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Comments
I brought the car in for stalling...they fixed that without a problem, which is good. They also told me... b/c I have the 9-3 sport sedan... and my VIN # has an 'F' in it (I think...) that I have scheduled maintenance at 15K and NOT 10K...that they can't even do it UNTIL my car computer TELLS me I needs a checkup..and to change my oil every 7500 miles b/c of the all synthetic oil. Anyone else hear this 15K thing? I knew about the oil...not the 15K...
Oh...I've seen people post a LOT on here about the DTE not resetting or giving the wrong mileage... I thought the same thing... actually READ the manual...and it clearly says in there that sometimes you have to manually reset the trip computer by holding down the clear button for about 5 seconds...works miracles...
Well, in the past few weeks I've noticed that when I'm coming out of a toll booth (LOVE Jersey tolls...lol), and I try accelerating hard... it'll be all fine and then all of a sudden it feels like the trans either slips down a gear for a second and it'll rev hard with no extra pick up and then pop back in the right gear and keep going... it's hard to explain...does anyone else have this problem? It's happening more and more and I'm just waiting for my appointment with my dealer..
someone help! thanks!
See my messages; 2078 and 2100. My 2003 9-3 ARC, w/auto might be doing the same thing. When I shift from 2nd to 3rd it seems to miss a shift, for a second or 2, usually under hard acceleration in auto or manual mode, and it revs freely until it finds 3rd. I had the dealer look at it. They found no codes and could not duplicate it. I just got my car back on Monday 11/3 and it has'nt happened yet. Keep me posted as to what your dealer comes up with. Thanks and good luck.
Semper Fi
Also having difficulties with the battery. I'm currently on the third battery since the car purchase, due to the light switch being kept on (my fault). However, with all the ignition problems recently, the clock keeps on being reset. Any insights?
I got my car fixed last weeks and I love it again. All I wanted was a quite car and it took only 3 trips to the dealer for him to fix everything
The Onstar system also seems fine now though I don't care about it and don't plan on using it.
I apologize of this issue has been discussed before but with winter almost here I think it is worth going over again.
My car has the 16" Pirelli all season tires. I live in Michigan and am looking for input from people who live in similar snowy areas about snow tires. Does my 9-3 arc need them? There was a slippery patch on the road today and the brakes and traction control handled it beautifuly.
So does anyone else plan on getting snow tires? Also do you usually get just the tires or do you buy 4 tires with wheels and just swap?(My dealer has a set of 16" wheels with snow tires for $996).
Thanks and happy motoring
BC
COLOR: First of all, the color of the car. I had to get the cosmic blue ordered from another deaership, so I did not actually see the car before buying it. I saw lots of pictures of it on the web, though. I was kind of expecting to get the Viggen color (I think that one was called electric or lightning blue), but I think the cosmic blue is a bit darker. If you check the following pages:
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/417089
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/417089
you will see a 9-3, which is supposedly cosmic blue, but on the pictures its color looks different: a bit lighter than mine. Maybe it’s just the flash? Any ideas?? Well, anyway. My cosmic blue is still beautiful!!
HANDLING, DRIVE: It’s a 6-speed manual, 2003 model. Excellent, amazing handling, acceleration. It has no match in any category as far as I can tell. My favorite gear is: gear 3. The way it accelerates from 40 to 70 in about a second or so is simply amazing. FANTASTIC. I am so happy. I had Acura Integra (top of the line), BMW 323 and Volkswagen Golf before. No match for the acceleration and the way it drives and corners.
RATTLES: well, I had my share of rattles. Door rattles on the front door, plus the center stoplight in the back. I printed Astrodave’s fix page (http://www.geocities.com/astrodave245/saab_93_buzz_fix.html), and I told the manager everything to be fixed on his list. To which he asked me if I was reading up on the internet, and whether I could actually hear the rattles or just imagining them. Unfortunately I could hear all of them except the liner issue in front of the rear wheel (but that one certainly makes a rattle if you go there and push on it). So they said they fixed everything and most of the rattles went away. They ordered new door trims to be fully replaced (and padded), so it should take care of the remaining mild rattles (they say). Anyway, the rattles are only audible on REALLY BAD roads, and they are MUCH better now. By the way, I never heard any rattle on any highway or reasonably good streets, or normal type bumps. It only happens with REALLY rough surfaces. And I never had a buzz problem with the stereo.
AUDIO SYSTEM: I agree with most postings: when I bought the car, the back speakers sounded like a broken alarm radio (imagine an AM signal with bad reception coming from under water while your ears are plugged in with glue). So they downloaded some new program into it at the shop, and WOW the sound improved a lot. I still have to crank up BOTH treble and bass, and this causes a loss of the mid-range, but it is acceptable. Not as good as the Bose in our other car (the Mercedes M320 which is basically used now to transport our kids), but than again, what good is that sound system if in that car all you have to listen to is children’s music
So the Saab drives and handles beautifully, and looks great. I am VERY happy.
(I am wondering why Saab lets customers to figure out the audio problems and the rattle issues, rather than have somebody fix all the cars on the dealers lot before selling them.)
I have a 2003 9-3SS Linear. I took delivery on 12-31-2002, and bought snow tires and wheels right away. I live in upstate NY, and we get a lot of lake effect snow here. I have always purchased a separate set of wheels and tires for my cars. If you plan on keeping the car a while, it extends the life (miles) on your all seasons so that you can delay purchasing new ones for a year or two. Having the wheels allows you to change them when you wish instead of having to try and get an appointment somewhere. I have also seen wheels that are damaged by all of the salt they use around here. I would also check out some of the mail order houses who will deliver a set of mounted and balanced tires to your door (I have Bridgestone Blizzaks). It looks like I will probably have to put them on this weekend! Doing my own tires switches also lets me keep track of proper tire rotation.
Anyhow, each one does something different to fix the rattles (and I’ll admit, they are slowly getting quieter and quieter), but there seems to be no logic other than "street smarts". The bigger the dealer (and the more cars they work on), the smarter they are.
One thing that still drives me nuts is the noise I hear when the sunroof cover (but not sunroof) is open. The dealer yesterday said it was the plastic "accordion" seal (you can see it on the sides). He said there was nothing they could do. I don’t like that answer.
The audio still sucks, but that is more of a design issue. Not much the repair guys can do. I still wish Saab would give us a discount (actual cost or less) to have a new audio system put it. It is a joke. On a recent business trip I had a Pontiac Grand Am with a better audio system.
Anyhow, the loaner car they gave me was a 2004. The pop-up headlights cleaners are gone... replaced by some non-pop-up "always there" spray nozzles. I like the 2003 pop-ups better. The new design isn't nearly as elegant. I guess they wanted less moving parts.
Button for the sunroof is different. As is the way the sunroof works (allows more finite control of tilt-up and opening). Additionally, there are some thick foam pads on the front end of the sunroof (sliding) cover door that must be there to prevent some noise when the sliding door is fully closed (not an issue on my 2003 however).
I did (like others reported) hear some noise similar to mine from the sunroof and doors. Tisk tisk.
I really wish Saab would just fess up and fix these things. I'll admit that unless you drive a specific car all the time, some are very subtle, but enough of us on this site alone have complained that there is a pattern. Plus, don’t forget about the thousands of others who don't hang out here.
I am not saying http://www.geocities.com/astrodave245/saab_93_buzz_fix.html is the bible -- but I do wish that Saab would take it more seriously. Each person I show it to said, “this is just some stuff off the Internet” as if it weren’t a big deal. My reply is usually, “So are you saying this -- http://memory.loc.gov/const/const.html -- is just ‘some stuff off the Internet? I didn’t think so.”
Oh, back to the 2004: Everything else looked the same. The biggest change to me was the pop-up headlight washers. I didn’t notice anything radically different. So that is good.
I’m still a bit shocked by the oil change interval. The techs don’t even seem 100% keen on letting the computer decide when the oil is dirty enough, but I guess in the end, shooting a light (or laser) thought oil to see how dirty it is isn’t rocket science. It is either dirty or not.
Changing the springs would probably cost in the area of $600 to $800.
Changing the shocks and struts alone would cost less.
market install of Delphi XM,1st generation or the
new Roadie?Have it at home and am TOTALLY sold
on the service.
BTW, this is my 1st Saab and my Linear is loaded (Launch, Touring and Sport Packages) and I do like the car.
After two more stalls, I brought my car in again (I was willing to tolerate the buzzing for a while but not the stalling). This time, to (hopefully) end the stalls, they replaced the spark plugs because they were "worn." Happily, a week later, there have been no stalls.
However, the dealer claimed they could not hear the buzz (to be fair, neither could I when I test drove it with the dealer) and, unless they hear it themselves, they say there is nothing they can do to fix it. Of course, the buzz came back the next day. I think I'll call the dealer from the car and introduce the service department to "Mr. Buzz" the next time I hear it.
I have a few more gripes. After I got the car back from the dealer, the three Onstar buttons were backlit. The mystery here is that they were always dark before. Originally, I just thought it was a design flaw and that they weren't meant to be lit up. Strangely enough, they are now dark once again. Also, the seat memory definitely has a mind of its own. Occasionally, and for no apparent reason, the memory positions are lost. More frequently, sometimes when I start the car, even when the seat stayed in the same position, I find that the side view mirrors have to be readjusted. Has anyone else noticed any problems with the memory settings?
The car is packed full of technology but I think there are some bugs that still need to be worked out.
But now, I swear, the thing has healed itself! It no longer does it, and I never had it to the dealer for investigation.
And another thing -- for a while my driver's side rear door lock wouldn't work. Stupid thing has healed itself and worked flawlessly for months.
Go figure...
Obviously, this is a really minor quibble and it doesn't affect the drivability or my enjoyment of the car. For the life of me, though, I can't figure out why Saab's engineers would deliberately treat the Onstar buttons differently. Thus, I can only conclude that it was an oversight.
What bothers me is that, although the 9-3 is by far the most fun to drive car I have ever owned, I never experienced anywhere near as many problems, both minor and major, in any of my previous cars.
Nojalopy, I hope you're right. I do believe that if you ignore them long enough, most problems, like creditors, telemarketers and demanding children, will go away. Maybe Saabs are like that....
We're pleased to announce that the 9-3 Sport Sedan was recently named "Best Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Saab’s “Real-Life Safety” philosophy helped earn the 2003 Saab 9 3 Sport Sedan a “Best Pick” designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In the most recent series of 40-mph frontal offset crash tests, IIHS tested seven new or redesigned vehicles, including the 2003 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. The Saab was one of five vehicles that earned the Institute’s “Best Pick” honor in this round of testing. The crashworthiness test evaluates vehicles on three primary elements:
I didn't realize the 9-3 has side seat bags and head curtains...WOW....
EuroNCAP also gave the 9-3 full marks in their side-impact test.
www.euroncap.com
However, I wouldn't characterize stalling as a minor problem.
Fortunately, in the 9 months I've had my Linear, I've never had a stalling issue (knock on wood). The only negatives I have are:
- Occasional rattle, comes and goes. Minor problem, not worth going out of my way to fix and just waiting for the service appointment.
- Brakes are pretty touchy and probably need adjustment. Will also get that taken care of at the service appointment. Minor problem again.
- The ride comfort is jittery, especially on repaired road surfaces. Before anyone jumps on me and says that I should expect that in a sports sedan, I'll mention that a 3-series and a C-class have similar sporty handling (if not better) but (minus the sport suspension) have far better composed rides.
I will say that because I lease the vehicle, I'm probably a bit more forgiving about small glitches. I'd probably be a bit more concerned and motivated to fix things quickly if I owned it for the long haul.
As far as rolling along with the punches, sure I think I've done that. I got the OnStar upgrade a few months ago, and my dealership still hasn't figured out how to program all the features that I think are there. I do get the sense that Saab got the vehicle out a bit too early and needed some more time to get the kinks out or to refine it.
Now, for the positives I've found in nine months of ownership:
+ The vehicle is as fun now as when I first drove it. Very tossable, light on its feet, and quick (low-end torque seems to be a key here). It's an enjoyable vehicle. Around town, it prowls the streets with a low growl of its turbo, and gets up and going quickly and stops quickly. On the highway, it moves quite smoothly.
+ I still appreciate the little touches that some shoppers don't notice. Park the car after driving in the rain, turn off the ignition, and the wipers fully retract instead of sticking up at a right angle and requiring you to turn on the power again. Or how the Night Panel mode not only darkens about everything but the speedo, it also darkens the highest speeds of the speedo.
+ I like the trunk space, true mid-sized volume.
+ Seat comfort is very good. A lot of vehicles bug my back, but Saabs and Volvos seem to fit very nicely.
+ I love the look of the vehicle. Plus the fact that it's distinctly Saab and it's not a vehicle you see all the time.
+ Love the bi-xenon lights. I'll never go back. Even had a chance to use the xenon high-beams after daylight savings time ended and really appreciated the difference (the turn-off into my neighborhood is pretty dark at night, without many cars, so the high beams help for driving through and avoid joggers and dog walkers).
how about a new 9-3?
German power? Well, IIRC, not in the sense of MB/BMW German power. Think General Motors in Germany (Opel). The engine is based on the GM Ecotec 2.2 block, reduced in size and very heavily modified with Saab technology (e.g. turbo, intake/exhaust, valvetrain pretty much all the internals). But this happens at a GM/Opel plant in Germany, I think. The modifications are Saab design.
If any one else has had these problems and has a solution, please let me know. I really want to enjoy this car!!!
Anyhow, two days later, I have my 9-3 back. The dealer claims that the software upgrade (which I had done at the thirty-day check up after my first two stalls) had "deteriorated." I'm not a computer guy, but that sounds like something out of "The Matrix" to me. Dealer's solution....they reinstalled the software upgrade.
Of course, they still didn't detect the buzzing from the doors and had never heard of there being any problems with the seat memory.
Despite all of the above, I actually kind of like the dealership. Their employees are friendly and courteous (although maybe not too knowledgeable) and they are service oriented. Nevertheless, this had better fix the stalling problem for good or I will go the lemon law route.
http://europe.autonews.com/files/saab931001.pdf
I too am worried about the new 9-3 and am not enthusiastic about the materials used. The closest competitors I have liked are the Acura TL and BMW 330iA.
I am a very happy owner of a fully optioned '03 9-3 linear at 11k miles. So far the only problem I have had is a jammed cd changer fixed under warranty from Saab. My only complaint is the under powered small rear speakers. Anybody have a cost effective way of upgrading the standard liner 150 W system? I'd like to add some 6 x 9 speakers in the back, perhaps a cd changer and higher wattage amplifier. The saab upgrade is over $1k (including disc changer in back and Arc/Aero sound system).
I am also wondering about the system re-set after you change the oil.
Anybody have any experience here? After you change the oil, does the system reset function become available?
with sentronic trans.-----no slipping,stalling
at creep speed while in stop and go traffic-
fixed at dealer in 30 minutes never to appear
again.Onstar"went to sleep"once,fixed it myself
following service dept.instructions to remove
and reinstall a specific fuse.These kind of issues
in a car which is essentialy the classic clean sheet of paper redesign are to be expected and
could never sour my overall opinion of the car.
Let's keep these negative posts in perspective---
the last time I checked Saab 9-3 sales for calendar year 2003 were approaching 21,000 units!
EXCELLENT (except why not on the Linear also?)
good job Saab
What are the lease numbers like, i know there is a special, but how much have you guys walked out the door with.
Thank you
Myself I would like the stick but it was a nice new car sitting on the lot here.
Seems like a neat car. I know absolutely nothing about Saabs though. I had to read the owners manual just to find the oil dipstick (like I was supposed to know it's attached to the oil filler cap?)
One minor problem: on the message screen, "Fill Coolant Reservoir" keeps popping up, then going off. I've checked the reservoir and it's full.
I can't seem to locate any traditional radiator cap to check the radiator level itself.
Ideas, anyone? There is what looks to be a level sensor in the side of the reservoir, and that may be what's causing this. The sensor is below the level of the coolant.
Mikey.