Faults:

My 2004 Saturn Ion will not start on cold mornings without serious intervention. I live in Alaska and have to have my block heater, oil pan heater and a space heater on the car at the same time for approximately 2-4 hours (depending on how cold it is) before the car will start. Once it's started, it's good to go for the day, but it is a complete nightmare in the morning.

I took it into my mechanic and they cannot find anything definitive wrong with it.

I intend to try warming the key before trying to start it tomorrow morning. We'll see what happens.

It sounds like this is a consistent problem with 04 Ions, and Saturn is clearly NOT stepping up to the plate on this one.

General Comments:

I've always liked the car, but now it has become completely unreliable in cold weather.

Faults:

Car will not start in cold weather! Wait a half hr then it starts.

After car has been driven at least 10 miles and put it in park, it will idle at 3K and the Saturn dealership doesn't know what's wrong with it.

Seats stain way too easy.

Car uses a quart of oil every 2000 miles.

General Comments:

DO NOT BUY A SATURN!!! Dealerships will not work with you at all!!!

Faults:

I like everyone else have problems with my 2004 Saturn ION not starting. To me it seems as if there is no rhyme or reason. I too live in Wisconsin, however I've had it not start in summer, spring, winter, and fall. It is completely random -- every few months or so it won't start, but after a period of time (now I know 10 minutes) it will start.

Other problems I've had: The motor went out on my power windows, so I can no longer enjoy the fresh air.

One day driving home from work I switched the heat over to the vents. When I attempted to switch it back over to defrost, the control stuck. Even a grown man cannot turn the control over. So now I have no defrost!

And last but not least my power locks act up all the time! The power locks button in the car no longer works (once in a blue moon it will). When I get out of the car, the second I shut the door, the car locks. I will be driving down the road and the locks will start locking, unlocking, etc. It almost seems if the car is possessed!

To me, it all seems to be an electrical problem! Has anybody else had any of these other problems?

Faults:

Ignition switch failure - or not. I've had mine replaced twice, and although it only cost $150 each time, I still feel it was unnecessary. Like most people I thought it was the battery, but after taking it to the dealership, they simply said they needed to replace the ignition switch and they wouldn't give me any details. Being a female, they probably assumed I didn't care to know the details, but after reading these posts, it looks like they just really wanted my money, and I may have never needed a new ignition switch. I mean, how does an ignition switch go out twice in 5 years?

Next, I have, to this day, a hard time getting my key to turn in the ignition, even after the ignition switch was replaced. I have to wiggle it, take it out, put it in, wiggle it some more and then it will turn. I've tried to get my friends to try it, to see if maybe it was just me. Nope. They have an even harder time starting my car. This problem almost happens to me daily. I've just gotten used to it, but it's awfully annoying.

And third, my front turn signal lamp went out. This part was ACTUALLY recalled back in 2004 and the dealership replaced it for free when I took it in years ago. Now it's happened again. I replaced the bulb to no avail. I'm afraid the dealership won't fix it AGAIN for free, even though it has been recalled. I've scheduled an appointment, we'll see how it goes.

General Comments:

The car runs and handles reasonably well.

It's spacious inside, with lots of headroom. Huge trunk.

It's awfully loud in the cabin, especially while driving on the highway. I'm assuming this is because most of the car is made of plastic.

I wish it had more cup holders.

I like the fact that my car tells me when it needs an oil change. I just hope it knows what's best.