2003 Saturn Ion Lighting Problems

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING INSPECTED AT THE DEALER, THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED THAT THE TURN SIGNALS FAILED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 04V547000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING), BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 167,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURN SIGNALS WERE DEFECTIVE AND WERE INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH PROVED A DEFECTIVE BODY CONTROL MODULE THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT DID NOT HAVE THE BODY CONTROL MODULE REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER TO HAVE HER VEHICLE REPAIRED ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 04V547000. SHE WAS INFORMED THAT HER VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, BUT IT COULD NOT BE REPAIRED BECAUSE THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 126,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SATURN ION. WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS OF 40 MPH, THE BRAKE LIGHTS FAILED. THE CONTACT WAS STOPPED BY A POLICE OFFICER DUE TO THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE WOULD OCCUR INTERMITTENTLY. THE CONTACT BELIEVED NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 05V245000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING: BRAKE LIGHTS) CONTRIBUTED TO THE FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE. A COMPLAINT WAS FILED WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND THERE WERE NO REPAIRS MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 80,000.

I WAS DROVE MY CAR HOME ONE NIGHT AND THE HEADLIGHTS WERE WORKING FINE. I WENT IN THE HOUSE CHANGED AND GOT READY TO LEAVE AGAIN WHEN I TURNED ON MY HEADLIGHTS THEY DID NOT COME ON. THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS THE BULBS THAT WENT OUT BUT THE BRIGHT LIGHTS WORKED. HAD THE BULBS CHECK THEY WERE FINE, I ALSO CHECKED THE FUSES TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS BURNT OUT. AFTER A WEEK THE LIGHTS STILL WERE NOT WORKING TOOK IT TO A CAR MECHANIC AND THE ANALYSIS SHOWED SOME SENSOR. HE REPLACED THE SENSOR AND IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM MY LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE STILL NOT WORKING. *TR

I PURCHASED THIS CAR FROM SATURN OF BELLEVUE (WA) IN OCTOBER OF 2005. I AM EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM WITH MY PASSENGER SIDE FRONT BLINKER. IT DOES NOT OPERATE. MY BACK ONE FLASHES QUICKLY. IT IS NOT THE BULB. WHEN I TOOK APART THE HEADLIGHT TO LOOK AT IT, IT STARTED WORKING. SEEMED LIKE A LOOSE CONNECTION. THAT WAS A TEMPORARY FIX, NOW THE PROBLEM IS BACK AGAIN. I FOUND A RECALL CAMPAIGN ABOUT THIS ISSUE. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 04V547000. I AM THOROUGHLY DISGUSTED THAT SATURN EXPECTS ITS CUSTOMERS TO PAY $92 FOR A DIAGNOSTIC ON A RECALL ISSUE. IT SEEMS QUITE OBVIOUS THAT THE RECALL WORK WAS NOT DONE PROPERLY. *NM

FRONT RIGHT TURN SIGNAL BULB 'BRIGHT' / 'HIGH' ELMENT BURNED OUT. BULB WAS OEM WAGNER 5702KA. BULB BASE WAS BLACKED, HAD SIGNS OF OVERHEATING. BOTH LEFT AND FRONT HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY OUTER LENSES HAVE CHANGED FROM CLEAR TO TRANSLUCENT IMEDIATELY ABOVE TURN SIGNAL BULBS, PERHAPS DUE TO OVERHEATEING. DEALER SAID A PROBLEM WAS DISCOVERED AND FIXED IN THE LATER 2003 IONS. DEALER OFFERED TO DIAGNOSE AND INSTALL A 'RESISTOR AND HARNESS' KIT AT MY EXPENCE. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN ERROR AND SHOULD BE FIXED AT SATURN'S EXPENCE. MAY BE A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD.*AK

THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE TURN SIGNAL LAMPS AND DAYTIME RUNNING LAMPS ON SATURN ION. *BF *SC

APPARENT ELECTRICAL PROBLEM HAS LED TO FAILURE OF LEFT FRONT TURN SIGNAL ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS. MANUFACTURER'S AUTHORIZED DEALERSHIPS HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR.*AK

VEHICLE WAS SERVICED 8 TIMES FOR PASSENGER FRONT SERVICE TURN SIGNAL LIGHT. THE BULB WAS REPLACED, MANUFACTURER SENT A REPRESENTATIVE TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE AND NOTHING WAS FOUND.*AK

THE FRONT LEFT LIGHT OF MY 2003 SATURN ION HAS GONE OUT REPEATEDLY. UPON CAREFUL INSPECTION, THE BULB ITSELF IS NOT BURNT OUT. WHEN SIGNALING LEFT, THE BLINKER IN THE VEHICLE AND THE LEFT TAIL LIGHT BLINK VERY RAPIDLY. AS THE FRONT LEFT TURN SIGNAL LIGHT IS ALSO THE DAYTIME RUNNING LGHT, I HAVE A BURNT OUT LEFT DAYTIME RUNNUNG LIGHT WHICH IS A POSSIBLE SAFTEY HAZARD. THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT IN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES. THE FIRST TWO TIMES I WAS TOLD THAT THE BULB WAS DEFECTIVE AND THAT THEY HAD JUST REPLACED IT. I KNOW THIS IS NOT TRUE AS I TRIED TO TROUBLESHOOT THE VEHICLE BEFORE BRINGING IT TO THE DEALER BY TAKING THE RIGHT "GOOD" BULD AND SEEING IF IT WOULD TURN ON IN THE LEFT LIGHT ASSEMBLY. IT DID NOT. THE THIRD TIME I BROUGHT IT IN THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THEY WOULD JUST REPLACE THW WHOLE ASSEMBLY AS THEY HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THEM. AFTER FOUR MONTHS THE PROBLEM RE-APPEARED AND I ONCE MORE HAD TO BRING IT INTO THE DEALER. BEING THAT THE WARRANTY IS NOT EXPIRED, I HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. AS THIS SEEMS TO BE A REOCCOURING SAFTEY FAILURE, PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND ADVISE.

HEADLIGHTS DO NOT PROJECT A BEAM AS FAR AS WHEN VEHICLE WAS NEW. NIGHTIME DRIVING ON RURAL ROADS DURING DEER SEASON IS HAZARDOUS. SATURN DEALER HAS INSTALLED UPDATED WIRING HARNESS TO CORRECT REPEATED PREMATURE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT FAILURES AND COINCIDENTLY OR NOT, THE HEADLIGHTS HAVE PERFORMED POORLY SINCE THEN. DISCUSSED THIS WITH SATURN DEALER AND SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE HAS LOTS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT POOR HEADLIGHT PERFORMANCE FROM THE ION. I KNOW MY SATURN ION HEADLIGHTS PERFORMED SATISFACTORILY AT FIRST, BUT HAVE DEGRADED. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND MY VISION ARE BOTH FINE. THE SUPENSION HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED AND THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. I REPLACED FACTORY HALOGEN BULBS WITH SYLVANIA SILVERSTAR 9007 BULBS AND ILLUMINATED FIELD IS BRIGHTER, BUT STILL DOES NOT EXTEND DOWN THE ROAD MUCH FARTHER. AT SPEEDS OVER 55MPH, ON A DARK RURAL HIGHWAY, I CAN OVERDIVE MY HEADLIGHTS. EMAILED SATURN AND THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF MY PROBLEM AND DID NOT OFFER A SOLUTION, BUT WILL LISTEN TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS A "TREND". I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE AT NIGHT. *AK

MY 2003 SATURN ION 2 SEDAN HAS HAD AT LEAST EIGHT FRONT TURN SIGNAL OR DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT BULBS FAIL SINCE THE CAR WAS DELIVERED IN FEBRUARY 2003. THE BULBS IN QUESTION ARE MANUFACTURED BY WAGNER, AND ARE TYPE 5702. FAILURE OF FRONT TURN SIGNAL LAMPS CREATES THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ACCIDENT, SINCE ONCOMING TRAFFIC HAS NO INDICATION OF MY INTENT TO TURN. THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP HAS EXAMINED THE CAR ON THREE OR FOUR OCCASIONS, AND HAS FOUND NO OBJECTIVE REASON FOR THE FAILURE. REPLACING THE BULB CORRECTS THE PROBLEM, TYPICALLY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BUT IN SEVERAL INSTANCES FOR LESS THAN A WEEK. THE BULBS IN QUESTION ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM NATIONAL PARTS CHAINS SUCH AS NAPA, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS, AUTOZONE, AND PEP BOYS; THE ONLY SOURCE IS A SATURN DEALERSHIP, WHICH CHARGES APPROXIMATELY $8 FOR A REPLACEMENT LAMP. I HAVE SINCE EXPERIMENTED WITH USING A SYLVANIA 3157NALL, WHICH IS APPARENTLY IDENTICAL AND IS RATED FOR USE IN DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT APPLICATIONS. IT FUNCTIONS IDENTICALLY TO THE OEM PART, EXCEPT THAT IT APPEARS TO LAST MUCH LONGER (IT HAS YET TO FAIL AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS), AND IS READILY AVAILABLE FROM ANY AUTOMOTIVE PARTS STORE FOR ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE COST. *LA

THE TURN SIGNALS WORKING INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER ON FOUR OCCASIONS AND THE PROBLEM KEEP RECURRING. *JB

PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE LEFT FRONT BLINKERS AND REAR BLINKERS. *LA *MR

I HAVE HAD REPEATED PROBLEMS WITH THE EXTERIOR FRONT LIGHTING ON MY NEW 2003 SATURN ION WHICH IS A SAFETY HAZARD. ON 5/15/03 I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE ALBUQUERQUE SATURN DEALERSHIP TO FIX THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE RUNNING LIGHT AND LEFT TURN SIGNAL. THEY REPLACED THE BULBS, BUT I HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN ON 7/18/03 AFTER HAVING DRIVEN IT LESS THAN 100 MILES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS TIME THEY REPLACED THE ENTIRE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY. THEN AGAIN ON 9/29/03 I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT RUNNING LIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL REPLACED. I TALKED WITH THE SALES MANAGER BEN VIGIL AND THE SERVICE MANAGER JUSTIN GREENBERG. I COMPLAINED THAT I'VE SPENT MORE TIME AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR UNSCHEDULED MAINTENANCE THAN ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, AND I WAS CONCERNED I HAD BOUGHT A LEMON. I TOLD THEM THAT IF MY TURN SIGNALS AREN'T WORKING PROPERLY, THAT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. MR. GREENBERG TOLD ME THAT HE PROBABLY GETS TWO CUSTOMERS A DAY WITH THE SAME PROBLEM (WHICH SHOCKED ME). HE SAID SATURN HAS SENT OUT NEW BULBS TO THE DEALERSHIPS WHICH THEY CLAIM WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM. WE'LL SEE.

DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS HAVE SHORTED OUT 3 TIMES SINCE PURCHASING THE VEHICLE IN MAY 2003. *AK

HEADLIGH MOVEMENT, DISTRACTING TO DIRVER AS LIGHT BEAMS HIT OBJECT THE BEAM APPEARS TO BE GITTERING. DISTRACTING ALSO TO VEHICLES IN FRONT OF YOU AS DRIVERS CONTINUE TO LOOK IN MIRROR. SATURN DEALERSHIP STATED THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX, THAT IS IS THIS WAY BY DESIGN. HEADLIGHT MOUNTS TO MOUNTING PANEL WITH (2) PINS GOING THROUGH UPPER EAR IN MOUNTING PANEL AND THEN UPPER AND LOWER EARS ON HEADLIGHT ASSY. AND INTO LOWER EAR OF MOUNTING PANEL. APPEARS TO MUCH PLAY IN THE PIN TO MOUNT AREA, THIS WILL WORSEN OVER TIME AS METAL PIN IN PLASTIC EARS WILL BECOME LARGER FROM THE SHAKING. THIS OCCURS EVEN OF SMOOTH ROAD BEDS.

TURN SIGNAL FAILED AND WAS REPAIRED 4 TIMES WITHIN FIRST 7,000 MILES OF USAGE. *AK

RIGHT TURN SIGNAL OPERATES INTERMITTENTLY LEAVING CONSUMER VULNERABLE TO ACCIDENT. *LA DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *CB