Warranty covers Saturn recall omission

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - General Motors issued a voluntary recall for faulty fuel pumps in 2006 and 2007 Saturn Ions, but only in some states.

All Saturns were manufactured at one plant in Tennessee, but some Saturns in Virginia--that have the same issues--may need to be recalled too.

Portsmouth resident Jim Johnson's 2007 Saturn Ion had gas fumes leaking into his car that made it hard to drive. A mechanic told Johnson his fuel pump was cracked, and was the source of leaking fumes into the car.

Johnson was told by GM-Saturn that the repair was not covered under a voluntary recall because the recall was only in some states, and not Virginia. The repair cost Johnson $660.

Ken Silverman's dealership sold Johnson the car, and he says the repair would have been covered by the powertrain warranty on the car.

"Whenever he had a problem with the fuel lines he could have simply brought it to any Saturn dealership, and the problem would have been taken care of at no charge to him," Silverman said. Johnson says he did call Saturn and was told he wasn't covered.

Charles Burch says he also has gas fumes are leaking into his Saturn.

"The faster I go the stronger the odor will get," he said. "I roll down the window and the fumes come in...I roll up the window and it stops the intake of the fumes, but what's in the car is already there. It's extremely strong...I can't open my window because it just lets more [of the fumes] in."

Burch took his car to Saturn of Virginia Beach and got a new fuel pump covered under the powertrain warranty--not the recall.

David Belcik's 2006 Ion has the right VIN number for the recall, but his car, too, is in Virginia.

"I took it to Bob's Auto because it wasn't in the recall," he said.

Bob Nickerson, owner of Bob's Auto, says he made all the calls to find out if the repair was covered.

"We called the dealer to find out if its covered by the warranty, and the dealer said it was not covered...they looked up the VIN number and it was not under warranty," said Nickerson.

Johnson says that GM said they would send him a check.

"So I guess that's going to cover it," he said.

A GM spokesperson gave this statement:

"Satisfying our customers is always our first priority, so we were pleased to be able to help Mr. Johnson receive reimbursement,"

And Johnson is thankful.

"You got me my money back, that's the main thing," he told WAVY.com "If nothing else it lets everybody know if they are having problems with the fuel pump they can also bring it in."

A tip from WAVY.com: Check first with the dealer where you bought the car to see if any repair is covered under a warranty or a recall. If it is, then your repair is free. If it is not, then shop around for the best repair deal.