2006 Saturn Ion problems
NHTSA has received 1,537 complaints about the 2006 Saturn Ion, and 36% of them involve steering. Next are electrical system (26%) and fuel system (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,537 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 36% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 72 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 46 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 1,306 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 | 60 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 152 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 320 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 289 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 174 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 142 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 78 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 40 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 23 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 12 |
| 200k+ miles | 16 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,306 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 67,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 65,000 miles (512 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 72 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 46 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Saturn Ion with enough data (871 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
Per witnesses my daughter's saturn ion hit the rear of a semi truck that had stopped on northbound I-81 near mile marker 210.5. The witnesses state that the air bags did not deploy. The car caught fire and was destroyed.
My son lost control of the car hitting a pole head on and then the car spun three times in a 360 and then a 180... Air bags didn't deploy and he and the passenger are badly injured. The air bags could have saved them from several injuries...
I was involved in a frontal car accident at about 40-45 MPH and my airbags did not deploy, injury could have been avoided had the airbag deployed. My censor for my passenger was on, but the airbags did not deploy.
The past month my car has gotten harder to start. Nov. 2 I started smelling gas. I had assumed I was smelling exhaust prior to this and planned on checking for a vacuum leak, so I was driving with my windows down. The gas smell got stronger and worse after a 186 mile drive home. I googled the problem and read of the same symptoms resulting from a cracked hose attached to the fuel pump. After work I looked under the hood at home and didn't see anything. Went to dinner and back in a separate car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact stated that it took numerous attempts to start the vehicle. Once the vehicle was started, fuel fumes were present inside the cabin. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure occurred after the vehicle was repaired according to NHTSA campaign number: 14v047000 (air bags, electrical system). The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.