2008 SAAB 9-3 Complaints

I have been trying to get this recall done for many years and with no luck. Most recently June 26th 2026 I was informed my recall was not fixable again and I hope for the last time. Enough is enough! Van Bortel Chevrolet in Macedon Ny tried again today which is there 2nd attempt. I had to buy a software card to give them the tool they didn’t have to fit in there tech 2 scanner and even with the card they were unable to fix. It’s a major safety issue I have been more than patient with and can’t even begin to tell you over the years how much time and money spent trying to fix. I think at this point they need to replace car with similar or purchase from me.

Hello, I know the Takata airbag has to be replaced on my car. However now I do live abroad, in Gothenburg Sweden in Europe. How do I get the replacement done? Should I go to GM here in Europe? Thanks

The contact owns a 2008 Saab 9-3. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 14V318000 (Seat Belts) and 16V063000 (Air Bags); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted; however, the dealer declined to service the vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

at about 98,000 miles the starts to fail transmission fails Also when the car gets too cold in the winter it refuses to start and it is not a battery issue. the cylinders get to cold to start. When the warm weather comes back around it starts again.

Driver seat belt fails to retract. When retraction failure occurs, it is obvious to the seat occupant immediately. If a crash were to occur with a seat belt in this condition, the result could increase the risk of injury to the driver. The seat belt retraction failure has been reproduced and confirmed. No warning lamps but, the seat belt showed earlier symptoms of not working properly, by not engaging when hard braking occurred. I will have the tensioner replaced.

HAD TO HAVE VALVE JOB DONE DUE TO BAD /DEFECTIVE/INFERIOR INTAKE VALVES, FROM MANUFACTURER. HAD TO HAVE ALL INTAKE VALVES REPLACED, WITH MODIFIED/UPGRADED INTAKE VALVES. OBTAINED PO300 - RANDOM MISFIRE CODES, HAD ROUGH IDLE, CHECKED ENGINE COMPRESSION, HAD 45PSIG IN CYLINDER NUMBER 4. ENGINE HAD 72862MILES, ON IT, THIS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY BY SAAB/GM.

MY VEHICLE DOESN'T START/IDLE WELL IN THE COLD DUE TO THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD BOLTS SLOWLY BECOMING LOOSE. **WHEN DRIVING AND SHIFTING** THE VEHICLE CANNOT HANDLE THE EXTRA UNCLEAN AIR ENTERING THE SYSTEM AND WILL STALL OUT WHILE GOING ANYWHERES FROM 0-60+ MPH, ONCE THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF ALL POWER STEERING ALSO SHUTS DOWN. THE SECONDARY ISSUE IS AN ACCELERATION PROBLEM BECAUSE THE SEALS ON THE AIR INTAKE VALVES INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER HAVE BECOME FAULTY RESULTING IN CYLINDER MISFIRES AND A HIGH AMOUNT OF VIBRATION INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING, THE SYMPTOMS COME AND GO WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY AS TIME GOES ON. THIS SECONDARY ISSUE TIES INTO THE FIRST ISSUE BECAUSE OF SHIFTING WITH A STANDARD MY VEHICLE TODAY (12/3/2020) SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING 7 TIMES TO AND FROM MY JOB.

MY CAR WOULDN'T START SO I REPLACED THE BATTERY AND THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR. IT DROVE FINE AND THEN I PARKED IT AND WENT OUT A LITTLE LATER AND IT WOULD JERK AND TRY TO STALL WHILE I WAS DRIVING, SPUTTERING LIKE I WAS RUNNING OUT OF GAS. IF I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR, IT WOULDN'T ACCELERATE AND THEN IT WOULD SURGE FORWARD. I RAN SOME ERRANDS AND IT DROVE FINE. AFTER MY FINAL ERRAND, THE CAR STRUGGLED TO START BUT DID AND IDLED REALLY ROUGHLY. I PUT IT INTO GEAR AND IT DIED. I COULDN'T GET IT STARTED AGAIN. AFTER READING OTHER POSTS, THIS SEEMS LIKE AN ISSUE WITH THESE YEARS AND VEEY DANGEROUS.

I BROUGHT MY 08 SAAB 9-3 TO A SHOP FOR A COMPRESSION TEST CAUSE IT KEPT STALLING WHEN I WOULD GO TO START IT, IT'S AN AUTOMATIC. I WAS TOLD MY INTAKE VALVES WERE WEARING DOWN AND IT'S DUE TO GMS FAULTY VALVES. YESTERDAY MY CAR STARTED TICKING WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND I LOST ALMOST ALL MY POWER, COME TO FIND OUT MY VALVES WERE ABOUT TO SNAP. NOW I'M MAKING PAYMENTS ON A CAR I CAN'T DRIVE AND GM REFUSES TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE CASES OF THIS HAPPENING TO 08-10 SAAB 9-3 WITH THE GM FACTORY VALVES. *TR

EXPERIENCED HARD STARTING IN COLD WEATHER IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THE PAST FEW YEARS. DID RESEARCH AND FOUND A TSB REGARDING THE INTAKE VALVES FOR 2.0 ECOTEC 4 CYLINDER. HAD A COMPRESSION TEST FOLLOWING SEVERAL CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS AND MULTIPLE READINGS DIAGNOSE A P0300 ENGINE CODE . COLD AND WARM COMPRESSION TEST SHOWED CYLINDER 2 COMPRESSION WELL OUT OF SPECIFICATION. DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. QUOTED $4000 FOR ENGINE REBUILD.