2005 Saab 9-2X: complaints, problems and recalls

I PURCHASED A 2005 SAAB 9-2X AND SHORTLY AFTER WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT RESULTING IN MY CAR BEING TOTALED. THE ACCIDENT OCCURED WHEN THE STEERING FAILED TO WORK PROPERLY RESULTING IN THE CAR JUMPING A MEDIAN AND LANDING ON ITS SIDE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE CAR IGNITED INTO A FIRE STARTING IN THE ENGINE, WHICH QUICKLY SPREAD TO THE INTERIOR. LUCKILY THE PASSENGER AND I MADE IT OUT QUICKLY AND SAFELY.

Owner-reported narrative. 3,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10126967 at NHTSA ↗

WENT TO THE DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES ABOUT TIRE COMPLAINTS OF COURSE TIRES ARE NOT COVERED. I KNOW THIS BUT THE CAR HAS ABOUT 15K MILES ON IT NOW AND THE TIRES ARE COMPLETELY BALD AND LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE 45K MILES ON IT. SAAB 800# SAID THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING. I TOOK IT TO FIRESTONE AND THEY WERE SHOCKED HOW BAD THE TIRES ARE AND IMMEDIATELY RULED IT HAS A SUSPENSION DEFECT OR MAYBE A TOW PROBLEM. THERE IS MAJOR CUPPING WHICH 95% IS SUSPENSION. I HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS. *NM

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10151676 at NHTSA ↗

PURCHASED CAR APPROX 2 MONTHS AGO. ODOMETER READ 24,200 MILES. WITHIN TWO MONTHS, AND 2,000 MILES, THE CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR A WHINING NOISE, ALARM, POWER STEERING, AND AN AIR COMPRESSOR. AFTER 3 WEEKS BACK AND FORTH, I AM NOW ON MY THIRD DIFFERENTIAL, SECOND AIR COMPRESSOR, SECOND POWER STEERING PUMP, AND SECOND ALARM SPEAKER. TOMORROW I GO BACK TO THE SHOP FOR THE SAME WHINING NOISE, THE ALARM SPEAKER (OUT AGAIN), THE AIR COMPRESSOR (EXTREMELY NOISY), AND FUEL ECONOMY ONLY REACHING 12 TO 13 MPG(RATED 19 TO 26). THE DEALERSHIPS "TECH CENTER" SAI…

Owner-reported narrative. 26,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10199478 at NHTSA ↗

PURCHASED A USED TIRE FROM COLONY TIRE IN GREENVILLE, NC ON 10/29/07. LATER IN THE DAY, NOTICED SOME CUTS OR SLASHES AROUND THE SIDEWALL NEAR THE RIM. JACKED UP THE CAR AND FOUND SIMILAR SIDEWALL SEPARATION ON THE INSIDE SIDEWALL. THE TIRE HAS NOT LOST PRESSURE, BUT I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING WITH A TIRE IN THIS CONDITION. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 36,800 miles reported. Look up ODI 10207493 at NHTSA ↗

RAW FUEL IS PRESENT AND POOLS ON THE ENGINE ONLY WHEN OUTSIDE AIR TEMPS GO BELOW FREEZING. HAPPENS CONSTANTLY. MANY PEOPLE ON THE REFERRING INTERNET SITE HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE THE PROPER FIX. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 44,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10252158 at NHTSA ↗

VERY STRONG RAW FUEL SMELL IN CABIN WHEN AIR TEMPS BELOW 15 DEGREES F. MUST OPEN WINDOWS TO PPREVENT EYES FROM WATERING AND BURNING. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 50,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10252616 at NHTSA ↗

FUEL LINES ON TOP OF THE ENGINE LEAK DURING COLD WEATHER, BELOW 10 DEGREES F. THERE IS A STRONG FUEL ODOR OUT SIDE THE VEHICLE AND INSIDE WHEN THE VENTS ARE ON. THE SMELL GOES AWAY AFTER THE CAR IS COMPLETELY WARMED UP, 10-20 MINUTES OF DRIVING. CAR IS AT THE DEALER WITH PARTS ON ORDER TO HELP FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 65,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10298797 at NHTSA ↗

MAJOR FUEL LEAK IN COLD TEMPERATURES ON A 2005 SAAB 9-2X AERO. THE FUEL LINE/HOSE UNDER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD LEAKS SIGNIFICANTLY IN COLD TEMPERATURES. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE ON THE SUBARU WRX OF THE SAME YEAR(S). SUBARU OF AMERICA ISSUED RECALL CAMPAIGN WVK-21 ON THEIR VEHICLES, AND THE SAAB 9-2X AERO IS MECHANICALLY THE EXACT SAME VEHICLE, HOWEVER THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THE SAAB. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 74,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10299710 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2011-09-06 (September 6, 2011)

SUBARU IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002-2007 IMPREZA, MODEL YEAR 2003-2008 FORESTER, AND MODEL YEAR 2005-2006 SAAB 9-2X VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 5, 2000 THROUGH NOVEMBER 26, 2007 ORIGINALLY SOLD, OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN, MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, VERMONT, WISCONSIN, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, IOWA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MAINE, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW JERSEY, OHIO, RHODE ISLAND, WEST VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARMS MAY BREAK AT THE HANGER BRACKETS DUE TO CORROSION IF THE HANGER BRACKET IS EXPOSED TO SALTY AND HUMID ENVIRONMENTS SUCH AS ROADS CONTAINING SNOW MELTING AGENT.

Consequence: A BROKEN CONTROL ARM CAN RESULT IN THE LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: SUBARU WILL HANDLE THEIR VEHICLES AND SAAB WILL HANDLE THEIRS. DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DEGREE OF CORROSION OF THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARMS, AND WILL EITHER RUSTPROOF OR REPLACE THEM. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING DECEMBER 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SAAB AT 1-800-955-9007.

Reported: 2015-05-28 (May 28, 2015)

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to July 21, 2004, 2004-2005 Impreza vehicles manufactured January 28, 2003, to May 31, 2005, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to May 2, 2008, 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles manufactured February 18, 2003, to May 5, 2008, and 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured February 11, 2004, to March 17, 2005. The affected vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners and General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The Subaru recall began on June 17, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. The Saab recall began on July 27, 2015. Owners of Saab vehicles may call 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is WQR-53. Note: The recall completely supersedes recall 14V-399 (WQL-48) and partially supersedes recall 14V-763 (WQP-51) in that model year 2004 through 2005 Subaru Impreza and model year 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles are now only part of this campaign. Note: On December 18, 2015 Subaru informed NHTSA of an expansion of this recall to include certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy and 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles.

Reported: 2020-01-02 (January 2, 2020)

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.

Reported: 2020-01-02 (January 2, 2020)

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.