2008 Saab 9-3: complaints, problems and recalls

UNSAFE TO KNOW THAT MY NEW CAR HAS DOOR LOCKS THAT DO NOT UNLOCK FROM WITHIN THE CAR CABIN WHEN THE DOOR HANDLE IS PULLED. UNLIKE MY PREVIOUS CAR (VW) WHEREBY THE DOOR IS UNLOCKED WHEN THE DRIVER DOOR (FOR EXAMPLE) IS PULLED - DOOR OPENS OR MY BMW WHEREBY THE DOOR IS UNLOCKED BY PULLING THE HANDLE TWICE. IN A SAAB, THE DOORS CAN NOT BE OPENED UNLESS THE "UNLOCK" BUTTON IS PRESSED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE EGRESS CAN NOT BE DONE QUICKLY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT OR OTHER EMERGENCY NEED FOR IMMEDIATE EGRESS. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 120 miles reported. Look up ODI 10241667 at NHTSA ↗

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SAAB 9-3 CONVERTIBLE. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CONTACT NOTICED A GAP BETWEEN THE ROOF AND THE VEHICLE. HE DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE ROOF OF THE 2008 SAABS WERE REDESIGNED. TWO ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND NOTHING ELSE COULD BE DONE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 7,500 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 400.

Owner-reported narrative. 400 miles reported. Look up ODI 10245720 at NHTSA ↗

2008 SAAB 93 2.0T SEDAN STALLED (NO SPUTTER OR BUCK, BUT JUST A LOSS OF POWER) WHILE DRIVING. RESULTED IN A COLLISION. INITIAL DEALERSHIP MECHANICS HAVE "NO FINDINGS" - THEY WILL HAVE A FIELD ENGINEER INVESTIGATE TOMORROW. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 7,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10250425 at NHTSA ↗

WHILE ACCELERATING ON A FREEWAY ON RAMP, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO MISFIRE AND STUTTER. TRYING TO MERGE WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC, POWER WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE ENGINE OPERATED NORMALLY WHEN NOT ACCELERATING. THE CAR WAS UNABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC AND WOULD ONLY MAINTAIN A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR MORE CAUSES MORE STUTTERING. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHED ON BRIEFLY AND THEN WENT AWAY. THE PROBLEM RESOLVED ITSELF AFTER PULLING OVER AND SHUTTING DOWN AND RESTARTING THE ENGINE. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AG…

Owner-reported narrative. 14,450 miles reported. Look up ODI 10316427 at NHTSA ↗

WHENEVER TURBO BOOST IS ENGAGED IN MY SAAB TURBO X (2008), RISK OF MISFIRE, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BEGINS TO BLINK, CAR SHUDDERS, "LIMP HOME MODE" ENGAGES (CAR LOSES POWER), AND HAVE TO MOVE TO SIDE OF ROAD AND RESTART THE CAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED BOTH IN SECOND GEAR, AND IN FIFTH GEAR WHILE TRYING TO BOOST ON THE HIGHWAY. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL SIMILAR REPORTS ON THE WEB BY OTHER OWNERS RELATED TO BAD IGNITION COILS IN THE VEHICLES. CAR IS BRAND NEW. TOOK THIS INTO DEALER ONCE AND THEY SAY NO CODES WERE ON THE COMPUTER, BUT THEY HAVE OFFERED A…

Owner-reported narrative. 425 miles reported. Look up ODI 10317046 at NHTSA ↗

2008 SAAB 9-3 TURBO X. I HAD A ENGINE MISFIRE WITH FLASHING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT UNDER HEAVY ACCELERATION. CAUSED THE CAR TO RUN REALLY ROUGH WITH REDUCED POWER. WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY UNSAFE HAD IT HAPPENED WHILE PASSING SOMEONE. TOOK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS A BAD IGNITION COIL. ONE COIL WAS REPLACED BUT THE CAR STILL WAS RUNNING ROUGH AT THE DEALERSHIP SO THEY ARE STILL TRYING TO FIX IT. FROM RESEARCHING ONLINE, IT SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH 2008 SAAB TURBO X. LOTS OF COMPLAINTS ON FAULTY IGNITION COILS. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 4,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10341608 at NHTSA ↗

SAAB 9-3, 2008, CLUTCH FAILED AT 22,000 MILES. SAAB SAID IT WAS NOT WARRANTIED AND IT WAS DUE TO DRIVER. WE PAID $1,300 FOR THE REPAIR. CLUTCH FAILED AGAIN AT 33,000 MILES. THIS TIME SAAB PAID FOR THE REPAIR AND DEALER SAID IT WAS DUE TO FAULTY PARTS IN THE ENTIRE CLUTCH SYSTEM. WE WANT REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE FIRST CLUTCH REPAIR. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 22,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10419542 at NHTSA ↗

REPLACED BOTH FRONT COIL SPRINGS AT RECOMMENDATION OF DEALER. ONE SPRING WAS BROKEN COMPLETELY AT BOTTOM (ON DRIVER'S SIDE), AND THE OTHER WAS CRACKED (ON PASSENGER SIDE). SPACER LEAFS WERE REPLACED ALSO. I'VE RETAINED THE PARTS. EXPENSE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY ALTHOUGH THE CAR HAS ONLY 47,500 MILES. IT IS 4 YEARS, 5 MONTHS OLD. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER. CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 47,583 miles reported. Look up ODI 10455085 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2014-06-12 (June 12, 2014)

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2011 Saab 9-3 Convertible vehicles manufactured July 30, 2003, to February 15, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the driver's side front seat belt retractor may break, causing the seat belt webbing not to retract.

Consequence: In the event of a crash, a seat belt that has not retracted may not properly restrain the seat occupant, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007. GM's number for this recall is 14222. Note: Special Coverage 10086 will replace the passenger side seat belt retractor if it fails, free of charge, for the life of the vehicle.

Reported: 2016-02-03 (February 3, 2016)

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Saab 9-3 vehicles manufactured May 31, 2002, to February 15, 2011, 2006-2009 Saab 9-5 vehicles manufactured June 7, 2005, to May 28, 2009, and 2008-2009 Saturn Astra vehicles manufactured April 11, 2007, to July 24, 2008. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

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

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator on Saab 9-3 and 9-5 vehicles and will replace the driver's frontal airbag module on Saturn Astra vehicles, free of charge. The recall began on March 1, 2017. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007 or Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 28810.