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ION wont start when cold

I have a 2003 ion. I have owned it just over a year it has close to 30K miles on it last winter i had problems when it would get cold out the car wouldnt start. When you first try to start it, it acts like a dead batt. It doesnt crank or anything after several attempts to start it will start to crank. I tried starting my car for a hour (with breaks in between trys) Finnaly the car turns over like nothing was ever wrong! After three times of this happening i put it in the shop. They couldnt find anyting wrong with it and actually suggested that i wasnt pushing the clutch in (like i would drive the car for half a year and not push the clutch in) The weather got warm and we didnt have the problem. This morning was very cold and the problem began again my husband tried to start it nothing not even trying to turn over. He tries again and it cranks but doesnt start. Gives it little break 5 mins or so tries to start it, it starts up and shuts right back off. Tries to start it again doesnt even crank gives it another break and it starts right up! The shop cant seem to find a problem nothing is registering on the computer so they say. ( which to me doesnt mean nothing is wrong) I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions on what could be causing this. The car goes to the shop again tomorrow and i would like to have and idea of what they should at least be checking! Any suggestions would really help sorry about my awful spelling!

Reply to
Christieann
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My brother's 03 ION did the EXACT same thing...the dealer couldn't find anything wrong with it after multiple attempts at fixing the problem. It did it again 3 weeks ago and he took it back into the dealer and demanded a differant car. He now has an 04 quad coupe....It definitely is a recurring problem with the 03 ION....take it back...demand an upgrade...be adamant and persistant...you will get your way eventually.

R.

Reply to
WTP07

Once had a similar problem - turned out to be an ignition switch with a lubricant that got too viscous at low temperatures. If you turned the switch to the start position and waited long enough, the contacts carrier in the switch would finally move through the lubricant and provide power to the starter. Solution at the time was to use an aftermarket switch with a different lubricant.

Reply to
Scott

well i had my car in yesterday and it was the ignition switch i guess they are now equiping all new ions with a newly designed switch so they dont have this problem unfortunatly since my ion was one of the first it had the old ignition switch in it so if anyone else is having the problem tell the garage to replace the ignition switch with the new one and it should fix it thanks to all

Reply to
Christieann

The first saturn I bought, a used 98 SL2 did exactly the same thing (it was purchased in Feburary, in Montreal, so yeah, it was cold as hell), I had it in and out of the dealers for 2 weeks and they couldnt find a single thing wrong with it, I finally returned the car for another used Saturn which never had the problem (knock on wood).

Wurm

Reply to
Wurm

I have an '03 Ion QC bought it August 18, 2003. 21500Km now. I live in Saskatchewan and the winters here are FREEZING.

I had no problems starting last winter at all. Even when it was not plugged in, it started fine. I hope I don't have any problems this coming winter

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Reply to
GCC

Reply to
rickymcninja

I am still trying to resolve this issue as well. I had my ignition replaced back in October. They say they put in a new model. However, last weekend my car did the same thing. It wouldn't start for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once it starts all is well. This time, however, it didn't log any errors. They basically told me to take it home and wait until it "fails" again. I figure, I'll give them one more chance. If it does it again and they can't figure it out I will be extremely disappointed if they don't try and take care of me. I didn't pay full price for a car that starts when it wants to.

Also, every time it has happened it was in my garage where the temperature doesn't get below 40 degrees.

Andy

Reply to
lust4sun

Wow.... this same thing has been happening to us with our 2000 LS Sedan. Problems started last year. Happens in all kinds of weather, cold, hot, can happen after the car has sat for a day or two or after it has sat for 1/2 hour. Took it into the dealership. Told me without "duplicating the problem" there wasn't anything they could do. They had one of their mechanics drive it to and from work for 2 days then said there was nothing they could do , to come and get it. I told them they could keep the car until they COULD duplicate the problem. It isnt any good to me if it isnt reliable. Only has

63000 kms on it for heavens sakes. Well can you believe it , the very next day they managed to duplicate the problem and they replaced the fuel pump. Was fine for a couple months then wouldnt start again one day. Wait the 10 - 15 minutes... Starts up fine. Didnt bother taking it into the dealership this time. I never thought of video taping it. We will do that next time. And unfortunatley I am sure there will be a next time *sigh*
Reply to
skittish

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