NHTSA Complaint #10572674 — 2004 SATURN ION

WE WERE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70MPH WHEN THE CAR STALLED OUT AND WE LOST POWER STEERING ABILITY. WE STARTED THE CAR AGAIN WHILE IT WAS IN MOTION AND IT CAUGHT BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN A FEW MORE MILES DOWN THE ROAD. SINCE OUR SATURN DEALERSHIP WAS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS, WE HAD A TRUSTED MECHANIC TAKE CARE OF IT NOT KNOWING THERE WERE ISSUES. I RESEARCHED THREE RECALL NOTIFICATIONS FROM SATURN. ONE INVOLVED THE LEFT TURN SIGNAL WHICH WE HAD TO HAVE FIXED TWICE WITH A HARNESS AND BULB REPLACEMENT IN ON 2/5/05 AND AGAIN ON 10/24/05. ANOTHER WAS A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH REPLACEMENT ALSO ON 10/24/05. AND THEN THE THIRD WAS THE FAULTY ELECTRIC POWER STEERING WHICH AS YOU KNOW WE HAD REPAIRED ON 10/4/12. I CONTACTED GM ABOUT A REIMBURSEMENT AND THEY SAID NO BECAUSE WE WERE PAST 10 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES, AND THAT THE REIMBURSEMENT FORM MUST BE RECEIVED BY 8/31/11. MY QUESTION TO GM IS, HOW CAN YOU PUT A LIMIT ON SOMETHING THAT WAS FAULTY FROM THE BEGINNING? THE NEW IGNITION AND INJECTORS IN MARCH 2010 ($758.94) AND THE NEW STARTER IN AUGUST 2011 ($324) AFTER HAVING RELATED PROBLEMS/REPAIRS DUE TO THE RECALL IN OCT 2005 SHOW THAT SOMETHING JUST WASN'T RIGHT IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THIS MODEL. AND THE POWER STEERING MOTOR REPLACEMENT ($177) IN OCT 2012 SHOULD ALSO BE REIMBURSED BECAUSE GM ALREADY ADMITTED IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE MODEL YEAR SO REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE HAD 10,000 MILES OR 160,000 MILES, IT WAS FAULTY. NOW WE LEARN THAT THEY KNEW THESE WERE PROBLEMS ALL ALONG AND DID NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEM. WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME IS THAT I INQUIRED ABOUT ALL OF THIS WITH THEM IN DECEMBER 2012 - THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE "A NEW GM" DIFFERENT FROM THE COMPANY BACK IN 2001? IF THEY WERE DIFFERENT WHY DID THEY REFUSE TO REIMBURSE ME THE $2,177 WE SPENT IN REPAIRS, OR ADMIT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL? IS IT BECAUSE WE DID NOT DIE IN AN ACCIDENT? *TR