Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
04V557000SAAB CARS USA, INC.from 05/01/2000 to 06/30/2001V (Vehicle)1739403/14/2005MFRSAAB CARS USA, INC.11/19/200411/23/2004
Defect SummaryOn certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Consequence SummaryOver time, this could cause the fuel lines to loosen from the pump resulting in fuel leakage. if an ignition source were present, the fuel may ignite resulting in a vehicle fire.
Corrective SummaryDealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. the recall began on march 14, 2005. owners should contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
NotesSaab recall no. 15018 (gm recall no. 04101).customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration
06V126000SAAB CARS USA, INC.from 05/01/2000 to 06/30/2001V (Vehicle)1188605/12/2006ODISAAB CARS USA, INC.04/20/200604/20/2006
Defect SummaryOn certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Consequence SummaryOver time, this could cause the fuel lines to loosen from the pump resulting in fuel leakage. if an ignition source were present, the fuel may ignite resulting in a vehicle fire.
Corrective SummaryDealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. the recall began on may 12, 2006. owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
NotesSaab recall no. 06033.customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
RQ05003SAAB CARS USA, INC.12/20/200504/28/2006FUEL LINE LEAKAGE06V126000
 On november 19, 2004 gm notified odi of a defect condition that could result in fuel leakage at the fuel pump connections in approximately 17,400 model year (my) 2001 and 2002 saab 9-3 passenger vehicles built at the uusikaupunki, finland assembly plant between may 2000 and july 2002 (gm recall no. 14101, nhtsa recall no. 04v-557).according to gm, plastic fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during the manufacturing process for some of the 9-3 vehicles built at the finland plant.gm indicated that, over time, this could cause the fuel lines to loosen from the pump resulting in fuel leakage which, in the presence of an ignition source, couldcause a vehicle fire.the recalled vehicles were fitted with a securing bracket to hold the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if theretaining tabs should break. rq05-003 was opened to investigate complaints of fuel pump retaining tab failure resulting in fuel leakage in my 2001 saab 9-3 vehicles built at the trollhatten, sweden plant.in its response to rq05-003 gm indicated that concerns with the retaining tab failure in my 2001 saab 9-3 vehicles were not limited to vehicles produced in finland.in an april 20, 2006 letter (copy attached), gm informed nhtsa that it was expanding its recall to include the my 2001 9-3 vehicles built in sweden (gm recall no. 14101, nhtsa recall no. 06v-126).saab plans to begin mailing owner letters for the additional vehicles in may 2005.this investigation is closed.

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
10/04/2005110/01/2001
 Dt: 2001 saab 93. the consumer states gas started coming out where the fuel line was. this started last night,on october 4, 2005. the vehicle was taken to a garage, and they stated it was the fuel clip. the mechanic told the consumer there was a recall 04v557000 on this problem. the consumer called saab, and they told him this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. the vehicle has not yet been fixed. *ak
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - FUEL PUMP
11/01/200583000106/03/2005
 Dt: the contact stated the fuel line came off the fuel pump. the car was spurting gas. the contact took the car to the nearest garage. they replaced the fuel pump. he found nhtsa recall 04v557000/saab recall 15018 which dealt with a similar problem as his vehicle. the dealership told him this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. when the contact talked to the manufacturers, they told him that because he did not take the car to a gm or saab dealership to have recall repair work done the repair work was not covered under the warranty. *ak phone interview update: the complainant was driving home when he smelled fuel odor. the repairing garage replaced the fuel pump because the fuel line retaining tab on the pump is broken which caused the fuel leak.
02/24/2005678811
 While stopped the consumer smelled fuel coming from the rear of the vehicle. the exited the vehicle and noticed fuel leaking from underneath the vehicle. it was towed to a dealer for inspection, the mechanic determined that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. *ak *sc *jb phone interview update: the complainant smelled fuel odor and saw a trail of leaked fuel behind the vehicle. there was no warning light and no noticable loss of vehicle performance.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
06/24/2008750001
 Nhtsa campaign id # 04v557000 and 06v126000 are recalls which necessitated saab to inspect the fuel pump brackets. the 2001 saab 9-3, which i own, was first repaired because the fuel lines were corrupted and caused fuel to pump out into the open on top of the gas tank. this was repaired under warranty and was not under recall at that time. much later, i received a recall notice for an inspection of the fuel pump bracket to make sure the a new bracket had been installed. these two inspections required the lowering of the fuel tank. i received a code 0442 a few months later and had the saab dealer inspect possible cause. it was discovered that the vent hose filler pipe has a leak as determined by a smoke check. later, at a different shop, while having a tire rotation, the technician had me come out and check the right wheel area with the wheel assembly removed. what was revealed was a rub hole in the vent hose caused by contact with the shock absorber. i have digital photos of the damage. the damaged vent line is either 1) poor engineering of the vent line in relation to the shock absorber, or 2) the damage was the act of poor re-installment of the fuel tank either on the repair or later inspection. my question is this, has there been any reports of shock absorbers, or other parts, causing holes in the vent lines which pass near the right wheel assembly? saab has not been very helpful in trying to resolve this issue. *tr
03/14/20061
 Safety recall 15018 my car is a saab model: 9-3, it had the fuel line problem in safety notice 15018, which is still an open file. saab says that because my vin is not part of the recall, i do not have a problem. i did have the problem. it could have killed us. i now understand why general motors is going under. i would never buy another one of their products. to me, the issue is not the $263 i spent that they will not cover. the issue is that i bought their product in good faith, discovered a design error they know about, and they will not stand behind it. i think every saab on the road with that cheap (the plastic part costs under $4 retail at the dealer) fuel system attachment design should be pulled off the road. *nm
02/26/2006434441
 My 2001 saab 9-3 began leaking fuel, culminating with a major leak of fuel from the bottom of the vehicle on 2/26. car was towed to the dealer, who explained that the problem was with tabs holding in the fuel pump. recall number 04v557 was the exact same problem, exact same make, model and year but did not cover my vin. saab must not have covered enough vehicles in its recall. vin ends with 12050281. i think nhtsa should investigate. *nm
11/03/2005125000103/29/2001
 Dt contact stated the fuel line was leaking. there was recall 04v557000. when shutting the vehicle off a quart of gasoline will pour out under the vehicle. he contacted the dealer, and dealer stated this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. he took the vehicle to the dealer, and they repaired the vehicle with the recall repair kit. the kit was a clamp to secure the fuel line from coming loose. *ak phone interview update: estimated leakage rate was about one quart of fuel every 5 minutes.
07/06/200561000203/21/2002
 While driving my car, i smelled gas and when i got it back to my job site, i looked underneath to see gas leaking from under my car. i called my garage and they had to tow it in due to the safety issues. they put in a new seal and snapped the fuel line back together becasue they couldn't find anything else wrong with it. 3 weeks later, i'm driving my car again and smeelled gas again. i pulled over somewhere safe and looked under only to find gas leaking again. i called my garage and had it towed a second time. since it happened a 2nd time and there was no clear reason why it should have happened either time, my garage called the dealership where i bought the car. they told him there was a recall for that problem and they had new clamps produced to fix the problem. but htye also told him that my car's vin didn't fall within the recall. they sold my gargage the part to put on my car but that's all they would have to do with it. i called saab usa and they told me the same thing. my vin wasn't in the selection for the recall and that's why i wasn't notified and nhtsa lets them know the recall numbers and that's what they're responsible for. my car had the safelty problem actually happen and just because my vin wasn't one of the ones selected, i'm not covered. i was very fortunate that it didn't result in a car fire. i feel i should be compensated for my garage bills for a problem that might have been rectified if recalled. *jb
05/26/200556673106/15/2001
 Dt: fuel line came loose on the car. while driving i smelled gas and stopped looked underneath and gas was pouring out onto the ground. turn ed car off, cranked it up again, and was leaking everywhere. had towed to dealer, and line had come loose at the clamp. connected the line with new clamp at the cost of $ *ak
02/14/2005380001
 We had our car in for warranty work in the fall but the service provider needed to order parts that needed to be replaced. we were concerned because the parts would not arrive, and we couldn't get to authorized service provider until after warranty expired. they told us no problem this would be covered under warranty because we were there prior to warranty expiration. they never called to tell us parts had arrived (we live over an hour away from service provider) and they're not open on weekends so difficult to get to. when we took the car there a few weeks ago they said they didn't know if this would be covered under warranty. obviously we were upset about this new representation but they said they'd call saab. they called us back and said that they discovered we needed a new head gasket on the car. this is a 2001 with 38,000 miles, not driven hard. we were shocked as this was after our warranty expired. they said that they called saab and that saab would pay for approximately half our bill (the total of the warranty work and the head gasket. we have talked to another independent mechanic who said there is no way a head gasket should need to be replaced at this stage unless there was a defect. saab will not agree to pay for all the repair. we've paid over $600 toward the head gasket and warranty work they wouldn't cover. *ak
09/22/20031
 Fuel line broke and leaked gas under rear passenger's seat. dealer notified. warranty expired.*ak
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY
10/24/200550300108/18/2005
 A fuel leak from the brackets that hold the fuel tank together. a recall has been filed on saab 9-3 2001 -2004 cars. this is saab 9-3 2001, recall number is 04v557000, vin number ys3dd58h812036711, it seems if this has a recall on some cars, if a car has the problem you would think it would be fixed by the recall. the car had to be towed for fire possibilities. it has been towed to the saab dealer in fairfield oh. the dealer is claiming that this car was not affected by recall. i feel that this is the recall problem. and it specifically states saab 9-3 2001 - 2002. *nm
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - DELIVERY - FUEL PUMP
03/19/20042899812
 Vehicle lost power. fuel leaked from the vehicle. it had to be towed. fuel pump was replaced. manufacturer indicated that warranty was in effect. *ak