KnownCarProblems2005 Saturn Ion Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 573 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Saturn Ion, most often about the steering (46% of complaints, typically around 68,000 miles). It is 5th of 6 Ion model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2005 Saturn Ion problems
Steering
265 complaints · 46%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system, hydraulic power assist system, column.
Tl contact owns a 2005 Saturn Ion. While driving 30 MPH, the letters "pwr str" illuminated on the instrument panel and the steering became extremely difficult to turn. The vehicle was turned off and then restarted normally. The failure recurred later that day. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that…
2005 Saturn Ion electric power steering quits without warning. Occurs at least once every 40 mile trip. Could cause an accident if cornering when power steering fails. Turning the car off and restarting fixes the problem temporarily.
Electrical
227 complaints · 40%Half of these problems showed up before 53,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring, 12v/24v/48v battery.
I own a 2005 Saturn Ion. I have the same issue that I noticed has been documented by many other Saturn owners on this site. The key gets stuck in the ignition and will not release after the car has been turned off. I am forced to restart the car about 3-4 times every time I want to get out of my car. I brought the car…
Having repeat problems with 2005 Saturn Ion blinker. We saw there was a recall on 03 and 04 saturns for the same problem. Please look into a recall for the 05 Saturn ions.
Engine
37 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 96,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Ion. While driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became hard to maneuver. The power steering and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle, but the failure occurred once more. The vehicle was not diagnosed…
We bought our 2005 Saturn Ion used sept. 4, 2012,(87,812) before even could take off lot they had to install an ignition cylinder and cut new key, and the throttle was stuck could press all the way to floor, and would only get up to about 20mph. This was also fixed. (or so we thought). Since our purchase, we still…
Air bags
34 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
My husband was driving my 05 Saturn Ion 2 quad coupe home from work on the interstate.traffic stopped , came to complete stop vehicle behind did not brake and rear ended my vehicle at roughly 50+ MPH causing him to hit another vehicle in turn causing a 6 vehicle accident. The air bags did not deploy causing his head…
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated and blinking. The engine was turned off but after restarting the vehicle, the warning light continued to illuminate and blink. The failure recurred with or without a passenger seated in the passenger's seat. The…
Lights
31 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 54,000 miles. Parts named most often: turn signal, headlights, fog lights.
My right turn signal flashes fast and will not work. I changed the bulb the same problem nobody seem to know what to do about this , from the amount of complaints I think g m need to fix this problem.
2005 Saturn Ion. Front and back blinkers will not blink. I have replaced all bulbs and entire light assemblies. The vehicle is not inspectable because it has to have all lights working. This has been an intermittent problem and the cause of the light failure is unknown. The vehicle has been with an auto…
Transmission
28 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 47,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, clutch assembly, axle assembly.
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the gear shifter screws would become lose. As a result, the gear shifter would not function properly. The contact mentioned that the vehicle would fail to shift into any gear. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where unknown repairs were performed on the…
Re: brake transmission shift interlock (btsi) solenoid. The key would get stuck in ignition and not release, or I would be unable to turn the car on after inserting the key. Note: a couple of times I could not turn off the car, which is a safety hazard. I had to force the key to turn the ignition cylinder to the off…
Fuel system
27 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 115,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage.
College aged daughter owns and drives a 2005 Saturn Ion with approximately 115,000 miles. We noticed a wet spots on the ground on the drivers side near the rear passenger door when car is stationary (parked) but never detected an odor. Took vehicle to nissan dealership in maryland since we were unaware that gm owns…
The contact owns a 2005 Saturn Ion. The contact stated there was a strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated before or after the failure. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact believed the failure…
Other or unspecified
20 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 97,000 miles.
When driving my check gas cap light comes on, as well as the coolant light comes on within 5 minutes of driving the vehicle. This has been happening since 2013, it happens during driving on a hwy, in the city everywhere the car is driven, I push the reset button and it clears however it comes back within 5 minutes....
I have had issues with my car even after I have had some recalls done to it. The biggest issue is when I am driving or stationary with my car on, the car rumbles and feels like it is tugging backwards. The cylinder 2 keeps misfiring (p0302). I have seen several Saturn ions that are having the same issue. Over the past…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2005 Saturn Ion recalls
Electrical: ignition
Risk: If the key can be removed from the ignition when the ignition is not in the "off" position, the vehicle could roll away: (a) for an automatic transmission, if the transmission is not in the "park" position; or (b) for a manual transmission, if the parking brake is not engaged and the transmission is not in the "reverse" position. This potential for rollaway increases the risk for a crash and occupant or pedestrian injuries.
Fix: General motors will notify owners, and for vehicles that were built with the defective ignition cylinder and have not previously had the ignition cylinder replaced with the redesigned part, dealers will replace the ignition cylinder and cut and, if necessary, re-learn two ignition/door keys for each vehicle. For vehicles that were built with the redesigned ignition cylinder or had the ignition cylinder replaced with the redesigned part, dealers will cut and, if necessary, re-learn two ignition/door keys for each vehicle. The recall began on april 18, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact general
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 chevrolet cobalt, 2006-2011 chevrolet hhr, 2007-2010 pontiac g5, 2006-2010 pontiac solstice, 2003-2007 saturn ion, and 2007-2010 saturn sky vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the key can be removed from the ignition when the ignition is not in the "off" position.
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. Gm expects to send an interim notification around may 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 saturn ion, 2009-2010 chevrolet hhr and 2010 chevrolet cobalts. Dealers will replace the eps motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx, 2005-2006 pontiac g6 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, pontiac g6 and saturn aura built from mar
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, 2004-2006 malibu maxx, 2009-2010 hhr (non-turbo), 2010 cobalt, 2008-2009 saturn aura and 2004-2007 ion, and 2005-2009 pontiac g6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Air bags
Risk: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. An interim notification was issued to owners of 2007 and earlier models on march 10, 2014, informing them of the safety defect. Owners of 2008 and later vehicles will be mailed an interim letter on april 21, 2014. All affected owners will receive another letter once parts are available. The recall began on april 18, 2014. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, pontiac at 1-800-762-2737 or saturn at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for the initial recall is 13454 and 14063 for the expansion. Gmâs recall nu
Full defect summary
This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General motors llc (gm) notified the agency on february 10, 2014 that they are recalling 619,122 model year 2005-2007 chevrolet cobalt, and 2007 pontiac g5 vehicles. On february 25, 2014, gm increased the recall to include an additional 748,024 model year 2006-2007 chevrolet hhr and pontiac solstice vehicles and 2003-2007 saturn ion vehicles and 2007 saturn sky vehicles. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine. On march 27, 2014, gm notified the agency that the defective ignition switches may have be
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Electric power steering failure
Summary
On march 31, 2014, general motors company (gm) submitted a defect information report (dir) to NHTSA describing a safety defect that may result in a sudden loss of power steering assist in approximately 1,340,447 model year (my) 2004 through 2010 vehicles equipped with electric power steering (eps), including 334,728 my 2004 through 2007 saturn ion vehicles that are the subject of ea11-014.gm has assigned the recall number n140115.the NHTSA recall number is 14v-153.according to the dir, if power steering assist is lost, a message is displayed on the driver information center and a chime sounds to inform the driver.gm indicated that steering control can be maintained in manual (unassisted) ste
Electric power steering failure
Summary
Odi has received 846 complaints and gm identified 3,489 reports alleging sudden loss of steering power assist in model year (my) 2004 through 2007 saturn ion vehicles manufactured and sold by general motors corporation (gm).sixteen of these complaints alleged that the eps warning lamp had illuminated before or during the loss of steering assist and the increased steering effort contributed to a crash. Two of the gm crash claims indicated that the driver was injured in the crash. In a previous preliminary evaluation pe10-005, odi investigated the sudden loss of power steering assist in my 2005 through 2010 chevrolet cobalt vehicles. In may 2011, in response to an odi information request lette
Questions about the 2005 Saturn Ion
- What are the most common problems with the 2005 Saturn Ion?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (265 complaints, typically around 68,000 miles); electrical (227 complaints, typically around 53,000 miles); engine (37 complaints, typically around 96,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2005 Saturn Ion have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 10, 2014 (electrical). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2005 a bad year for the Saturn Ion?
- It is 5th of 6 Ion model years by number of complaints, with 573 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.