromesh) and brake fluid in the clutch mechanism in time. Some people think these dont have to be changed, and its completely wrong. If your fluid is black, youre certainly killing your clutch or transmission. If youre a DIY person, its very easy to do both.However, there are several serious drawbacks. First, at RPMs above 3000, the engine is noisy. And at the same time, the transmission is built very strangely, so that at 40 mph you can already put it in 5th. As a result, at highway speeds (~70-75 mph) your RPMs are between 3200 and 4000 approximately. So engine noise inside the cab is guaranteed. Its not too loud, but its audible, the only thing that makes it tolerable is the whistling of air (I couldnt understand where its coming from) so that the engine noise doesnt seem so loud. I dont know why Saturn made such a transmission. I was riding with my friend in his Honda, its automatic, but still, at 60 mph his RPMs were only about 2000, while Saturn has at least 2500 on the tachometer even in 5th gear.Why make such a transmission? Of course its noisy when the engine runs constantly between 3300-4000 RPM on a highway! And at the same time, why did they install this dashboard which proudly says that the maximum speed is 130 mph? This transmission cant go even close to that, it will reach maximum RPMs well before. And by the way, if the engine didnt work at such high RPMs, it would have even better highway gas mileage. This is Saturn...I wont say anything about cheap plastic materials in the cab, I dont care about this, and its not a luxury car. If you need extreme comfort and expensive cab interior, buy something like a Cadillac and pay for servicing its numerous electronic devices. For me, the advantage of this car is its simplicity, I can fix or change most of the stuff myself.Also, there are stupid things which are just gross mistakes of the designers. Take the clutch: the bleeder valve is metal, but the tube which holds it is plastic, so if you want to change your old black fluid and then bleed the system, be very careful, because the valve may be rusty and stuck, and you can easily break the plactic tube and disable your car until it is replaced (youll have to buy a new master brake cylinder as this tube is not sold separately). Why couldnt they make this tube metal instead of plastic, knowing that there may be some effort needed to turn the valve??? Probably because its cheaper...And finally, Id like to mention the headlights. In this car they are the most horrible Ive ever seen. They sit in deep wells so the light beam is very narrow and only lights up a small piece of the road, not speaking about street signs - you can forget about it. At the same time, if you try to install a powerful bulb, youll see the other problem - the idiot designers didnt make a glare screen in front of the bulb, instead, theres a strange-looking and completely useless tube! I have specially looked at lots of other vehicles, they all have either projectors or a glare cap! But Saturn decided that Vue drivers dont need them! So if you install a powerful bulb, you have to make sure its the type with end painted, otherwise oncoming drivers are looking directly at your bulb, not covered by anything! At the same time, this light is just wasted, instead of being reflected by the glare cap and thrown onto the main reflector to magnify the beam. Bravo, Saturn! A very wise decision! I also have to mention that the high beams are poor as well, and they are located separately from low beams (different bulbs) but adjusted together. Which is horrible because normal car manufacturers make high beam HIGH - so that its ABOVE low beam cutoff. No such luck with the Vue - the high beams are practically on the same level as low beams, and if you try to raise them so they can do their work, low beams are raised too and start blinding oncoming traffic! But if you adjust low beams so that they dont blind, your so-called high beams point to the ground and are practically useless! Ive never seen more stupid headlights. And worst of all, there are NO aftermarket modified (e.g. projector) headlights for this car, theyre all the same stupid type!But overall, the cars not bad and I didnt have too many issues with it. Just dont buy CVT versions. And check the clutch before buying it, the replacement is expensive. If you dont know what to look for, bring a friend who knows a lot about manual cars.

I have had this car (2005 Ion) for about 2 years now and I like it; however, the ignition is very temperamental and sometimes I have to fiddle and finesse with the ignition so I can remove the key. It hasn’t screwed me so far, but I know it’s only a matter of time before it probably will. GM needs to recognize this problem and should have it recalled. Another fellow who wrote a review said to use part number 20869121 instead of the OEM part, which is the same piece of junk that’s in it now and will only give you the same problem.

My car has low miles on it and transmission went out no warning. A few times the car rolls with it being in park. Hubby check transmission fluid with car running. It jumps the park mode stats rolling towards my hubby. I press break before it ran over him. Towed car to the auto care Lee Myles in Parkersburg, WV. I called GM and told the transmission not shifting, doesnt go to drive. Now Lee Myles has had car 3 weeks, cant say whats wrong but stated could fix car for around 2000 dollars. Still wont diagnose it for itemize cost and states now going to cost 3700 dollars to fix it.. What to do? What made my car mess up? Im disabled, dont go very many places, had car 2 years now. Really like my car but being pulled so many ways between General Motors not wanting to help and Lee Myles helping themselves to my car and money. PLEASE HELP. THANKS FOR LISTENING.

Have a 2006 Saturn Ion 3 with about 58K miles. Loaned it to father-in-law for the weekend. He calls to tell me he cant turn it off. Drives to GM dealer, who pulls fuse to turn off car. Two days later, I get the call that it will cost $600 to fix ignition. How do we get GM to own up to this obvious recall issue with the Saturn ignitions! Any lawyers out there?

My 2003 Saturn Ion has developed the same ignition lock, and not starting problems, in the last 6 months.

I have a 2007 Saturn Outlook. I am now having problems with the ignition. Sometimes the key will come out on its own but sometimes it gets stuck. I have to drive backwards and forward to get the key to come out. My husband drove it one day and he said that the key got stuck, he disconnected the battery and reconnected it and the key came out. Im seeing a lot of complaints about GM vehicles doing this. Some people say its the Body Control Module and its not covered under warranty after 36k miles. Some have their ignitions and others parts replaced but the problems with the key getting stuck comes back. Its time consuming and costly and GM needs to fix this. Why should consumers have to pay for a manufacturers defect?

I ransomed my 2005 Saturn Ion this morning from the local Chevy dealers service department. For the second time in less than 18 months, I had to have the ignition lock cylinder, etc. replaced. The problem was identical to others previously listed on this site. The key was stuck in the on position with the car running. I had to disconnect the battery and stall (manual transmission) the engine. In each occurrence, the repair cost well in excess of four hundred dollars. Add the rental car, and the cost approaches a thousand dollars for the two repairs. On a positive note, I see that the dealer used the replacement lock cylinder 20869121 that Frank of Toronto, ON recommended. Although I dont have access to the actual technical service bulletins, I found one listed for Saturn Ion entitled 05-08-49-006 FEB 05 Ignition Switch - Key Hard to Insert/Wont Rotate and another 05-02-35-007A OCT 06 Ignition - Inadvertent Turning of Ignition Lock Cylinder. The cashier this morning said that the problem is related to too much weight on the key ring. I dont think the three keys on my ring qualify. Rather, I think it is the quality of the genuine GM parts.

I bought my wife a brand new 2007 Saturn Ion. I have had it back in dealer service 4 times, with no solution to key getting stuck in the ignition. I have finally given up. I will have to sit in the car for up to 10 minutes until the car decides to release the key, as if it has a mind of its own! Very frustrating!

I financed a used car (2009 Saturn Vue) on the evening of 2/22/13. On 2/23/13 early afternoon, as I was driving with family members, the car caught on fire. A young lady pulled up next to me and told me that I had fire falling from underneath my car. We immediately pulled over, jumped out, and called 911. The firemen came, put the fire out and did an investigation for their report. They said it looked electrical, but couldnt say for sure. I had the car towed back to the dealer. They were closed on that Saturday so I had to wait until Monday to talk to someone. They do not want to take accountability. They stated that they had to treat this as a new car sale and I had to file an insurance claim. I told them that I hadnt even had the car 24 hours, that I want my downpayment back and the contract cancelled so that I can go and get another car elsewhere. An inspector went out (from my insurance company) and also said it looked electrical, but he could not say that that was the definite cause of the fire. The dealership wants me to go through with the claim. They offered to pay my insurance deductible, but thats it. The sales manager went on and on about how the Saturn Vue was the best used car that they had on the lot and how superior their service inspections are, etc. That is all the more reason for me to be concerned. Them offering to pay a $500 deductible does nothing for my insurance going up, my inability to be able to trade that car in down the line since it had a fire. And since the root cause of the problem could not be found, there is nothing to keep it from happening again. I want my down payment ($1500) back and I want to go elsewhere and get another vehicle as soon as possible. I am currently without a car. I spoke with the salesperson and the sales manager. I was told that the general manager would call me and he did not, nor did the owner. I should not be held accountable for their car catching on fire in less than 24 hours. I drove home from the dealership Friday night, to my cousins funeral on Saturday morning and the car caught on fire while I was driving in the funeral procession early Saturday afternoon.

I have loved my 2004 Saturn Ion, bought it in August 2009 with 80k, and now June 2013 146k. No problems up to last month. But now when I put the key in, it wont even turn to the right. My sister and I have figured out that if you take your time to push up and to the right, about the 10th attempt it turns to the right and starts... SUPER ANNOYING! Reading these other reviews makes me want to quickly trade it in! So sad because I have loved not having a payment! :(

I have a 2005 Saturn Ion 3 that I bought new. It has been a great car. In April of 2011, I went to start my car and it would not start. I turned it off and tried to take the key out of the ignition and it would not move. It was stuck in the ignition and I could not get it to do anything. On January 4, 2012, I tried to start my car and it would not start.On the first incident, I had it towed to Firestone who has done all the work on my Saturn 2005 Ion 3 since the warranty expired. The steering wheel column had to be removed to get the key out of the ignition and the battery was replaced. On the second incident, I had it towed again to Firestone. The mechanic was able to start it. He began to research problems with Saturns and found the ignition problem. He advised me to take it to Saturn for an ignition replacement.

I bought a Saturn from a dealer who gave me an engine Warranty For Life. At 88,000 miles, while on a trip, my engine blew. I rented a car to finish our journey and returned. I was told at the dealer who took over for the Saturn company that $5500 is needed to replace. I couldnt afford it so I had my son drive my truck down and we rented a towing dolly and towed it home.I traded the car in, as is, but then asked this new dealer if my warranty was any good. They said that GM covered them for a while but not anymore. I was hoping there was a class action suit going on somewhere.

Currently, my 2004 Saturn ION 3 has 90K miles. I have made two previous repairs totaling $2500 to repair the timing chain and timing chain tension assembly, which has failed again. GM offers no help. Investigation reveals that this is a widespread problem.

I have had my 2007 Saturn Ion for 1.5 years. It only have 30K miles on it. I have had to replace the ignition key holder thing because the key got stuck in the ignition and the car couldnt turn off. Now, Im starting to have power steering issues. The power steering was shut off on two separate occasions while driving.The ignition system put me back $750. Luckily both times I wasnt on the open road when the power steering shut off (residential area the 1st time, parking lot the second time), so I was able to maneuver to a stop. Turning the car off and back on made the steering come back...but for how long? I doubt Ill be lucky everytime. Guess I better keep lifting weights until I can get this fixed.

I have had numerous problems with my 2007 Saturn Outlook, which I purchased used in August of 2009. It has been in the shop more than it has been on the road. The windshield washer motor quit and a part had to be ordered, no power steering. The check engine light went on requiring a trip to the shop to fix whatever that problem was (which I dont remember now), except that it meant my remote start wouldnt work during the snow season, the headlight burned out two light bulbs prior to receiving the recall notice on that part - the list goes on!The most current and crucial issue is my transmission. I have 93,000 miles on this vehicle, and the transmission has gone out completely. I am expected to continue to make a monthly car payment of $465 on a car that doesnt run! The warranty ran out on Jan. 26, 2011 and the car quit running in March. I called several places to find out how much it will cost to fix and have been given prices from $3,000- $4,800! I am a single mother, who teaches in Detroit on a dwindling salary. I am worried about paying my rent, and I need a reliable car to get to work.I have called and talked to both the man who sold me this hunk of junk car, Tom, and Shelly in the service department, who is wonderful, but powerless. Both have told me there is nothing they can do, as the warranty expired two months prior to it breaking down. I have called GM financial to explain the situation, and they simply dont care. I have offered to give the car back; however, they will need a roll-off tow truck, as the car will not run! They informed me that they will take the car, sell it for the best price they can get, which will be very low, seeing as how there is oil in the mass air flow, no transmission, no power steering (which went out almost a year ago, but was not covered on aforementioned warranty!), and the brakes and routers need replacing.The difference between that selling price and what I owe, which is consequently about $18,000, will be reported to the IRS as unearned income. Then, I will get smacked with approximately $3,000 fee on my income tax in April! So, my choices are dismal! I can pay $3,000 at tax time, ruin my credit rating more than I already have, and have no car, or try to find some way to fix this horrible car.I am writing this to obtain help on getting GM to make this car purchase correct. I truly believe there were more issues with this car when it was sold to me than what was reported to me. The types of things that have gone wrong on this car should not happen to a car with less than 100,000 miles on it. Either fix the transmission, power steering, mass air flow and whatever else it needs and make this a reliable car, or take it back and give me something else for the $18,000 I have left to pay on. I cannot continue to make payments on a useless car and feed my child. I need to get to work and back safely. Please help me!

We purchased a 2008 Saturn with 76,000 miles. In May 2014 we begin having transmission problems. Upon researching the net we discovered other owners having problems and GMC doing a recall. I begin correspondence and after eight months and numerous e-mails and recall letters we were told that due to the 19,000 mile over their criteria of 120,000 we were out of luck. But to show their goodwill they decided to give us a $2,000 dollar credit toward a NEW 2015 GMC. But not a credit toward having this piece of Saturn repaired at a cost of $4,000.00. per Jim **.

Saturn needs to make a recall on 2006 model of ION. My car keys normally gets stuck in the key ignition yet I have only owned my vehicle for a year. I cant believe this has gone out. I have reviewed comments about other owners of the same vehicle of the same year with the same problems which I think is a dealer issue. They have to recall these vehicles for these problems. I dont feel that the owner should be putting their hard-earned money in something that has factory defects. They need to be recalled. It is not very safe when you are unable to turn off your vehicle.

Me and my girlfriend bought a 09 Saturn aura from love Chevrolet in Columbia South Carolina, it had 52,000 miles on it. First day at the lot, the car wouldnt start. They said it sat for a while, it just needed a jump. A day later we were sitting onside of the road. Within 1 month I took this car back to the lot 6 times to be fixed for different things but for a long time they wouldnt replace the battery then the tire rod then the water pump, the OnStar went out. Then right at 100,000 miles the transmission went out. After a year, it is fixed. Then as soon as we get the car back the vents for ac and heat went out. Somehow they started working again but the heat stopped working and its been out for about a year now. If we got rid of the car we would have lost out because we did a trade in, they gave us so much lie about fixing this car. We didnt know what to do but keep this hunk of junk. We owe 4000 on this car but its not worth 400. What should we do? Oh and from day one it had bad alignment, its not worth the trouble. Saturn Aura, you have to do better.

At a stop light, all of a sudden the clutch pedal had no effect. I bought the Vue used, so had no warranty. It seemed like a pretty good deal for the price. The dealer was fairly upfront about the issues it had (mostly minor), but while driving it today, out of nowhere, the clutch pedal had no effect! Sitting at a red light I suddenly wasnt able to get it into gear! Its ran pretty good till this and Ive owned Saturns before with minimal issues, but this was different. This time my life was in danger. Ive read lots of people with the same problems. Hope I can get it fixed without spending too much or PUTTING MY FAMILY IN DANGER AGAIN! BOOOO GM!!!

2005 Saturn Ion 2: Along with my ignition switch failing, my power steering regularly going out while driving down the freeway, and my driver-side window not working, my key is now stuck in the on position with the car running. I popped the clutch to turn it off and disconnected the battery. I ordered a new ignition cylinder and plan to replace when it arrives. I agree with the majority of the community that there are far too many problems with particular parts for a recall not to be made. Im elated for the day I can rid myself of this car. Its been nothing but continual problems. My Honda on the other hand has nearly the same miles and not one problem in 5 years.

The timing chain in my 2003 Saturn Ion snapped. It is a problem I noticed that was fairly common in these vehicles. My car showed no signs of having an issue, and then just shut off on the highway.

I have a 2008 Saturn Vue. At 80,000, the transmission went out, I assumed that when Saturn went out of business so did the bumper to bumper powertrain warranty. Weeks after having the transmission rebuilt, I found that the warranty work is still done. So I called a Saturn dealer in Utah to see if there was a possibility to be reimbursed for the cost of the rebuild. The dealership sent me a form and I got the paperwork together and sent it to GM. Fairly quickly, I got a call saying that our vehicle did not fall under a recall. I told the person from GM that I knew it wasnt a recall but a warranty issue. The GM rep referred me back to the dealership. The dealership told me that there is no other option. I am not out to get money, just an answer to why nothing could be done and is there anything that really could be?

Sigh...I am adding another complaint to this apparent common problem. I have a Saturn ION 2006. I have nothing but problems with it since the day I drove it off the lot. Unfortunately, I am not in right circumstances to trade it in on something else. I am a mom and a full time student, so I really need this car to last a little longer. Today, I parked my car while taking my daughter to the lake and the key got stuck in the on position. I own a manual, so once I got it home I popped the clutch to turn it off. Now, Im stuck with no car and very little in the budget to fix it. Has anyone found a solution to fixing this problem on their own? Or, by chance, has GM issued a recall?

I purchased 1995 Saturn with 63,000 miles in 2010. The car reached 75,000 miles on Dec 2011. The cylinder head cracked and needs to replaced for approximate cost of $2000.00. Research shows cars from 1992-1999 had a cylinder head defect in the design and Saturn extended the warranty to 100,000 miles but due to the age of the car, GM will not help out with repair cost. Read from other customers, no one got help. GM does not acknowledge the warranty. I just want consumers to know Saturn cars may look good, have low mileage but after 50,000 miles, trouble awaits around the corner.

I have a 2007 Saturn Ion with 80,000 miles on it. A few months ago, I got home from work and my car would not shut off. My ignition has never locked my key in. I noticed when I first got the car used that the key could be removed even when the car was running. I thought that was standard, so I could lock the car while it was still running for heat or AC or something like that. I had to pull the ignition switch from under the steering column and then plug it back in and crank to start the car (I used a screw driver because I had no reason to carry the key with me at that point). One week ago, I went to start my car and it wouldnt even start now. It cranks all day and then nothing. I believe there is no fuel going to the injectors and it has to do with this faulty OEM ignition. I filed a complaint just a bit ago and hope for all of our sake that GM honors the BS claims in their commercials and decides to give a ** about their paying customers.