There are 7 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2005 Saturn Ionin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES IN RECENT MONTHS, BUT HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING: I WAS ON THE INTERSTATE, GOING ABOUT 60MPH, AND I SPED UP TEMPORARILY TO PASS THE SEMI NEXT TO ME SO THAT I COULD MERGE INTO THE RIGHT LANE AND CATCH THE NEXT EXIT. UPON MERGING, I RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL BUT IT DID NOT COME BACK NATURALLY WITH MY FOOT AND INSTEAD WENT TO THE FLOOR AND MY CAR STARTED ACCELERATING AS I EXITED THE INTERSTATE ONTO A FLYOVER RAMP. I IMMEDIATELY HIT MY BRAKES AND WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE SPEED, BUT IT SCARED ME, ESPECIALLY AS THE FLYOVER RAMP REQUIRES A SLOWER SPEED ALONG THE CURVE. TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION, IN ALL CASES WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED, I HAVE BEEN GOING AT LEAST 35 MPH WHEN IT HAPPENED, AND MY CRUISE CONTROL WAS ON BUT NOT ACTIVE (IN OTHER WORDS I HAD IT AVAILABLE TO ME BUT IT WAS NOT CURRENTLY SET AT ANY PARTICULAR SPEED). I HAVE SEEN MULTIPLE SIMILAR COMPLAINTS IN FORUMS ONLINE, BUT I AM NOT AWARE OF A RECALL. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ISSUE, ESPECIALLY AT HIGH SPEEDS IN DENSE TRAFFIC. PLEASE INVESTIGATE FURTHER -- I CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE MY MECHANIC REPLACE ALL THE POSSIBLE FAULTY PARTS WITH OTHER POTENTIALLY FAULTY PARTS, AND I WOULD HATE TO BE THE CAUSE OF AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE CAR WAS OUT OF MY CONTROL THROUGH NO FAULT OF MINE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SATURN ION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESPOND. THE CONTACT HAD TO WAIT BEFORE THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONICS ON THE PEDAL FAILED. HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000.
THE DAY I BROUGHT THE CAR HOME FROM THE DEALER I DROVE THE CAR TO WORK. PIZZA DELIVERY, DROVE THE CAR FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR THE CAR WAS IN DRIVE AND SUDDENLY THE CAR ACTED AS IF IT WAS IN NEUTRAL I PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR SLIGHTLY AND THE ENGINE REVVED BUT WOULD ONLY ROLL SLIGHTLY. I THEN PUT THE CAR IN PARK TURNED THE CAR OFF RESTARTED THE CAR. IT THEN DROVE FINE FOR 15 MIN. SAME ISSUE AGAIN. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH MY NEW PURCHASE FROM THE DEALER. I ALSO FOUND OUT THAT THEIR ARE RECALLS ON THE CAR AND THE DEALER FAILED TO MENTION THAT. FIRST DAY WITH MY CAR AND I AM WORRIED. *TR
MY CAR CONSTANTLY DOES NOT START. ALSO, WHEN I GO OVER SPEED BUMPS OR HIT POT HOLES MY CAR WILL TURN OFF. *JS
SATURN ION, BASE MODEL ONGOING WIRING/ELECTRICAL ISSUES SINCE DECEMBER 2006 TO PRESENTLY. THE REDUCED POWER LIGHT COMES ON AND I LOSE ACCELERATION IN TRAFFIC SITUATIONS. FIRST OCCURRENCE IN DECEMBER 2006, THE PEDAL ACTUALLY ACCELERATED IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. I AVERTED AN ACCIDENT. STARTED AT 21K, UNDER WARRANTY UNTIL 60K. NOW AT 47K, AND PROBLEM STILL NOT CORRECTED. IT IS IN THE SHOP RIGHT NOW FOR THE SIXTH TIME FOR ELECTRICAL/WIRING ISSUES REGARDING REDUCED POWER. I PICKED THE VEHICLE UP FROM THE DEALER ON JUNE 20, 2008. THE DEALER REWIRED THE ECM SENSOR AND DROVE 554 MILES TO TEST THE VEHICLE. HOWEVER, ON JULY 1, 2008, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER. I HAVE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AVERTED TRAFFIC HAZARDS WHEN THE REDUCE POWER COMES ON. I HAVE HAD TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS FOR SATURN TRY TO REPAIR IT, TO NO AVAIL. IT IS IN THE SHOP NOW AGAIN. THEY WON'T GUARANTEE THAT THEY WILL FIX THE WIRING ISSUES TO COMPLETE SATISFACTION. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE WHEN THE REDUCE POWER AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CONTINUES TO BE DEFECTIVE. THEY HAVE REPLACED SENSOR, MODULES, WIRING CONNECTORS, COMPUTER UPDATES, ACCELERATOR PEDALS. IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN, AND I WILL BE CONCERNED FOR MINE AND OTHERS SAFETY. *TR
WAS DRIVING VEHICLE FROM MY HOUSE TO MY WORK AND I NOTICED SUDDENLY THAT WHENEVER I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS EVEN SLIGHTLY OR APPLIED MORE PRESSURE TO THE GAS PEDAL THT THE VEHICLE WOULD LOSE POWER AND JERK BACK A LITTLE BIT. I WORK FOR GM AND GET ALOT OF CALLS FROM CUST'S ABOUT CONCERNS, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT I'D ACTUALLY SAY THAT I FOR THE 1ST TIME IN MY LIFE DID NOT FEEL SAFE IN MY VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY KNOWING THAT MY VEHICLE WOULD DIE OR BREAK DOWN AT ANY MOMENT LEAVING ME STRANDED. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO FIX THIS CONCERN, BUT ONE THINGS ARE TAKEN CARE OF AND HOPEFULLY CORRECTED I WILL UPDATE THINGS.
2005 SATURN ION, MULTIPLE PROBLEMS W CRUISE CONTROL DISENGAGING & NOT OPERABLE UNLESS VEHICLE SHUT OFF, UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION, & ACTIVATING ON IT'S OWN. THE DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT BELIEVE ME UNTIL THE SERVICE MANAGER WITNESSED THIS PROBLEM. WHEN SATURN SENT AN ENGINEER TO REVIEW THE ISSUE HE ALSO DOUBTED ME AS HE HAD THE VEHICLE FOR 1 WEEK & WAS UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. WHEN I SUBMITTED FOR A NEW VEHICLE UNDER THE STATES LEMON LAW THE SERVICE MANAGER ACCUSED ME OF MAKING THIS UP TO GET A NEW VEHICLE. SATURN REQUIRED ME TO PAY $1800 FOR MILEAGE DEPRECIATION TO REPLACE THE VEHICLE & REFUSED TO HONOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WHICH CAME WITH MY ORIGINAL VEHICLE. MY BIG ERROR WAS IN GIVING THE DEALER & SATURN CORP 5 TIME TO TRY & FIX THE PROBLEM. THOSE 2 EXTRA ATTEMPTS CAUSED FURTHER MILEAGE WHICH COST ME IN ADDITIONAL OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES. *NM
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026