3rd Nov 2007, 18:43
Can anybody help me? my saab 9-5 1999 starts runs for 10 minutes then shuts off by itself. both check engine and check gear box lights stay on at all times and the car runs sluggish. been this why for months when it shuts off I have to wait 2-3 hours before it would even think of starting again. can someone please help before I burn it it!
14th Nov 2007, 13:17
Wow. I found this site while trying to help a friend who has replaced her 9-5's battery twice in short order and is still having starting problems (starts fine with someone elses battery hooked up with jumper cables). It isn't the fuel pump, it just won't crank over unless it is being jumped.
Reading all these posts (and I read every one) makes me very happy with my 1998 Ford Ranger. I have changed brakes, tires, oil and a thermostat, and have 150,000 miles on it. All the lights are original, as is the battery. Everything still works. Sure, it isn't a Saab. But it is paid for, and I don't pay a dime for repairs. Sorry for everyones troubles, but THANK you for sharing!
14th Nov 2007, 15:42
Just wanted to add my.02 to the posters with the engine sludge problems. My 2001 9-5 officially joined the ranks of the engine replacement group, though so far I have not been told I need to pay anything for it (fingers crossed). So far, it's taken three weeks for the new engine to arrive, and now it will be another week before I can actually drive the car again. I have had to do all of the follow-up calling to make sure the dealer doesn't keep me on the back burner...: (
I have owned some lemons before, but none have ever cost me as much as this car. Though I still love my "Saabie" when it actually works, I have really felt the $$$ pain when it hasn't. Oh yeah, and I just spent $1,500 replacing the timing chain and the serpentine belt last year...sigh...
When I get this car back, I promised my husband and kids I would trade it in for something more dependable. We've looked at the Saturn Aura XR (hate the XE) but am still open-minded.
My advice for folks who want to do that is to talk to independent mechanics and ask them which cars they see the least, or which seem to be the best deal for the $$. Wish I could try a newer Saab, but I'm extremely gun-shy now that this one has cost me in excess of $5,000 since I bought it.
20th Nov 2007, 12:23
I have a 2000 9-3 Turbo and in the last 3 weeks to Check Engine and Gear Box light have been coming on simultaneously. They stay on for a few hours, and then both go off. The car runs in limp mode when they are on. I took it into my dealer service department, and they ran diagnostic/code read on it and call edme back saying "no fault found" on the scan test. At this time they cannot figure out what is wrong with the car. They wanted to keep it another day since when they took for a test drive, the lights were back off, and the car ran just fine. I am a little worried though, that they are desperately looking for something to be wrong. In the less than 2 years that I have owned this car I have spent almost $2000 in repairs alone. I cannot wait to get rid of this car.
17th Dec 2007, 17:31
I have a 2000 Saab 9-5 V6 wagon that I bought with 75,000 miles on it. Or I guess I should say I "had" a Saab. It is currently at the dealer with a blown engine under 2 feet of snow. I love the car, but unfortunately when the dealer did the 60,000 mile timing belt replacement they did not replace the tensioner pulley and due to this lack of vision, the timing belt blew when I was traveling 70 miles down the interstate. Now I am searching for a used engine replacement through a local mechanic. It states in the manual that they will replace any timing belt that fails under 100,000 miles and I currently have 90,000 miles on the car. Now they are saying that the timing belt did not fail, it was caused to fail. This has caused me incredible distress. I do love my Saab, but I would buy the V4 if I had to do it over again. I don't think that they should design something that if one part breaks it destroys your entire engine. Doesn't seem logical. I guess I have a love/hate thing for Saabs. I am using my mom's car which is a Honda Civic, nice for around town, but I miss my Saab magic carpet and am trying to get it back on the road. Thanks for reading, I feel better! Oh, yeah and they (Saab/GM) never did call me back. I left several messages. I did file a claim with the attorney generals office because I think they are really rude! I am in a service related business and your customers should be a top priority even when they have problems. OK, I'm done..
27th Oct 2007, 08:46
I must say, that all these comments are a mixed bag. Let's take all the reasons to buy a Saab in to context. I have a 2005 9-3 ARC. It has 210 hp turbo engine in it coupled to a 5 speed manual. It is fast and handles well. Right now it has 26000 miles on it. I have had no problems with the vehicle short of a couple of loose trim pieces. I am a former Lexus owner (ES 300). I really liked that car too, but I'm 6' tall. In fact, I was a big fan of japanese cars after clocking 290,000 miles on my '90 Nissan Maxima (only major repair was the clutch - granted it was rusting and rattling a little). Japanese cars are generally not made for tall people. My head grazed the headlinger of the Lexus and I constantly found myself crouching down at every traffic light to see if it turned green. Furthermore, the Lexus was a automatic (yuk) and boring to drive. One more thing to mention (If you have your lexus serviced at the dealership, you can plan on an average of $1000 in maintenance costs - sure they will make you a cappuccino, but I can buy a better tasting one at Starbucks for $3 -or better yet, if you buy a Saab where the first 3 years of maintenance are covered, you can take the $3000 and fly to Italy and have a REAL cappuccino) Sidebar: In the past years, the manual transmission has been disappearing from cars (don't have an explanation except maybe the aging of America (those with hip replacements can't handle the clutch pedal?). My personal feeling is that driving an automatic after knowing what it is to drive a good manual is completely unsatisfying.
I love driving the Saab and would buy another.
Everyone talks about the BMW as it it is the holy grail. True, the resale is higher (as a percentage of the purchase price) and they probably handle a little better, but you've got to come up with another $10,000 to $20,000 in the first place. Also, their reliability (I'm sure equally costly to maintain) is comparable they aren't cheaper to lease and how much time to you really spend in your car? I work for a living and put no more than 15,000 miles on my car each year. I guess if money is no object, then a BMW is the way to go, but I also am looking forward to a comfortable retirement and the extra costs of owning a BMW are not worth sacrificing the annual contribution to my Roth IRA.