Service Brakes Problems of SAAB 9-3 - part 1

No incident.

See all problems of the 2001 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

Vehicle stalls while in drive there is internal fuel issue causing engine to misfire and potential damage.

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

At start up, the car loses braking power. To stop the car you have to push extremely hard on the brakes. After the car has been driven 20 to 30 feet the brake power comes back to normal.

See all problems of the 2007 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

The contact owns a 2008 SAAB 9-3. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced an intermittent loss of brake assist power. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic and the technician diagnosed that the vacuum assist pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 05v236000 (service brakes, hydraulic), but the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.

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

Takata recall? my car keeps giving me the following alert: airbag malfunction. How can I verify it is part of the recall?.

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

Large sections of the front brake rotors are flaking apart. The rotor surface is reduced to about half of normal and no longer provides safe stopping ability. Stopping distance is significantly increased and safety is severely compromised. Vehicle mileage at time pf problem discovery 14,000 miles.

See all problems of the 2011 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

This has occurred on multi occasions. Usually in cold weather the car usually while braking will report a complete failure of the brake, anti-lock brakes, and stability control. Speedometer quits working, and message appears to come to a complete stop. Once you stop and turn off the car, and then restart all messages disappear and car returns to normal operation. The system may lead to an accident. This is the five incident over the last two years.

During routine under hood inspection, brake fluid reservoir cap was observed to have split into multiple pieces. This damage, apparently heat related, compromised the ability of the braking system to maintain pressure and could result in loss of braking, crash, and bodily injury. Vehicle was removed from service pending receipt of replacement part.

See all problems of the 2009 SAAB 9-3 🔎.

2 incidents occurred. I have owned the car for 1 week and, occasionally on cold starts, when attempting to back up and stop, the brake pedal is hard to depress making braking extremely difficult. Additionally, on occasion, if I accelerate and then attempt to depress brake pedal, the pedal is extremely difficult to depress making stopping difficult. This has almost resulted in an accident during hgh traffic situations.

I have had my 2006 SAAB 9-3 in for service 4 times for an abs/traction control/stability control failure. Each time I take it to the dealership, they tell me that the cost is around $385 for a hub assembly, no labor included. I have talked to many people who have had the same problem. The real problem is that the wire leading to the wheel corrodes. Now my car is at the dealership for the same problem and they want to put in a rear harness for the same system and want to charge me $315 just for the part, doesn't include labor. This part has been found for around $120 elsewhere. This is very frustrating as the car acts as a totally different animal when it is not functioning properly. Every time this has happened the temperature has been 40 degrees f or lower.

Upon starting after sitting, the brakes have a greatly increased pedal effort and a correspondingly greatly reduced braking effect. This combined with the relatively high idle for this model of engine, (v-6), at start up combines to creates a situation where the car is very difficult to stop when driving away from first start-up.

On numerous occasions, after starting the vehicle and selecting reverse or drive, as the car started to move the brake pedal becomes extremely hard, almost impossible, to depress and there was little to no brake effectiveness at all. The car would not stop until selecting neutral and using the emergency brake. After the car was able to idle for 15-30 seconds, the brake pedal returns to normal and functions properly again. This most often occurs if the car has sat off for more than a few hours.

Had been having problems with a very rough idle. Then when putting car into reverse from a cold start the brakes would be inoperable (brake would not press down). Throwing car into a different gear was only way to stop car. Very scary when parked on an incline one morning and reversed into traffic but couldn't stop. Took to service repair to find the brake booster needed replaced. Said this was unacceptable failure in car of this age/mileage who has very regular service record.

After starting car and adjusting seat I backed out of parking space and applied the brakes which did not seem to work properly. The car eventually stopped as I was not going very fast. I put the car in drive and began to accelerate to move to another parking spot and as I turned the corner going approximately 10 mph I applied the brakes and they did not work; I accelerated again to test the brakes again and they did not work; I again accelerated to test the brakes again and they still did not work. I cautiously moved my car to another parking spot and applied the brakes which did not work and subsequently over shot the parking space.

Upon starting the vehicle after sitting, the brakes had greatly increased pedal effort to apply and greatly reduced breaking result. The car failed to stop and struck a pole while backing up.

On July 22nd 2010 at approximately 1500 est, I started my car, a 2006 SAAB 9-3 aero sport sedan and placed it into reverse to exit my garage/ driveway on my way to work. As I neared the street I depressed the brake pedal to slow down and enter the street but the brake pedal seemed to be ineffective and I ended up putting the car into neutral and entering the street at an angle. After I had stopped in the street I pumped the brakes and put the emergency brake on and shortly (2min) I was on my way without further incident. I reported this incident to my SAAB dealer, and they said they had never heard of this before and said there was nothing I could do as it was out of warranty. During the rest of the summer I drove that car I had no further problems. (it is my parents car that I drove when I was home for the summer). I later found out that my parents also had this problem intermittently so I began searching online and found others that had a similar problem and referenced a report pe08005 which seemed to describe my problem. I brought this report to the SAAB dealer and they told me they had never seen it and couldn't do anything about it.

Brake vacuum pipe check valve broke apart, resulting in a loss of braking power and check engine fault. Car was not drivable after incident.

On cold startup the vehicle has no power assisted brakes. This has lead to numerous occasions where you get in the car and begin to back out and nearly hit another vehicle. It takes nearly a minute after startup of the vehicle before it is safe to put it in gear.

Found my cap to my brake reservoir cracked open like a tin can above the threads. The plastic literally split in two. The cap still could be twisted on and off easily, but would no longer prevent brake fluid from escaping. Cap will be replaced with a new one. I have heard similar complaints from people with my car possibly related to the heat generated by the turbo. 2006 SAAB 9-3 aero 2. 8l v6.

Sudden loss of braking power immediately after I start the car. At low speed, I had to engage the emergency brake and transmission to stop the car. Brake pedal was depressed to the floor.

2006 SAAB aero v6, at a cold start and while backing out of the driveway, the brake pedal goes very hard and the car will not stop for 15 -20 ft.

Similar issue to NHTSA defect investigation # pe08005. Loss of brake power assist after a cold start up and reversing. The vehicle is very hard to stop, requiring high pedal pressure, until the car has warmed up for ~30 seconds. This has occurred numerous times over the past 6 months. It is more prominent after sitting for several days. Also while driving on the road, when a bump is hit while brakes are applied, brakes make a metal-on-metal grinding sound and the braking action does not work until additional pressure is applied. This also happened when braking on slippery road conditions such as snow or rain. This caused a near accident when my car did not stop for another 10 feet than intended and entered an intersection on a red light.

The contact owns a 2006 SAAB 9-3. While driving approximately 50 mph, the power steering failed. Immediately, the brake and accelerator pedals failed to respond and the engine stalled without warning. The engine failed to restart after several attempts. Roadside assistance was called to the scene and the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician stated that the failure was related to the idling within the computerized system. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer on two separate occasions for identical failures. The technician stated that the failures were related to the temperature sensor, which was replaced. The failure continued and the vehicle is currently being repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 40,550.

2007-SAAB 9-3 aero v-6 engine. On 7-4-09 and 7-6-09 started car and backed out of garage and had no brakes. Used e-brake to prevent car from going into street. Brakes seemed to work fine after that. However, based on past complaints that I have seen on this web site I feel that it is time to address this issue before someone gets injured.

Loss of brake power assist after a cold start up. The vehicle is very hard to stop, requiring high pedal pressure, until the car has warmed up for ~30 seconds. This has occurred numerous times over the past 6 months.

I have a 2005 SAAB 9-3, 2. 0 liter turbo engine. My daughter owns the same car, but a 2004 model. The abs control unit with esp had to be replaced on both vehicles; in my vehicle at 73,000 miles and her car at 121,000 miles. Was there a recall on this part?.

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

Car will not stop when in reverse after morning start-up. No braking power in reverse even at idle. Problem has been addressed 3 times by dealership. Car in again for same problem only 5 days after previous "fix" in shop again now almost 2 weeks as of today.

I own a 2006 SAAB 9-3 aero sport combi. Two weeks ago, after the vehicle had been parked for 24 hours, I started the vehicle and placed the gear shift in reverse. The vehicle started rolling out of the drive way. The brake pedal was rock hard at the top of the stroke. It took me nearly 75 feet to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was traveling at 2-3 mph. The vehicle is currently at the dealership because the brake booster is back ordered. This is the third time the vehicle has been in the shop for this complaint. Each time the aux. Brake booster was replaced.

When a bump is hit while brakes are applied, brakes make a metal-on-metal grinding sound. When steering wheel is turned after braking (pulling into or out of parking space) metallic clicking sound is heard. Brakes work better after car is warmed up.

I have a SAAB 93 aero and the brakes do not work shortly after starting the car.

The contact owns a 2001 SAAB 9-3. While driving at any speed, the instrument panel stopped functioning and the brake pedal had to be applied with more pressure than normal to stop the vehicle. The failure occurs every time the vehicle is driven. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failure. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage was 70,000 and failure mileage was 60,000.

Loss of brake power assist after a cold start up. The vehicle is very hard to stop, requiring high pedal pressure, until the car has warmed up for ~30 seconds. This has occurred numerous times over the past 6 months. The car has been left with 2 different dealers on several occasions, to allow them to observe and diagnose the problem. They have never been able to duplicate it. I have given the dealers info about the current NHTSA investigation (pe08005) pertaining to this same complaint for this model car from several other sources, and noted that earlier models of this car were recalled for a (possibly) similar defect.

2003 9-3 linear. Requesting follow up status on memo, dated 3-26-06. The vehicle engine would not shut off although the key was removed from the ignition. The vehicle had several brake problems. The vehicle hesitated slightly when moving. When braking the vehicle would jerk and skid. The brakes grabbed which caused the vehicle to stop quickly. The alarm was very sensitive. Everytime a bus or truck passed the vehicle with the alarm engaged it would sound. The dealer said there was not way to adjust the sensitivity of the alarm. The windows were off track. The steering wheel seized when the consumer was driving on the highway. *****.

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

The brake pedal on my '03 SAAB 9-3 sports sedan sinks to the floor when constant moderate pressure is applied. The SAAB dealer assures me that all cars of this type do this. I believe strongly that it is a serious safety defect.

The lease on this vehicle began on October 6, 2003. It has had multiple electrical issues starting less than 30 days after delivery. Most recently, September 11, 2005. I have been stranded three times and had to have the car towed twice. Each time the onstar did not work because of electrical malfunctions. We no longer have any confidence in this vehicle and if we owned it we would sell it. Problems include but are not limited to: * cd player stopped working and was replaced within first 30 days of lease. * brakes replaced within first 60 days of lease. * onstar computer replaced within first 60 days of lease. * vehicle computer updated within first year of lease. This left me stranded and almost required a tow due to inoperative transmission but, the vehicle eventually shifted into limp mode before the tow truck arrived allowing us to drive it to the dealership. * vehicle computer updated again within first year of lease. * onstar computer repaired again within first year of lease. * door handles faded and replaced within second year * parking break stuck and vehicle required a tow within second year of lease. * engine immobilizer malfunction requiring another tow of the vehicle within second year of lease. We were told that the battery abruptly died. * trip computer must be reset after gas is added in order to show correct distance to empty. * miles between oil changes seem incorrect. We are at 27000 miles and have only had one oil change. The dealership continues to tell us to wait until the computer requests the service.