Front Suspension Coil Spring problems of the 2005 SAAB 9-3

Just put 2005 SAAB 9-3 into shop for new breaks and was informed that the front passenger coil spring was broken. Parts are unavailable. I have no recollection as to when this might have happened. Thankfully it was not on freeway.

I went to put new tires on the car because of a flat tire and the service garage indicated the front coil springs were broken. I called a SAAB dealearship and that indicated that the previous owner replaced the springs but the replacement springs were not covered.

Front coil springs broke. Service station had to remove front strut assemblies to replace "broken" front coil springs- install struts-clean affected surfaces and two new tires.

The contact owns a 2005 SAAB 9-3. The contact stated that while driving 5 mph, the front passenger side suspension coil spring fractured and punctured the front passenger tire. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to a local mechanic shop where the failure was confirmed. The dealer was contacted and advised that the parts needed for the repair were on a national back order and the dealer was unaware of when the parts would become available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who stated they were not sure when the parts would become available and offered no further assistance. The failure mileage was 78,000.

The front-right coil spring has broken (when turning 180 degree, at 3 or 5 mph);.

The contact owns a 2005 SAAB 9-3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, she heard a loud noise and the vehicle started to drive differently. The vehicle was taken straight to the dealer where they advised her that the front passenger side coil springs were fractured and needed to be repaired. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised her that they had issued an extended warranty but her vehicle was not one of the affected units that the warranty would cover. The failure and the current mileages were approximately 42,000.

A few weeks ago, I began to notice a clunking sound near front driver's side tire when going over bumps in the road. Upon investigation this week, I could see that the coil spring was broken right through the metal. I had never hears of anything like that. Mileage is approximately 77,000. Drove it to the mechanic, who confirmed that there is a broken spring. They informed me that, although the part is not expensive, there are none available, that this is a known defect, and the part is on a national backorder! I never rec'd any sort of notification from SAAB about this. The mechanic also said that I was incredibly lucky that the break didn't happen on the freeway, that it could have taken out the brand new front tire. I have a young daughter and I volunteer to drive other school kids on a weekly basis--this could have been catastrophic. Until a new spring is found, I was told not to drive the car, that it could blow out the tire at any time. There is no eta on the new part. Even though SAAB is bankrupt, there's a local dealer still in business, so I'm the wait list for the part with them as well. In the meantime, I'm stuck.

I have a 2005 SAAB 9-3 that became undriveable after the front left coils/springs broke, puncturing the front driver's side tire. The car was in motion when a popping sound was heard, followed by grinding and a burning rubber smell. At that point the car was not able to be driven. It was towed to a local repair shop and then to a SAAB dealership to complete the repairs because there is a campaign out for this issue, but not a recall. The springs/colils were replaced for free but the tire cost was prorated and the car required an alignment after the repairs which was not covered in the cost. This car had been in the dealer service department 2 weeks prior to this failure and the coils/springs were specifically checked due to the campaign. The service department determined that the parts did not show any sign of damage and so were not replaced. Both tow truck drivers and the repair shop owner commented that I was lucky that this did not happen on the highway, considering how quickly it rendered the car undriveable and what could have happened had I been going at a fast rate of speed, surrounded by other cars. I am shocked that this issue is not a recall as it is a huge safety risk.

The problem apparently occurred while driving down the freeway. I heard a loud "clunk" that sounded like I had hit something but there was nothing in the road. Following that, every time I would drive over an irregularity in the road I would hear a "clunk" in the front passenger side. I took it to a local shop to find out what was making the noise and they discovered the broken right front coil spring. The sharp broken end was very close to rotating into the side of the tire which would have been catastrophic. I have the broken piece of the spring. I have also learned that this is a disturbingly common problem with this model of SAAB as I ran across a web site with many SAAB 9-3 owners that have experienced the same thing at roughly the same mileage I have which is 49700. My four year, 50,000 mile warranty recently expired. I just found out about the broken spring yesterday and have not yet had it repaired. I intend to contact the dealer tomorrow morning but I want your organization to be aware of this dangerous defect.

2005 SAAB 93 - front passenger coil broke and dug into tire. No warning indicated such as strange sounds or car handling differently. Just suddenly broke near bottom of coil and the broken end of the coil dug into the tire. The tire has an indentation the goes completely around the inside. Tire is damaged/dangerous now and needs to be replaced also. Was driving slowly at the time so no personal injury.

My 2005 SAAB 93 44,500 miles. While driving to work on a six lane divided highway (i495) in the right travel lane the right front coil spring broke and shred the tire causing a blow out. The driver had never before experienced a tire blow out and was startled and jerked the steering wheel to the left in a moment of panic and the car began to slide sideways while scrubbing off speed. The car remained mostly in the right travel lane. There wasn't much traffic on the road at 5am and the car did not hit any other vehicles or objects. The driver regained control of the vehicle and pulled off the right shoulder of the road and got out of the vehicle to examine the damage. The right front tire was flat so the driver jacked the car up and removed the tire. Immediately apparent was the broken coil spring. The driver did not want to spend the money for a tow truck. Instead, the driver decided to install the temporary space saver spare tire and limp the car home by driving on the shoulder for about 10 minutes at 30mph with the hazard warning lights flashing. The car was parked in the driveway and another vehicle was driven to work. Later a mechanic was hired to repair the vehicle where it was parked in the owner's driveway. Both front coil springs and the damaged tire were replaced at a total cost of approximately $600.

Front coil spring fracture.

2005 SAAB 9-3 arc sedan front coil spring fractured. Broken spring contacted tire side wall and caused irreparable damage.

Passenger side front coil spring cracked and broke approx. 4-5 inches from strut mount. This caused the coil to bounce against the strut.

Broken front coil springs.

The contact owns a 2005 SAAB 9-3. The contact stated that the front passenger side coil spring failed. While driving 45 mph, she heard a noise as her front passenger side tire blew out. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the road and towed to a repair shop. The manufacturer has not been notified. The contact called her insurance company. The failure mileage was 48,000.

I have a 2005 SAAB 9-3 with 56,000 miles on it. Recently I experienced a broken right front coil spring which poses a significant safety issue not limited to the potential for a shredded tire. Luckily this issue was caught quickly and before causing an accident. The warranty on this vehicle lapsed at 50,000 miles and SAAB is unwilling to replace the part. After researching this issue I have found numerous reports of similar cases - some breakages happening at speed and shredding tires. . Read more...