Suspension complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
I hit my brakes to avoid an accident my car went to left in front of another car. I found out that struts shifted and causing the upper control arm to snap and brake off causing my car to go to the left into another car.
Fuel leaking from gas tank area, became aware when passenger cabin filled with fuel vapor ,noticed gas smell for the past few years when walking near rear of vehicle fuel mileage has been terrible since vehicle was only 2 years old. Had vehicle into dealership and complained about mileage, I believe was loosing fuel for a long period of time before this major leak occurred. It made my wife and myself along with my family dog very sickly. Had into dealership 3 monts ago and was told there was no leak,but they failed to drop tank and inspect as per GM recall 09226. Now at another dealership and they are telling me I have to pay for the repair to gas tank/sending unit out of my own pocket. This is not what is stated on recall from GM global warranty management on bulletin 09226c dated July 19th 2015
I first bought my 2006 Saturn Ion in March of 2013. Three days later I notice that when I would get on the highway my car would sway extremely bad. Our hwy speed is 75. Going 70mph was too much and it would sway a lot. Mind you I was pregnant at the time. The car spun out as I was exiting the highway. I was terrified because cars were right behind me. Thank god I got out of the way before I got hit. You can understand how upset I was due to the fact that I was 4months pregnant at the time. Since then my husband has spun out 5 times driving our car. We've taking it to the mechanics multiple times and they don't even know what to do with it. Our wheel alignments are fine. Also, our key gets stuck in the ignition a lot upon turning it off. So we have to use the button which is in the steering wheel just to get them out. Also, lately the car picks and chooses when it wants to accelerate. …
Highway bouncing? Unbalanced feeling under vehicle? Replace struts asap!! Okay for the past 30,000 miles I have been experiencing what I could describe as a constant bounce. The bounce has now become so violent that crossing a bridge on a highway the bump will increase the aggression of the bounce to the point that you bounce right off of the road. I have slowly been trying to figure out what causes this bouncing wobble. After new rims,cv-half shafts, lugnuts, tires, stabilizer end-links, tie-rod ends, inner tie-rod ends, and ball joints. The bounce got more controllable for a short period. Not long after the new parts started to break down again. Finally during the purchase of all of these things over again. I find an instance where this exact thing happened to another individual. …
I believe that the power steering issue (recalled recently and received letter) caused my vehicle to be very hard to control on a downslope hill at 12 MPH coming up to red light. My car went from the right lane to the left Land of 4 lane street and I hit car in front of me. Now, having received information today about the power steering recall, I have an appt. At my local dealership to check on the alignment/suspension and the piece of metal that I believe to be brake pad that a few hours later shot out and hit car next to me in a parking lot when I applied brakes and turned off vehicle ignition. I will know more of what happened once dealershjp runs diagnostics.
I sent a letter to GM it was passed to Saturn corp. Ongoing problems never fixed.started at 19000 miles and continue with mileage at 31000. 2 different service depts. Still have the problems. Blown off by Saturn corp. By rude customer service. First service visit after specifically making an appointment for this lemon resulted in a car wash. The noise tech was not in. I drove 40 miles for a car wash? Never went back. Saturn sent a customer satisfaction survey and I replied; "call me". They instructed me to go to another dealer. I did and the service advisor told me it was my rotors making the noise. He then tried to charge me for the repair!!! The vehicle is under warranty. He then said that they will do it at no charge after I protested. I received the car back, said thank you and left. …
At approximately 3:50 p.m. Friday January 23 2015 I was slowing down from 35 MPH to turn into a parking lot. Before I turned the passenger side of the car dropped and at first I thought I blew a tire. After limping the car into the parking lot I got out and the tire was still fully inflated. I noticed the lower control arm was broken into two pieces. The car was towed home and the tow truck driver even mentioned he had never seen that happen on such a new vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Saturn Ion. While driving 25 MPH, the front passenger side wheel became lodged into the wheel well. Upon further investigation, the contact noticed the front lower control arm failed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000. The VIN was not available.
Frequently asked questions
Which Saturn Ion years have suspension problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2004 (19), 2007 (17), 2006 (14), 2003 (9) and 2005 (6) model years. Suspension complaints make up 2% of all complaints for the 2004.
Is there a recall for Saturn Ion suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for any Saturn Ion model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Saturn Ion suspension problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 50,000 miles; 58% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front (16 mentions), followed by the front › control arm › lower arm (5).
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.