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I was just told last week that my car requires an update to the engine computer software that is intended to prevent DI cassette failures. Does anyone know much about this update? Does this mean that there was a problem with the old engine software causing the failures? Or is this update just what it says - added fail-safes to help reduce the occurrences of the failures?
it has a full report of failure rates and anticipated failure rates.
sorry i cannot tell you were to go to find it but do a search and use saab dic to see if this will take you to the site with the report.
or try the gvt. site.
it is a problem.
i have been carrying my spare for 3 years now.
major problem is that if it goes ,chances are that your cat conv. will to . but they go for $ 800. if you shop the net.
Running through the list of possibilites, I came up with the SAAB 9-5 as the ideal all weather interstate blaster. Nice ride, great fwd traction, great seats, and not an outrageous buy-in price (especially if you buy a used one a year or two old). The 9-5 is much better than the big SUVs I saw on the trip, more fun than a Volvo S70 AWD, and a lot less money than the runner up on my list, the MB E Series with AWD. Spec it out with Zenons, install some Blizzaks on all four corners, and you would be all set for some fun motoring, even in January.
On a different note, I was thinking today about the cost to repair Volvos/SAABs/Audi\/MB etc. and peoples reactions. My thought was that the cost for most any part is probably roughly the same across these car lines. A windshield wiper assembly, for example, on a Volvo is probably as expensive as on an E Series MB. The technicians certainly get paid the same. But people with the entry level lux cars (i.e., Volvo, SAAB, Audi) get excited and angry. They must think that because their SAAB or Volvo is not as expensive to buy as a MB or a Lexus , the cost of parts and service should be lower. This however has nothing to do with the cost of parts or service.
The car is 3 years old and I have had the 36mo service. The car only has 20,000 miles on it. At this point I have had the oil changed every 10,000 miles (will do 5k from now on) and had the engine air filter and cabin air filter replaced along with the battery at the 36mo service.
Here's my question... when should you have the Auto trans fluid changed? How about the engine coolant, the fuel filter, the brake fluid? Seems like the dealer will change these things "when I need to" after they check them if I keep going back every 10k miles. the service book lists the spark plugs as needing to be changed at 40k.
I think it makes sense to "check' everything when I bring it in but there has to be a point at which service should be done. Especially if it's required to keep with the warranty. For example, I don't think i'd go past 50k on the coolant even if it is 100k coolant.
Any thoughts??
dealer said 14k and i left without the car. i have looked at the carfax and there are 14 service records on it that are not oil changes. i asked for a full printout of detailed service history(most repairs were done at said dealership) and the dealer denied, citing legal restrictions, but i was allowed to speak with the saab service manager. the service manager informed me that repairs were all minor: headlight here, alternator there, a/c compressor (a common problem with all cars in the climate in which i live), oil leak (a little alarming)....
so my question is: am i being offered a good deal or lemon? i love the feel of the car but i am new to the luxury car arena. last car was a 91 honda civic.
in reply to your question.
i enjoy doing all the fluid changes myself.
good therapy and it gets done and right.
anyhow ,i change the oil every 3k
and i change the tranny fluid every 3 or 6k depending how i feel.
it is easy to do.
just pull out a medium size plug .
if car is hot about 4 will come out if not 3.
then screw it back
you will have to buy a washer ,an expansion washer to replace the old one. the tranny plug is forward of the oil on the drivers side.
Thanks for the feedback on the tranny fluid. Does the Aero have a transmision filter? If so is that best left to someone who can put the car on a lift?
How many miles now on the car?
WHOSE bumper to bumper warranty?
Air compressors are common problems in which climates? I think even in the Northeast people have them on a lot of the year and I've never heard it to be a problem in a late model car.
2. saab dealership warranty (certified)
3. hot, humid new orleans climate (a/c necessary 11 months out of the year)
thanks, blckislandguy.
General Motors (Saab's corporate parent for about a decade) is known for building throwaway cars that need to be replaced once paid off, it seems to be infecting Saab, sadly. Good luck and let us know what happens........
Erwin Rommel Law, members.aol.com/rommellaw, order Lawsuit Cookbook;1997 Charlotte, NC video seminar; the TrialBook (extra credit if you get "Making and Meeting Objections"). Thru Amazon order latest edition of Nolo's LEgal Research book. Study one hour a day for 9 weeks or two hours a day for about 5 weeks. Anybody can and has done it, including high school dropouts and housepainters.
Will cost dealership about $5000 just to initially begin to defend the lawsuit, they will settle for cost of new catalytic converter. Seek out independent shop for future.
Secondly, I wasn't aware that Saab's CPO program would include cars this old. Make sure that this is a Saab CPO car, not just an aftermarket warranty the dealer threw on the windshield. Finally, the money with your deep south location sounds a little high on a soon to be five year old Northeastern college town car.
You can do better and/or newer.
Second, 7K to have them pick up a junkyard ("salvage") engine and throw it in?? Please. Surely, with a little research (there are salvage yards that just specialize in Saab; see an issue of Hemmings) and leg work you can find an independent garage that can pop in an engine. Or, maybe only the head needs work and the lower end is OK. Clearly, they quoted you the 7K figure to get you out of their shop and moving down the road. Acquiesce to this and take it to a garage that wants to help.
As far as suggesting that you buy a used Taurus and put in 2K worth (plus labor) of Brembo brakes, that poster has read too many issues of CarCraft and needs to rejoin the classroom discussion.
Read my email again and pay attention. I specifically mentioned ordering Brembo brake rotors.....rotors only....$170 or so thru autobarn dot com, use regular, off-the-shelf brake pads. My neighborhood hole-in-the-wall indy shop installed rotors and pads for $60. Transformed a Taurus into a much better vehicle that is reliable and, if bought at 4-5 years old, has 80-90% of the depreciation wrung out of it. If an accident or major repair causes someone to need a decent vehicle for a while until they get something better, the Taurus is a pragmatic option.
I mentioned the used 2000 and newer Taurus as an option if they get rid of their Saab.
no filter in transmission .this is why it is so easy to change the fluid. just take the plug out,let it drain, ,put plug back in and then add fluid.
i bought a set of rhino car risers ,you basically drive the car up on it and makes it very easy to get under the car and drain the oil and tranny.
some dealers charge $180. for the tranny fluid change .
also ,just installed the remus viggen oval tip exhaust in my 9.5 aero.
my rear muffler was rusting in the outer shell and went to a local dealer and got the above for $ 425. including tax. about $ 80 off list.
so far ,it is not too loud , except inside my garage ,once out and on the road you cannot hear it.
any benefits ?
i was told no with the auto tranny ,but major benefits if you add the chip and other in a manual.
Thanks for any help, Peter
some are good some are not .
it used to be that 7 out of 10 jaguars were not reliable.(my stat )
nowadays it is more like 4 out of 10.and this is a stretch.
you want reliability get a toyota or honda.
you want "character " ie. problematical and unreliable get a saab.or get a fiat or an english car.
i own one , 9.5 aero ,with 86,000 miles and was just given an 8 year warranty unlimited mileage (see consumer reports of last month for other cars in this fix ) because the engines are failing. they call it the oil sludge factor.
look into other saab sites that give you very accurate info. on your question.
I would never buy a SAAB again, I would like to sell - interested.
Stick with Toyota or Volvo.
I now think that any SAAB owned out of warranty is a losing proposition. I have two reasons. First, for whatever reason they are just not reliable cars and repairs are expensive. Secondly, they depreciate so quickly, you could find yourself pouring money into a car that is depreciating even faster! Kind of like pushing a rock up a hill. If you say to heck with it, I'll just drive it into the ground, you will wind up with a 10 year old, $2500 car with no reliability and a potentially catastrophic repair bill. Me thinks that if you want to live and drive on the low cost tail of the curve, it has to be American iron. Say what you want about an Exploder, but which has more utility, reliability, and is less likely to hurt you with a $5000 repair bill, a '95 Exploder or a '95 9-3?? Throw on some Michelins, install Brembos (see above post), redo the front end and you are all set out to 150K.
At one point the dealer told me that tires with large outside tread blocks seemed to have this problem on the rear of the Areo. The Kumhos and teh Toyos were like this, so I tried the Avons. Now they say the only tires they recommend that they know work are Michilins. I've never had great luck with Michilins as far as traction, and they seem very pricey. (about $800 for 4). I seems pecular to me that Saab designed a car that can only use one brand of tire.
Has anybody else experienced this problem or have any advice.
?
http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/saab_95.asp
What a shame they couldnt of just done the tunning. The new rear end looks like an Avalon that matted with a Deville! Could they of made the rear park assist look any more like it came off an Escalade? It was so nice when it was hidden in the black trim piece.
Typical scenario: turn key--nothing happens--call Saab Roadside for a tow--car starts as soon as it arrives at the dealer. After all kinds of testing---no clue---
Problem might happen once a month---not weather related--it's hot in Texas !!
I drive mostly highway miles, can anyone tell me a real-world expectation of the 9-5's under these circumstances...
Thanks,
KA
I am used to driving Acura and Toyotas, and am concerned about costs of maintenance and reliability.
Also, the dealer said I could get service at GM. Is this true, and how much has it run you?
Greg
DiscountTires did Roadforce on the tires 3 times to fix the vibration problem. They said the directional tires may be too aggressive for a Saab. Now I heard a loud noise and it was likely from the tires. I am not sure if it is the "cupping" problem.
I posted my situation on the saabnet board. Most people said it's more likely a "cupping" problem. A guy switched from directional to asymmetrical tires and it seemed working for him. He replaced the Avon with Kuhmo Ecsta ASX. Did you have the same Kuhmo tires ?
I have owned 2 as well as a Forester. Currently drive 2003 Saab and 2006 Subaru Tribeca. Love the Subarus!!
Jerry
I know the ins- and outs of other makes, but little about 9-5 other than they ride well, look good, and are priced right.
I’d appreciate help on the following:
1) Pros/cons of 6 cylinder vs. Turbo
2) Is the ride height of the Aero’s the same as the other models?
3) Any years better than others?
4) Any other tips worth sharing.
Thanks!
Sam
1) Pros/cons of 6 cylinder vs. Turbo
- I test drove the V6 but I didn't like it. The I-4 turbo seems to be more
powerful and predictable.
- V6 uses timing belt (you need to replace them at 60K) but I-4 uses timing
chain.
- V6 has only 200hp...
2) Is the ride height of the Aero’s the same as the other models?
- I don't think there is much difference in the pre-2002 model regarding to the
ride comfort. The clearance of my Aero is low but not as low as those 2002+
Aero. My car got stuck when the snow was more than couple inches.
3) Any years better than others?
- Avoid 2000. 2002+ Aero got more horsepower (250hp vs 230hp), better auto
trans (5 speed vs 4 speed), and many upgrades.
4) Any other tips worth sharing.
- You need to be careful and watch for damage on those 17" wheels and
low profile tires.
- Watch your speed or buy a radar detector !
If you are buying pre-2005 model, I would say get the Aero (only Aero has Mitsubishi turbo !) because you have the color match front spolier and side skits. You also get more horsepower and MUCH BETTER HK Stereo. I tried the 2005 Arc (220hp) and it seems almost as good as my 2001 Aero. Some people said they are good enough as power goes.
More info about different models can be found here or saabnet.
Anybody with a HAYNE'S MANUAL nice enough to look up what it says about it?
I don't understand how it broke, might have been the mechanic who installed a new wire for the temp knob. It's my girlfriend's parents' car, so i don't have the opportunity or the balls to just go tearing out all the panels.
Anybody else with bad experiences of the whole system?
Five years later, same car pretty much, surely the same dash and tune box.
Here's a lesson I learned and posted on the board back in 2000 that still has some value to you 9-5 and 9-3 owners.
The Harmon Kardon Stereo Amp is factory present to less than one third of the gain. For example, lets you you have an amplifier in your house, but your fixed on level number "9" out of "30" on the volume knob and don't now how to increase the volume (watts). The Saab manual fails to address this and calls it this the Start Volume? That is wrong. This is the AMP gain. So how do you raise the gain to get the subwoofer cranking and some watts to this fantastic stereo which as good as the Mark Levison in the Lexus (also made by Harmon, same amp, don't let the old brand cache of Mark Levison, Clarion, JBL, Infinity, etc, fool you, they are all Harmon International).
Ok, Here we go.
1) Turn your car on, stereo off.
2) Hit the weather band button and turn on the stereo at the same time.
The manual was wrong on my 99, wrong on my 05, it says hit the station band button. This will just move the sound around to each speaker for a test, kinda like testing surround sound.
3) The read out will say start volume of "9"
4) This is a waste of a good tune box, so increase the gain to about "25" by turning the volume dial up.
5) Wait ten seconds, turn your radio off, repeat, make sure the start (or actually gain is set at 25). Now you have a couple hundred watts moving to your speakers versus 90. You do not want to go up to 30 *the max), this will make the amp clip if you turn it up too loud, which may blow your speakers. If under warranty, don't be too concerned, the speakers are covered and the techs do not even know this feature at any Saab Dealer.
6) Finally, if you can't hear the difference, audio is not your bag, turn it back to the factory preset and be happy, its the stereo you thought you had and bought.
If happy, glad I helped, if you can't hear a difference, you need to stick to the A.M. dial and talk radio, but please don't [non-permissible content removed]. I know HK units, the Sweedes just confuse start and gain and the manual.
Hope it makes your ride more enjoyable.
SMU1976
thanks
dshamus
03 Aero
Just my opinion, maybe they will sell like crazy.
dshamus