Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2001 record →
THE CAR HAS STALLED TWICE WITHOUT WARNING, ON THE SECOND OCCASION THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED, IN THE FIRST INSTANCE THE DEALER REPLACED THE D1 CASSETTE BECUSE IT MALFUNCTIONED BUT IN THE SECOND INSTANCE DIAGNOSTIC TEST DID NOT REVEAL A CAUSE FOR THE SHUT DOWN. NLM
WHITE SMOKE EXITS THE EXHAUST AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND SITS, AND IS STARTED AGAIN. SAAB CUSTOMER SERVICE FIRST TOLD ME A TSB WOULD BE ISSUED CONCERNING THE PROBLEM. POQUET AUTO AND MORRIES SAAB BOTH STATED "SOME" SAABS HAVE A PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO THE CSR, THE INJECTORS RELEASE TOO MUCH FUEL UPON STARTUP WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD AND THAT CAUSES THE SMOKE. WHEN THE SAAB IDLES, IT STOPS. I WAS INFORMED THAT SAAB WAS WORKING ON THE PROBLEM AT FIRST. NOW I AM TOLD, THERE IS NO PROBLEM. THIS DEFECT SERIOUSLY DIMINISHES THE OVERALL VALUE OF A $40K CAR.*AK
IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING CONSUMER'S PURSE TOUCHED IGNITION SWITCH PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2001 Saab 9-5 → · Every 9-5 year → · How the figures are calculated →