2000 SAAB 9-5 Basic sedan from North America - Comments

We were so excited to purchase the SAAB however; there is a serious flaw. We need a class action suit.

The first engine froze up at at 45,000 miles. We are great at changing oil and taking care of our car. The dealer was totally rude and unhelpful, and told us the manual was incorrect and the oil had to be changed earlier than what was stated in the owners manual. We had to fight for weeks to get them to lower the price of the new engine. That put us out $1,600 dollars.

Now our second engine has 55,000 miles on it and it is blowing blue smoke out of the exhaust. We are in the process of dropping the sump and try to clean out the oil. We are very concerned that this engine is doing the same thing, and as soon as we get the brake light on the back interior fixed, $150.00 to install the new one, and fix the two broken front power windows that broke a year ago, $360 each, and hopefully keep it running after we clean out the oil and run some engine cleaner thru it, we are selling.

We know when we have been beat. There is no way dealerships and companies should be allowed to get away with the outrages prices for repairs, when obviously from prior comments the car is defective. Hope someone does something soon.

Sorry to hear of your problems with your Saab.

Mine has been extremely reliable.

I do change my oil every 3,000 miles and use synthetic.

They are a bit pricey some times but it's called an extended warranty. Well worth the up front costs, plus adds a bit of value when trading it in or selling private party. Sorry to hear this about your saab we love our 95 arc but it is an 04' so don't know about earlier model problems. Shop around and find a good saab specialist or another dealer shop.

I have been obsessive about oil changes and my Saab 9 5 Aero is doing the same thing. So Saab does have a fatal flaw on the engine. It sucks and it does so badly.

My engine was replaced two years ago because of sludge. It is now progressing into the same type of problems that proceeded the first engine failure. So for a person like me who obsesses over the slightest noise variance on her car and change the oil every 1500 miles, what excuse would you provide. The Saab Engine has a problem and it is no fault of the customer. If it were some fault of the customer, no car company would issue a bulletin or recall. Despite matter government requirements to disclose problems, car companies rarely do so on their own unless there is a lawsuit of some sort or a great potential for one, like a class action law suit.

So, no, no, no, it is not all the customers fault. "Saab Stories" on this engine are real.

I don't own a Saab (but I'm considering one). "Anyway" Id like to add my $0.2 to this sludge problem. Most people don't pay enough attention to the type of oils and oil filters being used during oil changes and just assume that they have done nothing wrong to their car when in fact they have. Some Oils & filters (many famous ones actually) can damage your engine so Its up to you not to just trust the guys at the lowest priced quick change shop you can find. I recommend you only use the manufactures recommended oils and filters.

With that said in my studies two brands of Oil you should be able to trust are; Mobil and Castrol. As for oil filter brands, the manufactures recommendation or WIX should be safe.

Note: if you currently have a sludge problem try using sludge remover just before your next oil change and bring your own oil.

It is not uncommon that when after using sludge remover your engine acts improperly or the check engine light comes on. When this happens Sometimes it’s necessary to do another oil change immediately after the first sign of trouble. But before you do that 1st be sure the oil counter has been reset 2nd try shutting down the engine and restarting it about 5 minutes later and 3rd try the second step again. If the light persist drive no more than a mile, stop the car & have it towed to the closest oil change shop. The problem is you need to change the oil & filter due to the loosened sludge clogging the new oil filter.

In the case of turbos when the engine light comes on (especially ones that use your engines oil to lubricate or cool the turbo or turbos) I recommend using slush remover again and running the engine for 5 minutes then let it sit for at least 20 minutes before driving it in to be flushed again. The idea is to unclog the thin oil pipe that feeds the turbo which if not cleaned immediately will lead to turbo damage & eventually failure.

Oh come off it! Any modern engine, using a branded synthetic oil such as Castrol, should be able to go 10,000 miles and more between changes. Changing oil every 1,000 or 3,000 miles is absolutely crazy in this day and age. I have an 8 year old 3 series with 90,000 miles and it gets a service about every 15,000 miles per the interval indicator. It has been problem free. Saab should be able to do that same - they're a so called premium car though GM ownership has probably put an end to that! Even Fords, Hondas, Toyotas, etc, don't suffer from this issue. It's bad design and engineering - full stop!