2006 SAAB 9-3 Complaints

MY 2006 SAAB 3 CONVERTIBLE ONLY HAS 46,000 MILES ON IT. WE PURCHASED IT IN MAY OF 2006. RECENTLY THE "COOLANT LEVEL LOW" LIGHT KEPT COMING ON. WE WOULD TOP OFF THE COOLANT AND IN ABOUT 8 DAYS THE LIGHT WOULD BE ON AGAIN. THE SAAB DEALER IN GUILFORD, CT. 06437, WHERE I BROUGHT IT TO BE REPAIRED, HAS INDICATED TO ME THAT IT NEEDS A NEW ENGINE BECAUSE THE COOLANT WAS LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE!! SAAB SAID THAT THEY WOULD PAY $6,000 TOWARD ENGINE PARTS. I HAVE TO PAY THE REMAINING $2,000. THE NEW ENGINE MIGHT BE REBUILT OR NEW AND ONLY GUARANTEED FOR ONE YEAR. THE CAR WILL BE IN THE SHOP FOR "AT LEAST" A WEEK. DURING THAT TIME SAAB IS GIVING ME A FREE LOANER TO USE. I BELIEVE THAT MY CAR WAS AT DANGER FOR AN ENGINE FIRE BECAUSE THE COOLANT WAS LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE, ACCORDING TO SAAB. THE CAR WAS TOO NEW WITH TOO LITTLE MILEAGE FOR SUCH A SAFETY HAZARD TO OCCUR. I HAVE HEARD OF OTHER SAABS HAVING THIS PROBLEM AND BELIEVE THAT SAAB SHOULD PAY THE ENTIRE COST OF THE REPAIR UNDER A RECALL. *TR

BRAKE VACUUM PIPE CHECK VALVE BROKE APART, RESULTING IN A LOSS OF BRAKING POWER AND CHECK ENGINE FAULT. CAR WAS NOT DRIVABLE AFTER INCIDENT. *TR

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. *TR

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. *TR

PREMATURE FATIGUE FAILURE OF COIL SPRING ON DRIVER'S FRONT MACPHERSON STRUT. FAILURE CAUGHT BEFORE TIRE PUNCTURE INCIDENT. FRACTURE OCCURRED ON BOTTOM COIL. VEHICLE: SAAB 9-3 2.0T YEAR: 2006 MILEAGE: 38000 MILES AWAITING DEALER REPAIR. *TR

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

INTERMITTENT BRAKE FAILURE. MORE NOTICEABLE AT COLD STARTS PULLING OUT FORWARD OR BACKWARD. BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR WITH VERY LITTLE BRAKING POWER. VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND WE PARKED THE CAR AND CONTACTED THE DEALER. THEY HAVE NOW HAD THE CAR FOR 4 WEEKS AND ARE WAITING ON A PART FROM THE FACTORY. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION ON THIS CAR AND COULD VERY EASILY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT WITH INJURIES OR DEATH. I AM A MALE AND IT WAS ALL I COULD DO TO GET THE CAR STOPPED ON AT LEAST 2 OCCASIONS. I HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ON ONE OCCASION TO AVOID A COLLISION. THIS CAR HAS 32,000 MILES ON IT. THE DEALER SAID THE PROBLEM WAS A VACUUM LINE ON THE BRAKE BOOSTER BUT THE REPLACEMENT MUST COME FROM SAAB. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS WILL RESOLVE THE PROBLEM OR NOT. *TR

HARD SHIFTING, SLIPPING OF TRANSMISSION WHEN ACCELERATING. 2006 AERO V6, WHEN COLD THE SHIFTING OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS VERY STIFF RESULTING IN NOISES AND BUMPS WHEN UP OR DOWN SHIFTING IN THE 'AUTO' MODE. SHIFTING INTO HIGHER GEARING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ARE SLOW AND OFTEN UP AND DOWN AS THE TRANSMISSION TRIES TO FIND THE CORRECT GEAR RANGE. THIS OCCURS (LOOKING FOR GEARS) WHEN WARM. ALSO WHEN WARM GOING DOWN HILL THE SHIFTING BUMPS VERY HARD TO LOWER GEARS CAUSING CAR TO SLOW DOWN DRAMATICALLY. WHEN COLD, TRANSMISSION SOMETIMES WILL NOT SHIFT UP WHEN ACCELERATING WHILE MAKING A TURN FROM A STOP. *TR

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. *TR

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. *TR