NHTSA — Exterior Lighting: Headlights: High/Low Beam Dimmer Switch Problems

CarComplaints.com Seal Of This Might Hurt

CarComplaints.com Notes: The Saturn Ion was a compact bundle of hurt wrapped up in a cheap, plastic shell. With so many defective components and a safety rating that a bicycle would be ashamed of, it’s a blessing this car only lasted five model years.

The 2003 (and 2004) Ion was cursed with GM’s flawed attempt at a continuously variable transmission, known as the VTi. It had such a high failure rate that a class-action lawsuit was filed against GM, eventually prompting a settlement and a warranty extension. GM discontinued the VTi for the 2005 model year – surprise, surprise.

The 2003 Ion was also part of one of the largest and most controversial recalls of all-time. A defective ignition switch in millions of GM vehicles could accidentally turn the car off and disable important safety components like the power steering and airbags. The problem resulted in at least 13 deaths, but what made it worse was that GM knew about the issue for 10 years before doing anything about it.

So was the transmission warranty extended? Yeah. Was the ignition switch recalled? Eventually. Is this car safe to drive? Not really. Honestly, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Saturn Ion lights problems

lights problem

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2003 Saturn Ion Owner Comments

problem #1

Dec 312007

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was drove my car home one night and the headlights were working fine. I went in the house changed and got ready to leave again when I turned on my headlights they did not come on. Thought maybe it was the bulbs that went out but the bright lights worked. Had the bulbs check they were fine, I also checked the fuses to make sure that was burnt out. After a week the lights still were not working took it to a car mechanic and the analysis showed some sensor. He replaced the sensor and it did not fix the problem my low beam headlights are still not working.

- Norfolk, NE, USA

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