NHTSA Complaint #10182403 — 2003 SATURN ION

FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS ANY TIME THERE IS COLD WEATHER, WHICH HAS BEEN EVERY DAY BECAUSE IT'S THE WINTER, MY 2003 SATURN ION 2 WON'T START FOR ABOUT 20-30 MINUTES. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL SHOP AND HAD SOME WORK DONE; FUEL INJECTION CLEANING, SPARK PLUGS REPLACED, ETC. THE PROBLEM STILL CONTINUED AND I TOOK IT BACK. THE CAR STARTED FINE AND FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS WHILE WE WERE HAVING MILD WEATHER I HAD NO PROBLEMS. AS SOON AS THE WEATHER HIT 30 DEGREES IT STARTED AGAIN. WHEN I GO TO START THE CAR IT TURNS OVER BUT THEN DIES. 5 OR SO MORE TIMES AND IT AGAIN TRIES TO TURN OVER BUT NOTHING. EVENTUALLY AFTER 20 MINUTES OR SO THE CAR WILL START. THE BATTERY HAS BEEN REPLACED BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE FIRST THOUGHT WAS THE PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH IT DID NOT NEED TO BE REPLACED. WE'RE NOW OUT $100 FOR THAT PLUS THE WORK I'VE HAD DONE THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I CALLED SATURN AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS, THAT THIS HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED INTO A RECALL AND THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO HOOK MY CAR UP TO THE COMPUTER FOR $100 JUST TO TELL ME WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I SEARCHED ONLINE FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF POSTS AND THAT THE PROBLEM IS THE "IGNITION SWITCH", BUT SOME PEOPLE WILL STILL HAVING PROBLEMS EVEN AFTER THAT WAS REPLACED. JUST THIS WEEKEND I WENT TO WORK AND CAME OUT TO START MY CAR AT 9:20 AND BY 10:00 THE CAR STILL WOULD NOT START AND I HAD TO FIND A RIDE HOME. I HAVE TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AND AM SCARED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH THEM IN FEAR THAT MY CAR WON'T START WHEN I GET TO OR NEED TO LEAVE MY DESTINATION. I FEEL THAT THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ISSUED AS A RECALL OR LIKE MANY OTHERS "I WILL NOT BE BUYING ANOTHER SATURN". *JB