2006 SATURN ION — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,226 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (489 complaints · 39.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 44
  • Fires 7
  • Injuries 33
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2005 →
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 489 of 1,226 owner complaints (39.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 489 complaints, 39.9% of reports STEERING 489 · 39.9% · 10 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 304 complaints, 24.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 304 · 24.8% · 8 crash reports 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 220 complaints, 17.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 220 · 17.9% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports ENGINE: 45 complaints, 3.7% of reports ENGINE 45 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 38 complaints, 3.1% of reports AIR BAGS 38 · 3.1% · 15 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 24 complaints, 2.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 24 · 2.0% STRUCTURE: 17 complaints, 1.4% of reports STRUCTURE 17 · 1.4% SERVICE BRAKES: 9 complaints, 0.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 9 · 0.7% · 3 crash reports SUSPENSION: 9 complaints, 0.7% of reports SUSPENSION 9 · 0.7% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 301 complaints, 24.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 301 · 24.6% · 5 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 489 39.9% 10 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 304 24.8% 8 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 220 17.9% 2 crashes · 2 fires
ENGINE 45 3.7% 1 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 38 3.1% 15 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 24 2.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 17 1.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 9 0.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 9 0.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 301 24.6% 5 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 Oct 2005. 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2006-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2008-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2008-Q4: 28 owner reports 28 2009-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2009-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2009-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2009-Q4: 43 owner reports 43 2010-Q1: 70 owner reports 70 2010-Q2: 96 owner reports 96 2010-Q3: 69 owner reports 69 2010-Q4: 45 owner reports 45 2011-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2011-Q2: 43 owner reports 43 2011-Q3: 44 owner reports 44 2011-Q4: 49 owner reports 49 2012-Q1: 36 owner reports 36 2012-Q2: 36 owner reports 36 2012-Q3: 47 owner reports 47 2012-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2013-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2013-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2013-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2013-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2014-Q1: 39 owner reports 39 2014-Q2: 83 owner reports 83 2014-Q3: 47 owner reports 47 2014-Q4: 36 owner reports 36 2015-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2015-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2015-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2016-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2017-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2018-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2005 Jan 2025 Investigation RQ10004 ● Investigation RQ10004 Investigation EA11014 ● Investigation EA11014
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 7
2006-Q4 Owner reports 5
2007-Q1 Owner reports 6
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 6
2007-Q4 Owner reports 6
2008-Q1 Owner reports 10
2008-Q2 Owner reports 8
2008-Q3 Owner reports 18
2008-Q4 Owner reports 28
2009-Q1 Owner reports 16
2009-Q2 Owner reports 19
2009-Q3 Owner reports 27
2009-Q4 Owner reports 43
2010-Q1 Owner reports 70
2010-Q2 Owner reports 96
2010-Q3 Owner reports 69
2010-Q4 Owner reports 45
2011-Q1 Owner reports 25
2011-Q2 Owner reports 43
2011-Q3 Owner reports 44
2011-Q4 Owner reports 49
2012-Q1 Owner reports 36
2012-Q2 Owner reports 36
2012-Q3 Owner reports 47
2012-Q4 Owner reports 35
2013-Q1 Owner reports 11
2013-Q2 Owner reports 18
2013-Q3 Owner reports 22
2013-Q4 Owner reports 15
2014-Q1 Owner reports 39
2014-Q2 Owner reports 83
2014-Q3 Owner reports 47
2014-Q4 Owner reports 36
2015-Q1 Owner reports 17
2015-Q2 Owner reports 8
2015-Q3 Owner reports 16
2015-Q4 Owner reports 8
2016-Q1 Owner reports 7
2016-Q2 Owner reports 13
2016-Q3 Owner reports 7
2016-Q4 Owner reports 10
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 8
2017-Q3 Owner reports 6
2017-Q4 Owner reports 7
2018-Q2 Owner reports 6
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q1 Owner reports 4
2019-Q2 Owner reports 6
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 4
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
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 1,226 complaints · page 1 of 50

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