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We would be happy to check into your vehicle's information further to see if there are any recalls. If you haven't already, send us your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your involved dealership to socialmedia@gm.com
All the best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
I have just spoke with the dealership and unfortunately the BCM is something that is normally covered under the bumper to bumper warranty which is 3yrs/36,000 miles. I am sorry but we will not be offering cost assistance for the repair. However, I would be happy to follow up with you after repairs are completed.
Regards,
GM Customer Assistance
So will be out of the money to replace a faulty bcm part. all i wanted was for them to supply part. so because of a $400 they will lose one of their most loyal customers they have ever had have owned a gm car or truck for the last 12 to 14 years straight.im going to post my experience to every site i can and make my complaints to all the regular sites safer car.gov (NHTSA) and filed a complaint. i know it wont do any good. Following declaration of Chapter 11/363 Bankruptcy, General Motors needed to completely redefine its established brand image, which appeared to consumers as faceless, nameless, outdated and impenetrable. The new GM brand structure would require a more accessible and transparent feeling in order to help humanize the brand.
Social Media Solution: Build a diverse social media team, with CEO engagement and support, to handle all logistical/management social media operations, which allow the newly defined GM brand mentality of openness and engagement to be clearly communicated and fully accessible to the media, to the general public, and most importantly, to customers.
Move on, that is move away from GM ...
They are of no help or assistance to Saturn owners. Have bought a total of 17 Saturns between 2000 and 2008 - weeding them out, replacing with non-gm products like Ford, Nissan and Subaru ...
Done with buying GM - as simple as that.
Too bad they got you on the BCM. It will be interesting to see if it actually will make your vehicle perform as it should - I have my doubts.
Good Luck to you.
Sarah, GM Customer Service
I had this same problem all winter long, and luckily I found this link when researching before taking it to a mechanic.
it is a problem with the PASSLOCK system. They used TINY wires, which get faulty after the cold messes with them enough times.
anyway, all you have to do is CUT this passlock wire WHILE the car is running. This will trick the car into starting up EVERY SINGLE TIME.
i have had NO problems for 3 years now. my car fires up everytime, and I have not had to replace one battery, fuel ignition, starter ect with 154000 miles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5AGhFWcBw
there is the youtube link that saved my cars life.
this has a very good car except for this flaw and the 5-speed manuals have a horrible shifting linkage and pin. I've had the shifting/cotter pin fall out/crack/break on me 10 different times to where I had to get towed.
either way...this WILL be your PERMANENT HASSLE FREE fix. I don't care what mechanics tell you ,they just want your money. Do this FREE, SIMPLE fix, NOW!!hope this helps someone, as I struggled for a whole winter very pissed off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5AGhFWcBw
The car will give us starting problems intermittently. Don't give Saturn/GM one penny. This is an inherent design flaw that should have generated a recall.
There is plenty of information on this forum to deal with the problem.
I called Saturn when it first started happening. All they wanted to do was schedule me for an appointment. I told them "I can't get the !@#$%^& car into the dealership if I can't get it started." I then told them I need to speak to a technician. They wouldn't or couldn't do it, and asked again if I wanted to make an appointment.
Next time buy a Japanese car. I've owned Nissan, Toyota, and Subaru, and would take any of them over an American made car.
Read the etothev and mojo22 comments .... You have the answer without spending the $931 that the gm dealer is 'recommending' ....
Over 1,000,000 miles on our ION's and yes, the starting problem has been on several ...'03, '04's and '05's.
Like several others that have commented, stay away from gm, they have not earned your loyalty the way they handled this specific saturn problem - known since the vehicles were under warranty and nothing was done!
Have a few more to 'dispose-trade' and replacing with US built 'import' brands ...
Good Luck with your '03 ION
We're sorry that you're encountering some troubles on your new Ion. Are you working with a dealership at all to get this checked into? Let us know if we can answer any questions regarding working with a dealership.
Sarah, GM Customer Service
The gm dealers are typically clueless' when it comes to this problem, you will be spending too much money on their diagnostic (to a problem they should be well aware of ...) then too much money for the repair. Instead follow the postings here and you will no doubt find the solution to this well known ION problem. Good Luck with your ION.
The poster should read back through the last year of posts. I recall the procedure for repairing has been posted a couple of times.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Stay away from a gm diagnostic ... just money spent for a well known problem. I would replace the ignition switch - they are known to go bad.
If you cannot do the repair yourself, turn to a independent shop. Also, take your time and search postings of this problem - you will find some very good recommendations ... Good Luck
Congrats!
Don't you wish you had done it sooner, like long time ago ...
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Share your vehicle reviews
Background; I have a 2005 Saturn Ion 2. I had the stereo and front headlight replaced under warranty. The stereo wouldn't work after rain or snow. The CD player was fine, but no radio. They fixed it for me but I still have the same problem to this day. It is rare and will work after a little while so I'm not worried about this.
I also hit a snowbank slipping on ice pretty soon after getting the car. Minor wheel-well damage they repaired for me, but my car seemed to have bad alignment ever since. My key will get stuck in the ignition and I'll have to wait for the steering wheel to click so I can get the key out. Sometimes this is really quick, sometimes I have to sit for a while. Sometimes I just wiggle the wheel. Sometimes I have to restart the car and turn the car around. A mechanic told me these cars have this issue and it's not worth fixing as it'll happen again, so I just dealt with it and got used to it.
Lately it's been taking a while to get the key out so I'll leave it in the car. Last night I forgot the key in the car. I didn't realize it until I was at work and my girlfriend called to say she thought the battery was dead (I took her car to work that day, she needed to use mine).
So I leave work early to come jump the car for her. I first tried starting it to see what happened. I turn the key to just before turning the engine on and it clicks several times. The lights on the dash flicker but nothing happens. Same thing when I try to get the engine to turn on, flickering and clicks. The dash shows the normal start-up lights (engine, breaks, etc.) but not the security light (so no cutting white wire if I could even start it up). It also flashes the No Trac message (like when I have TC off).
So is it the ignition, the starter, the battery or the passlock?
Thanks for your help!
-David N.
How this been going on for so many years, with so many models and GM not have had to be held responsible?
I just found out that a family member has had the same problem with their Malibu. 2 different garages worked on 3 different things, all a waste of over $1000 before a hobby mechanic told them what was wrong. Those family members could have used that money to pay for vital prescription medication.
My Saturn finally had the stop starting issue about a month ago while having an oil change. A mechanic their said "it was my starter going bad" off the top of his head, although I pointed out it would start 11 minutes after it last stopped starting. Again, the "10 minute" consistent delay to me is indicative of a digital timing issue once it fails the first time.
Sad part about it is they KNOW, but have no intention to assist or do anything about it except recommend getting the vehicles to a gm dealer for diagnostic test ... all the postings about batteries, starters and so on ,,,, only confirms how clueless mechanics and gm dealers are about this problem. Take your time, read thru porstings after postings and you will come across the problem, then you (or your independant, local mechanic - not a gm dealer) can assist you and your car will start 100% of the time thereafter, cold, rainy or warm and hot days alike! Good luck.
By "refuse to start," this is what I mean: the first time I turn the key the engine "coughs." It's as if the starter tries and promptly gives up. After this, turning the key results in absolutely nothing (no clicks, no coughs, nothing!) from the engine, but all cabin electronics are fully functional. The only solution is to sit and wait. It takes 10 to 20 minutes of waiting and pumping the gas pedal to finally successfully convince the engine to start. Some attempts result in false starts, where it sounds like the engine turns over over but then doesn't actually run.
The worst part of this is how unpredictable it is. Two days ago, I went to the grocery store (first trip of the day), and it was fine. It wasn't till trying to leave the store 45 minutes later that it decided to cough out. Fifteen minutes, 4000 gas pedal pumps and five key turns later (two coughs, two false starts and one successful start), it turned over and ran. I ran four more separate errands, and it had no trouble starting. This issue seems totally random, so I can't show a mechanic what is happening.
Fuel system? Starter? Alternator? Murphy's law? Why does my car randomly have these dead starts?
Backtracking: immediately after buying the car, I noticed it had problems taking the key out of the ignition sometimes. Other times, it's hard to pull out, like it sticks a bit in there. The car will turn on fine, but when turning it off, it gets stuck in the Acc position. So, I thought maybe the ignition cylinder had gone bad, but the dealership can't replicate the problem, so they are reluctant to do anything to it. I thought maybe that was the reason it wouldn't start too.
They get back with me at the end of the day I brought it into the shop, and tell me the fuse box is bad, and I need a new one, and it's not covered by warranty. Now, I just bought this car not three weeks ago. They're giving me a $300 discount, but I'm still stuck with a $560 fee on a car I just bought. Which I think is unfair, and really low for them to pull. On top of that, they're not going to pay for my rental since the car is not under warranty for this repair, and they are requiring me to return it immediately. Nothing in my warranty clause says they only pay for a certain number of days, it only says "while the car is in the shop." ON top of that, I took it in Thursday, and they won't get it done until Monday evening. For a fuse box.
I've looked on Saturn forums to see if that might be the answer, but I can't find anything that says other people have had the same problem. With others, it's usually the passlock. However, I waited the 10-15 minutes people have, but the car still wouldn't start. So, I guess my question is, does this seem like a reasonable issue for it not starting?
So sorry you got taken by the dealer where you bought the car and spent extra money on extended warranty ... then got little to no help. Good luck