On june 22nd while pulling into a parking lot the pwr steering warning came on my dash cluster after this came on I lost power steering and it took great effort to turn the steering wheel. I ck for a broken belt or fluid leak but found neither. After returning to my car and restarting my car the warning light went off and the power steering went back to normal. The problem didn't occur for about 1 week so I thought it was a one time thing. Then my wife was driving the car and the light came on again and the power steering failed, she was barely able to get the car off the road. She called me and I had her shut off the car and restart it. Again the problem went away and she was able to drive home. Since this time the problem has occurred over and over. At high speeds low speeds, and while turning. I called saturn complaint line 1‑800‑972‑8876 and talked to tarcaria and was told there was no recalls on this problem and was given the address and number to a local dealer who could assist me with the problem. I went to the dealership and talked to the service manager and parts department and was told there was told that the electric steering motor would have to be replaced at an estimated cost of $400.00 parts and labor. I was also told that there were recalls on this problem on other gm products (chevy cobalt) that used the same type of steering as my saturn ion but my 2006 saturn ion was not on this list, but it could be added later. If this problem occurs with someone who does not have upper body strength it could lead to accident.
2006 Saturn Ion steering complaints
Page 13 of 19: complaints 341 to 370 of 544, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Have a 2006 saturn ion, it has less than 50,000 miles and I've had 2 different problems with the steering column. The first problem was 2 years ago and I could not get the ignition to turn off, took it to the saturn dealership and was fixed under warranty. Now the problem is the power steering is going out and I have to replace the whole steering column to get this fixed. I have read that there are multiple people with the same problem. Called the saturn dealership and there are other recalls concerning this car, but not for this problem.
While driving, my 2006 saturn ion2's power steering shuts off. This car has an electric assist steering motor vs. A power steering pump. During normal driving conditions, the power steering will shut down making it very hard to steer. If you turn the car off, then back on, the motor will reset itself for a while before shutting down again. This same motor has been recalled by gm on different gm cars, but not the saturns as of yet. I have an appointment this week to look at it. I have been dealing with this problem for three weeks now. Mostly driving straight has posed limited danger, however, the other day I was on the highway on a curve when it shut down on me which caused me to drift into oncoming traffic. It's very scary and I have little confidence in my car at the moment, but I have to get to work.
Steering assist shut down while in a turn causing car to momentarily enter lane with oncoming traffic.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. While driving at 55 MPH, the power steering light illuminated and the power steering wheel became very difficult to steer. The contact was able to pull over and shut off the vehicle. When restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation and the warning light was no longer illuminated. The dealer advised the power steering motor potentially would need to be replaced but advised having a diagnostic performed on the vehicle to determine the exact cause of the failure. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated the failure occurred three additional times. The failure mileage was 53,445 and the current mileage was 53,465.
Power steering went out in my 2006 saturn ion today while driving on the interstate. No recall has been made on this as of now, but after researching this is a major problem happening to many people besides myself. I hope this gets taken care of before someone gets hurt if that has not already happened. The power steering resets when the car gets turned off.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact stated the vehicle has no power steering assist capability. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The contact believed the failure to be a major safety issue and that the manufacturer should take the liability for the failure. The failure and current mileages were 45,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. While driving at 10 MPH, the power steering light illuminated as the steering wheel locked and became extremely difficult to steer. The contact shut off the vehicle and when restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 101,103 and the current mileage was 101,216.
I was driving home from school in my 2006 saturn ion when the power steering went out. I have a lot of curves on my way home and take a u turn to get home. It took a lot of strength to do but I managed to get home. When I was home I asked a friend to go out and take a look at the car. They figured that it just needed some power steering fluid. When we went out and looked under the hood of the car we couldn't find any place to put in some power steering fluid. Then he turned on the car and the dash board didn't say that there was any problem with the power steering. We went on line to find out that there is no place to put in power steering fluid. It is controlled by a motor in the steering column. This was upsetting to learn because I have already had problems with the steering column before when my key was stuck in the ignition and my car wouldn't turn off. I'm pretty sure that they had to replace the steering column then, but that was under a recall. Now my power steering goes out about every day to every other day. I have to stop and turn my car off and then start it up again so that I can have power steering.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact was driving approximately 25 MPH, attempting to make a turn into a parking lot when suddenly, there was a loss of power steering. The power steering warning light illuminated after the power steering failed. The contact immediately shut the engine off and parked the vehicle. The contact stated that there was a related recall for the 2007 model year saturn ion. The contact was concerned about the safety risk involved. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
Power steering failure in 2006 saturn ion 3 with 56000 miles.
Power steering clicks and shuts off multiple times during any given drive. Turning the car off and on only "fixes" the problem for a short time. When power steering shuts off, car very hard to steer.
The power steering in my saturn 2006 ion light comes on. After the light comes on, the power steering fails and I need to shut the car off and back on again in order to correct the problem. It happened on june 30th 3 times, july 1st 1-2 times and july 3rd 1-2 times. I had to get the power steering motor replaced in order to fix the problem. I found out that gm is recalling certain cars for the same exact problem and that the same parts in the cars they are recalling is in the saturn. The saturn ion's should be included in the recall as well.
I was driving home at lunch from work which is approx. 10 mins. When turning on to a main road which is considered a state highway my powersteering light went on and I lost power steering and I almost lost control of my car. I researched this and found this is a known problem for my car. There has been reports of the electrical power steering and failing and there is no recall. However,this is the same problem with the chevy cobalt which does have recalls on.
2006 saturn ion. Problem: complete loss of power steering while car is running and traveling at various speeds (including while traveling at highway speed). Once engine is shut off and restarted power steering works. In the last three days this has happened 6 to 8 times. I checked the fuse and it was fine. I checked on-line and also saw numerous similar complaints. Most recent date of incident is listed below.
Have a power steering is cutting out when I was driving in a ramp, steering wheel is too hard to turn. Have a error code "pwr str" in front panel too fix problem just turn off the car and start car again but the problem come back again the car is a saturn ion 2006 (48000 miles) . The dealer said that I need to replace the steering column aprox 900 usd.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact was driving at 45 MPH when the power steering warning light illuminated. The steering wheel became extremely difficult to steer but the contact was able to drive to his destination without incident. The failure persisted intermittently. The vehicle was diagnosed at a local repair facility where they were unable to produce any diagnostic codes. The mechanic replaced the power steering motor with the expectation of correcting the failure. The failure did not recur. The failure and current mileage was 51,000.
Power steering went out on my 2006 saturn ion. Had to have it fixed and the dealer told me they have other lines with the same problem. I saw the other gm models power steering is going out. We need to have this model added to their list. I also killed myself and my children when it went out. I feel gm needs to acknowledge this problem before someone does get killed. Because I would sue the heck out of them or my family members.
I purchased a 2006 saturn ion in june of 2010, the powersteering light was on and the car was very hard to turn, the dealership told me that it was low on powersteering fluid, in checking I found that the saturn ion had electric powersteering and that the powersteering motor needed to be replaced, the dealership replaced the motor and the powersteering in my 2006 saturn ion still fails to work, the car can not turn without using extreme force, now I have to take it back to a service dealer (which is at closest 350 miles) with no powersteering and pump more money into the problem. This is highly dangerous to drive, if there were an emergency and the car needed to turn quickly it would not happen, your almost can't turn into a parking stall at the store or even turn onto another street, it takes both hands and plenty of muscle to turn the car, the safety of all who are in the car is at risk, I can't understand why saturn hasn't issued a recall for this problem. In checking on line I found that this is a real problem with the saturn ion and there are many many more complaints about it, I also found that the chev. Cobalt had the same problem and there was a recall on it, so what is the difference between the saturn and the cobalt. This is an issue going through alot of saturn owners and it needs to be addressed now!!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. While driving at 15 MPH, the power steering light illuminated. The steering wheel then became extremely stiff and locked. The contact was able to park the vehicle using extreme bodily force. The dealer advised that the steering column would need to be replaced without performing a diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 47,841.
I have a saturn ion 2006 and randomly my power steering goes out. If I restart my car it comes back on but will eventually happen again. It is rare that it happens in the morning hours. My car model is all electric, no power steering fluid. I figure it isn't a fuse bc it works when it wants to. The cobalt has the same recall out, yet saturn has yet to issue one. I fear they are hoping not to fix this while they are still around as I hear they will be no longer in a year or 2.
2006 saturn ion loss of power steering. Both my self and my sisters car has had to have the entire power steering column replaced at a cost of over $1000.00 after reading the internet this is a problem with a lot of saturn owners all the way back to 2003. This situation almost killed myself and my two children when the power steering went out doing 65 miles per hour on the interstate.
The steering on saturn ion 3, 2006 loses power during the regular operation. The car has to be steered clear of traffic (requires a great amount of force from the driver). It needs a restart, upon which the power steering works for about 15 mins and the steering power goes out again. I am having to replace all of my steering column for a correction of this problem and my warranty is expired and I will have to pay out of my pocket.
I have a 2006 saturn ion, and the electric power steering has been failing for approximately 3 month. The failures started with no prior problems with the car since I bought the car as the 2nd owner in 2008. The problems started when the vehicle had approximately 57,000 miles. The electric steering will work some day for a couple of miles, and there are days that it fails as soon as the vehicle is started. I am able to correct the failure by turning off the car and restarting the vehicle, however, the electric steering goes out again anywhere from a few blocks to a few miles later. My wife has almost crashed several times due to the failures. I have checked the fuses, and everything appears in working order, but I don't have the 1200 dollars to replace the entire steering column.
When driving... Not necessarily turning at all.. Pwr str comes up on the display with the chime and the power steering quits working. Must restart car to make it work again. Seems to happen more often when weather is hot...may just be a coincidence. Happens sometimes 3 times a day (within an hour) , sometimes not for a week. Power steering system and motor were replaced at dealership. Don't know if they kept the defective part. Car has less than 30k miles on it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact stated when starting the vehicle and driving, the power steering would fail within two traveled miles. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the mechanic advised replacing the entire steering column. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were approximately 39,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact stated that he had been experiencing a recurring failure with the ignition switch. The key would intermittently become stuck in the ignition switch and the vehicle would not turn off without repeated attempts at removing the key. The contact also stated that during the winter the vehicle intermittently would not start without repeated attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was in the process of being inspected at the time of the complaint. The contact also stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH and attempting to make a turn, the steering wheel locked and a power steering service light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle; upon restart, the vehicle functioned normal. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The failure continued to occur and the vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer where an unknown service was performed on the vehicle. The failure had not occurred since the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. The current mileage was approximately 71,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion . While driving at 45 MPH, the power steering warning light illuminated and the power steering failed. The contact moved the vehicle off the roadway and after several minutes, the power steering reset itself. The contact had experienced the failure approximately thirty times. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was able to secure an appointment with the dealer for repairs. The failure mileage was 35,876 and the current mileage as 35,102.
Power steering failure.
2006 saturn ion, VIN [xxx] , electronic power steering (eps) failed while driving. Steering requires excessive force. Safety issue. Eps failure is intermittent. Dealership service department has indicated that recently 1.3 million 2005 cobalts were recalled for the very same problem. The dealership service advisor informed us that they anticipate a similar recall on 2006 models that have similar eps configurations. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
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