Suspension Noise problems of the 2005 SAAB 9-3

Since I bought my car (new) in June '05 I have complained of a "crunching noise" in the front suspension every time the weather turned cold. I was told the problems varied from ball bearings to the sway bar, to just dirt build up. Each time the dealer made some "repair" to get me out the door. The problem continued. Now, April '11 I have a broken spring in the front passenger side. I have been told that I have to pay the dealer to diagnose the problem before they will consider fixing it under any special circumstance free of charge. I have sourced some parts for it and am considering having it fixed by myself, rather than go to the dealer who brushed me off for 5 years. Thankfully I was just pulling out of my parking spot when I heard the grinding noise from the front passenger side and I was not traveling at a high rate of speed when this happened. The spring broke downward and was very near the tire. There could have been a serious tire blowout on the highway had I not been so lucky.

Normal driving. Bottom six inches of front right strut coil spring just broke. I have never seen a coil spring just break before. This part is still on the car and I have the broken six inch semi-circular piece. It took almost three months before I discovered where a clicking sound was coming from in the front right suspension.

With a little over 50,000 miles an odd noise started in the front suspension. A couple of months after this clunking noise began I made an appointment at a SAAB dealer and it was diagnosed as a broken spring. I had both springs replaced (the right front was broken) as a precaution, because I have learned that this is a common problem for newer SAAB 9-3's. Although I was able to drive the vehicle with the broken spring, a spring failure of this nature could cause catastrophic failure of the tire, hence the safety concern. The frequency of broken springs in this model of car leads me to conclude that a recall is in order.