Used 2006 Saturn ION Sedan Consumer Reviews
Used ION for sale
Saturn ION
Do not buy this car!, 07/19/2010
2006 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 4A)
22 of 28 people found this review helpful
I bought this car for my daughter on 12/05. The Saturn ION is junk! She has been stranded THREE times with the key stuck in the ignition and the engine still running. The lift motor in the driver side window broke. Now, the passenger rear window is broken. The car was leaking copious amounts of gas until it was unsafe to drive. Ignition cylinder has been replaced three times. The car only has 45,000 miles. I am so upset with this car that I am thinking of trading in my 2009 Silverado and NEVER buying a GM product again! Will be lodging a formal written complaint with the LA Attorney General's office and recommend that others follow suit!
My reliable race car, Saturn Ion with 2.4L engine
John, 02/02/2021
2006 Saturn ION 3 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 4A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought my 2006 Saturn in 2014 as second car. It had 130,000km. All Saturn lovers know the GM engine is not the quieter and most reliable one, still, I had few Saturns and love them. Now with this one I was really lucky to have an issue with solenoids. Yes, lucky indeed because I found an awesome mechanic and he change the solenoids and explained me that for the 2.4L engine if I do not use a good filter a lot of things will go bad on my car because a regular oil filter cannot offer the same oil flow everywhere is needed !!! I was puzzled as it is my 4th Saturn and never heard this one. I asked him more and he also recommended me the synthetic oil he said will work miracles for my car. I put that oil in the car beginning 2015, the premium Napa filter (few $$ difference from regular one) and I was not driving a Saturn anymore. The engine works like a toyota one, improved gas mileage and everything is a dream ever since. So I am using fully synthetic Amsoil ever since, Napa premium filter or Amsoil recommended filter, and I had no issues with my Saturn in the last 6 years. I have a super reliable car and when the time to change it will come someone will buy a super reliable car. Last year (2020) at 185,000km I did some maintenance work on my Saturn - new Amsoil into the transmission and fancy iridium sparkplugs. I had no issue before the work but again, I felt my car is working better, I showed her love and she loves me back :) Thanks Edmunds for all the knowledge you put together here, I've learnt so much from here and now I finally decided to contribute to this knowledge with the little I know. Thanks.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Good Commuter Car
epic_sandwich, 01/01/2012
2006 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 5M)
23 of 31 people found this review helpful
I've owned my '06 Ion for 4 years, purchased used from a Saturn dealer with 22k on the clock. It just passed 80k the other day and thus far has been a good car. Average 33mpg, over 40 on trips. Issues thus far: AC compressor failed (replaced under warranty), power steering motor failed (out of warranty, dealer wanted $1300 to fix, I bought a used ps motor off eBay and did it myself for $80 bucks), ignition module failure (twice, $82 part at AutoZone), and now the front right wheel has a bad bearing and is causing excessive road noise. Most of the problems are easy and quick to fix, no car is 100% failure proof and I think this car is a good trade-off. People have unrealistic expectations.
Problem after Problem
crpolston, 05/23/2009
2006 Saturn ION 2 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 5M)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I've had this car for 3 1/2 years and unfortunately I've had nothing but problems in the past years. One is the driver side automatic window has broken twice. Once under warranty and now that it is not under warranty. Also, the check engine light has come on numerous times, stumping the dealership service guys. The MAP sensor has been replaced, the fuel pump has been replaced, the catalytic converter is now having problems, I have so many work up reports it takes up an entire file cabinent! If you want a reliable car do not pick this one.
What Next?
Neveragain, 10/23/2010
2006 Saturn ION 3 4dr Sedan (2.2L 4cyl 4A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I bought this car new in 2006 and loved it at first. Then one night during a rain storm my car alarm went off for no reason. The next day I found the foam seal along the top of both doors is badly weathered and rain water runs in along the door panels and puddles on the floor. With 20,000 miles the front struts are shot and just yesterday my key became stuck in the ignition while the car is running. Likely the ignition cylinder will need to be replaced (from the looks of it this is a huge big with the ION). And who will have to pay for it all? My guess is GM will bail on that as well. So here I sit with a car that leaks every time it rains, bad suspension,and a junk ignition cylinder.