NHTSA — Power Train Problems

CarComplaints.com Seal Of This Might Hurt

CarComplaints.com Notes: With the 2007 model year we finally get to bid adieu to a car famous for poor safety marks, a dangerously defective ignition and power steering that would work … sometimes.

2.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,642 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.

2007 Saturn Ion drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2007 Saturn Ion Owner Comments

problem #14

May 132014

Ion

  • 86,250 miles

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

Had vehicle taken in for ignition switch recall per notice. After repairs for which my vehicle was in shop for almost 30 days, I was given vehicle back. After 2 weeks the ignition switch would still stick and not allow for the key to be returned to the off switch after several tries. I just have dealt with this for awhile now, but not it is becoming more of an issue and I feel the recall parts are not working.

- Old Orchard Beach, ME, USA

problem #13

Jan 012014

Ion 4-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. While attempting to turn off the vehicle, the key remained in the on position. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the shift cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000. Updated 7/9/15

- Jensen Beach, FL, USA

problem #12

Jun 102014

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles
2007 Saturn Ion. Consumer writes in regards to ignition key issues. The consumer stated the key became stuck in the ignition. The vehicle stalled on three occasions, and the check engine light illuminated. The ignition switch and shifter were replaced.

- Mount Clemens, MI, USA

problem #11

Aug 222013

Ion 4-cyl

  • 97,200 miles

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

As I was driving along a city street last autumn, the transmission started shifting with a noticeable jerk each time it went into another gear. This is an automatic transmission. When I came to a stop light I put the car into park. When I put the car back into gear, there was an even stronger jerk. The jerking kept on each time the car shifted. At the next light I turned the car off during the red light and then turned it on when the light turned green. The problem continued, so I went straight to an auto repair shop. They were busy so I had to wait awhile, and then it took me awhile to explain the problem. When the technician went out to see what the problem was, the problem was gone. Isn't that soooo typical. This last summer, the same thing happened. This time I went home and let the car sit there for 15 to 20 minutes. The problem was gone again. My fear is that this could happen at highway speed and god only knows what could happen then.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #10

Sep 112013

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles
2007 Saturn Ion. Consumer writes in regards to reimbursement for ignition defect repairs. The consumer from day one, she had a difficult time removing the key from the ignition. The service invoice stated the shifter was replaced. GM denied the consumers request for reimbursement. According to the letter from GM, the repair that was performed was not the repair covered by the recall.

- Naples, FL, USA

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problem #9

Nov 022011

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles
2007 Saturn Ion. Consumer writes in regards to ignition / shifter problems and reimbursement issues. The consumer had the ignition lock cylinder and solenoid replaced, prior to the recall, because the key was getting stuck in the ignition. Also, the shifter assembly had to be replaced, because the key continued to get stuck. The consumer stated there were times, where she could not get the vehicle to shut off, because the key was stuck. The consumer is seeking reimbursement.

- Brighton, CO, USA

problem #8

Mar 152014

Ion

  • 76,350 miles

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

When trying to put the car in park, the key gets stuck and cannot move key back to park position. Moving the shifter back and forth and reparking had temporarily allowed me to pull the key out. Months later, we cannot pull key out of ignition it is stuck in the ignition. I was told we need a new shifter by the dealer. There is a recall on the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket, but of course, not for the Saturn Ion 2007 model. GM stinks!!!

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #7

Jan 022013

Ion 4-cyl

  • 63,000 miles
The vehicle will not turn completely off out of the "acc" position when stopped. The gear shifter has to be "played with" for a while and then maybe it will engage. Otherwise the car will stay in the acc position. Of course the doors cannot be locked because the car won't shut off.

- Brighton, CO, USA

problem #6

Mar 232014

Ion 4-cyl

  • 67,000 miles
Recvd ign sw recall (trbl w/keys hard to get out of ign sw & wont turn to off position increasingly getting worse ;ran batt dwn.jmp strted car ok but now transmission stays in first gear, hard steering w/dic reads pwr steering.its my 23 year old daughter's car senior student @Ohio university'stuck @ small GM used car dealer that insists shifter need to be replaced @ $500 plus first w/no guantee to fix trbl before any other repairs that I believe should fall under GM ign sw recall & GM hard steering extended warranty offered seen on line news re:Saturn Ion disclosers since Feb 2014 @ no cost to me.never had transmission shift/hard steering problems ever till now but ign sw has been a plague several years now!

- Strongsville, OH, USA

problem #5

Nov 102013

Ion 4-cyl

  • 65,948 miles
November 10th at 4:50 pm I left the grocery store I pulled into garage at 5pm put my car in park and the key would not move in the ignition so the car would not shut off. I opened manual to page 105-106 and tried the shift lock release and that did not work. I called dealership and their service department was already closed and were going to be closed the next day on veterans day. So I placed a call to aaa and they had to send out a lock smith to turn off the car and replace the ignition. 3 hours and $275 dollars later because aaa covers $100 of it my car was fixed. This is not a safe thing to occur in a vehicle. I googled this and saw that many others have had this issue and am very disappointed that there has been no recall on something like this.

- Los Alamitos, CA, USA

problem #4

Oct 042012

Ion

  • 46,800 miles

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

The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Ion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph in reverse, the transmission began to hesitate and responded as though it would stall. The vehicle was taken to a transmission center for diagnosis. The technician stated the transmission inner spring fractured. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified and they informed there was not a recall related to the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 46,800.

- Troy, MI, USA

problem #3

Dec 172011

Ion 4-cyl

  • 59,210 miles
I have a problem with the power steering lights goes on and it is difficult to drive, the car has less than 60K miles and really bad that the manufacture doesn't take care of this malfunction. I need to know how to get it fix this problem because it seems that the problem came from the manufacturer.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 072012

Ion 4-cyl

  • miles
The car made a loud noise when I pressed on the gas. It would not accelerate fast enough for the highway and the speedometer was not working. I'm guessing the car could go at max, 20mph. The speedometer remained on 0 while the acceleration had to go up to 3 or 4 just to keep the car moving. The check engine light was on. I took the car to GM dealership/certified Saturn service right then, and they charged me $360 to replace the transmission control module. The service guy told me that when mechanics first did the electrical diagnostic check, the car failed 32 markers, but when they did an electrical diagnostic check after replacing the transmission control module, the results confirmed that all the car's problems have been fixed.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #1

Apr 242010

Ion

  • 47,231 miles
2007 Saturn Ion power unit light comes on and the steering is hard to turn. Checked fuses and there is no problem. Car does not take power steering fluid, it is an electric power steering unit.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

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