2005 Saturn ION - Page 9 - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

I would check the ignition switch. When it doesn't start, I would check to see if you are getting power to the starter when the key is turned to the starting postion.

Are you sure that the wipers are coming on in the middle of the night? And something else is not running the battery down. Because if this is the case. Then the ignition switch is not turning off. The wipers have to have the key on to work. The problem with them coming on while driving it is either the wiper switch or something is energizing the relay. Does this happen every night? If so you can pull the wiper fuse and see if the battery is good the next morning.

25 Nm (18 ft. lbs.)

Open the driver door. There should be a button that the door pushes when you close it. Try pushing the button. If this doesn't shut the light off, make sure the dash dimmer is not set to high. Sometimes the light is on a timer. If the timer is broken the light might not turn off. So, dimmer, button, timer. If all else fails, remove the bulb to save your battery..

Just because the lift motor is spinning, that does not mean any work is being done. There is a gear on the motor which moves teeth on the regulator which causes it to move up and down. So there could be, and often are, missing or stripped teeth, and/or the bottom of the window has come out of the rail on the regulator. I would go over to youtube and find a video on how to pull the inside panel, then you can see what is not happening with the lift motor working. Stay away from the dealer, you can buy a new regulator at advance or autozone or ebay motors but do yourself a favor and pay an auto glass install shop to put it in for you.

It is electric, and if you are having problems like losing your power steering while driving it is a issue in the column and is now available for repair thru a factory recall. Take it to your nearest Saturn dealer.

It is electric and is available on a factory recall. Take it to your nearest Saturn dealer.

Their is a solution to the common saturn ion windsheild wiper problems. A new improved version of the wiper linkage is available and it has aluminum pivots instead of plastic. The plastic pivots were the weekest point of that linkage. I bought one oat this link and put it in myself. Awesome product

A mini spare is designed to get the car 50 miles down the road. Of course they will go further but the original intent of these tires was to save space. In doing so they provide you with a lesser quality space saving tire. In other words.. it is not a very wise or an all weather condition(s) choice to keep driving on your spare.

Kelly

this is not a problem follow the steps below.Some might say it's a pretty straight forward job. The filter is under the rear of the car, just above your rear axle-it is secured by a single fastener, and has 3 "quick release" connections to the nylon fuel lines.
To Release Fuel Pressure:


Turn the ignition OFF.
Disconnect the battery negative cable in order to avoid possible fuel discharge if an accidental attempt is made to start the engine. Refer to Battery Negative Cable Disconnect/Connect Procedure in Engine Electrical.
Loosen the fuel filler cap to relieve the fuel tank vapor pressure.
Remove the cap from the fuel pressure service port.
Remove the engine identification cover nuts and cover.
Connect the SA9127E , or the J 34730-1A to the fuel pressure service port connection. Wrap a shop towel around the port while connecting the gage in order to avoid spillage. Refer to Fuel Pressure Gage Installation and Removal .
Caution: Do not drain the fuel into an open container. Never store the fuel in an open container due to the possibility of a fire or an explosion.
Install the bleed hose of the SA9127E , or the J 34730-1A into an approved fuel container.
Open the bleed valve on the SA9127E , or the J 34730-1A in order to bleed the fuel system pressure. The fuel connections are now safe for servicing.
Place a shop towel under the fuel pressure service port to catch any remaining fuel spillage.
Disconnect the SA9127E , or the J 34730-1A from the fuel pressure service port connection. Refer to Fuel Pressure Gage Installation and Removal .
Drain any fuel remaining in the gage into an approved fuel container.
Install the cap to the fuel pressure service port.

AND/OR PRIOR TO THAT...
a common "cheater" practise is to remove the fuel pump fuse and run the engine until it stalls, then crank it (wont start) for 10-20 seconds (1-2 automatic crank cycles) to minimize pressure in the lines.
ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES AND DONT USE AN INCANDECENT (BULB TYPE) TROUBLE LAMP - FLOURESCENT ONLY!! (they've started more undercar fuel fires than almost any other source). So please be carful as this is a fuel job and do not start a fire.
If you need further assistance or have any questions. Please feel free to follow up with a comment. If this solution helped you in your problem please feel free to rate the solution. Thanks, Midwest-tek

It's probably dripping only when you are driving such as from a weephole where the water pump is located or it may be leaking onto a hot surface so the moisture evaporates, but will leave a stain. You should turn the vehicle off, let it cool and use a leak
pressure test with a tool you get from the parts store (they will let you buy a used one and take it back for full refund). You pump it up and then look closely with a strong light for any drips while there is pressure in the system and the vehicle is turned off.

The alternator replenishes power to the battery making sure the bat. is fully charged all the time. The drive belts turn the alternator pulley

You'll need to find out what code has been stored. Some auto parts stores will have a scanner that you can use. It could be an evaporative emission code that will turn on the light but the engine will still run fine. If fumes are escaping from a leaking evap system the light will come on. It could be something as simple as a loose gas cap.

There is a safety switch that stops the compressor engaging when the gas is low, it needs topping up from time to time anyway

Actually there is an "I" on the shifter in a Saturn ION automatic. It means "Intermediate" It's just the shift position between "D" for "Drive" and "L" for "Low"

I had this problem on cold mornings mostly. If it doesn't start and you have power and there is a yellow light on the panel that looks like a padlock the problem is most definitely the ignition switch. The ignition switch will falsely trigger the passive anti-theft devise "Passlock" to disable the engine. Several minutes later if you sit and watch the light it will go off indicating that Passlock has reset. If you then remove the key and try it again the car should start. This problem gets really irritating if you don't deal with it. My car did it so randomly in the winter that I only got it fixed after it happened twice in a row after resetting and only started on the third try. Took about half an hour. I was really late for work that day.

The air filter, fuel filter and oxygen sensor are definitely things to look at but the 2005 ION doesn't have a distributor it has an ignition module. Not the cheapest part. I own a 2005 ION and had a similar problem. It was idling at a low RPM and would stall when I had the clutch in long enough to let the engine idle. I simply cleaned the throttle body and the problem was solved. The throttle body gets a nasty build up on it and needs to be cleaned regularly. It's fine when the throttle is open but as soon as you allow the throttle to close to the idle position the engine is choked because of the build-up. My wife's car is an '06 Ion automatic and it was doing the same thing when she had the brake on at a light or a stop sign. Same solution worked just fine.

Also her car had a problem with stalling when she went over bumps and around corners. These cars have really bad ignition switches and key tumblers and it turns out after we had a dealer look at it that the weight of her key ring (it had way too many things on it) slowly caused the ignition to wear out and it would shut off the power when it jiggled the wrong way.

Not sure if these describe your solution but I hope that it helps.

In the 2005 ION there is a fuse panel on the driver's side inside the center console under the air conditioning controls. A black plastic fastener turns to remove the cover right above the floor. It should be in there. If not, the only other panel is under the hood behind the PCM on the driver side of the compartment. There is another removable cover just opposite the driver side cover but I don't recall there being any fuses on that side of the console.

PRESSURE TEST FROM A RADIATOR PUMP

My wife has also had trouble with this and what we did was pop the small little cover off of the steering column (bottom right side if you are sitting in the car) and there is a small white button inside which is a manual release for the key. There apparently is an issue with a contact not making well in the gearshift which prevents that solenoid from energizing, thus allowing the key to be removed.