NHTSA Complaint #10315920 — 2005 SATURN ION

I WAS ADVISED AFTER CALLING SATURN A THIRD TIME THAT I FILE A COMPLAINT ON THIS WEBSITE TO GO TOWARD A RECALL OF MY ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MOTOR ON MY SATURN ION 2. 1. ONE NIGHT IN NOVEMBER 2009, WHILE MAKING A LONG DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY, MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT WITHOUT WARNING. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON, THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK ON. 2. HOWEVER, SINCE THEN, THE POWER STEERING STARTED TO GO OUT MORE AND MORE FREQUENTLY. FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS, THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT AS SOON AS I START DRIVING THE CAR AND I DRIVE WITHOUT IT 99% OF THE TIME. I HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER I AM CAUSING ANY FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE CAR DRIVING IT LIKE THIS. THERE IS NO WARNING OF IT HAPPENING OTHER THAN THE BEEP THAT OCCURS AFTER IT GOES OUT. SOMETIMES THE BEEP WILL BE SO DELAYED THAT I WILL GO TO TURN AND IT IS EXTREMELY HARD AND UNEXPECTED. THIS BACK AND FORTH OF HAVING OR NOT HAVING POWER STEERING IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY ISSUE. I CANNOT RELY ON SKILL OR MUSCLE MEMORY ALONE TO KNOW THE FORCE I NEED TO STEER THE CAR. I HAVE NOT YET HAD A CRASH BUT I WORRY ABOUT IT MORE AND MORE. PARKING IS A HUGE PROBLEM. 3. I WAS TOLD BY SATURN THAT IF I WENT TO ONE OF THE (FEW REMAINING) SATURN DEALERS TO HAVE A DIAGNOSTIC DONE, IT WOULD THEN CONTRIBUTE TO A RECALL. I DID GO HAVE THIS DONE, AND THE DEALER TOLD ME IT WAS "ONLY A MATTER OF TIME TILL A RECALL, SINCE WE SEE THIS PROBLEM EVERY DAY NOW". THEY EVEN STARTED CARRYING JUST THE MOTOR SINCE IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE STEERING COLUMN. THEY QUOTED ME A PRICE FOR REPAIR AND I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE RECALL. IT IS VERY HARD TO SCRAPE UP $600 TO REPAIR A PART THAT THEY ALL KNOW IS DEFECTIVE. DO PEOPLE HAVE TO CRASH AND GET SERIOUSLY INJURED OR DIE BEFORE IT WILL BE RECALLED? NOW TO SEE OTHER GM CARS GET RECALLED FOR THE EXACT SAME POWER STEERING MOTOR, BUT NOT MINE, IS UNBELIEVABLY FRUSTRATING. THERE IS NO "SATURN ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MOTOR"...THEY USE THE EXACT SAME PART. *TR