Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 2102554 | 10/01/2006 | 10020715 | Noise from the timing chain and oil sludge in the engine. *kb | 12/29/2006 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||||
| 200 | 03/29/2001 | 617823 | This bulletin addresses a customer complaint of engine / exhaust noise form a cold engine or when turning a corner. *tt | 03/29/2001 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 10/29/2008 | 101507 | 1 | |
| On wednesday, october 30, 2008 at approximately 4:45 pm i experienced a sudden vehicle engine stop. this occurred on a residential 4-lane street while traveling in the right hand lane at approximately 30 mph. the vehicle was a 2001 saab 95 arc wagon. . the vehicle suddenly started to run rough and then the engine completely shut off. this caused me to have to glide the auto to the right hand side of the road where there was a curb. i thus remained in a lane of traffic with a disabled vehicle. the cause was a defective crank shaft position sensor. when this becomes inoperative the computer that controls engine management shuts down and disables the car. this required a tow to the dealer repair shop. and it required a new crank shaft sensor part to be installed. the old part is not available. the main irk about this is this is the second time i have replaced this part in 15 months. the original sensor that came wit the car when i purchased it new lasted 87,199 miles and 5.5 years. the second sensor was replaced on july 16, 2007. the third sensor was replaced at 101,507 miles...a mere 15 months and 13 days with a mileage usage of 14,308 miles. had this failure in october 2008 occurred just 5 minutes before when i was traveling on a six-lane interstate at 60 mph i would have had a serious problem drifting across several lanes of traffic in order to pull over for safety. i believe that saab has a supplier providing them with an inferior part. *tr | |||
| 05/04/2006 | 80030 | 1 | |
| Random engine cutoff when driving, loosing power steering capability at the same time. most often happened when approaching intersection at the time when car speed was lowered. happened on multiple days. *tr | |||
| 11/04/2006 | 71000 | 1 | 12/01/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the engine died while the vehicle was traveling 60 mph, almost causing an accident. the service dealer determined the vehicle needed a new engine. the consumer had the engine replaced. updated 01/26/07. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - HOSE | |||
| 05/28/2005 | 50000 | 5 | 03/01/2005 |
| My car has only 50,000 miles. no warning, no escalation, just sudden. sid l.c.d. display is missing dots and lines causing unreadable display. checked several saab discussion forums and apperantly this is a very common problem which damages the value of a $40,000+ car. i am afraid to find out how much this is going to cost to repair after seeing how many 9-5 owners have posted home remedy repair methods for this. upper radiator hose- third one in fifty thousand miles from myself and the previous owner whom i knew. they all burst in the same place. pressure relief cap tested ok. there is no aftermarket manufacturer of this hose that i know of to fall back on for a possibly more reliable product. and also, i again after searching through discussion forums discovered i am not the only one with this problem. hood badge. enamel cracked and flacked off of the hood badge on this garage kept car. luckily i hear (because i'm not the only one) that these are cheap. my car has lost value to no fault of mine and i am going to have to have these things repaired (although they should not need to be) to regain that lost value. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 06/13/2008 | 98300 | 1 | |
| The first time the oil light came on was in mid october 2006, after about an hour of driving. there was no other indication of a problem (noise, vibration, change in handling, etc). the oil had recently been changed, but it was rechecked and topped off on the side of the road anyway. everything seemed good for about 20 min when the oil light came back on during a turn. i was on my way to the airport so i parked the car and took it to a service shop two days later when i returned. it was given an oil change and an overall check. the oil light did not come on during the test drive. i drove it home with no explanation as to why the oil light came on in the first place. in early 2007, the same thing happened again. this time the engine light came on too. everything was checked over and nothing found wrong. even the sensors were working fine. for the next year and a half, the oil and engine lights would go on and off at odd intervals accompanied by no other signs. sometimes they would only flicker on and off during a short drive and other times they would stay on for weeks and then going off again for no reason. each time, the oil and engine would be looked over and nothing found to be wrong. the last time there was an issue was on june 13th 2008. i was driving for about an hour and the oil light and engine light came on, this time accompanied by a ticking sound from the engine. i immediately pulled over at the next exit and had the car towed. after another checkover, we were told that the engine is failing due to sludge build up and that it would need to be replaced. it has 98,300 miles on it. all regular services were done, and oil changes were done at more frequent intervals than stated in the owners manual. we were told it would cost between $5000.00 to $9000.00 depending on what type of replacement motor was found (new or used). the vehicle is still sitting in our garage and has not been driven. the saab company refuses any responsibility. *tr | |||
| 10/02/2006 | 1 | ||
| I am not sure if this is where i file a potential fire hazard my 2001 saab 9-5 ce ,the head on the engine is leaking oil down the engine block, near and onto the exhaust pipe. the leak is on the back rearward side of the engine toward the drive belt. having been on the saabnet.net forum for saab owners , i realize that i am not alone with this problem. *jb | |||
| 08/03/2006 | 59400 | 1 | 01/29/2006 |
| At 8:00 pm this evening, i went to dinner. everything was working normally on my car. at 8:20 pm, twenty minutes later, i start my car and it enters limp-home mode with a blinking check engine light, indicating misfire. given the way the car was acting, the timing belt has broken. in my research, i have found this motor is a gm l81 motor, 3.0l v6. this motor has also been used in the saturn vue and cadillac catera. according to the nhtsa records, there was a recall on timing belts for the 97-2002 cateras. as stated earlier, this is the same motor in my 2001 saab 9-5 se v6 3.0l. *jb | |||
| 03/14/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2001 saab 9-5 idm is defective, consumer was told that all the spark plugs need to be replaced. *ts *nm***nar*** | |||
| 03/15/2006 | 117785 | 2 | |
| The consumer received a letter from saab stating that problems with the idm could cause reduced power and rough operation. the consumer experienced this problem with his 2001 saab 9/5. *nm the check engine light began to flash prior to the vehicle stalling. *nm | |||
| 05/16/2005 | 1 | ||
| My 2001 saab 9-5 stalled one day all of a sudden after i reached a shopping mall. i took it to a local saab dealer and they replaced my ignition system for a charge close to 600 dollars. they spoke to me that it was an isolated event. from the recall notice you release i realize that it was intrinsic manufacturing defect. thank you all for the good work. i hope i will get a refund. *nm | |||
| 12/24/2004 | 41000 | 8 | 08/12/2001 |
| Multiple times the car, when warm will just without warning. all electrical and engine simultaneously quits leaving the driver to deal with a situation of no power brakes and steering. multiple trips to dealer has resulted in no diagnosis and genearl apathy about the problem. the car is stil under warranlty but it offers no value. clear safety issue as the last event was at a elemenary school where a child was almost hit as the lack of braking and steering power. how can such a symptom betreated withsuch apathy. we will be forced to sel the car for safety reasons and no responsibility is taken by saab. ironically we had a similar problem with a 1994 9000.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 07/06/2001 | 2 | 12/28/2000 | |
| The car has stalled twice without warning, on the second occasion the vehicle was able to be restarted, in the first instance the dealer replaced the d1 cassette becuse it malfunctioned but in the second instance diagnostic test did not reveal a cause for the shut down. nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 09/21/2006 | 73000 | 2 | 03/01/2001 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds in heavy traffic, the engine stalled without warning. there was a loss of all vehicle power, and the engine would not restart. the vehicle was towed to a dealership who determined the serpentine belt needed to be replaced. after the replacement of the serpentine belt, the problem persisted. the vehicle was again inspected by a dealer who determined the throttle body casing needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not notified. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||
| 1 | |||
| Shortly after purchasing vehicle, consumer began to experience frequency of noxious fumes coming through the interior of the vehicle from the exhaust, when consumer took the vehicle to the dealership to report the problem he was given a service bulletin which identified the emission as hydrogen sulfide and the bulletin further stated there was no way to correct the problem, the manufacturer has acknowledged the problem but has failed to disclose the information.(lawyer, jeffrey miller on behalf of client)*jb | |||
| 08/24/2001 | 4 | 08/01/2001 | |
| White smoke exits the exhaust after the car has been driven for a period of time and sits, and is started again. saab customer service first told me a tsb would be issued concerning the problem. poquet auto and morries saab both stated some saabs have a problem. according to the csr, the injectors release too much fuel upon startup when the engine is cold and that causes the smoke. when the saab idles, it stops. i was informed that saab was working on the problem at first. now i am told, there is no problem. this defect seriously diminishes the overall value of a $40k car.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - CATALYTIC CONVERTOR | |||
| 01/18/2005 | 43701 | 1 | |
| 2001 saab 9-5, consumer has not received reimbursement for the recall work done on the vehicle. *kb the consumer received a recall letter in the mail one month later, after the repairs were already paid for. when the consumer called to inquire about her refund, she was told by the manufacturer, that they didn't have all of the paperwork and also they didn't have her address. nine months later, the consumer still has not received reimbursement. the catalytic converter was replaced. *jb | |||
| 09/16/2004 | 23000 | 2 | 02/01/2004 |
| Driving at 65mph in far left lane of highway and sudden loss of speed--could only go 20-30 mph for a few minutes before burning smell. was able to come to right shoulder while dodging highway traffic. direct ignition cassette (dic) failure 1 of 2 dic's in 6 cylinder engine). second visit required for check engine light--was catalytic converter. third visit for another cel for second dic failure.*ak | |||
| 10/03/2004 | 79100 | 2 | 12/10/2002 |
| My 2001 saab 9-5 has just under 80,000 miles and has gone through 2 catalytic converters. it also burns out a lot of lights--headlights, tail lights, brake lights, etc. every few months. also the led display on the dash has a lot of pixels out. i'm wondering if the electrical current is perhaps a little too high and that could be what's causing all of the problems?*ak | |||