Vehicle Data Hub

2005 Saturn Ion electrical system problems

232 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2005 Saturn Ion, which is 31% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
232 31% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
53,000 miles 170 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
5 and 3
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 2005 Saturn Ion Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 53,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 26 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 21 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 48 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 20 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 23 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 12 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 8 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 4 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 4 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 2 complaints 200k+ miles: 2 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 53,000 miles
Based on 170 complaints that include mileage. 56% 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 miles26
20k to 40k miles21
40k to 60k miles48
60k to 80k miles20
80k to 100k miles23
100k to 120k miles12
120k to 140k miles8
140k to 160k miles4
160k to 180k miles4
180k to 200k miles2
200k+ miles2

What the data shows

Of the 170 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 53,000 miles, and 56% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 5 crashes, 3 fires, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 saturn ion. The contact stated that while making a left turn, the vehicle suddenly stalled as the power steering seized and caused the contact to crash into a concrete street divider. The contact sustained back injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The contact indicated that during the crash, the radiator and condenser were damaged and both were replaced by the mechanic.

Reported at 58,000 miles, March 2014 CrashInjury

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 saturn ion. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the ignition switch failed and caused the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed which located a failure code at the steering column. The vehicle was repaired. The steering wheel column was replaced. The failure mileage was 49,000 and the approximate current mileage was 70,000.

Reported at 49,000 miles, March 2008

Other problems reported for the 2005 Saturn Ion

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Saturn models