Consumer Complaint Detail

SATURN / ION / 2003

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 006078985 Incident Date: Sep, 11 2006
Consumer's City: GRANGER Consumer's State: IN
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: General Motors, LLC
Model Name: ION Model Year: 2003
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Power train:automatic transmission
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 1G8AL52F53Z Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Sep, 14 2006 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Jul, 25 2003
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 4 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: Since we purchased this vehicle brand new in 2003, the transmission has slipped occasionally upon normal acceleration. we brought this to the attention of the dealership at our regular maintenance appointments, and they told us that this was the normal functioning of the transmission. fast-foward 3 yrs, 40,000 miles, and the problem has become a threat to the safety of those driving in and around the vehicle. when attempting to make a turn out of a parking lot onto a major road, the car rolled down the hill into the road, but it would not move any farther once on a flat surface. i am lucky that no one was coming too close or fast behind me, or my vehicle would have been a sudden, unavoidable roadblock for sure. this also happened while i was attempting to make a left hand turn with heavy oncoming traffic. people were somehow able to avoid my car, although it was a major hazard to safety. these were terrifying experiences, and i immediately dropped my car off at the dealership that night (i happened to be down the road from the dealer when these events occurred). according to the dealership, the transmission fluid was very dark, fluid pump severely damaged, and the 2nd gear clutch and coast assembly "burned up". the transmission, pump, gears, clutches, and torque converter were replaced at a cost of $1250, which they claimed was a great deal for us, as this was claimed to be a $5500 job. i appreciate their efforts and attempt to rectify the situation, however i am still disappointed in the lack of quality control, and the apparent lack of research and development in the engineering of this vehicle. no one expects to need to replace a transmission in a car with 40,000 miles. my life was put at risk because of a manufacturing error in this vehicle, and i hope that the the nhtsa takes the necessary actions to prevent more lives from being put at risk or lost due to this error.