1999 Saab 9-5 complaints

I OWN A 1999 SAAB WAGON WHICH HAS HAD REPEATED PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE AND TURBO SYSTEM. THE CAR, WIH 92,000 MILES, NOW REQUIRES A NEW ENGINE. ESTIMATED COST BETWEEN 6 - 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS...ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE CAR. LAST YEAR, THE CAR REQUIRED A NEW TURBO SYSTEM (72,000 MILES) AT A COST OF $1200 PLUS. AT LEAST FOUR TIMES, THE VEHICLE FAILED WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC. IT EITHER LOST ALL ELECTRICAL POWER OR WOULD STALL UPON ACCELERATION, REQUIRING "TWO PEDAL" DRIVING. THE CAR REQUIRED 5 TOWS BECAUSE OF MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN. CAR HAS REPEATED INTERNAL OIL LEAKS WHICH LEADS TO CLOGGED OIL PAN, A $600 REPAIR. CUSTOMER BELIEVES THERE IS AN INHERANT DEFECT WITH TURBO SEALS.*AK

CAR STARTED RUNNING BADLY (MISFIRING). BASED ON NUMBER OF FAILURES REPORTED ON THE SAABNET WEBSITE, I FIGURED THE DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE WAS FAILING. REMOVED IT AND FOUND A CRACKED COMPONENT IN THE CASSETTE. REPLACED THE CASSETTE WITH NEW ONE ($414 LIST PRICE) AND PROBLEM CURED. SAAB NOW WANTS FAILED CASSETTE BACK AND IS CHARGING A $250 CORE CHARGE IF IT'S NOT RETURNED. ANOTHER EXPENSIVE AND COMMON FAILURE WITH THE 9-5.*AK

WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE ON A SNOWY. THE CONSUMERS VEHICLE WAS THEN STRUCK ON THE SIDE AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, HOWEVER THE CONSUMER NOTICED THE AIR BAG LIGHT HAD ILLUMINATED AFTER THE INCIDENT. *JB

1999 SAAB 9-5 STALLING PROBLEM. SOMETIMES WHEN IN TRAFFIC. HAPPENED WHEN TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS (25-40 MPH). DEALER KEPT CAR FOR ONE WEEK THEN DIAGNOSED PROBLEM AS DEFECTIVE "ECU" WHICH IT REPLACED AT A COST OF MORE THAN $900. THIS HAPPENED MANY TIMES IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 2003.

VACUUM BRAKE BOOSTER DEVELOPED AN INTERNAL LEAK, CAUSING MOMENTARY LOSS OF BRAKING ACTION WHEN FIRST STEPPING ON BRAKE PEDAL DURING AN EMERGENCY STOP. DURING "NORMAL" BRAKING THE BRAKES WORKED FINE. IMPORTANT!...THE BIG DANGER HERE IS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE BOOSTER TILL YOU HAVE TO MAKE A QUICK STOP WHERE YOU NEED TO JAM ON THE BRAKES QUICKLY!! YOU SUDDENLY FINE THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO BRAKES FOR A SECOND OR TWO!! IN NORMAL BRAKING THEY WORK FINE.*AK

FAILURE OF DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE. VEHICLE (1999 SAAB 9-5 SE) STOPS RUNNING IN TRAFFIC AND CANNOT BE RESTARTED. BASED ON REPORTS IN SAABNET.COM, THIS IS A RELATIVELY COMMON FAILURE. *AK

2ND TIME THE SID DISPLAY HAS FAILED, AFTER RESEARCHING, THIS IS A KNOWN AND WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM WITH SAAB SID DISPLAYS FOR MANY YEARS. HAVE CONTACTED SAAB AND SO FAR WILL NOT REPLACE. CAR IS NOT UNDER WARRENTY, BUT CAN'T GET ANY INFORMATION FROM CAR ABOUT WARNINGS, ERRORS, TIME, DATE, RADIO STATION. *AK

FAILURE OF CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM PREVENTS HEATED AIR FROM REACHING THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDSCREEN -- NO DEFROST. REPLACEMENT PART SOLD ONLY AS ENTIRE ASSEMBLY ($2,000) PLUS 14-18 HOURS LABOR=$3,000+. NO OTHER OPTION FOR PROPER OPERATION OF DEFROSTER SYSTEM. *AK

A BROKEN PLASTIC ARMATURE THAT CONTROLS THE VENTS FOR MY DRIVER SIDE AIR CONDITIONING AND HEATING AIR FLOW HAS BROKEN. APPARENTLY THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH SAAB 9-5 OWNERS AND THE DEALERSHIPS AND REPAIR PLACES ARE WELL AWARE OF IT AS WELL. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT AVAILABLE FROM SAAB FOR THE 10 CENT PIECE OF PLASTIC THAT BREAKS SO COMMONLY. THE DEALERSHIPS (AND THE REPAIR PLACES THAT GET THEIR PARTS FROM THEM) ARE ONLY ABLE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE HEATER BOX ASSEMBLY, AT A COST OF OVER $2500 USD FOR PARTS AND ABOUT 20 HOURS OF LABOR!!! IN CHECKING THE FREQUENCY OF THIS ISSUE WITH OTHER SAAB OWNERS ON SAABNET.COM, I FIND IT IS ALTOGETHER TOO COMMON. YET, WHEN I CONTACTED SAAB USA, THEY TOLD ME SINCE MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY (1999, 86K MILES) AND SINCE I AM NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE VEHICLE, THAT THEY WOULD DO NOTHING FOR ME. THIS IS LUDICROUS. AT THE VERY LEAST AN INVESTIGATION AND TSB SHOULD BE ISSUED...POSSIBLY A RECALL. *NLM

CHROME PLATING ON SEAT BELT BUCKLE SUBJECT TO FLAKING OFF RESULTING IN POSSIBLE LACERATION POINT TO PASSENGERS.

THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE BUCKLE IS INBOARD OF THE CENTER PASSENGERS STRAP. SO, WHEN THE CENTER PASSENGER IS BUCKLED, THE PASSENGER BEHIND THE DRIVER CAN NOT ACCESS THEIR BUCKLE, OR, WHEN THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE PASSENGER IS BUCKLED, THE STRAP AND BUCKLE INTERFERE WITH THE OPERATION OF THE CENTER SEATBELT, AND CAUSE IT TO TWIST. THE REAR SEAT BELT LAYOUT IS THE SAME ON THE 1999  2002 WAGONS. WE COMPARED THEM TO SAAB 9-5 SEDANS. THE SEDAN SEAT BELTS ARE ARRANGED WITH THE BUCKLE ANCHORS INSTALLED IN THE OPPOSITE POSITIONS OF THE WAGON, SO A BELT NEVER OVERLAPS A BUCKLE AT ANY TIME. DESIGN PROBLEM - NO ACCIDENT INVOLVED.*AK

CONSUMER STATED THE REAR BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES FOR THE REAR SEAT BELTS APPEAR TO BE THOSE FROM A 9-5 SEDAN, THE REAR SEAT SAFETY BELTS OVERLAPS, MAKING THEM DIFFICULT TO LATCH AND UNLATCH, WHEN THE REAR SEAT BUCKLE IS LATCHED, ITS HIP BELT COVERS THE BUCKLE FOR THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE BELT, WITH THESE 2 BELTS BUCKLED, THE CENTER BELT HAS A SHARP TWIST WHERE IT CROSSES THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE BUCKLE, ADDITIONALLY, WHEN INDIVIDUALLY BUCKLED WITH THE SHOULDER STRAPS FLAT, THE REAR CENTER AND DRIVERS SIDE HIP BELTS HAVE A TWIST IN THEM.*JB

CONSUMER TRIED TO START VEHICLE, BUT IT WOULD NOT START. HE CALLED SAAB ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, WHO ADVISED HIM TO REFILL BATTERY FLUID. HE, THEN JUMP STARTED VEHICLE, THERE WAS A FLASH FROM THE BATTERY AND IT CRACKED. DEALER REPLACED BATTERY, AND STATED THAT BATTERY GOING DRY, AND IT WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM. DASH INDICATOR DID NOT SHOW A PROBLEM WITH BATTERY.*AK

BATTERY EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING, WAS IN PARKING LOT AT THE TIME, AND HAD NO PRIOR WARNING. WAS A LOUD BANG AND VEHICLE ROLLED TO A STOP. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. MECHANIC HAD NO INDICATION OF WHAT CAUSED EXPLOSION. *AK

MY SAAB WAS TOTALLED ON 11/15/99 BECAUSE IT BEGAN TO ROLL FROM SIDE TO SIDE WHEN I MADE A QUICK LANE CHANGE. THIS ROLLING HAD HAPPENED TWICE BEFORE IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS BUT I MANAGED TO REGAIN CONTROL BOTH TIMES. THE LAST TIME I WAS NOT SO LUCKY. I H

PARKING BRAKES FAILED ON TWO OCCASIONS, ONE INCIDENT RESULTED IN DAMAGE TO VEHICLE WHEN VEHICLE ROLLED INTO OBJECTS. *MJS

VEHICLE WILL STALL INTERMITTENTLY WHILE IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC WITH A/C ON. DEFECT HAS OCCURRED 6 TIMES. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE CAUSE OF DEFECT. *AK

WATER SOMEHOW ENTERED THE VEHICLE AND CORRODED THE MAIN COMPUTER CAUSING THE A/C AND LIGHTS TO MALFUNCTION. 8ET