2003 Saturn Ion 1 Trunk/Rear Repair?

Matty_G
Fri, 18 May 2018 02:04:05 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Hey all,

I just had a couple questions for someone who might be a little more experienced than I am about Saturns or just cars in general.

I have a 2003 Saturn Ion 1. I got into a car accident in December, and it messed up the rear of my car pretty bad. Fortunately, everything is still operational, but it left some damage in the back.

The rear end of my car seems to have shifted to the point where the tail lights don’t sit flush in their places, the trunk seems a little shifted to the left, and my trunk no longer closes correctly. If you slam the trunk lid, it will close, but leaves clear, open gaps into the trunk itself. The trunk can only be opened now if one person holds the trunk release (makes a machine gun noise), and another person lifts up on the trunk. This gap makes it so that when there’s rain, the trunk gets water in it, which is where my battery is and a whole bunch of other stuff.

I’d like to try to fix it myself if I can. I have a pretty comprehensive set of tools (not machinery, though), and am very handy. I have a lot of electrical experience, but little mechanical experience. I can’t afford to have the car repaired, or to just get a new car. I make barely enough to live off of and can’t afford to have my car destroyed by the weather, and need to be able to commute to and from work.

Has anyone disassembled the rear end of a Saturn Ion and/or can provide advice? The trunk release won’t shift far enough to make a solid connection, and I’d like to get the interior back in place if possible. Is this something I might be able to move and fix myself, or is it more likely that the frame is bent and not fixable on my own?

Thanks much for any help or advice. I’m in a real tough spot with this and really need to do all I can to make this happen.

EDIT: to clarify, I am just trying to find a way to make sure my trunk doesn’t flood without having to seal the trunk. I know that I won’t be able to fix the body damage, and that’s ok.

15 posts - 8 participants