9th Nov 2010, 20:02

Love the style, power, and handling of this car! Good design.

Only thing I would suggest is better cup holders?

Treat the car well, and it will repay the favor to you!

30th Jan 2011, 07:39

I have a 1998 Saab 9-3 auto.

Have just had the same intermittent starting problems - and once the power just dropped and the car stopped - very scary.

Will take some comments on board, and try and find the cost of the switch mentioned in the UK.

31st Mar 2011, 10:04

Hi I have a SAAB 93 2006 convertible. I have been experiencing slow take off problems, but about every two tanks of petrol. The car is automatic and will start, but takes a while to pick up speed, which is very disturbing when I am at a junction or roundabout. The car can run OK but lose the power of take off at any time, not just from starting from cold. I have tried total fuel and injector cleaner. This helps sometimes, but has anyone else had this problem, and have you managed to have it fixed and at what cost?

14th May 2011, 02:04

Hi, not sure if anyone can help, I have a Saab 93 2001. When it's left to sit over 20 hours, it takes time to start up. As long as I drive it every day or start it up every day, it's fine. Any clues anyone? Have tried a number of things; battery replaced, rubber pipes been replaced, spill off pipes. Someone told me it's because the fuel is returning back to the tank, hence starving the engine, filling it with air, hence the difficulty starting. Any advice anyone?

Rog.

26th Jul 2011, 14:41

I have had similar problems with my 2000 9-3. Had the ignition switch replaced, the starter relay switch replaced, and still having this issue: Intermittently, the car will not start. It was occurring more frequently, but it would never happen when I had it in the shop. At least, until the last time. It actually happened while at the shop, and the mechanic suspected it to be the neutral safety switch (NSS). To verify, he had me turn the key and hold it to the right while he tapped the neutral safety switch with a long screwdriver. And voila, the car started. This confirmed it to be a contact issue within the NSS.

I haven't replaced it yet due to the cost (two separate estimates ranging from $550-$630). However, I have managed to get it started now every time I have an issue by tapping on the NSS with a crowbar. I tap it a couple times and then turn the key, and it has worked every time so far. If you didn't know this, the NSS is located directly under the battery, and has a visible wire cable coming out of it to a connector. Still need to replace it at some point, but this quick fix has kept me from getting stranded.

13th Nov 2011, 22:12

Hi, I have a Saab story. Maybe you can help. I ran up to a gas station last week, and put $20 in. Got back in & she wouldn't even crank. Tried jumping; just a click, that's it. I thought the engine had seized!!! Came back next day and cranked it over, but it didn't have enough juice. Now I'm thinking it's the battery; BUT when AAA tried to boost me, it didn't work either???

19th Nov 2011, 08:59

Our 2002 Saab 9-3 SE Convertible had the intermittent start problem. We found that tapping on the neutral safety switch (NSS) with a broom handle or other heavy stick made the car start. There is a fantastic post at http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105574, including photos, explaining how to recondition the NSS. (Use this link - Google will take you to a different version of the article in an archive.)

I took the article and photos to our local independent mechanic. He didn't think it would work, but I told him I was willing to pay for the work to try it. He wanted to get a new switch (about $400), instead of trying to recondition ours - then he found out that he couldn't get one, because there were 76 back-orders for the switch (gee, I wonder why?).

Battery tray was not removable, so he ended up removing the left wheel and loosening an engine mount or something to get just a bit more clearance to get the NSS out. It was riveted together, so they had to drill out the rivets, and then use self-tapping screws to put it back together.

In the end, the mechanic said that ours didn't have hardened grease preventing the contacts from springing up and down, like the article discusses. Instead, he said that there were brass filings distributed throughout the bulb grease, causing short circuits across the contacts. I questioned whether that was really the problem, but it apparently was.

The labor for the job ended up costing me about $400 (getting it out and back in is apparently a miserable job), which is no more than the cost of a new switch.

The problem is fixed. The car has never failed to start since this repair.

Many, many thanks to the author of the post cited above!!

4th Jun 2013, 20:15

The reason the Saab 2.0 liter engine has a common sludge problem, is because the catalytic converter sits right below the oil pan, causing the oil to basically "cook" itself.

The best way to prevent this is to actually complete a simple oil change every 3k miles. If most of those failed engines had actually been maintained the right way, they would still be fine to this day.

It really bugs me when people fail to do something as simple as an oil change, and then blame the car maker for something that could've been prevented.

I've been specializing in Saab repair for over 15 years, for whoever doesn't think that I know what I'm talking about.