NHTSA Complaint #10250617 — 2004 SATURN ION

THIS HAS BEEN A RARE, SPORADICALLY, OCCURRING PROBLEM THAT HAS PLAGUED THE CAR FOR OVER TWO YEARS. ON AVERAGE ABOUT EVERY THREE MONTHS THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING FAILS WHILE THE CAR IS RUNNING. IN THE LAST FOUR MONTHS THE INCIDENCE HAS INCREASED TO AS MUCH AS THREE TIMES PER DAY AND ABOUT FOUR DAYS PER WEEK. THE FAILURE OCCURS AT ANY/ALL SPEEDS. THIS OBVIOUSLY RESULTS IN A SUDDEN, EXTREME DRAG ON THE STEERING MECHANISM REQUIRING GREATLY INCREASED DRIVER EFFORT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. QUICK MANEUVERS OR SHARPER TURNS ARE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILS. TURNING THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTING RESTORES THE POWER STEERING. IF THIS IS ATTEMPTED WHILE THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN, THE STEERING LOCK COULD BE ENGAGED, RESULTING IN AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CONDITION. THE DEALER ACKNOWLEDGES NO FAMILIARITY WITH THIS PROBLEM OR OF ANY BULLETINS REGARDING THIS ISSUE, DESPITE EVIDENCE FROM NUMEROUS INTERNET POSTINGS BY OWNERS WITH SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. UPON MY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS WITH SERVICE PERSONNEL AT SATURN DEALERS, THEY SPECULATE THAT A ROUGHLY $1000 REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN ASSEMBLY, WHICH CONTAINS SENSORS, ELECTRONICS, AND THE POWER STEERING ELECTRIC ASSIST MOTOR MAY SOLVE THE PROBLEM. TO DATE SUCH REPLACEMENT HAS NOT BEEN PURSUED DUE TO INCONCLUSIVE DIAGNOSIS AND POSSIBLE HIGH COSTS. THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION IS A 2004 SATURN ION II, PURCHASED NEW. *TR