What breaks most · 2003 to 2008 model years
Saturn ION problems by year
Owners have filed 4,209 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Saturn ION across model years 2003 to 2008. Three years stand out: 2006 for steering complaints, 2004 for steering complaints and 2007 for steering complaints. The quietest years are 2003.
- Years to check closely: 2006, 2004, 2007
- Fewest complaints: 2003
- Complaints on file
- 42092003 to 2008, all trims
- Worst year
- 20061208 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 20018 fires · 142 injuries · 4 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 67kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 35Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 738 | 41 | 7 | Electrical system (373) | |
| 879 | 50 | 10 | Steering (336) | |
| 553 | 30 | 5 | Steering (259) | |
| 1208 | 42 | 6 | Steering (536) | |
| 827 | 36 | 7 | Steering (393) | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | Air bags (1) |
What fails on the 2006 Saturn ION
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 44% |
536 | 17 | Shop steering parts for the 2006 Saturn ION |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 32% |
384 | 11 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2006 Saturn ION |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 10% |
125 | 1 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2006 Saturn ION |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 8% |
102 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2006 Saturn ION |
| Air bags | 5% |
58 | 22 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 3% |
40 | 1 | Shop engine parts for the 2006 Saturn ION |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 3% |
34 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 2% |
30 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2006 Saturn ION |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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Driving down the road and the went to turn the corner on to i90 west from highway 56 south and it was vary hard to pull oit of the turn like it locked up almost put me into the ditch
-
The power steering stops working while you are driving without notice .when you are truning it is hard,also the bearing and struts are also very ruff.almost had a wreck when turing
-
The vehicle smells like gasoline after being driven and smells like gasoline when stationary. The power steering will display a warming message and the car will become hard to steer.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Saturn ION years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2006, 2004, 2007 carry the most filings on the Saturn ION. The 2006 alone has 1208 complaints, led by steering.
What is the most common Saturn ION problem?
On the 2006 model year, the most-reported component is steering with 536 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Saturn ION problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Saturn ION complaints that include mileage is about 67,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.