SAAB 9-3 Complaints

1,407 consumer complaints on file.

#10308165February 9, 2010
SEATS
MY 2004 SAAB 9-3 ARC HAD A DANGEROUS SEAT HEATER ISSUE. I WAS NEARLY BURNED WHEN THE SEAT HEATER WENT CRAZY. SO, HOT I COULDN'T TOUCH THE SEAT. I HAD TO STOP THE CAR AND GET OUT. THIS IS DANGEROUS!!! *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10307276February 7, 2010
STEERING
2007 SAAB 9-3 WAS BEING DRIVEN AT NORMAL SPEEDS ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET. DRIVER NOTICED SHUDDER IN STEERING WHEEL TWICE, THEN AT THE RIGHT NEXT TURN THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT WHEEL TURN 90 DEGREES OUTWARD FROM FORWARD DIRECTION AND THE CAR WAS INOPERABLE. AXLE WAS DETACHED FROM THE DRIVESHAFT. CAR TAKEN TO SAAB DEALER, WHO REPORTED A BOLT ON THE STEERING LINKAGE MAY HAVE SHEARED OFF, CAUSING THE FAILURE. *TW
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10305241February 4, 2010
SEAT BELTS, SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
THE SEAT BELT ON MY SAAB 9.3 - 2004 STOPPED WORKING FOR NO REASON. I FOUND ON THE INTERNET THAT THE ITEM HAD BEEN RECALLED BUT SAAB REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECALL. NHTSA NUMBER 04V226000. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10305410February 4, 2010
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10303768February 2, 2010
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
GAS PEDAL GETS STUCK WHEN DEPRESSED FULLY DURING TAKEOVER MANEUVERS OR PASSING. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON THREE OCCASIONS SINCE WE PURCHASED THE CAR USED EXACTLY TWO YEARS AGO IN VIRGINIA AND AFTER THE THIRD TIME, I DECIDED NEVER TO PUSH THE PEDAL ALL THE WAY IN FOR FEAR OF AN ACCIDENT SPECIALLY WHEN MY CHILDREN ARE PRESENT. THE PEDAL DID BECOME UNSTUCK AFTER A FEW FRIGHTENING SECONDS ON ALL OCCASIONS. SPEED WAS NOT HIGH, 35 MPH ONCE AND 45 OR SO THE OTHER AT THE MOST. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10303283January 30, 2010
SUSPENSION:FRONT
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10302316January 26, 2010
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
THE HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS ON THE SAAB 9-3, FROM 2003 THROUGH PRESENT, DO NOT ADEQUATELY ILLUMINATE THE ROADWAY. THIS TYPE OF HEADLIGHT LAMP DESIGN IS KNOWN AS A "PROJECTOR BEAM" & IS A DIFFERENT CONCEPT THAN TRADITIONAL HEADLIGHTS. THEY'RE DESIGNED TO BETTER ILLUMINATE ROAD SIGNS & PERIPHERAL ROAD MARKERS, WHICH THEY DO, BUT AS FAR AS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF HEADLIGHTS, (TO ILLUMINATE THE ROADWAY IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE) THEY ARE INADEQUATE & ONLY EXTEND LIGHT ABOUT 40' DOWN THE ROADWAY, WHICH IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO DRIVE SAFELY AT NIGHT. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COMPLAINT IS ONLY REGARDING THE LOWBEAM HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS, AS BOTH THE HIGHBEAMS & OPTIONAL XENON TYPE HEADLIGHTS ARE MORE THAN ADEQUATE. THE IRONY OF THIS PROBLEM IS THAT THE SAAB 9-3 IS AMONG THE VERY SAFEST CARS AVAILABLE TODAY, FROM A CRASH TEST PERSPECTIVE, BUT NIGHTTIME VISIBILITY IS A SEPARATE SAFETY RELATED ISSUE WHICH I'VE NEVER SEEN TEST RESULTS FOR. MY FAMILY HAS OWNED SAABS EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS & HAVEN'T HAD THIS HEADLIGHT PROBLEM UNTIL WE PURCHASED A SAAB MODEL 9-3, OF WHICH WE NOW OWN 2: AN '04 & AN '07, BOTH OF WHICH SUFFER FROM THE SAME PROBLEM. IF YOU ACCESS THE WEBSITE WWW.SAABNET.COM & SEARCH ON "DIM HEADLIGHTS", YOU'LL SEE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS SAME ISSUE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10302094January 24, 2010
SUSPENSION:FRONT
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10301901January 22, 2010
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
WHILE SHIFTING FROM STOP THE PLASTIC SHIFT KNOB FELL OFF EJECTING ITSELF INTO THE REAR SEAT. DEALER CLEANED OLD GLUE OFF AND REASSEMBLED SHIFT LEVER MECHANISM. REINSTALLED SHIFT KNOB WITH TWO STEP EPOXY. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10301898January 22, 2010
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
TRACTION CONTROL FAILURE LIGHT IS ON. DEALER FOUND YAW RATE SENSOR FAILURE AND REPLACED. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10301902January 22, 2010
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
WIPERS ARE NOT PARKING CORRECTLY. DEALER FOUND WIPER MOTOR FAULTY AND REPLACED. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10301904January 22, 2010
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
DRIVERS SIDE LOW BEAM IS DIM. DEALER FOUND THE LOW BEAM BULBS WERE OVERHEATING. REPLACED LOW BEAM BULBS AND REPROGRAMMED THE ELECTRICAL CENTER UNDER THE HOOD WITH NEW SOFTWARE TO PREVENT THE HEADLIGHT BULBS FROM OVERHEATING. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10301979January 22, 2010
STRUCTURE
I HAVE A 2007 SAAB 9-3. IT HAS A PLASTIC COVER/PROTECTOR UNDER THE DASH OVER THE PEDALS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT MY FEET CONSTANTLY GET CAUGHT BY THIS PROTECTOR WHICH LIMITS MY ABILITY TO PRESS ON THE PEDAL, ESPECIALLY THE BRAKE AS MY FOOT MAY GET CAUGHT. SIMILARLY I HAVE ENCOUNTERED ISSUES WHERE I CANNOT RELEASE THE BRAKE OR ACCELERATOR FOR THE SAME REASON. THERE IS ALSO A CONNECTOR THERE WHICH LOOKS LIKE THE CONNECTOR TO CONNECT TO THE CAR ECU. THIS CONNECTOR STICKS OUT BELOW OTHER POINTS AND CAUSES THE MOST INTERFERENCE. IT IS THIN SO IT IS ONLY A PROBLEM AT CERTAIN TIMES, BUT WHEN IT GETS IN THE WAY IT CAN SEVERELY IMPEDE MY FOOT. MY SHOES ARE NOT VERY LARGE AT ALL AT A MEN'S SIZE 9, BUT I KEEP HITTING THE COVER AND CONNECTOR ON MY SAAB. I AM POSTING THIS AFTER THE TOYOTA RECALLS, SINCE I FEEL THAT THIS CAN HAVE A SIMILARLY DANGEROUS EFFECT ON MY DRIVING. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10300341January 19, 2010
SUSPENSION:FRONT
COIL SPRINGS ON MY 2006 SAAB 9-3 WITH 35500 MILES BROKE. IT RUBBED ON MY FRONT RIGHT TIRE WHICH MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10299803January 14, 2010
SEATS
I WAS USING MY CAR'S SEAT WARMER AND THE SEAT BEGAN TO GET VERY HOT IN ONE SPOT ON THE SEAT. I ALSO NOTICED A BURNING SMELL THAT SMELLED LIKE BURNING LEAD OR RUBBER. THE LEVEL OF HEAT THAT WAS COMING FROM THE SPOT ON THE SEAT LEAD ME TO LIFT MYSELF OFF OF THE SEAT IN ORDER TO PREVENT BURNING MY LEG. I TURNED THE SEAT WARMER OFF, WHICH SEEMED TO MAKE THE BURNING SUBSIDE. THIS SEQUENCE CONTINUED UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK LATER WHEN THE SEAT WARMER STOPPED WORKING. ABOUT A MONTH LATER, WITH THE HELP OF A FAMILY FRIEND I REMOVED THE SEAT FROM THE CAR AND REMOVED THE UPHOLSTERY IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE AND TRY TO FIX IT. UPON REMOVING THE UPHOLSTERY, WE FOUND THAT THE WIRING OF THE SEAT WARMER HAD STARTED A SMALL FIRE IN THE SEAT CUSHION AND BURNED A HOLE (3 INCHES WIDE AND 1 INCH DEEP) IN THE CUSHION. THE BACKING OF THE LEATHER THAT COVERS THE CUSHION HAD ALSO BEEN BURNED THROUGH. THE WIRING WAS NOT RECOGNIZABLE AND REPAIR WAS NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE. WE LEFT THE SEAT AS IT IS FOR NOW UNTIL WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE, AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO PREVENT THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION FROM OCCURRING AGAIN. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10299606January 13, 2010
SUSPENSION:FRONT
HEARD A LOUD NOISE WHILE PULLING OUT OF THE PARKING LOT; SOON AFTER, THERE WAS A RUBBER(TIRE) BURNING SMELL AND VIBRATION ON THE FRONT RIGHT SIDE. THE COIL SPRING SNAPPED AND WAS PRESSING AGAINST THE TIRE AND RIM. HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE MECHANIC. CHANGED BOTH FRONT COIL SPRINGS. MILEAGE ON THE CAR-44,000. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10298331January 5, 2010
SUSPENSION:FRONT
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10297671December 31, 2009
SUSPENSION:FRONT:STABILIZER BAR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SAAB 9-3. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH SHE HEARD A LOUD GRINDING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE SWAY BAR FAILED BECAUSE OF THE RIGHT FRONT COIL SPRING. THE MANUFACTURER TOOK A REPORT. THE MANUFACTURER WANTED TO OFFER $100.00 TOWARDS THE COST FOR REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 83,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10297699December 31, 2009
SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SAAB 9-3. THE LEFT COIL SPRING FRACTURED AND THEN PUNCTURED A WHOLE IN HIS DRIVER SIDE FRONT TIRE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER NOR HAS THE MANUFACTURER BEEN CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000. THE VIN NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10297343December 29, 2009
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SAAB 9-3 PURCHASED OCTOBER 2006. WHILE DRIVING LESS THAN 20 MPH, SHE HEARD A LOUD WHIZZING NOISE, AND THEN NOTICED THAT THE SEAT BELT WAS STILL CONNECTED TO THE PILLAR, BUT THE TENSIONER HAD BECOME DISLODGED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP, BUT THEY COULD NOT PERFORM THE WORK BECAUSE THERE WAS A RECALL. HOWEVER HER VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER 04V226000 (SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR). NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO DATE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE UNDER 79,037.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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