The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. She smelled a strong odor of gasoline inside of her vehicle. A mechanic concluded that a fuel leak was present. The vehicle was taken to the dealer in which she was advised that she would have to pay for a diagnostic fee prior to inspection. Also the vehicle would intermittently loose power steering. The technician advised her that the steering component would be repaired as a free remedy. The current and failure mileages were 49,865.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. While driving 60 mph the power steering light illuminated which caused her to lose steering control. The contact shut the vehicle off which allowed the power steering to reset. Although she was able to drive the vehicle to her residence, the following day the failure recurred twice. The closest dealer to her residence is currently out of business. A local mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The current and the failure mileages were 75,000.

- Tennille , GA, USA

While driving through shasta on very windy and dangerous roads surrounded by big rig trucks and other vehicles when my power steer on my 2006 Saturn Ion completely stops working. I started to loose control of my vehicle when I went to turn on a turn and was almost hit by two big rig trucks. After lots of screeching and honking I was able to make it to the side of the road. After I turned the vehicle off then back on, the steering continued to work again for a short period of time. The power steering since then has continued to shut off and I am now forced to drive another vehicle until this is fixed in fear of causing a huge accident. Cost of this repair on average is over $1100. I am not the only one who has had this exact problem, many have and have written about it. I was almost in a huge accident because of this, I could only imagine how many could have been hurt had I not acted quickly the way I did.

- Colfax , CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. Intermittently the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then there was a lost of power steering. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and a technician stated that he would have to pay $900 to repair the steering column and gear box. No repairs were made. The manufacturer was notified, and he was referred to the dealer. The failure and current mileages were 32,000. Updated 12/07/09. Updated 12/08/09.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

I was driving down route 1 in key West, Florida when a bell beeped and my power steering light came on and I almost got in an accident when I tried to get off the road to check & see if the fluid had leaked out. No one could find the fluid container. When we restarted the car, the light went out for awhile and it was ok but it continued to come on till I got it home & parked it.

- Summerland Key, FL, USA

Electric assist power steering stops working while driving. Stop the car and shut it off. The steering works when the car is restarted.

- Trenton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. He stated that intermittently the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then he lost power steering. As a consequence he experienced difficulty while steering. Occasionally he can restart the vehicle and resume normal operation. The dealer was notified; however, no repairs have been made. The vehicle identification number was unavailable. The failure mileage was 61,000. The current mileage was 62,453.

- Erlanger, KY, USA

Power steering on 2006 Saturn Ion 3 randomly shuts off while driving. It happens at unsuspected times, and drivers are not prepared for how hard it is to turn the steering wheel. I have not had an accident as of yet because of this problem, but it needs to be corrected. During internet research, I found that this is a very common occurrence with the Saturn Ion models. A 16 year old is not going to be able to control the car if this happens to them.

- Savannah, GA, USA

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

- Washington Court House, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. He states while driving at any speed the power steering goes out and a warning light illuminates on the instrument panel and it reactivates when you turn the vehicle back on. The failure has occurred approximately 20 to 25 times within the last month. The dealer was contacted and they informed him to contact NHTSA to file a complaint so that a recall can be issued. He has researched that many consumers are having this same problem. The vehicle will be taken in to the dealer to have the repairs done under owners expense. The failure mileage was 48000 and current mileage was 51000. Bl updated 10/5/09 there was a short in the steering motor. Updated 10/07/09

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

While entering the highway on a curved ramp the power steering suddenly and completely went out. It was very very hard to steer. After turning the car off and restarting it the power steering starting working again. After driving the car a short distance, again suddenly no power steering. Every time the car is turned off it resets the power steering. It will go out anytime, anywhere and in any circumstance. This should be completely unacceptable by the Saturn manufacturer. Will people have to die before a recall is issued to solve this problem? I bet if the CEO of Saturn/GM owned a car with this problem and his wife, daughter, son or mother was driving it, a recall would be done immediately. The car has not been repaired yet. The cost of repair is over $1000 for parts and labor. How convenient for the dealer to make money from a possible deadly situation.

- Vicksburg, MS, USA

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

- Slidell, LA, USA

2006 Saturn Ion power steering went out while driving 70mph on the highway. Caused driver to veer across 4 lanes of traffic and almost into the cement median wall. Has not recurred since that day but there were 4 incidents in one day. Seems to be fine at slower speeds. Took vehicle to Saturn dealership and told that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. Took vehicle to another repair shop and was told not to plug external electric devices into the power source in the car, such as gps, ipod, etc. As this can interfere with the electrical system. I have been to many sites on the internet and seen numerous cases of this happening in Saturn Ions model years between 2003-2007.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Saturn Ion 2006 power steering keeps going out this could get me killed living in the mountains.

- Asheville, NC, USA

The power steering light will come on while driving, and the steering becomes extremely difficult. When the car is turned off and turned back on, it works fine for a few miles then the power steering cuts off again.

- Ellenwood, GA, USA

As I was driving, there was a dinging sound and the power steering message was displayed and there was no power steering. Once the car is shut off and turned back on, power steering resumes for an unknown amount of time. This is very dangerous especially if it were to go off mid-turn.

- Brandon, FL, USA

As I was driving, there was a dinging sound and the power steering message was displayed and there was no power steering. Once the car is shut off and turned back on, power steering resumes for an unknown amount of time. This is very dangerous especially if it were to go off mid-turn.

- Durham, NC, USA

The power steering on my 2006 Saturn Ion has been failing every few days for the last 4-6 weeks. Usually the power steering returns when the car is re-started, but yesterday as soon as I started driving it went out and has stayed out.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that the power steering fails intermittently while driving various speeds. The failure could cause the vehicle to veer into oncoming traffic or the median. The dealer stated that it would cost $1,100 to repair. The failure mileage was 42,000.

- Marina Del Rey, CA, USA

I have a 2006 Ion Saturn and I was driving on a highway (NY) 684 when a beeping sound came on and the "power steering" light came on and my car locked up. I was doing 65 in the left hand lane and no shoulder to go onto. Thank goodness I was able to somehow get to a safe spot on the highway and call for help. This is a very serious problem and needs to be addressed by Saturn. I am not the only one.

- Hopewell Jct, NY, USA