the sterring lock thing happened to me once did pwr str show up on your
gauge cause thats what happened to me i restarted and havent had the problem
since. The ion uses electronically assisted power steering and the computer
"burped" and missed the startup sequnce thus thinkin the car was off.
"Art" > wrote in message
k.net...
> Do you have another late model car with a similar antitheft ignition
system?
> According to my Toyota manual, if the wrong key gets too close to the
> ignition switch and it has a similar system, it can trick my Toyota into
> refusing to start.
>
>
>
> "sallysaturn via CarKB.com" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I've got just under 5000 miles on my Ion and it's been having issues
since
> > about 3000 miles. Three or four times the fuel gauge has gone to zero
and
> > the passlock symbol lighted up on the dash. The car still drove fine
and
> > the problem fixed itself after a while. The most recent problem
occured
> > yesterday when I started up the car - the steering wheel was all locked
> > up.
> > It still turned a little bit, but was very, very tight. I restarted and
> > the problem when away.
> >
> > We bought the Ion because we wanted to save a little money but still
have
> > reliable transportation and had heard good things from a few people who
> > owned Saturns ( the S- Series). However, we are now planning to trade
in
> > the Ion as soon as possible because let's be honest, a car with
electrical
> > problems after just 3000 miles isn't worth hanging onto.
> >
> > As far as I can gather, the Passlock system is supposed to disengage the
> > the fuel and lock up the steering wheel when it determines that you
aren't
> > using the right key. Something with the Passlock system on my car is
all
> > screwy and I suspect it's not easy to fix. The dealer was quite
> > circumspect about and that gave me a bad feeling.
> >
> > I asked myself, would it have helped if we spend a little more money and
> > got an ION 3? Probably not, since it's all the same engine underneath
the
> > hood.
> >
> > We are lucky that we are able to absorb the financial loss on the Ion
and
> > get a different car. I am sure that most Saturns are reliable vehicles,
> > but
> > unfortunately, mine just isn't one of them. There is no doubt in my
mind
> > that the problems will only escalate. I have no desire to be zooming
down
> > the freeway at 60 have the steering wheel lock up, or the fuel system
> > disengage. We are just going to bite the bullet on the trade in and
get
> > a
> > different car.
> >
> > Good luck to everyone else out there with Saturn problems!
> >
> > --
> > Message posted via http://www.carkb.com
>
>