NHTSA Complaint #10183436 — 2005 SATURN ION

MY 2005 ION 2 WAS SERVICED CONTINUOUSLY BY THE SATURN DEALERSHIP SINCE ITS NEW PURCHASE. THIS CAR HAS NEVER HAD A ENGINE INCIDENT, OVERHEATING, OR MISSED OIL CHANGE/SERVICE AND AT APPROXIMATELY 35,000 MILES THE ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT WOULD ACTIVATE INTERMITTENTLY. THE PROBLEM WAS BROUGHT TO THE SATURN TECHNICIAN AND DEDUCED TO EITHER A GAS TANK SEALING ISSUE OR OXYGEN SENSOR MALFUNCTION. THE OXYGEN SENSOR WAS FINALLY REPLACED ON IT 48,000 SERVICE CHECKUP, YET THE LIGHT WAS STILL ACTIVE. A COMPLETE COMPUTER CODE DIAGNOSTIC REVEALED INTERNAL MISFIRE ISSUES WITH THE #1 CYLINDER. THE MECHANICS EVALUATION WAS THAT THE ENGINE CYLINDER OR BLOCK IS WARPED AND CAUSING COMPRESSION BLOW BY & MISFIRING. THE RECOMMENDED SOLUTION IS TO CHANGE THE ENGINE BLOCK AT A COST OF $6, 800. OR WORK ON TEARING DOWN THE ENGINE AT AN UN-ESTIMATED AMOUNT. ALTHOUGH I HAVE A 3 YEAR WARRANTY TO APRIL 2008, I HAVE EXCEEDED THE MILEAGE OF THIS PURCHASED WARRANTY BY OVER 14,000 MILES. I AM UNCERTAIN WHETHER I SHOULD GO FORWARD WITH THIS REPAIR, TRADE-IN THE CAR, OR SEEK MY DAMAGES THROUGH MY ATTORNEY IN LOS ANGELES. WHEN I PURCHASED THIS NEW ION, MY FATHER IN LAW WAS SO IMPRESSED THAT HE BOUGHT THE SAME MODEL 5 DAYS LATER AT THE SAME DEALERSHIP. AN INTERESTING NOTE IS THIS IS OUR 3RD SATURN IN THE LAST 11 YEARS. WE BELIEVE IN THE BRAND, LOVE THE SERVICE & SALES DEPARTMENTS, BUT ARE NOT SURE ABOUT ITS FUTURE WITH OUR FAMILY. *JB