NHTSA Complaint #10308874 — 2004 SATURN ION

AFTER ONLY 9 MONTHS OF OWNING MY ION I HAVE EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH SHIFTING THE CAR IN AND OUT OF GEAR. IT IS A RANDOM OCCURRENCE AND CAN HAPPEN 8 TIMES IN A WEEK THEN NOT AT ALL FOR MONTHS. HOWEVER WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN IT IS A LIFE THREATENING EXPERIENCE AS I AM USUALLY DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. THE CAR WILL BE "LOCKED" INTO 4TH FOR EXAMPLE AND WHEN I TRY TO SHIFT TO 5TH I CAN NOT GET IT OUT OF 4TH. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP A MINIMUM OF 20 TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM, ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING. I THEN TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP WHERE THE TECH TOOK THE CAR HOME FOR 1 WEEK, EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM FOR HIMSELF, AND TOLD ME ALL HE COULD DO WAS REPLACE A WIRE AND HOPE IT HELPED BECAUSE SATURN WOULD NOT LET HIM INVESTIGATE ANY MORE OPTIONS. IT DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP MY CAR. AND SINCE THE LAST TIME MY CAR HAS BEEN AT THE SATURN DEALERSHIP MY POWER STEERING NOW GOES IN AND OUT. APPARENTLY THEY BUSTED A SEAL AND FAILED TO MENTION THAT TO ME, SO NOT ONLY DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO SHIFT, BUT ALSO LOSING MY POWER STEERING. THEY ONLY SOLUTION I CAN COME UP WITH IS TO TRY MY BEST TO GET THE CAR TO A SAFE SPOT AND TURN IT OFF AND LET IT SIT. THIS CAR HAS HAD MORE PROBLEMS THAN ANYONE SHOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH: REVERSE SWITCH GOING OUT, AIRCONDITIONING GOING OUT, POWER WINDOWS NO LONGER WORK, POWER STEERING, AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SHIFT. I HAVE TO DRIVE THIS EVERYDAY WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR WITH ME AT MOST TIMES. THIS SHOULD HAVE ALL BEEN TAKEN CARE UNDER THE ORIG. WARRANTY, AS IT ALL HAPPENED WITHIN THE FIRST 6-12 MONTHS OF OWNING THE CAR. LOL THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR BUYING A GM PRODUCT. *TR