NHTSA Complaint #11078470 — 2005 SATURN ION

KEYS CAN NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION OF THE 2005 SATURN ION. RESEARCH INDICATED THAT GM HAS THIS PROBLEM ACROSS SEVERAL OF ITS SMALL CAR BRANDS AND MODELS. THE INABILITY TO REMOVE THE KEYS CAUSES THE BATTERY TO DRAIN. IT ALSO LEAVES THE CAR VULNERABLE TO THEFT AS THE CAR CAN BE STARTED AGAIN. GM ALLEGEDLY RECOGNIZES IT AS A PROBLEM WITH UPWARDS OF 88,000 VEHICLES. ARTICLES WRITTEN BY MIKE COLIAS IN AUTOMOTIVE NEWS INDICATED THAT GM, BEING VERY WELL AWARE OF THE ISSUE PROMPTED GM TO OFFER A "SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT" IN WHICH THEY WOULD REPAIR THE CAR FOR FREE, BUT NOT RECALL THE AFFECTED CARS. A LOCAL GM DEALER WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT AND WAS NOT WILLING TO REPAIR THE CAR FOR FREE, ALTHOUGH THEY DID SAY THEY WOULD DO MORE RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM ONLY SURFACES WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY AND IT WILL SHUT OFF. BUT IF GOING AWAY WITH THE CAR OR STOPPING FOR GAS OR ERRANDS FORCES YOU TO LEAVE THE KEYS IN THE CAR, IN ADDITION TO DRAINING THE BATTERY IT BECOMES A LARGE TARGET FOR THEFT.