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Saab • Saab Owners Not Impressed by Aeronautical Heritage • Consumer Complaints

R of Tenino, WA October 20, 2007

R of Tenino WA (10/20/07)
the Saab 2003 9-3 is KNOWN to have transmission problems and a recall from 2006 that caused the transmission problems in the first place. Saab tries to get out of the repair and when called on it several times and complaints are done, escalating the complaint up the chain, they FINALLY fix the tranny, only to not reimburse for any repairs or tows done at your own expense while waiting for them to actually RESOLVE the problem. I would be up for a class action suit regarding this year and make and model of their car. there are entire WEBSITES devoted to this complaint. surely there is an attorney willing to take on this problem on behalf of all the owners getting screwed by Saab.

Marshall of Austin, TX September 8, 2007

Marshall of Austin TX (09/08/07)
I purchase a 2003 Saab 9-3 Linear Sedan in 2005. The car had approximately 50,000 miles, but included records for all of the service performed, which was done at the local Saab dealer. At first I had several small repairs to make. Sometimes a sensor would have to be replaced. Sometimes there was an electrical glitch. And sometimes the car would barely start. But in the recent year I have had to replace the speed sensor on my 9-3 several times.

This costs about 500 or 600, and should rarely, if ever, need to be performed given that the speed sensor is really just a piece of hardware (I've gotten to know more about how these cars operate than I'd ever care to know). Mind you, I was having to try and fix the speed sensor while simultaneously several other annoying, albeit minor, problems were occurring.

And then in the last month I learned that I needed a new transmission. Though I am not a mechanic, I know that it is unreasonable to expect to have to replace a car's transmission every 100,000 miles. And in my case, I knew with certainty that for the life of the car it had been well-maintained. So out of frustration I traded the car in-I didn't feel right passing off this headache to another person. Instead, I thought I would give it back to Saab.

Melissa of Mercerville, NJ August 27, 2007

Melissa of Mercerville NJ (08/27/07)
What hasn't happened. I bought my '02 Saab 9-3 in August 2002. It was a demo w/ 3,500 miles, but I didn't think that was any issue, afterall, I was buying a Saab, weren't they a high quality car. Let's see, started w/ what I thought and was told were cosmetic issues: a cracking sound when the windows went up and down, constant creaking of the instrument panel, SID panel numbers not showing, leather upholstry coming apart from the actual seat, and the list goes on. Then, on the way to a wedding 2 yrs into the saga, the temperature gauge shot up and a gasket blew, antifreeze leaked all over everything under the hood, they towed it, fixed it and gave it back to me - the next week the same thing w/ the temperature gauge, except this time they couldn't figure out what it was, so I guess I was supposed to just trust that it was a fluke.

The car has been almost stalling since a year into ownership - they only just figured that out in Oct. '06 and I had to fight to have them replace the throttle body and pay for it since I had brought it to them 4 times under warranty. By the way I was deathly afraid for that warranty to expire. The throttle body problem also caused the car to putter like an onion was stuck in the exhaust pipe while I was driving on major highways to work each day - yes, safe!! The stalling still occurs. I've had to replace the starter, the IDM recall, the condensor, the catalytic converter and my transmission is slipping - it only has 82k miles. I had thought I was going to drive this car til at least 150k miles until I was ready for a minivan.

I've had it, I fought the lemon law and settled for a mere 750 because I only wanted reimbursement for the throttle body costs that they would not waive. Stupid move on my part because that was in May of this year. 2 months after cahsing the measly check is when the condensor, transmission, and catalytic converter went - what will be next.

The air bag light comes on every summer, the wipers on the front headlight fuse has burnt out 4 times, the rear wiper motor is shot and sounds like a monster - it alwasy has, but the dealership started ignoring me after a while and I got sick of being a nag. Funny how dealerships make you feel guilty. I will never buy a Saab again, I am now going to trade it in because I can't even imagine knowing the person who might buy it, so there's another loss because you know tradein value will never be close to private sale. I wish there was a class action lawsuit.

Fred of Louisville, KY August 20, 2007

Fred of Louisville KY (08/20/07)
I bought a 93 saab two years ago June 05. The vehicle had 22,000 miles on it at the time. Since owning the vehicle I had to replace the radio, get the window fixed, get the keys replaced, and now the transmission is not working. This is the worst car I ever owned. To top it off, when I took it to the dealer they backed into something with my car and damaged the bumper Bluegrass Saab. When questioned them about it they denied that it happened at their shop. I spent almost three thousand dollars to get the transmission fixed. A month after I got the transmission fixed, raditor fluid leaked into the transmission. Now I got to replace it again. The car only has 63000 on it.

Fatima of Dudley, MA August 2, 2007

Fatima of Dudley MA (08/02/07)
2001 Saab 93 SE Turbo From the moment i bought this car new from the dealer i've had issues with it. The driver side door lock and handle have stopped working for the 8th time now. The dealer fixed it twice while under warranty. I brought it to a garage 5 different times to get the issue fixed. I brought it back to the dealer in Nov 2006 to have the same issue fixed again. Contacted Saab to try to get reimbursed for this manufacturer issue, after weeks of phone calls the best they could do was give me a 25 coupon to use at a Saab dealer. The door lock/handle stopped working again this week, called the dealer since they told me last time it was covered for parts and labor for a year, they forgot to mention 12k miles or 12 months, so it's not covered again. Each time i have this problem it's close to 200 to have it fixed. It's a definite safety issue should i get into an accident i can't open the driver side door from the inside. I have to either roll down the power windows or go out thru the passenger side.

There is currently a severe shaking in the front of the car when i'm driving, it happens more when i start to brake. We've had brakes replaced 5 times now. I broke down on the highway on a bridge with no warning. The car wouldn't start again, it went from 65 to dead in a matter of seconds. Saab wouldn't reimburse me for the tow. It was a recalled defective problem, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE had to be replace. I've had the struts replace, huge money. There was a rattle in the front console next to the onstar button, it was a heat sensor that went bad, the electrical panel display doesn't really work and hasn't for 2 years now, somedays you see more than others, but there are always half of the letters or numbers missing. The convertible top broke. The car caught fire when i was driving on the highway. I pulled over and someone had some water to pour on it. The aluminum heat resistant padding under the hood caught on fire. The emergency brake stopped working. The heating system burned out and had to be replaced. Many other problems I could list. This car is definitely a lemon, has been from day 1. Very disappointed that a car like this has so many defects and there hasn't been any retribution to owners for all the expenses that have been incurred.

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