Saab 9-3 Sports Sedan

Model 9-3 Sports Sedan made by Saab got 10 consumer complains there are 2 investigations as well as 9 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electronic stability control, service brakes, hydraulic and suspension. Technical service bulletines regarding engine and engine cooling, fuel system, gasoline and seat belts. The car had one investigation (suspension).

Model 2005

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
SB-0705306/01/200810028986General motors: some vehicles may experience a condition where the fuel tank cap won't tighten properly, or fuel tank cap won't come off, or is broken. these conditions may also cause the illumination of the malfunction indicator light (mil06/08/2009
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY - FILLER PIPE AND CAP
SB-0705306/01/200810028986General motors: some vehicles may experience a condition where the fuel tank cap won't tighten properly, or fuel tank cap won't come off, or is broken. these conditions may also cause the illumination of the malfunction indicator light (mil06/08/2009
07-05306/01/200810026807Gmc: special coverage adjustment-fuel tank filler cap. a condition where the fuel tank cap won't tighten properly, or the fuel tank cap won't come off, or is broken. csc letter was received. *pe12/19/2008
07-05306/01/200810026607Gmc: special coverage adjustment-fuel tank filler cap. vehicle may experience a condition where the fuel tank cap won't tighten properly or the fuel tank cap won't come off or is broken. *pe csc letter was received. updated 12/111/17/2008
SEAT BELTS - FRONT - RETRACTOR
05-09-40-002E10/01/201010037184Gm: service bulletin explaining when the safety belts are supposed to lock. *rm05/11/2011
05-09-40-002E10/01/201010037184Ready05/11/2011
SEAT BELTS - FRONT - WEBBING
05-09-40-002E10/01/201010037184Gm: service bulletin explaining when the safety belts are supposed to lock. *rm05/11/2011
05-09-40-002E10/01/201010037184Ready05/11/2011
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL
PIC-4603A08/01/201010033304Saab: accelerator pedal position sensor dtcs set in ecm 2003-2009 saab. app sensor dtc's of p2122-00, p2123-00, p2126-00, p2127-00, p2128-00, and/or p2138-00 in the ecm. these dtc's may be very intermittent and are difficult to reproduce08/06/2010

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS
PE08051GENERAL MOTORS CORP.08/28/200812/23/2008FRONT SUSPENSION COIL SPRING FRACTURE
 On august 28, 2008, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe08-051) to investigate alleged front suspension coil spring fractures in certain model year (my) 2003-2004 saab 9-3 vehicles sold or registered in salt belt states.(note: for purposes of this investigation, the salt belt includes connecticut, delaware, the district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia and wisconsin).subsequent analysis of data provided by general motors corp. (gm) has led the agency to expand the scope of this investigation to include all my 2003-2006 saab 9-3 vehicles sold or registered in salt belt states. to date, odi is aware of 53 non-duplicative complaints and/or field reports that allege coil spring fracture in the subject vehicles, including 23 alleging the fractured spring damaged a tire, with 16 of those involving a tire puncture.analysis of warranty data provided by gm identified 1,218 claims paid to repair subject vehicles that experienced the alleged defect, of which 138 vehicles also suffered damage to the adjacent tire and of those, 79 vehicles experienced a tire puncture.odi is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the alleged defect. gm made several design changes to the coil springs and/or mcpherson strut assemblies used in the subject vehicles in an apparent effort to address the alleged defect condition.however, gm maintains that the subject vehicles remain well controlled in the event of tire puncture, that the rate of tire puncture incidents related to coil spring fractures is low, and that the alleged defect does not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.accordingly, this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea08-026) to further study the safety consequences of the alleged defect.
EA08026GENERAL MOTORS CORP.12/22/200806/04/2010Front Suspension Coil Spring Fracture
 To date, odi is aware of 142 non-duplicative complaints related to the alleged defect.in addition, odi is aware of 2,626 subject vehicles with one or more warranty claims related to the alleged defect.in total, odi is aware of 2,714 unique subject vehicles that have experienced one or more front suspension coil spring fractures.odi is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the alleged defect.the engineering design and testing data supplied by gm, along with the frequency of consumer complaints and warranty claims related to the alleged defect, tends to support the position that, in general, the coil springs that fractured on many subject vehicles did not achieve the expected service life.however, in regard to the subject vehicles, a front suspension coil spring fracture itself has little safety consequence, as evidenced by the minimal impact on vehicle ride and handling and by the number of drivers who were unaware of the failure condition for some time until alerted by service personnel.the ratio of tire punctures to coil spring fractures appears low and there are no reports of crashes, deaths or injuries related to the alleged defect. a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor this issue and will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see the ea08-026 engineering analysis closing report for more details.

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL
06/23/2009730001
 I have a 2005 saab 9-3, 2.0 liter turbo engine. my daughter owns the same car, but a 2004 model. the abs control unit with esp had to be replaced on both vehicles; in my vehicle at 73,000 miles and her car at 121,000 miles. was there a recall on this part? *tr
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
06/23/2009730001
 I have a 2005 saab 9-3, 2.0 liter turbo engine. my daughter owns the same car, but a 2004 model. the abs control unit with esp had to be replaced on both vehicles; in my vehicle at 73,000 miles and her car at 121,000 miles. was there a recall on this part? *tr
SUSPENSION
08/23/2009439201
 Front coil spring fracture. *tr
SUSPENSION - FRONT
07/18/2009670001
 2005 saab 9-3 arc sedan front coil spring fractured. broken spring contacted tire side wall and caused irreparable damage. *tr
05/01/2009445001
 Passenger side front coil spring cracked and broke approx. 4-5 inches from strut mount. this caused the coil to bounce against the strut. *tr
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS
05/01/2009445001
 Passenger side front coil spring cracked and broke approx. 4-5 inches from strut mount. this caused the coil to bounce against the strut. *tr
SUSPENSION - REAR
07/30/201182000
 Approximately 4 months ago my right front coil spring broke on my 2005 saab 9-3 at around 75,000 miles. i was pulling out of my garage when it snapped, but could not determine the source of the sound as nothing appeared broken to my untrained eye and the vehicle still operated fine. over the next couple weeks i brought it in to the dealership for front end noise and the broken spring was discovered. not a big deal as the repair was covered under a service bulletin and no damage occurred to the vehicle. however, a few days ago my right rear coil spring snapped as i was travelling down the highway. there was no apparent change in how the vehicle handled, but after my experience with the front spring the sound was familiar and therefore i had my husband inspect it. apparently, there is no service bulletin for the rear springs, just the front springs and i'm wondering why both front and rear are not covered by this service bulletin.