Car will not start below 35 degrees and will also stall at any moment due to imobilizer activating. After 10 minutes the car will start again when the security system has reset. Problem is in the grease in the ignition system of my car. It is a 2004 saturn ion. Car runs fine until it gets cold out and then the problem returns. Very dangerous during driving if it occurs.
2004 Saturn Ion electrical complaints
Page 11 of 12: complaints 281 to 310 of 331, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When the weather reaches freezing and car has been left off for about 6 to 8 hours it will not start again. I had the problem two years ago and saturn replaced the starter on the car and now the problem is back again this winter. I have checked several sites and this appears to be a big problem that should be address. Replacing the starter every other winter is not an acceptable solution.
My car will not start when it drops below 32 degrees. I've done the research, and it appears that this is a nationwide problem with my car. Apparently, there is a problem with the ignition switch. I am hoping that a recall is made since this is a recurring problem with potential to do harm (think: being stranded in sub-freezing temperatures.) .
'04 saturn ion fails to start in cold weather. Security system prevents starting. Must warm key/ignition, and after 15 minutes car may start.
I live in minnesota. I purchased a new 2004 saturn ion coupe, with only 84 miles and drove off the show room floor. I had numerous problems with the car starting in cold weather. I took the car to a saturn dealership once it started , and they said it was the pass lock system in the car. The saturn has continued to do the same thing over the last couple winters. This past winter it was extremely bad. 2 out of 7 days the car wouldn't start right away ,but then I would try again in 20 minutes and it would start. I took the saturn remote controls off the key chain thinking it was the problem. But it wasn't . Also, I had the battery tested and it was fine. There needs to be a recall on this vehicle. Can someone please help. It seemed many were having the same complaints. This almost cost me a pay raise. Too many absences at my job will eliminate me.
At the begining of may I took the car into the dealer because I could remove the key from the ignition while the car was still on. They replaced the ignition lock cylnder. I thought all was well. *ak on may,29 2007, I was taking my wife out to dinner for her birthday. When I parked the car I tried to turn the car off and found out that I could not pull the key out nor could I turn the car off. I called saturn and was told to try to disconnect the battery to turn off the car. This did not work. I instead had to remove the cars fuse for the fuel relay pump. I took the car into the shop the next morning. After sitting at the dealer for over 4 hours I was told the anti theft device and ignition column couldnt be reprogramed because the computer had gone out. I ended up buying a new car.
My 2004 saturn ion occasionally will not start (will not crank). The battery is in good condition and a good state of charge. In general the problem is "cured" by waiting 10 minutes or so, and trying to start it again. Then it might be several weeks of months before the problem occurs again.
2004 saturn ion - failure to start during very cold weather. Car would not start on separate occasions, in employer's garage, and also in shopping center parking lot. When I called the dealer service department, they knew all about the problem and said it was my starter which will cost over $150 to repair.
Saturn 2004 ion 3 if I have the wipers and heat or A/C on at the same time as the radio the radio LED lights go out when the car is moving and I am not able to read the time or radio station on the radio. If I turn the wipers off the LED lights come back on. Visibility problem causes driver to take vision off road longer-no specific accident has occurred but numerous close calls have occurred as a result of what apparently is a flaw. I have taken it to the dealership numerous times and the salesman and the general manage both said that is not right but the service manage tried to tell me that is normal operating condition. A saturn management review team person from saturn corp. Said in a letter to me "your retail service team leader has reviewed my concern and determined that the condition is a normal characteristic of the vehicle. Since your vehicle is functioning within design specifications, we ask that you accept the diagnosis given at the time of this review." in other words they either do not want to fix the problem or don't know how to. This problem started happening after the turn signal/drl safety recall when they installed a drl jumper kit.
My 2004 saturn ion ii would not start in cold weather. It happened after the vehicle sat overnight and the dealership told me to replace the battery, which did not solve the problem. After several months of this occurring the dealership told me that the ignition switch was bad and they had been seeing this on many vehicles of the same model. I had to pay for the part to be replaced, even though according to the dealership, this is an ongoing problem with this type of vehicle.
Recently I experienced a problem with my car failing to start. I was advised by the mechanic that saturn issued a technical service bulletin addressing this issue. The reference numbers is 04-08-45-005c, date of issue december 4, 2006 affecting 2003-2006 saturn ions built up to and including VIN breakpoint 6z147837. I was told by the mechanic that my car had both diagnostic trouble codes listed in this bulletin.
In cold weather (usually below freezing), the 2004 saturn ion 2 will not start. The car will go into a passive lock situation upon initial attempts to start it, then will not allow another attempt to start for around 10 minutes. Occasionally will not start even after waiting 10 minutes. The dealer will charge around $300.00 to replace the ignition switch, which is the cause of the lock out.
The ignition switch freezes up when it is cold outside. Had to get the car jump started when it was -10 degrees outside. Saturn says the only way to fix the problem is to replace the switch. According to the dealing near me, there was about 70 cars that had the exact same problem last week when it was really cold.
Saturn ion will not start due to cold issues and is caused by an issue in the starting mechanism. Something about there being a security feature that cuts the car off from starting. Car leaves you pretty much stranded in the bitter cold when it will not start.
When very cold, car will not crank or start- passlock security becomes enabled.
On 4 occasions now, when I leave work at around midnight in frigid weather, I attempt to start my 2004 saturn ion (manufactured in late 2003), and the starter will turn over approximately 1 or 2 revolutions, then stop. Immediate subsequent attempts to start simply result in the "click" of the ignition switch. If I wait about 5 to 10 minutes, it will turn over once or twice again, one time, then I must wait another 5-10 minutes before the starter will turn over again. According to a website I was reading, this is a common problem, and is usually due to a defect in the ignition pass lock switch, an antitheft system designed to cut off fuel supply, and some sort of grease that freezes. So far, jump-starts seem to help...but according to that website, simply attempting start, waiting 10 minutes, attempting again, waiting for 10 minutes, and trying again, eventually will start the car. Perhaps the time it takes to connect jumper cables is enough to "reset" this pass-lock system.
I bought a 2004 saturn ion from the dealer in 2004. In the cold weather, 30 degrees and lower, if the car sits it will not start. This has happened to me 4 times, last week I got stranded at work at 2:00 am with a car that would not start. The engine turns over one time but does not start. I did a lot of research on this and it looks like ignition switch grease hardens and saturn knows about it and even changed the ignition switch assembly but for the thousands of us that own cars before this change are left out in the cold!
Numerous no-start conditions associated with faulty ignition switch 2004 saturn ion with 49,000 miles. If current ignition switch replaced it will be the third since car was new. Anytime vehicle is exposed to 32 deg. Or less temperature for more than a few hours ignition switch faults and engages anti-theft system. Usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to ?? To get vehicle started. Being in upstate ny where temps and weather push the extremes possibility of vehicle leaving someone stranded is imminent. I cannot rely on this vehicle during cold weather months. I have researched issue on internet and found numerous complaints for saturn ion with same exact problem. Saturn needs to re-design and repair all associated vehicles ignition switches.
Tl*- the contact stated that the 2004 saturn ion did not crank or start when the outside temperature was below 35 degrees. The contact called the dealership, and they stated that the passlock switch would need to be replaced. The failure with the vehiclewas a common problem with the 2004 saturn ion. The failure mileage was 36000 and the current mileage was 42000.
I own a 2004 saturn ion 3. I purchased this feb, 2006. December of 2006 my car failed to start. I called for help and by the time it arrived, the car started on its own. On feb 7th, 2007, the car failed to start again. It did not seem like a battery failure. I found the tsb 040845005 online. I called corporate saturn customer service and they "logged my complaint". They were not very helpful and simply directed me to call the local dealer. I called the local dealership service manager and explained the situation. I took the car in and they ran diagnostics. The issue was indeed the same issue in the tsb, which is ignition switch failure. Because they need to replace the ignition switch, they also need to reset the passlock. I was told that this would cost me $291.00. I was also told that they could not give me any kind of a break on the cost of replacement as those type of decisions were made on a case by case basis and per the service manager "you have over 40,000 miles on the car" (I have 30,700 and have owned the car just short of 12 months), so they cannot provide me with any assistance. I am very disappointed in this as saturns are supposed to be reliable and this is a known part failure.
2004 ion ii intermittently won't start - makes a short cranking sound and then - nothing. After waiting for a while (20-30 minutes or s) it will turn over - especially in cold weather - had the same problem last year and was sold a new starter by the dealership. A month later I had a starting problem again, but it did not repeat until today.
Car wouldn't start numerous (cold) mornings, no way to get to work. Eventually, later in the day the car would start. Called saturn dealer they told me to bring it in, I dropped it off; they called later to tell me it was my passlock sensor. In the meantime I check online and find a huge message board with tons of other people who have had the same problem. I talk to the service technician about it and he tells me that they have had this problem with the ion, but that it was decided that it wasn't serious enough for a recall. Of course it's not life threatening but it's still a defective part!! I also talked to the service manager who explained to me that it was a known problem with the ion but that I was now way past my warranty anyway. I don't care if I have 6 miles, 6,000 miles, 60,000 miles or 600,000 miles on the car this part should be replaced by saturn at no charge. It is a known problem, why make the consumer pay for it?! The part was replaced and I paid for it because I didn't have a choice at the time, I need a vehicle for work. If this doesn't get resolved and/or I don't get a refund from saturn, this will be the last vehicle I buy from them. That is a guarantee!
2004 saturn ion, refuses to start in cold weather - mainly after an overnight park in sub-freezing temperatures...wait 10 minutes, and it starts.
My 2004 saturn ion coupe never starts in the cold. It has become such a headache I warm a towel in the morning put it on the engine before I start it. I get such a migraine wondering what is going on with my car. I called saturn they said it was a theft device and maybe someone tried to steal my car or gas. Crazy!!!!!!!!!!
Vehicle randomly won't start. More frequently during cold and/or damp weather, but not always. Vehicle will either do absolutely nothing or start to crank and stop or after repetitive tries, start and run very rough then cut out. I have lost count of the number of times this has occurred to me. In most cases I have left the disabled vehicle sitting for a day and tried again the following day to have it either start up like nothing ever happened or start, run rough and eventually smooth out. Many of these incidents have occurred in my driveway and just caused me to be late for work and inconvenienced. Twice it has left me stuck at work scrambling to find someone to pick my children up from day care. And tonight it left me stranded in the cold during the midst of an ice-storm at 11 pm...and again, late for work. These are not old vehicles experiencing this problem and after reading the vast complaints, it is certainly not an isolated problem. Something needs to be done, the consumer should not have to pay for an obvious manufacturer defect. I will be contacting saturn in the morning to attempt getting it repaired.
I have a 2004 saturn ion. I purchased it in july of 04. It now has 73,000 miles on it & just startedto have this problem. On very cold mornings (15-25 dgrees) it will not start. After trying to start it after 15-30 minutes (or tryin to jump it off) it finally cranks. Now I have researched this problem on the web (where I got this website) & numerous saturn owners are having this same problem. Apparently it is the bcm (body control module). It is around $600 to replace this. Why should the owners have to pay this if its a part that should be clearly recalled! Its saturns fault, make them pay the money. Not single mothers such as myself!
My 2004 ion has the intermittent starting issue as well. It first happened when the car had 42000 miles (currently at 80000). The display on the dash reads "service engine" and turning the key results in nothing. Repeat attempts in 10 minute increments usually fixes it right up, after 2 or 3 tries. Saturn should really be held accountable as this seems to be the rule more so than the exception with these ions.
Tried to start car nothing, service vehicle light comes on. Replaced battery and next day same thing no start. After waiting 10-15 minutes car starts like nothing ever wrong . Called dealer told its going to cost $175 for new switch.
I went to start my car 12-4-06 at 6 am car would not turn over. Later that day at 9:45 am car did turn over. Called car dealer and spoke to head of service department he said that since car was started problem might not show up on diagnostic. On 12-5-2006 same thing happens again in the morning car will not turn over. Had the car towed in and sat the for a few hours to find out that it was an ignition switch.(in there words the grease that is inside gels up in very cold weather and does not male contact to turn the car on. I feel that a dissevice is being done to anyone that owns a saturn ion. That this is a problem that they are running into a lot , but we the consumers are having to deal with it. If your car does not start and you get stranded that is a safety issue to me.
Car won't start in cold weather. Won't even turn on, then will and shuts right off.
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