2003 SAAB 9-3 Complaints

REAR LIGHT OVER LICENSE PLATE WOULD NOT GO OUT, LEAVING MY CAR AT NIGHT ILLUMINATED. TAKEN TO DEALER. PROBLEM RESOLVED.*AK

PURCHASE DATE FEB 12, 2003. ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AFTER CAR SHOOK A BIT IMMEDIATELY AFTER STARTING CAR. TOLD CAUSE WAS "MISS FIRING" TAKEN TO DEALER. PROBLEM RESOLVED.*AK

I OWNS A 2003 SAAB 1993 LINEAR WITH AUTOMATIC. WHEN DRIVING A CAR, CAR STALLED MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. IT HAPPEND 3 TIMES SO FAR. CAR STALLED AND HANDLE GOT LOCKED UP. ENGINE LIGHT CAME UP. IT WAS DANGEROUS EPECIALLY AT THE FREEWAY. LUCKILY NEVER RESULTED IN BIG ACCIDENTS. DEALER ARE SAYING IT'S COMPUTER PROBLEM, BUT SOME PEOPLE SAID IT MIGHT BE THE FAULTY FUEL PUMP.*AK

PARKING BRAKE FAILED -- CAR ROLLED WHILE UNOCCUPIED -- ROLLED DOWN SLIGHT HILL AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER CAR. *NLM

MY 2003 SAAB 9-3 HAD INTERMITTENT STALLING AND LOSS OF POWER ISSUES. SINCE DELIVERY ON 1/09/2003, THE CAR HAS STALLED 4 TIMES AND LOST POWER TWICE. I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND SAAB AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. ON 5/13/03 NEW ENGINE MANAGEMENT FIRM WARE WAS INSTALLED. ON 5/17/03 THE CAR AGAIN MALFUNCTIONED. THERE APPEARS TO BE A SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE THAT SAAB IS NOT ABLE TO RESOLVE. *JB

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. *NLM

AFTER SLOWING DOWN IN TRAFFIC, MY WIFE ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE, BUT THE ENGINE STOPPED AND THE ENGINE ICON ON THE DASH DISPLAY WAS ILLUMINATED. THE SAAB INFORMATION DISPLAY (SID) DID NOT SHOW ANY PROBLEMS. LUCKILY SHE WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND CONTINUE ON TO WORK. APPROXIMATELY 25 MILES LATER THE ENGINE WAS SLUGGISH AND ALMOST STOPPED AGAIN. IN ADDITION THE RADIO HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CHANGE STATIONS BY ITSELF, AND THE REMOTE MIRRORS WILL SOMETIMES MOVE BY THEMSELVES. THE CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE SAAB DEALER AND A SOFTWARE UPDATE HAS SUPPOSEDLY TAKEN CARE OF THE MIRRORS AND ENGINE/IGNITION, BUT THE RADIO PROBLEM IS NEW. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF SAAB HAD BEEN PROACTIVE AND SOUGHT OUT OWNERS OF THIS PARTICULAR MODEL (9-3 LINEAR) SOONER AND NOTIFIED THEM OF A NECESSARY SOFTWARE UPDATE. AN ENGINE DYING IN TRAFFIC, AN INTERSECTION, A TRAIN CROSSING, ETC., CAN BE A DANGER. ALSO, I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE ONSTAR SERVICE TO BE INSTALLED. WE PURCHASED THE CAR THE FIRST WEEK IN JANUARY, AND NOW IT'S MAY AND STILL NO ONSTAR! *JB

VEHICLE STALLED WHILE ACCELERATING. LOST POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKE ASSIST. COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT IF I HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO STOP SAFELY. THE CAR STARTED WITH NO ISSUES AFTER THE STOP.

ENGINE STALLS WHILE STOPPING OR COASTING TO INTERSECTIONS. 4 INDICENTS OF THIS TO DATE AND VEHICLE HAS UNDER 2000 MILES. DEALER SERVICE HAS TWICE SAID THEY FOUND NO PROBLEMS AND THERE IS NO SOFTWARE OR UPDATES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. RUNNING RECOMMENDED OCTANE FUEL (PREMIUM).

I JUST BOUGHT A 2003 SAAB 9-3 ABOUT A MONTH AGO AND IT HAS APPROX. 1800 MILES ON IT. I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND SUDDENLY LOST POWER STEERING FOLLOWED BY COMPLETE POWER. LUCKILY I WAS ON A BACK ROAD AND PULLED OVER SAFELY. IF I HAD BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT OUTCOME. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A VERY BIG SAFETY ISSUE.