Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Saturn Ion submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 19 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
2004 SATURN ION. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO AIRBAG SAFETY RECALL. CONSUMER STATES THAT THEY WERE NEVER NOTIFIED OF RECALL AND DURING AN AUTO ACCIDENT AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *LD *TR
I'VE HAD SEVERAL TIMES WHERE MY CAR WASN'T AS STABLE AS IT SHOULD BE. THE CAR ITSELF RUMBLES AND JERKS A LOT ON CITY STREETS AND AS I GET OFF THE HIGHWAY. IN THE PAST THERE'S BEEN A FEW ISSUES WITH THE BREAKS. DURING WINTER TIME, THE CAR WON'T START UP (I HAVE A NEW BATTERY NOW AND IT STILL HAPPENS). ACCELERATION IS OCCASIONALLY DELAYED. LASTLY THERE'S A CLICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR WHICH CONTINUES FROM THE TIME THE KEY IS IN THE IGNITION UNTIL I TAKE IT OUT.
I BOUGHT MY 2004 SATURN ION 2 COUPE AND HAD TO REPLACE THE FRONT ROTORS IN THE FIRST 2 YEARS, THEY WERE WORN DOWN TO THE IRON. I BOUGHT AMERICAN STEEL ROTORS FROM MIDAS. I'M STILL USING THE NEW ROTORS AND EVERYTHING, INCLUDING THE BRAKES, ARE STILL LIKE NEW. MY CAR IS IN A GARAGE AND I DON'T DO MUCH DRIVING. I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WHEN I HAD MY NEW 1992 SATURN SL1. NOW I'M TOLD MY SWAY BAR IS GOING AGAIN. THIS WILL BE THE 3RD TIME. I WAS TOLD THAT WAS NORMAL FOR THE BRAKES AND THE SWAY BAR BECAUSE IT'S A SATURN AND I NEEDED TO DRIVE IT AND APPLY THE BRAKES HARDER AND PARTS FOR THE SWAY BAR ON THE 2004 HAD TO BE IMPORTED AND WERE POORLY MADE. I FIND THIS SUSPICIOUS TO SAY THE LEAST. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT OR EVEN A FENDER BENDER. I NOTED 2006 ON MY SATURN 2010 FROM IT'S FIRST PROBLEM, A YEAR LATER ON THE SWAY BAR AND A COUPLE MORE YEARS ON THE 2ND SWAY BAR. THE 1992 SATURN WAS AN ONGOING SITUATION WITH THE ROTORS TILL I JUNKED IT AROUND 2011.
THE SATURN ION RECALLED IGNITION WAS REPLACED, BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUES TO HAPPEN. ON 3/20/15, I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. THE CAR TURNED ITSELF OFF, AND THE BRAKES WENT OUT. I STEERED THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER, AND MANAGED TO BRING IT A STOP EVENTUALLY WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND CHANGING GEARS. I TOOK THE CAR STRAIGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP, PER INSTRUCTIONS FROM GM CUSTOMER SERVICE, BUT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET SATISFACTORY INFORMATION FROM EITHER THE SERVICE CENTER AT THE DEALERSHIP OR GM CUSTOMER SERVICE SO FAR. THE NEW IGNITION FAILED, CAUSING THE CAR TO TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING AND MY BRAKES TO FAIL. THIS CAUSED A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. THE RECALL FAILED TO CORRECT THE IGNITION PROBLEM FOR MY VEHICLE. *TR
I HAVE A 2004 ION WHILE DRIVING MY CAR I LOST POWER STEERING. THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART AND ONLY A FEW MILES FROM HOME. I ALWAYS HAVE MY DAUGHTER WITH ME AND SUPPOSE I AM NOT AS FORTUNATE NEXT TIME. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS AND LESSEN THE DEATHS GM HAS CAUSED BY ALLOWING PROBLEMS THEY KNEW OF TO REMAIN UNFIXED. MY ION HAS A RECALL FOR POWER STEERING LOSS WHICH SAYS IT CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME OR SPEED. THIS IS VERY SCATTER. SO HERE I AM WITH A CAR I AM AFRAID TO PUT MYSELF.IN LET ALONE MY CHILD. I HAD AN IGNITION SWITCH RECALL WHICH WAS FIXED. I AM REQUESTING A LOANER CAR UNTIL THE PART IS READY TO FIX MINE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, SHE ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE CLUTCH PEDAL BUT NOTICED THAT THE PEDAL HAD RAISED EIGHT INCHES FROM WHERE IT NORMALLY WAS, PREVENTING HER FROM SHIFTING GEARS. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY STALLED AND WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLUTCH PEDAL WAS FRACTURED. AS A RESULT, THE MASTER CYLINDER, SLAVE CYLINDER AND THE CLUTCH PEDAL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,362 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 79,810.
ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO IS WHEN I HAD MY FIRST PROBLEM WITH SPEED ACCELERATION WITH MY SATURN. I LEFT WORK AND TURNED ON MY CAR AND STARTED TO DRIVE AN HOUR TO GO HOME ALL THE SUDDEN MY CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AND I WASN'T PRESSING THE GAS. MY VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AND I HAD TO KEEP MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN AND IT WAS STILL ACCELERATING. I HAD TO PULL OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND POP MY CAR INTO NEUTRAL GOING APPROXIMATELY 70MPH. I SOMEHOW MANAGED TO GET HOME BUT MY CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT ME PRESSING ON THE GAS. WHEN I WOULD TURN THE VEHICLE ON WHILE IT WAS STILL IN PARK THE RPM'S WOULD GO CRAZY AS IF I HAD MY FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL. I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED MY AUTO SHOP WHO INDICATED THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL INCIDENTS SINCE THEN AND ENDED UP CRASHING EARLIER THIS YEAR. MY VEHICLE SPED UP ON A SNOWY ROAD AND I LOST COMPLETE STEERING FOR MY VEHICLE, I NEARLY ROLLED MY CAR AND CRASHED HEAD ON INTO A SNOW BANK. MY AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED, AFTER I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE COMPANY THEY WERE SURPRISED WITH THE AMOUNT OF FRONT END DAMAGE I HAD ON MY VEHICLE THAT MY AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED BUT THEY DID NOT. I KNOW OTHERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE ACCELERATING WITH NO APPLICATION OF THE GAS PETAL AND THE BRAKE PEDAL DOES LITTLE OR NOTHING TO STOP OR SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T STOP WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AND CAUSED THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000. UPDATED 5/20/14*CN UPDATED 06/17/14*MA UPDATED 8/7/17*CN
WE WERE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70MPH WHEN THE CAR STALLED OUT AND WE LOST POWER STEERING ABILITY. WE STARTED THE CAR AGAIN WHILE IT WAS IN MOTION AND IT CAUGHT BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN A FEW MORE MILES DOWN THE ROAD. SINCE OUR SATURN DEALERSHIP WAS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS, WE HAD A TRUSTED MECHANIC TAKE CARE OF IT NOT KNOWING THERE WERE ISSUES. I RESEARCHED THREE RECALL NOTIFICATIONS FROM SATURN. ONE INVOLVED THE LEFT TURN SIGNAL WHICH WE HAD TO HAVE FIXED TWICE WITH A HARNESS AND BULB REPLACEMENT IN ON 2/5/05 AND AGAIN ON 10/24/05. ANOTHER WAS A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH REPLACEMENT ALSO ON 10/24/05. AND THEN THE THIRD WAS THE FAULTY ELECTRIC POWER STEERING WHICH AS YOU KNOW WE HAD REPAIRED ON 10/4/12. I CONTACTED GM ABOUT A REIMBURSEMENT AND THEY SAID NO BECAUSE WE WERE PAST 10 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES, AND THAT THE REIMBURSEMENT FORM MUST BE RECEIVED BY 8/31/11. MY QUESTION TO GM IS, HOW CAN YOU PUT A LIMIT ON SOMETHING THAT WAS FAULTY FROM THE BEGINNING? THE NEW IGNITION AND INJECTORS IN MARCH 2010 ($758.94) AND THE NEW STARTER IN AUGUST 2011 ($324) AFTER HAVING RELATED PROBLEMS/REPAIRS DUE TO THE RECALL IN OCT 2005 SHOW THAT SOMETHING JUST WASN'T RIGHT IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THIS MODEL. AND THE POWER STEERING MOTOR REPLACEMENT ($177) IN OCT 2012 SHOULD ALSO BE REIMBURSED BECAUSE GM ALREADY ADMITTED IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE MODEL YEAR SO REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE HAD 10,000 MILES OR 160,000 MILES, IT WAS FAULTY. NOW WE LEARN THAT THEY KNEW THESE WERE PROBLEMS ALL ALONG AND DID NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEM. WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME IS THAT I INQUIRED ABOUT ALL OF THIS WITH THEM IN DECEMBER 2012 - THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE "A NEW GM" DIFFERENT FROM THE COMPANY BACK IN 2001? IF THEY WERE DIFFERENT WHY DID THEY REFUSE TO REIMBURSE ME THE $2,177 WE SPENT IN REPAIRS, OR ADMIT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL? IS IT BECAUSE WE DID NOT DIE IN AN ACCIDENT? *TR
I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT 65 MPH AND THE POWER STEERING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE STEERING WHEEL CLICKED AND BECAME STIFF. THERE WAS NO PRIOR INDICATION THAT ANYTHING WAS WRONG. I COULD NO LONGER TURN RIGHT AND LEFT TURNS WERE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. THE BRAKES STARTED HAVING TROUBLE AS WELL. I ALMOST GOT IN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE RIGHT SIDE WAS NOT WORKING. THEN WHEN I MADE IT TO A SPOT AND TURNED THE CAR ON AND OFF IT WAS WORKING AGAIN. THEN ABOUT 30 MIN LATER IT DID THE SAME THING AGAIN. I HAD SOME CHECK THE FLUID AND IT WAS FINE AND SO WAS THE BELT. ALSO, MY LEFT INDICATOR WILL NOT WORK. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER AND SEVERAL MECHANICS AND IT KEEPS MELTING THE SOCKET. *TR
EXCESSIVE BRAKE CHATTER IN FRONT BRAKES WHEN WET FROM A HARD RAIN OR RAIN PUDDLES. HARD TO STEER CAR, CAR SHUDDERS. *TR
ROTORS ON 2004 SATURN ION BRAKES ARE PREMATURELY RUSTING PRIOR TO NORMAL ROTOR WEAR AND TEAR AND SHOULD BE REPLACED BY THE MANUFACTURER AT NO COST TO CONSUMER DUE TO THEIR OBVIOUS VERY POOR QUALLITY.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SATURN ION 2. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO TURN THE WHEEL AND IT LOCKED. THE BRAKES FAILED AND THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A POLE. THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, BUT THE DRIVER WAS INJURED. SATURN STATED THAT THE VEHICLE IS NOT A DEFECT. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 45,326.
DT: THE CONTACT STATES THAT WHILE IN REVERSE THE BRAKES MAKE A LOUD NOISE, THE BRAKES ARE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. WHILE DRIVING FORWARD THE BRAKES DO NOT FUNCTION, BUT DO NOT MAKE ANY NOISE. *AK THERE WAS A SHIMMY AT 60- 65 MPH AND THERE WAS NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END. THE SWAY BAR LINKS AND BUSHINGS WERE REPLACED. *SC *JB
2004 SATURN ION EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKE EQUIPMENT.*MR *NM
THERE WOULD BE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WOULD GO TO THE FLOOR. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKES. WHILE DRIVING, THE BRAKES WOULD MAKE A CLICKING NOISE AND WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE THERE WAS A PULSING WHICH WOULD MAKE IT HARD TO KEEP THE VEHICLE IN LINE. THE BRAKES WERE USELESS. OWNER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *NM
VEHICLE VIBRATED/SHOOK DURING BRAKING. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO NOTICED RUST ON THE LEFT ROTOR, WHICH WAS TURNED, AND BOTH REAR BRAKES WERE CLEANED AND READJUSTED. *AK
RECEIVED FIRST SATURN ION 04 AND WITHIN ONE WEEK OF PURCHASE CAR WAS DISPLAYING CLEAR SIGNS OF EITHER AN ELECTRICAL OR COMPUTER PROBLEM. WAS REPLACED WITH A SECOND ION O4. NOTICED A STRANGE CLUNKING SOUND. BROUGHT CAR IN AT 3600 MILES, AND IT WAS TRANSMISSION MOUNTS, WHEEL BEARINGS, AXELS, AND BREAK ROTORS. CAR WAS RETURNED WITH A BROKEN PIECE IN THE INTERIOR, AND SMELLING OF BURNING PLASTIC. I BELIEVE THAT THIS CAR IS DEFECTIVE, AND SATURN REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN MAKE REPAIRS UNDER WARRANTY. I THINK THAT I SHOULD BE ISSUED A REFUND, DUE TO FAULTY CONSTRUCTION. *NM
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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