2004 Saturn Ion problems
NHTSA has received 1,124 complaints about the 2004 Saturn Ion, and 31% of them involve electrical system. Next are steering (31%) and engine (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,124 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 78 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 45 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 875 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 121 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 92 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 147 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 129 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 118 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 92 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 75 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 48 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 24 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 11 |
| 200k+ miles | 18 |
What the data shows
Of the 875 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 52,000 miles (250 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 78 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 45 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Saturn Ion with enough data (514 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 8 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Dt: the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. The vehicle was involved in a front end collision on june 10 2005 the vehicle moved across the other side of the road and was hit by two others trucks. These were more of a side impact. It was hit head on by a semi truck the driver was ejected from the vehicle and her husband was killed. He has filed a complaint with the manufacturer. Both occupants were wearing there seat belts. Daughter flew out from under the seat belt of the vehicle, she was the driving.
I write on behalf of the estate of [xxx]. [xxx] were killed on august 17, 2012 in a 2004 saturn ion after the vehicle was struck by a pickup truck and the air bags failed to deploy.
2004 saturn ion III lost 4 of 5 quarts of oil and the oil light did not come on. The engine has to be replaced at a cost of $6,000. The dealer said, too bad".
Saturn ion 2004- spontaneous power steering outages. This car is a danger to the public in that without any warning the power steering fails on the vehicle. The entire steering column must be replaced although the actual motor is the reason for the failure. The cost of the repair is approximately $1100.00. After research this is a common problem that exists among these models and there is a potential for harm or death due to the failure of the power steering. This needs to be addressed immediately.