Vehicle Data Hub

2005 Saturn Ion engine problems

37 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2005 Saturn Ion, which is 5% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
37 5% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
96,000 miles 27 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
2 and 1
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2005 Saturn Ion Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 96,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 4 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 1 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 6 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 2 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 2 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 4 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 3 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 2 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 2 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 96,000 miles
Based on 27 complaints that include mileage. 41% 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 miles4
20k to 40k miles1
40k to 60k miles6
60k to 80k miles2
80k to 100k miles2
100k to 120k miles4
120k to 140k miles3
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles2
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles2

What the data shows

Of the 27 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 96,000 miles, and 41% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 2 crashes, 1 fire, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

My daughter was driving to work through a wintry mix precipitation when she lost control, was turned to the right into a guardrail, which heavily damaged the front end and caused her to spin coming to a stop on the road. The damage seems like it should have caused airbag deployment, but the airbag did not, and she struck her head on the steering wheel. She felt as though she hit a patch of slush that pushed her to the right. The vehicle is a total loss and in custody of my insurer.

March 2014 CrashInjury

Dt*: the contact stated there were several problems with the vehicle. While turning the ignition on, the battery light illuminated for 30 seconds. Second, the driver's side window fell off the track and caused the window to fall into the door. Third, there was a grinding noise heard in the motor and the vehicle hesitated. Additionally, the headlight seal around the headlight was broken allowing water to get inside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and all repairs were made.

Reported at 13,000 miles, March 2006

Other problems reported for the 2005 Saturn Ion

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Saturn models