Vehicle Data Hub

2003 Saturn Ion body & structure problems

Owners reported body & structure problems in 19 complaints for the 2003 Saturn Ion, 2% of the complaints on file.

At a glance

Complaints
19 2% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
15,000 miles 13 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
4 and 0
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When body & structure problems show up

Body & structure complaints by mileage, 2003 Saturn Ion Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 15,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 7 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 0 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 0 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 0 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 1 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 1 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 0 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 2 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 15,000 miles
Based on 13 complaints that include mileage. 54% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles7
20k to 40k miles0
40k to 60k miles0
60k to 80k miles0
80k to 100k miles1
100k to 120k miles1
120k to 140k miles0
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles2

What the data shows

Of the 13 body & structure complaints that report mileage, the median is about 15,000 miles, and 54% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 4 crashes, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

2003 saturn ion 1. During cold weather the passenger side window frosts. The controls are set for defrost, air on and blower medium high. Even with the blower on high there is very little air coming from the passenger side defrost outlet. A co-worker has a similar problem with his ion. The dealer said the system is operating as designed. 2. The hood latch freezes and the hood cant be opened to add window washer fluid.

Reported at 14,000 miles, January 2004 Injury

I purchased my 2003 saturn ion quad 3 on 6-12-2003. I've had nothing but problems with it since the beginning. The transmission slips constantly. A tech from spring hill says this is normal for this type of transmission. Trying to turn left in front of oncoming traffic is a nightmare. This car is in the shop as we speak. The rear quarter panel is cracked and being replaced. The rear bumper is being painted because of scratches from the trunk rubbing. The front bumper is being painted because of runs in the paint.

Reported at 3 miles, June 2003

Other problems reported for the 2003 Saturn Ion

Body & structure problems in other years

Body & structure problems across all Saturn models