How many miles will a 2004 Saturn Ion last?
Half of the 713 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion that list mileage came after 69,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 139,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 898 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 713 complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion that list mileage, the middle half came between 40,000 and 104,000 miles; 193 (27%) came after 100,000 miles, 46 (6%) after 150,000 and 10 (1%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2004 Ion last?
The 713 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 466,700 miles. A quarter are at or under 40,000 miles, half at or under 70,000, three quarters at or under 104,000 and nine in ten at or under 140,000; 193 (27%) came after 100,000 miles, 46 (6%) after 150,000 and 10 (1%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2004 Ion wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 40,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 70,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 104,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 140,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 466,700 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 193 (27%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 46 (6%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 10 (1%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 3,538 NHTSA owner complaints on the Saturn Ion that list mileage came after 66,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Saturn Ion last? →
Common problems with the 2004 Ion
NHTSA's file holds 898 owner complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion. Owners named steering most often: 345 complaints, and half of the 307 that list a mileage came after 85,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering | 345 | 307 | 86,000 |
| Electrical System | 331 | 231 | 54,302 |
| Power Train | 60 | 53 | 64,000 |
| Air Bags | 52 | 25 | 55,000 |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 36 | 29 | 105,000 |
Of the 898 complaints, 51 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 29 report an injury (35 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2004 Ion a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2004 is a good or a bad Ion: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2004 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 898 complaints, the 2004 ranks 2nd of the 5 Saturn Ion model years from 2003 to 2007 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (1,235). The fewest: the 2005 (573).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
2004 Saturn Ion recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 10 recall campaigns that name the 2004 Saturn Ion (8 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 14E021000 | Apr 30, 2014 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH |
| 14V171000 | Apr 10, 2014 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION |
| 14V153000 | Mar 31, 2014 | STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM |
| 14V047000 | Feb 10, 2014 | AIR BAGS |
| 09E012000 | Apr 7, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2004 Ion lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2004 Ion.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 185 of the 898 complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: ION. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: ION.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2004 Saturn Ion questions
How many miles will a 2004 Saturn Ion last?
Half of the 713 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion that list mileage came after 69,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 139,000 miles. Of the 713 complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion that list mileage, the middle half came between 40,000 and 104,000 miles; 193 (27%) came after 100,000 miles, 46 (6%) after 150,000 and 10 (1%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2004 Ion that never had one.
What are the most common 2004 Saturn Ion problems?
NHTSA's file holds 898 owner complaints on the 2004 Saturn Ion. Owners named steering most often: 345 complaints, and half of the 307 that list a mileage came after 85,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 898 complaints, 51 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 29 report an injury (35 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2004 Saturn Ion a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2004 is a good or a bad Ion: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2004 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 898 complaints, the 2004 ranks 2nd of the 5 Saturn Ion model years from 2003 to 2007 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (1,235). The fewest: the 2005 (573).
How many recalls does the 2004 Saturn Ion have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 10 recall campaigns that name the 2004 Saturn Ion (8 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2004 Saturn Ion before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2004 Saturn Ion.