Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Saturn Ion owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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 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. …
I was driving and my transmission I bought from GM only 14 months ago went out. It was remanufactured and the part cost me 5,513.63 dollars. I only drove approximately 9,000 miles and they said it was 12 mo. Or 1 year so they can't help me. I would expect a remanufactured transmission to last more than 9000 miles and asked if I was the first to have failure at so low mileage and he replied yes. I feel I've been cheated as a consumer. GM parts told me that part is covered 3 years or 36,000 miles however customer service said that's wrong. I was only at 14 months when it went out and at 9000 miles it is so unfair because it is suppose to be like a brand new transmission. All GM is about is making money and not about the satisfaction of their customers. Car was in motion when it went out.
When I am driving, my car will suddenly seem to slip out of gear, the RPM's will continue to rise while the car starts to slow down and can no longer accelerate. I then have to pull over and turn the car off and restart to "reset" the car and it seems to drive normal again. This usually happens at higher speeds, like while I'm driving on the interstate, but can and has happened at lower speeds as well. I have two children and am expecting another child in July and no longer feel safe driving this vehicle. I feel that this should be a safety recall given the large amount of people who have had the same or similar problems with the transmission in these cars. This happened earlier today, but has happened on a regular basis for over a year.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Saturn Ion equipped with a manual transmission. While stopped at a traffic light, the transmission failed. The contact was unable to shift the vehicle into gear. The contact stated that the clutch pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to shift into gear. The failure was intermittent. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 215,000.
My key switch doesn't allow me to remove my key when I'm in parked and my transmission strands at times and my car doesn't start all the time when I try to start it I have to sit and wait awhile before it starts again I could be sitting in the drive thru on parked waiting to travel again on th he main roadway
Coming to a stop in heavy traffic alarms and lights went off, the car lost powering and wouldn't go into gear finally when the gear engaged it would only stay in first gear. Luckily we were able to pull off the busy highway and get safely to the side of the road with no accidents or injuries.
My daughter bought a Saturn Ion III. She has recently had trouble with her automatic transmission. Saturn has acknoweldged a hard shifting problem from 2nd to 3rd, but since a high number of vehicles exhibit this problem, and they don't know what is causing it, it is being considered normal operation. My daughter's car exhibited this problem, but it has now begun to be a way more serious concern because it will completely slip, (lose all power), for what seems to be an ever increasing longer interval and more frequently. She has had this happen while trying to make a left hand turn with oncoming traffic. She now tries to avoid any situation at low speeds that might cause her injury, (she tries to make as many right hand turns to get to and from work as possible). Saturn has had two service employees witness the problem, albeit in a straight line driving situation. …
When making turns, particularly right turns, my wife's new Saturn Ion quad coupe, loses power and hesitates after it gets the turn partially completed. This happens intermittently about once a week so it is tough to duplicate but it has caused her to be nearly hit several times by on coming traffic. The dealership states this is the way the vti transmission is designed to work so there is nothing to fix. Saturn in spring hill did not deny this was how the transmission was designed to work. I asked if there were any service bulletins that would fix this and they said none would actually fix this problem and they had no idea how to fix it. They also refused to provide a written response to my certified return receipt letter even though I specifically requested a written response. People are taking their cars to independent transmission shops to be fixed. …
This has happened twice in exactly thirteen months the first time was on February 3, 2005. I adjusted my power drivers side mirror while driving home at night on highway 61 and heard a pop and all my lights including headlights and dash lights went out . My four way safety flashers also would not work I was driving in complete darkness while traveling approximately 67 MPH this incident occurred almost identically last year while driving in town approximately 25 MPH adjusted mirror heard a pop and all lights went out. Luckily in both incidents no one hit me from behind due to the fact they couldn't see me until it was too late. No one was killed or injured but that was just pure luck .. Last years incident I had my car towed to Saturn and they determined that the BCM fuse was bad they replaced fuse. …
I was traveling approximately 40 MPH when the power steering lamp came on and the power steering failed. After pulling to the side of the road, and turning the vehicle off, I restarted the vehicle and the power steering was restored for about 20 minutes. The days following this, I encountered several power steering failures until I had the power steering box replaced on May 10, 2011. I researched the internet and found many other 2003 Saturn Ion's owners had experienced the same failure. I contacted a GM representative and asked for reimbursement. I was told that there was no recall for the power steering for my year and make of car. I had also complained about my transmission because I had declined repairs on my power steering. …
Transmission complaints in other Ion years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2003 Saturn Ion?
NHTSA has 55 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2003 Saturn Ion, 7% of the model year's 758 complaints. The component named most often is automatic transmission (31 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Saturn Ion transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2003 Saturn Ion, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Saturn Ion transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 52,000 miles, and 39% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to transmission & drivetrain problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.