2004 SATURN ION — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 886 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (307 complaints · 34.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 50
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 34
  • Deaths 3
Compare with 2003 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 307 of 886 owner complaints (34.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 307 complaints, 34.7% of reports STEERING 307 · 34.7% · 13 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 265 complaints, 29.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 265 · 29.9% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 48 complaints, 5.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 48 · 5.4% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 47 complaints, 5.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 47 · 5.3% ENGINE: 45 complaints, 5.1% of reports ENGINE 45 · 5.1% AIR BAGS: 33 complaints, 3.7% of reports AIR BAGS 33 · 3.7% · 22 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 21 complaints, 2.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 21 · 2.4% · 2 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 20 complaints, 2.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 20 · 2.3% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports VISIBILITY: 19 complaints, 2.1% of reports VISIBILITY 19 · 2.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 256 complaints, 28.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 256 · 28.9% · 19 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 307 34.7% 13 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 265 29.9% 3 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 48 5.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 47 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 45 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 33 3.7% 22 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 21 2.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 20 2.3% 1 crashes · 1 fires
VISIBILITY 19 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 256 28.9% 19 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2004. 2004-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2004-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2005-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2005-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2005-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2005-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2006-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2007-Q1: 26 owner reports 26 2007-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2008-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2008-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2008-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2008-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2009-Q1: 60 owner reports 60 2009-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2009-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2009-Q4: 27 owner reports 27 2010-Q1: 42 owner reports 42 2010-Q2: 52 owner reports 52 2010-Q3: 42 owner reports 42 2010-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2011-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2011-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2011-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2012-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2012-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2012-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2012-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2013-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2013-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q1: 36 owner reports 36 2014-Q2: 59 owner reports 59 2014-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2014-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2015-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2015-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2015-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2016-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2004 Oct 2025 Investigation PE04061 ● Investigation PE04061 Investigation EA04035 ● Investigation EA04035 Investigation RQ10004 ● Investigation RQ10004 Investigation EA11014 ● Investigation EA11014
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2004-Q1 Owner reports 4
2004-Q2 Owner reports 7
2004-Q3 Owner reports 14
2004-Q4 Owner reports 7
2005-Q1 Owner reports 13
2005-Q2 Owner reports 11
2005-Q3 Owner reports 16
2005-Q4 Owner reports 9
2006-Q1 Owner reports 5
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 3
2006-Q4 Owner reports 12
2007-Q1 Owner reports 26
2007-Q2 Owner reports 6
2007-Q3 Owner reports 6
2007-Q4 Owner reports 14
2008-Q1 Owner reports 29
2008-Q2 Owner reports 9
2008-Q3 Owner reports 15
2008-Q4 Owner reports 20
2009-Q1 Owner reports 60
2009-Q2 Owner reports 9
2009-Q3 Owner reports 15
2009-Q4 Owner reports 27
2010-Q1 Owner reports 42
2010-Q2 Owner reports 52
2010-Q3 Owner reports 42
2010-Q4 Owner reports 16
2011-Q1 Owner reports 18
2011-Q2 Owner reports 5
2011-Q3 Owner reports 14
2011-Q4 Owner reports 12
2012-Q1 Owner reports 10
2012-Q2 Owner reports 15
2012-Q3 Owner reports 16
2012-Q4 Owner reports 7
2013-Q1 Owner reports 6
2013-Q2 Owner reports 11
2013-Q3 Owner reports 12
2013-Q4 Owner reports 11
2014-Q1 Owner reports 36
2014-Q2 Owner reports 59
2014-Q3 Owner reports 38
2014-Q4 Owner reports 13
2015-Q1 Owner reports 15
2015-Q2 Owner reports 8
2015-Q3 Owner reports 10
2015-Q4 Owner reports 11
2016-Q1 Owner reports 3
2016-Q2 Owner reports 6
2016-Q3 Owner reports 5
2016-Q4 Owner reports 3
2017-Q1 Owner reports 7
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 6
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 5
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q1 Owner reports 4
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 2
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE04061
Defect investigation 1 EA04035
Defect investigation 1 RQ10004
Defect investigation 1 EA11014
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 886 complaints · page 1 of 36

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources