Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 118, "Power-operated window, partition, and roof panel systems." The power windows and/or sunroof may be operable after the ignition has been turned...
Visibility & wipers
Saturn Ion Visibility problems by year
84 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Saturn Ion's visibility & wipers. Windshields, wipers, defrosters, mirrors, backup cameras and glare.
Visibility complaints by model year
Visibility recalls
Latest Ion visibility complaints
Airbags
The drivers side windshield wiper linkage failed at the junction of the metal rod and the plastic wiper mount causing the wiper to stop working. And the wiper arms are almost impossible to remove, even with a puller. Obviously this condition is a safety issue, and other GM vehicles have been recalled for the same issue. Why not the 2004 Saturn Ion?
I had cleared my windows of snow and turned on my rear defrost when I heard a loud pop and discovered my rear window had imploded.. I was parked in my driveway
Takata recall, my 2003 saturn ion has recalls on the ignition switch and cylinder which is causing my car to be impossible to drive. This recall is causing the system to have a short with all my electrical. For example, windows don't roll down/up, wipers don't work, heater doesn't work, blinkers don't work, dash lights stay on causing battery to constantly be dead. All because there are recalls that need to be fixed.
In the photograph below you will see the wiper transmission, made of plastic, that broke on my 2003 saturn ion and was replaced on my vehicle on 7/7/2017 at my expense of $298. I was stunned to learn that any car manufacturer would use plastic for any moving part in a vehicle engine compartment. I have been in contact with general motors, and at first they told me there was nothing they could do. However, I have requested that they do a recall on the 2003 saturn to replace the wipers transmissions. I have...
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also been told not to waste my time that this is not considered a safety issue by nhtsa. Let me assure you, it most definitely is a safety issue. It is extremely dangerous to drive without the use of wipers when it is pouring rain. The wiper broker while I was driving in morning rush hour traffic when I thought a rock had hit my windshield. It wasn't a rock, it was the wiper that had slammed back into my windshield. I had no choice but to keep going until I reached my destination at which time I called a friend who loaned me their car until I could get this fixed. I have also done a little bit of research on this and found that my car is not the only saturn 2003 that has had this problem. The case file numbers with gm are 8-2993888661 and 8-3078081084, with the latter being the most recent communication. And, while I know my care is 14 years old, the age should not be an issue since the wiper transmission is made of plastic. I thank you for your consideration of this matter, and if this is not on your list of safety/hazardous conditions that it be added to the list.
2003 Saturn ion. Consumer writes in regards to defective plastic linkage on the transmission connects the wiper motor to the windshield wiper arm. *Smd the consumer stated the defective part was made out of plastic, which was not durable in such a critical place as the windshield wiper transmission. *Jb
Was guaranteed that nothing was wrong with it. I originally got a 2007 ford escape by trading in my vehicle and 500 cash. They wanted me to put down an additional 900 down which I ended up not being able to do. So they offered to put me in another vehicle that was cheaper and I would not have to put any more money on. The 2004 saturn ion I received on 08/23/2016 not only had clutch issues which I said I would fix, but the battery light kept coming on and they assured me that nothing was wrong with the car...
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mechanically. We did not even make it down the road before the vehicle broke down and had to have it towed. So now the car sits in my yard and I am out my original vehicle and the 500 cash I used originally plus towing charges and a vehicle I have to pay on that I cannot drive. I want them to come get the car and give back the 500 I wasted on two junk vehicles. I also had issues with the 2007 ford escape. I was pretty much stuck taking this vehicle since I live two hours away and had no other way home.
My car feels like a death trap. To start off with only one of my windshield wiper motors work . When I first bought the car from a single individual the passenger side wiper appeared to shake a little more than the driver side. As if it was working a little harder to keep up with the other wiper.. And then less than a month after purchasing vehicle it stopped working all together. Now I only have the driver side wiper that I use. Also when I go to turn on the blinker, go over a railroad track, make a turn iorn...
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vehicle, or sometimes just sitting still. The wiper will start working without me having turnned it on. At first it would just come on for 3 or 4 swipes and then automatically stop again. But now its doing it more frequently and sometimes it will not stop swipping whichis very aggravating causing scratches on my windshield and wearing my one wiper down faster than it should be. Along with these problems my car has also been idleing extremly high upon cranking and while changing gears it acts as if it gets stuck between 1rst 2cd and 3rd. Also when I try to increase speed for passing or to make turns it sometimes just causes it to bog down more instead of increasing my speed it sounds as if its gonna blow up the engine.
The wiper arm on the driver's side starting flopping--it was no longer seated fully. I thought it was missing something simple, like a pin. Checked under the hood and discovered it wasn't that simple. I was quoted p&l from the dealer @ $364. This is outrageous. In 50 years of driving, I've never seen a wiper arm pop out. One day in a deluge, the arm hyper-extended off the windshield and I had to leave the road blind wondering if I was going to run into a ditch. Research has shown the reason this happened is due to...
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use of plastic parts by gm and that people have had to replace their wiper assembly more than once. This is unacceptable and places a grave danger on users of these autos. This should be a recall issue!
My wipers failed. I could hear the wiper motor running, but the transmission and linkage had failed. I took my car to a mechanic who fixed the issue, but it happened again about a year later. I can grab a wiper arm and manually move the wipers. Both wipers move when I move one arm. My mechanic said that the problem was with both the wiper linkage (which has a plastic piece that is prone to failure) and the wiper transmission failing.
After having my emissions tested in wi in which it passed at the time on or about may 27, 2015. About a week latet, I began to smell a gasoline smell coming from the diiver's side of the car, after I drove it and then parked it and turned off the ignition. I didn't see anything dripping from the car to the grounc, I noticed that the smell of gasoline became more and more prevalent until about june 17, 2015 when the smell was so great and I hadnt driven the car for well over a week because I was afraid something...
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was leaking or would happen while driving. My brother smelled it also when I backed up and pulled forward. We checked under hood, but nothing and no spots on the ground. Took it to a garage and the mechanic and owner said that the fuel lines, fuel filter, etc. Needed replacing and r which cost approximately $263 .. I also looked up information by a mechanic who states that every signgle cobalt and ion have this same problem since the cars were built. He gave a description of what it takes to remove and replace fuel lines, fuel filter, etc. Whenever I took out the car, that car could have exploded or started an engine fire. This is a dangerous situation that could have involved the loss of not only the vehicles, but peoples lives. I firmly believe that gm should have to have these vehicles on recall for this very dangerous malfunction of the fuel tank, fuel filter and fuel lines and be required to pay for these repairs on the cars affected. Thank you for your consideration in this situation.
I was driving and my sunroof flew off. The glass shattered completely. It was working perfectly, until one day while driving it detached.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 saturn ion. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact also stated that the windshield wipers failed to operate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
While going down the interstate at 75, my wiper motor linkage blew apart because of the plastic. I couldn't see because of the snow, and had to reach out and grab the wipers, they cut my hand. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 saturn ion. The contact stated that the driver side door failed to open or shut and all the power windows failed to operate. The dealer was not able to open the driver side door and could not continue servicing the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data