1999 SAAB 9-5 Complaints

1. CAR WAS HESITATING AND MIS-FIRING. EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS AS THE SAAB RECALL NO. 05087. 2. WITH FAMILY, CAR COMPLETELY DIED WHILE GOING UP A HILL. SINCE IT WAS A 5 SPEED, I WAS ABLE TO ROLL BACK DOWN THE HILL AND SUBSEQUENTLY HAVE THE CAR TOWED. 3. DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE (DIC) AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED. WITH DEALER ASSISTANCE, SAAB REPLACE THE PART AND RELATED REPAIR AT MINIMAL COSTS. UNLIKE THE SAAB RECALL NO. 05087, 1999 OWNERS ARE BEING EXCLUDED FROM THE REMEDY FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUES AND FAILURES. SAAB / GM NEED TO REMEDY THE EXACT SAME ISSUE IN SAAB RECALL NO. 05087 FOR THE 1999 OWNERS. THE FAILURE AND SAFETY CONCERNS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER STATED THAT ON THE 1999 SAAB 9-5 THE IGNITION MODULE, FAILED. THIS HAPPENED IN OCTOBER OF 2004. THE VEHICLE WAS STALLING WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS OF OVER 50 MPH. THE VEHICLE HAS SINCE BEEN FIXED BY THE CONSUMER. THE IGNITION MODULE WAS REPLACED IN THE CAR. THE CONSUMER BOUGHT THE REPLACEMENT PART FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND REPAIRED THE PROBLEM HIMSELF. THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE SINCE THE MODULE REPLACEMENT. THE CONSUMER DID CONTACT GM, AND THEY SENT THE CONSUMER AN E-MAIL REPLYING THAT SAAB WAS AN INNOVATOR AND SOME VEHICLES DO EXPERIENCE SOME PROBLEMS. THE VEHICLE STALLED ONCE. *AK THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE 1999 MODELS HAVE AN ECU IN WHICH THE IGNITION CONTROL SOFTWARE PARAMETERS CANNOT BE UPDATED UNLIKE THE 2000 AND LATER YEAR MODELS. *JB

(1) NORMAL CITY DRIVING OPERATION FOR 20 MINUTES (2) WHILE IDLING AT BUSY INTERSECTION FOR LEFT TURN, CAR STALLED AND WOULD NOT TURN-OVER; BURNING SMELL CAME FROM UNDER HOOD. DID NOT OPEN HOOD SO COULD NOT EVALUATE WHETHER THERE WAS FIRE. CAR TOWED BY AAA TO CLOSEST SAAB DEALER. (3) DEALER INSPECTION IDENTIFIED THE FAILURE OF THE DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE. THIS IS THE SAME FAILURE AS IDENTIFIED IN NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE05017 AND CAMPAIGN RECALL NUMBER 05V399000. VEHICLE - SAAB 9-5 2.3L MANUAL TRANSMISSION WAGON MAKE YEAR - 1999 CURRENT MILEAGE - 60K MILES ALL SERVICING UP TO DATE AND DONE BY DEALER. *JB

VEHICLE WAS NOT STARTING. REPAIR SHOP DIAGNOSED PROBLEM AS FAILURE OF DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE, WHICH IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE, BUT WAS NOT INVOLVED IN A RECENT RECALL OF OVER 300,000 VEHICLES. PART WAS REPLACED- WILL NEED TO CHECK IF AVAILABLE. *NM

FAILURE OF DIRECT IGNITION (DI) UNIT (1) CAR BEGAN RUNNING ROUGH AND STALLING AT STOP LIGHTS. A PROGRESSIVE WORSENING PROBLEM THAT THE DEALER COULD NOT DIAGNOSE AFTER COUPLE OF MENTIONS OF PROBLEM. (2) CAR DIED IN MIDDLE OF STREET, HAD TO CALL SERVICE TO TOW TO DEALERSHIP. (3) UNIT WAS REPLACED (UNDER WARRANTY AT TIME). *NM

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND INDICATED A MISFIRE CYL. ONE. THE PROBLEM CONTINUED UNTIL TOTAL FAILURE OF THE ENGINE 12 MILES LATER. THE DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE WAS REPLACED AND THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM THROUGHOUT THE 1999-2003 MODEL YEAR RANGE. *NM

DT: THE CONTACT STATES THERE IS RECALL 03V006000 ON THE WHEEL BOLTS, AND BECAUSE HE IS IN ANOTHER COUNTRY TEMPORALLY, MANUFACTURER WILL NOT SEND HIM THE REPLACEMENT PARTS. HE IS ON MILITARY DUTY. *AK UPDATED 11/19/05. *JB

WHILE DRIVING ON A VERY BUSY L.A. FREEWAY ON A SATURDAY EVENING MY CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER WITH NO WARNING TO THE POINT OF ALMOST STALLING. LUCKY FOR ME I SAY MY PRAYERS AND WAS ABLE TO NAVIGATE TO THE OFF RAMP AND COAST ON TO THE STREET WHERE I WAS PUSHED OUT OF TRAFFIC BY A GOOD SAMARITAN (I'M A SINGLE FEMALE DRIVER). I NOTICED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. I WAS ABLE TO START IT AGAIN AFTER AWHILE AND CHUGGED HOME 30 SLOW MILES TO MY HOUSE ( I WAS ALL OUT OF TOWS ON AAA AND NO MECHANICS OPEN AT THAT TIME).NEXT WEEK MY SAAB MECHANIC INDICATES THAT IT IS THE DI FAILING. ESTIMATED COST PART/LABOR IS $550.00. I JUST REPLACED THE DI 9/15/2003 AFTER A SIMILAR INCIDENT HAPPENED AND ALL POWER WAS LOST WHILE DRIVING, I COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND HAD IT TOWED TO SAAB. COST TO ME THE FIRST TIME WAS APPROXIMATELY $450.00 NOT INCLUDING CAR RENTAL. NEEDLESS TO SAY THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY HAZARD ON THE '99S AS ALL THESE POSTED COMPLAINTS INDICATE AND I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING WHY THE CURRENT RECALL IS NOT INCLUDING '99S. I'VE HELD OFF REPLACING THE REPLACEMENT THAT LASTED ONLY 20,000 MI/2 YEARS HOPING TO GET SOME RECOGNITION/HELP FROM SAAB WITH THIS. PART IS AVAILABLE. OBVIOUSLY THE CURRENT (FAILED) DI IN MY CAR IS A 2000 - 2002 SAAB DI - SO WILL THEY TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS REPAIR? THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I ADAMANTLY BELIEVE SAAB SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS PROBLEM ON THE 99S AS (I HAVE FOUND OUT) IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM AMONG OWNERS. *NM

REGARDING NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : PE05017 I EXPERIENCED ENGINE STALLING DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE IGNITION DISCHARGE MODULE (IDM)) "CASSETTE" ON MY (MY) 1999 SAAB 9-5. THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART. THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE SLOWING DOWN AT A RED LIGHT FROM APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH. I DID NOT CONFIRM WHETHER CATALYTIC CONVERTER DAMAGE WAS EXPERIENCED AS WELL. MY CAR AT REST IN A BUSY INTERSECTION WAS MOST CERTAINLY A HAZARDOUS SITUATION, AT THE CORNER OF ST. ANDREWS BLVD AND GLADES ROAD IN BOCA RATON, FLORIDA 33431. I REPLACED THE IDM AND HAVE KEPT THE ORIGINAL FOR POTENTIAL STUDY OF FAILURE. *JB

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IN THE EXPRESS LANES OF 90/94 IN CHICAGO AND EXPERIENCED A DRAMATIC LOSS OF POWER. WAS ABLE TO SLOWLY TRAVEL TO EXIT AND GET OFF ONTO SURFACE STREETS. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED TO DEALER. DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE WAS REPLACED. THIS IS THE *SAME* COMPONENT THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER A VOLUNTARY RECALL FOR LATER MODEL YEARS OF MY VEHICLE. *NM