Door would not open from the inside, or the outside. Almost impossible for a person with chf and knee issues to exit. Not to mention, if there was an accident.
Saturn Ion door locks problems
36 of the 4,344 owner complaints about the Saturn Ion describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 36
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical mileage
- 77,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Won't start 5Stalling 1Power steering loss 1Misfire 1Loss of power 1Key fob 1Headlights 1Fuel pump 1
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 saturn ion. The contact stated that the key would fail to release from the ignition when the vehicle was turned off. The contact also stated that sometimes when clicking the door lock switch on and off, when straightening the steering wheel or depressing the brake pedal, the key would release from the ignition switch. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,368.
The drivers door will not open. Appears the latch is broken
When you turn the ignition key to the off position sometimes you can not remove the key and when you can not remove the key you can not open the doors because it has automatic door locks when you put the car in gear to move. When this happens you must restart the car until the ignition releases the key, which puts undo wear and tear on the starter and system. I have taken it to a shop three times to have it repaired but they say they can not find any problem. So they kept the car a week to try to find the problem. I just learned that the shop I am taking it to has all the appearance of a dealership but they are not a dealership.
I have to have the electrical computer replaced - the car drops to 1st gear and doesn't move up, the door locks lock then unlock and continue to do that, the engine light comes on, the power steering alarm comes on (but I don't lose power steering) and the speedometer stops working! This happens while driving with no notice except the door locks start first them the other issues happen simultaneously.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 saturn ion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the instrument panel and automatic door locks failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,000.
I just bought a 2003 saturn ion 2 and the door locks "all of them" lock and unlock on their own. When I get out of the car and time passes by , "I don't know how much time has to pass between that triggers the doors to unlock but each time I go back to the car all doors have unlocked themselves..... " ". I believe this problem can possibly turn into a deadly issue regarding the life of a consumer and or others " " in the event of an accident who knows if the doors will unlock or open ? I believe that the doors may do just the opposite that the doors may remain locked preventing anyone from being able to get out of the vehicle in the event of fire< accident< or an other emergency.
While driving in pre-dawn hours (headlights & defrosters on), started smelling something melting or burning. Then instrument panel lights went out for a few seconds. Instrument panel lights then came back on & started flashing on & off really fast. At that same time, door locks started locking & unlocking repeatedly on their own. Burning & melting smell was getting stronger. As I was pulling over, I entered a more well-lit area and saw smoke accumulating inside car near roof & top of windshield. Shut car off immediately.
Saturn ion ignition switch has been replaced twice & my car still does the key sticks, doors won't unlock but now after dealer did work the air bags off and misfire #3 cylinder & shifter loose & shifter handle jiggles out of place. Timeline: may 7 2014 ordered ignition switch mark christopher chevrolet may 18 key stuck ignition doors wouldn't unlock - finally able pull key out but car was still running without key towed to mcc car not safe to drive, may 19 4:35pm received call from service manager stating car is there & part still back ordered. From may 19 2014 until july 27 they had my car. But june 4th stopped by dealership after receiving a parking ticket on my plate #. The dealership told me my car was never towed to them. . Following day they called said it was there. I kept calling for updates over next 2 months no one called me back that was because service writer quit & my paperwork car etc was lost again. My car is in worse condition now . I'm perplexed at situation that gm allows dealerships give customer car was allegedly repaired back in worse condition where is the moral compass I really feel unsafe & scared I may cause an accident & hurt some innocent person because of my car not being fixed properly. Mcc has acknowledged car isn't fixed right they backordered shifter because they say that's the new problem stemming from ignition switch recall.... It's been painful and tiring struggle plus my car is worth nothing now 7502.00 3 months ago kelly blue book.... Now they won't even give me 3000.00 I'm almost ready to give up & just take the loss of money because they don't care about me, you or anyone on the road ... Having a congressional investigation did nothing but insight the dealerships to become rude & accuse customers of "wanting 10years cars fixed for free" quote from the service manager at mcc. Very condescending & disrespectful.
When my car first started cutting itself off while driving on the interstate or roads, r when turning key to turn car off, the key wouldn't turn car off. You can remove the key but car is still on. The doors will not unlock till the starter switch locks itself into off. You can put car into park and key will not turn off. I strongly feel that this goes along with the problem of the key turning car off while you are driving. That recall was done but we still have the problem of not being able to turn car off with the key. If you remove the key car is still on, this is a problem as sometimes you can not sit there waiting on car to shut off and this worries me as to safety.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Saturn Ion door locks
Which Saturn Ion years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (16 complaints), 2004 (7 complaints) and 2003 (6 complaints).
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