Electrical System Problems of SAAB 9-3 - part 2

Ongoing during routine driving: the headlights on my 2005 SAAB 9-3 burn out on approximately a monthly basis requiring replacement of the bulb. According to knowledgeable sources this is due to a corrosion issue with the headlight sockets known to the manufacturer and service providers. This is a safety concern due to the fact that when one headlight bulb burns out - the other headlight bulb burns out shortly thereafter exposing me to four occurrences where I have lost illumination in both headlights while driving at night. In addition, the headlight sockets are of poor construction as I have had two occurrences of one of the three tabs which secure the headlight socket into the headlight assembly break off. This initially creates a situation where the headlight bulb moves out of alignment causing improper illumination of the roadway ahead. Ultimately, the broken tab on the socket leads to bulb failure due to vibration associated with vehicle operation. Replacement sockets available from the manufacturer are of the same construction and the underlying issues have not been addressed.

See all problems of the 2005 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

On cold engine starts (starting the car after it being at rest for a few hours), the power braking does not work for the first 1-3 minutes that the car is on. Happens consistently. First noticed months ago. Appointment scheduled for repair. Vehicle is a 2007 SAAB 9-3 aero.

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SAAB 2000 9-3 turbo continued to be plagued with no start problems (recalled item repaired by SAAB dealership. Oil sludge as a result of problems related to recall caused engine/turbo to fail at 94,000 on interstate highway. Car has been towed to mechanic. Service at dealership is documented and should have prevented this type of engine. Turbo failure.

See all problems of the 2000 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

The car has had problems starting for many years and I have taken it to various SAAB service centers without much luck. It has gotten progressively worse over the years. There was a recall on this model and year issued on the part when I brought it in when the recall was issued they said that my di cassette was not part of the recall. I have just had to pay and replace this part and I fear that this damaged part has compromised other parts of the car.

2008 SAAB 93 2. 0t sedan stalled (no sputter or buck, but just a loss of power) while driving. Resulted in a collision. Initial dealership mechanics have "no findings" - they will have a field engineer investigate tomorrow.

See all problems of the 2008 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

Purchased SAAB 9-3 2007 brand new. Nearly immediately the headlights kept going out. I found myself replacing them often and twice was pulled over by police when I hadn't realized and had just replaced the passenger side headlight. Also got one key at the time of purchase. The a/c wasn't working well so finally took it to the SAAB dealer in santa fe, nm in 2008 with complaints. They were to get me a second key, fix the a/c, check the leather on front seat and figure out what was wrong with electrical and headlights going out. The electric panel, indicating problems, was not working properly. They took my one key and told me they would be in touch as it was still under warranty. After a few days of a rental, I contacted and no one answered. I drove out to the dealership and no cars. A woman sitting inside at a simple desk in empty gm/SAAB showroom. She said they were all shocked, had no warning as employees and the dealership was gone no records on my car. No other dealer picking it up as they didn't have SAAB specialist. Long story short, I never got help from anyone, never got the repairs, never got the promised second key and have been driving it ever since. It enrages me. All under warranty! no complaints or letters have been answered. I was shocked they got away with it. Oh and the electric panel cover was gone as well. Lost. How they got away with all this is unknown. The leather on the driver's seat started cracking and peeling the first year! I put expensive leather conditioners on as well. Nothing. I am still furious and still have the car. No corporate offices would help either. I finally gave up. .

SAAB information display (sid) is losing its pixels and is unreadable. This is the second time unit has failed. The first was replaced under warranty in may 2005. Sid provides engine information and maintenance updates as well as general information such as time, radio/cd player operation ,and hands free telephone (constar) information. I have not replaced the second unit since it was approximately $400 to replace and required a SAAB certified technician with special equipment to mate with the car.

See all problems of the 2002 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

Car taken to dealer twice because "check engine light" on intermittently; told there were "no problems" and instructed on how to clear message. "check engine light" and "oil" light began to flicker intermittently; taken to 2 independent mechanics for check; both stated there was oil in the pan, oil in the engine, no obvious problem. "check engine" and "oil" lights came on and stayed on; car began making noise. Pulled over and had towed to independent mechanic who stated bearings were shot and new engine needed. SAAB USA has persisted in denying culpability despite letter and mechanic's statement. Told me car was under warranty resulting in towing from independent shop to dealer; dealer then said car was not under warranty. Bbb complaint filed; now SAAB USA insists engine must be torn down to diagnose problem and I must accept risk that if the problem is not theirs, I will owe $1500 for tear-down; dealer wants storage charges. Car out of service now 43 days and counting.

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: the contact stated the air conditioner and the defroster has been repaired multiple times due to a sensor problem. The engine was replaced a few months ago but the replacement engine was noisy.

Loss of power at highway speed 4 times on 5/17/2006, 4/17/2006. 04/7/2006/and 4/03/2006. Serviced each time by SAAB dealer with assistance from national technical. Problems continued. Made request for re-purchase under lemon laws of st of wa. Car re-purchased by SAAB USA.

: the contact stated while driving the out of alignment steering indicator light illuminated on the dash, it illuminated continuously until the system was cleared. The dealer was vague about this problem and stated it was not necessary to have it inspected. There is a problem with the automatic doors locks and the trunk release as well. The doors lock and unlock at will and the driver's door and trunk came open on one occasion while the vehicle was being driven. The manufacturer has not been alerted. Updated 08/14/06.

See all problems of the 2006 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

The engine in my 2005 SAAB 9'3 linear has failed many times within the first 4000 miles. The SAAB dealership on each of the three occasions could not find the problem. This appears to be a serious concern to me and to the other drivers around me, I hope that SAAB recalls this model!.

Since I have purchased my SAAB 9-3 convertible the digital compass always reads north and calibrated. Went in for service and dealership says they cannot fix it. They advised me the SAAB representative is aware of the problem, and all of the convertible are having the same problem, secondary to a magnetic field created during the manufacturing process.

Was driving down the gsp during the evening rush hour (5pm or so) in the left lane on the express side. Pickup truck approximately 4 ft off my rear bumper(NJ you know). Heavy rain. My 2000 SAAB 9-3 viggen just shut off. No warning. No power to get to appropriate shoulder so I had to drive the car off the left hand side of the road into the mud. After being towed to dealer I got the car back the next day. Di cassette failure was the diagnosis. Come to find out, this is a known problem with the SAAB di cassettes. One day later, car back in shop for 4 days. Dealer needed to replace catalytic convertor due to no engine power. Catalytic convertor failure a direct result of di failure. I am reporting this because had this happened while I was getting on the highway it could have been a big problem. It happens to some little old lady, it's definitely a problem at speed. With the advanced on board diagnostics and information displays, there is no way this should happen.

Consumer was driving at approximately 25-30 mph and the vehicle lost steering and brake power. Consumer looked at the dashboard and saw the engine check light illuminated. Consumer took the vehicle back to the dealer, and was advised by the manufacturer to update the computer. However, the dealer could not diagnose the defect which occurred.

See all problems of the 2003 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

While driving vehicle stalled. Consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic informed consumer that the vehicle was placed on a diagnostic machine, and the computer recorded a code referring to the computer system.

See all problems of the 1999 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled. The consumer had the vehicle towed.

2002 SAAB 9-3 convertible, about 13,000 miles caught on fire. Drove to office, turned off engine, & parked car. Got out of car & noted unusual smell despite that guages indicated "checking ok"ay. Went into my office & called zee SAAB of milford where new car was originally leased from & where all services had been performed. No problems had ever been noted with the car. Told to call SAAB roadside assistance, which I did. Went back outside to where car was parked to wait for roadside and noticed smoke coming from the hood area. Then saw fire & flames coming from the top of the hood and underneath the front of the car. Immediately called witon CT fire department and within 15 minutes fire was extinguished. In that very short amount of time, the entire front of the car was significantly damaged from the fire. A newspaper reporter was with the fire dept. & took about 30 photos of the fire & the resulting damage. SAAB roadside arrived & I requested that the car be taken to SAAB of milford. I notified allstate, my insurer. Allstate claims rep & engineeer examined the car (although requested,to date, I have not received a copy of the allstate engineer's repiort). Allstate engineer informed SAAB of milford that the fire was from "undetermined causes" & car was "totalled". Dealer informed me that despite the fact that car had only about 13,000 miles, the dealer performed all services & there were no warning lights or indicators of a problem, the damages were not covered by SAAB dealer or manufacturer warranty. Clearly, fires don't just start and there was some type of failure(s) with the car.

Twice while stopping at a stop light my car has stalled. It has stalled once while driving in traffic at about 35 mph. It has also gotten stuck in park twice afrter I start it. The sid says gear box malfunctioned. The lights burn out and the interior is falling apart. This car has 17,000 miles in it.

While driving at 70 mph, the vehicle stalled. The driver restarted the vehicle and drove it to the dealer for analysis. The mechanic noticed that electrical system had a shortage.

While driving at 5 mph and leaving a shopping mall consumer depressed the brakes, and seconds later the traction control failure light came on. Vehicle stalled, and could not be started. Vehicle had been to the dealer twice, who replaced the t6ecm or main computer.

See all problems of the 2004 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

Headlights was too low which caused difficulty in driving at night. There was noise in the rear while backing and turning (the dealer could not find the problem), the onstar feature would not work and was intermittent, the seat belt light had come on and would go off intermittently (unable to duplicate), need service soon light would come on (unable to be duplicated), the squeal in the rear, could have also been linked to salt and sand in the rotors, the trunk would not stay open, the head lights were found to be out of adjustment, and the pads had rust on them.

I picked up my car on February 24, 2003 at night. The next morning I was testing the cd player in the car and it wouldnt work. So I brought back the car for the first time. They said they had to fix something with the computer. About 1 month later my wife was driving my 2 month old son and the car stalled in the middle of the highway. While I was trying to bring it into SAAB it stalled another 2 times. They said they have to replace some computer. About 1 month later I started noticing that I was having serious pickup issues. For example, if I was accelerating after a red light I could hit the gas as hard as possible and I still wouldnt move for a solid 2 seconds. This almost became disastrous when a truck nearly hit me because I couldnt move the car. Again I brought the car in and again they replaced some computer. This time they said it was an issue with the fuel injector so they replaced the entire computer. Now about 2 weeks later the car seems to be having the first stages of the same problem. Im trying to get out of my lease but SAAB says they believe my car is fixed.

The car stalled on me under normal driving conditions - twice. The first time I was driving home from work and was on a side road going about 30 miles an hour when the gas pedal totally stopped working because the car actually had stalled. The second time was about a week later and unfortunately I was in the middle of the highway during rush hour crawling at about 5 mph and the car totally stalled again. In both instances I turned the car off and turned it on again and the problem was gone. When I called my SAAB dealer after the second occurrence, the service consultant told me that there was a reprogramming effort that would fix the problem. I was surprised that he offered a solution right away, so I asked if he knew there was a problem and they weren't sending a recall notice to fix it. He said that not all cars were stalling, only about a quarter of them, and if a customer called with a complaint then they would fix it. So I brought it in for service the next day, and they said that they called the hotline, found a problem and were able to reprogram the car so it should be all fixed.

I purchased a 2003 SAAB 9-3 linear w/ launch package (steel grey) approximately 2 months ago. Four days after my purchase I was driving using the steptronic shifting and the car lost power. Warning lights came on and the dash said to pull over and contact SAAB. When I attempted to accelerate and pull over, a severe grinding noise was heard and felt under my right foot. I called roadside assistance and they brought it back to the dealership. After several days the dealership said they saw a computer event "wheel speed mismatch" but was not sure what happened or how this was caused. They said when the car detects a problem it disables portions of the engine and computers and only allows you to go approx 20 mph to make a safe stop. The dealership called this "limp home mode" they said it was similar to a windows "safe mode". As you could imagine I was angry but understand sometimes unexplainable things happen. Now less than 2 months later it happened again. This time though I was on the freeway in rush hour traffic. After nearly getting into an accident I managed to call SAAB roadside and again they had to tow me. All of the symptoms were the same and even the grinding. . I sit here with a loaner waiting for info on the cause. I was wondering if anyone else here has experienced anything similar? or has anyone here heard of anything like this with the SAAB? any information or insight would be greatly appreciated.

I received my SAAB 9-3 back in Feb 2003 and have experienced numerous problems with the onstar system as well as the electrical system (radio snd sid). The onstar computer has been rebooted twice, the sid has finally been replaced, however, I still experience problems with the radio. Periodically, when you start the car, nothing but static comes out of the speakers and the system needs turned off and back on to correct the problem. One last item I forgot to mention. After the last reboot of the onstar system, I discovered that the steering wheel controls no longer work except for the volumn and channel changer.

Owner had just left the dealer after having the 15,000 mile oil change and check up. While driving, the owner heard a loud popping sound. Passing motorist informed the owner that the vehicle was on fire. A fire report was taken at the scene. Provide further details.