Used 2004 Saturn ION Consumer Reviews
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No complaints here!
Rebecca, 04/25/2006
2004 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 5M)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I've had this car for just over 2 years and have loved every minute of it. Keep in mind that the car is not dent-PROOF, only dent-RESISTANT, so don't go kicking it or anything, but to this day I don't have a single ding on my car. (The top of the car is not dent-resistant, but that very seldomly poses a problem.) Equally happy with all other features of the vehicle. Great ride, comfortable, decent gas mileage.
Consider other options
Mercury, 03/15/2022
2004 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 5A)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
I wish I'd bought a different vehicle. It just wasn't made well. I drive it minimally and I've had to repair it twice in one month. It does have almost 120k miles on it, so some of the repairs weren't entirely unexpected. But a day after picking it up from the shop for the second time in two months, the torsion bars in the trunk just fall out for no apparent reason. I haven't had any major mechanical problems, but all the little things have added up to almost the resell value of the car. It's also been sluggish the entire four years I've had it. The shop I took it to recommended replacing the throttle body. Basically, expect frequent repairs. I had more power with my 2001 Dodge Neon. Also, the interior is not comfortable. It's fine for short trips, but your back will hurt if you drive for over half an hour. You don't want to put yourself through a long trip. It's awful. Also, the installed headlight system is dangerously dim on dark roads, so test drive it at night first if you're considering buying a Saturn. It is fuel-efficient, but it's not fun to drive and mine has required frequent repairs, which have not been worthwhile considering the low resell cost. If you have other options, It would be better to save up and buy a car that is made well. I don't think it's just me getting unlucky with my car because when I look up how to fix the weird issues I've had with it, there's always a few other Saturn owners with the same, stupid problem, like the keys not coming out of the ignition (that one is fun).
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Thought it would be better
psyculman, 04/04/2010
2004 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 5A)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
I bought my Saturn based on friends who owned older ones. But, my Ion reflected GM's usual utter disregard for customer loyalty. The front suspension rattled @20,000 miles, the ignition switch froze in 20 deg. weather, the wiper gear case broke off, front wheel bearings began to make noise at 60,000 mi. After 4 yr my $2,000 warranty, 5 year warranty, "applied from the "day" the car was "assembled", so did NOTHING! The morning the 'check engine' light came on, and I could not discover why on my own, I went directly to Toyota, and, bought a Corolla. End of story. See other reviews listed here on this site, if you can get a used Ion, cheap, it's probably going give you good service, but beware.
Good to us...watch the CVT
skally, 07/26/2013
2004 Saturn ION 3 4dr Coupe (2.2L 4cyl CVT)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
We bought this car brand new and overall it was a good vehicle for us. Here are the issues we had over 8 years and 140k miles. The remote start from the dealer never did work right. It engaged the PassLock system which left you waiting 10 minutes while the fuel system reset. We had the common issue with the ignition switch replacing it a few times before it was fixed for good. The biggest problem was the CVTs in these cars. They failed more often than they should and couldn't be rebuilt, only replaced. GM fixed a lot of them but ours never died. However at 140k miles it started act up a little which is why we decided to move on.
Car Won't Start
Saturn Stinks!, 08/12/2010
2004 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 5A)
1 of 3 people found this review helpful
I bought a Saturn because I thought they were reliable and Saturn always made such a big deal of their great service. What a joke! I have the same IC chip problem in the ignition as lots of others. Before I knew this I contacted Saturn and they were absolutely not helpful. Told me to take it to a local GM dealer or drive and hour to the nearest Saturn dealer. No wonder they went out of business. I will never buy and never recommend a Saturn to anyone.