2004 Saturn Ion consumer reviews

I have owned my 2004 ION 3 for 9 yrs now. This car has never let me down. Although it really sucks in the snow, it gets great gas mileage, lots of trunk space and has never broken down on me. The only promblems I have had, is the transmission slipping like others have said, but only when its 70+ degrees out. I also have had an ignition promblem with it, it won't start in the winter, but if you let it sit for 7-10 minutes, (and no less than that), it will start back up no promblem. My friend who also owned this car had the same promblem and they could never find a fix for it, we replaced the battery thinking it was that... This is a great little car for a single person or a college student.

had the saturn ion for close to 5 years put almost 125,000 Kms on it and still works good the only truble is multipl wheel inlinenment and cluth car has 200,000 kms on it and works like a charm

I've owned this car for almost 3 years now. This car has been very good to me, however the one biggest glitch about this car is the transmission. I should have picked it up the first time i took it out for a test drive at the dealership. Apparently it is an issue (it's called "shift flare" according to wiki) on the 03 and 04 ions. The transmission was revised for the ions in 05 to a 4 speed auto(03s and 04s are 5 speed autos), fixing the problem. Anyway, my shifts hard when its not warmed into 3rd gear. You can also feel it slip slightly (like another reviewer mentioned) when you let off the gas decelerating from 50mph down to 40mph (probably out of 3rd gear). Other than that, the car has been great. I have the level 3, so it's loaded with everything except a moonroof and leather. Living in NY, it's great having a car that you don't have to worry about rust, on the sides of the car at least, with the sides being plastic. (They're also dent resistant). Another giant positive about this car that I love is the engine. It runs nice and smooth, no complaints there, although I could of course use a few more horses under the hood, but that's just the guy in me. I should have found the redline version of this car, ha.

Great Car! Have owned for 3 years now with no major issues. Get's great gas mileage and is stylish! Handles well, great safety reviews and features. Tons of trunk space!

We bought our '04 Saturn Ion used in July 2009 and fell in love with it soon after! It had 92000 miles and still ran like a champ! Could keep up with the best of them and outrun some! We had no problems with the car except for a "bushing" went out about 2 months after we had her...and the dealership replaced it. When the time came to trade her she had 152000 miles and not a single problem besides the bushing. Sad to see her go...but I support Saturn even though they are no longer in business and will forever love Saturn's!

Well it's been 2 years since I've owned my 2004 Saturn Ion. I purchased this car used with about 54k or so on her for a reasonable price but I have the Redline model which is the sport model. It is equiped with a 2.0 Ecotec motor which is used in almost all the newer GM line up and is supercharged with a 5 speed manual transmission. It is mechanically the same car as the supercharged chevy cobalt ss except for a couple minor things. Now for the nitty gritty. The car is not your average saturn which you can tell from its aerodynamic contours, recaro racing seats, and of course the eaton m62 supercharger, and many other cool things. If you are in to performance then this is a car with alot of potential. GM offers "stage" kits ranging from Stage 1 to 3. The first stage is upgraded injectors and a recalibration on the tune, the second stage consist of a drop in the pulley size which in turn makes more boost making more hp, and stage 3 is a new ecu with many differnt features to truly unleash the beast. A funny thing is after researching the saturn ion redline is that not only is it the same car as the chevy cobalt ss, it actually is the same as the 03+ saab 93 except for the form of forced induction (The Ion is supercharged and the saab 93 is turbo and after doing my schoolwork with a little tweeking here and there you can also convert the LSJ (ion redline/cobalt SS motor) to a turbo using the LK9 (saab 93 motor) and actually be making more power yet staying efficient and saving gas, even so you can open your car up with a tuning software called "HP Tuners" and get your car to run on ethanol which is amazing at making power and its also a heck lot cheaper than regular pump gas. Basically this car is an amazing platform. On top of being a very great performance car it also has the basic options on top of other comfort options. Power windows, quad coupe [suicide doors], sunroof, etc. They offered this car with the competition package which added LSD along with visual mods. This has been a great car to me but I am not going to lie i have put alot of time and money into my car. It has a newer motor put in it from modding and racing it so i blew the old one since i had no supporting mods. Then when the new motor was put in the starter died, and now the intercooler pump on my car has just hit the bed, but overall she has been dependable if you just drive it and dont drive it hard all the time. Totally worth buying and I recommend anyone who is looking into one to not let it get past you.

I'd have to say this is the worst car I've ever owed. I purchased this vehicle Sept. 2004 new and 3 months later the ignition switch went on it. Left me stranded. I've had to replace the swaybar and bushings at least 6 times which cause a rattling noise and it doesn't do any good to replace them cuz the last time I did it was a month before I heard the noise again. I hear a knocking noise in the engine. When I shift from drive to reverse the car jumps. The blower fuse went on the heating/air. One day I went shopping and when I was done the car would not start after the 4th try in started. Till this day I do not know what caused that. The fabric in the car is less than standard. I have stains everywhere and most are just water stains. I also have the leak from the seal in the driver's side door which only adds to the stains in the fabic. Along with some other minor problems. I'd have to say for this being a new car I was in the shop alot. The only good thing I can say is when I was in an accident in 2006. I came out of it with minor bruises.

I have had a saturn ion1 since june of 2007 and havent had many problems with it, the biggest problem was the air conditioning pump going out. This, i think, was caused by the previous owner not changing the cabin air filter and it froze up the a/c system. the other problem i had was the ignition went bad, this is common for this car and the replaced ignition is bad already. nothing huge though, handles relatively well and the tires, if you dont have the alloy rims, are really cheap about $300 four all four 70k mile tires mounted and balanced.

Overall, the car has been good to us. It's fun to drive. It has a little zip to it, and it gets great gas mileage. You can drive four or five highway hours without needing a fill up. Reviews I read before we bought it said that transimission was a big problem for this car. Every now and again, the transmission will slip a little, but we haven't had a huge problem (knock on wood). The biggest, most annoying problem with this car is that it almost never starts in the cold weather. I hear that it's a problem with the ignition switch. If you live in the north and park outside, be careful.

My family had owned six Saturns before the Ions came out. My 1994 SL1 had 180000 miles on it and was a great car. The Ion however is not so great. The transmission has always had a problem with lunging forward (upshifting) and backwards (downshifting) between 2nd and 3rd gear. THE HEADLIGHTS ARE HORRIBLE!! They are way too dim for driving in the country. It was taken in twice before it had 10000 on it due to suspension issues. The rubber seal below the passenger rear window has shrunk and buckled, allowing water to get inside the door. I hope it makes it to 100000!! We also own a 2008 Honda Civic and we love it!!!