21st Oct 2003, 08:34

What about the dodgy reverse gear?

Surely this must be the Achilles heel of all Saabs?

I bought a 9000CSE with 55,000 miles; 2000 miles later the car would not go into reverse.

The oil seal on reverse gear blew, burning out reverse.

This happens on many many Saabs according to a gearbox specialist. It's an inherent fault.

I had new clutch put in at the same time, then the clutch slave blew because of the new clutch assembly.

Gearbox had to come out again to sort it, because the slave was inside the box!

BE WARNED ABOUT THE SAABS!

28th Mar 2004, 00:16

I totally agree with you!! I bought my Saab 9000 because I thought it was such a cute car with so many exciting features (leather seats, sunroof, CD player, heated seats, standard, the list goes on).

Almost two years later I have spent more money fixing it then I originally did in order to buy it. The head gasket, transmission, Axel, leaking hoses, and so many other problems have occured. I started driving this car my senior year of high school and it caused me so many embarrassing, broken down moments.

I have nothing against Saab, they are most definitely good cars. If I ever buy a Saab again though, it will have to be new and I will have a good paying job (Saab makes good cars but they are so expensive to fix)!

23rd Nov 2010, 21:30

I bought a 1992 Saab 9000 CS about 10 years ago with 80,000kms on the clock. It now has 200k on the clock. It is a love hate relationship.

Major problems were a cracked head and a broken harmonic balancer. The car when running properly is a delight to drive. Main problem is that I haven't come across a decent SAAB mechanic dealer during the entire time I have owned the vehicle. Luckily I am pretty good at working out problems on this vehicle (thank god, because if I relied on advice I have received from mechanics, I would have had to rebuild the motor and transmission ten times over). It is for this reason I will never buy another SAAB again. If the company can't bring its Australian dealers/suppliers/mechanics to a competent level, why would I show brand loyalty. Sorry SAAB - nice cars, but no support means bye bye from this unhappy little camper.

22nd Jun 2019, 13:24

This one is true.. I had a manual gearbox overhauled twice in a month due to worn out reverse gear links. And I still drive with apprehension in reverse.

Otherwise the Saab 9000cs is great.