SAAB 9-3 owners have reported 3 problems related to sway bar (under the suspension category). The most recently reported issues are listed below. Also please check out the statistics and reliability analysis of SAAB 9-3 based on all problems reported for the 9-3.
Found both front coil springs broken in half following a noticeable deterioration of ride quality over the past several months. My mechanic had to replace both front coil springs, struts, and sway bars in order to repair the vehicle and noted that the break on the right coil spring was approximately a half inch from the tire potentially resulting in a punctured tire.
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all problems of the 2006 SAAB 9-3
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Returned from 2 week vacation where car was parked in an outdoor airport parking lot. When car was put into reverse to back out of parking space, extra gas was required to start movement, then loud bang / pop and the car started to move. (sometimes after a rain, the disk brakes seem to rust / weld to the rotors and require extra effort to brake loose. But this bang / pop was louder than normal. )
started to drive out of parking lot, then onto street to get onto interstate. Smelled rubber burning odor. Other drivers indicated white smoke coming from right wheel well area. Stopped to investigate and found right front suspension spring broken and cutting a groove in the side wall of tire. Car handled normally, so we were glad we hadn't entered interstate and gotten up to highway speed. Car towed to mechanic. He said only right side had physically broken, but felt the left side was about to break also. He replaced both left / right struts, springs, bracket, support struts, sway bar links and right front tire.
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all problems of the 2003 SAAB 9-3
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Since owning my 2003 9-3, the parking brake stuck and would not release ultimately having to be replaced. The rear bushings on the sway bar had to be replaced, multiple light bulbs. At about 20,000 miles the steering rack needed to be replaced, most recently the power sterring pump now needs to be replaced. The seat belt also let go and had to be replaced. I thought that all that could go wrong, had gone wrong until the power steering pump went. Now reading other owner comments I have no faith in this vehicle. This is my fourth SAAB, my last I traded at over 180,000 miles with no problems.