2001 Saab 9-5

ODI OPENED PE05-017 BASED ON 35 REPORTS OF ALLEGED ENGINE STALLING DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE IDM CASSETTE ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.ALL COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING AND MOST REPORTED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART.IN 3 INCIDENTS, THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED SMOKE AND/OR FIRE RESULTED FROM THE IDM FAILURE.DURING PE05-017, ADDITIONAL FAILURE DATA WAS IDENTIFIED AS NOTED IN THE FAILURE REPORT SUMMARY ABOVE.THE COMPLAINT DATA REPRESENTS INCIDENTS WHERE THE COMPLAINANTS ALLEGED A STALL OR FIRE.ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2005, GENERAL MOTORS (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA OF A SAFETY DEFECT ON 95,081 MY 2000-2002 SAAB 9-3 AND 9-5 VEHICLES WITH 4-CYLINDER GASOLINE ENGINES AND 8,117 MY 2001 9-5 VEHICLES WITH 6- CYLINDER GASOLINE ENGINES (RECALL 05V-399).THE NOTIFICATION STATED THAT CERTAIN VEHICLES WITHIN THESE POPULATIONS MAY EXPERIENCE OVERHEATING AND BURNOUT OF THE ISOLATED GATED BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR (IGBT) WITHIN THE IDM DUE TO INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ELECTRICAL LOADS.OVERHEATING OF THE IGBT OCCURS MOST OFTEN AT ENGINE START-UP FOR BOTH A 4-CYLINDER AND 6-CYLINDER ENGINE, BUT IT MAY ALSO OCCUR WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING.WHEN THE IDM FAILS ON A 4-CYLINDER WHILE IT IS RUNNING, THE ENGINE MAY STALL WITHOUT WARNING, WITH NO ABILITY TO BE RESTARTED.WHEN THE IDM FAILS ON A 6-CYLINDER ENGINE WHILE IT IS RUNNING, THE DRIVER WILL INITIALLY EXPERIENCE REDUCED POWER AND ROUGH OPERATION BECAUSE THE ENGINE WILL ONLY BE RUNNING ON THREE CYLINDERS.THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL FLASH.IF THE DRIVER CONTINUES, UNBURNT FUEL IN THE EXHAUST CAN CAUSE THERMAL DAMAGE TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER.THE ENGINE MAY STALL AND NOT RESTART.THERMAL DAMAGE TO OTHER UNDERHOOD COMPONENTS AND THE UNDERBODY MAY ALSO RESULT FROM PROLONGED DRIVING.THE RECALL POPULATION ENCOMPASSES 84% OF THE STALLING AND FIRE COMPLAINTS (215 FOR VEHICLES WITH 4-CYLINDER ENGINES AND 36 FOR VEHICLES WITH 6-CYLINDER ENGINES).THE 36 MONTHS IN SERVICE (MIS) STALLING RATES FOR EACH MODEL YEAR OF RECALLED VEHICLES WITH 4-CYLINDER ENGINES WERE ALL GREATER THAN TWO PERCENT.ALTHOUGH THE 36 MIS STALL RATE FOR THE RECALLED MY 2001 VEHICLES WITH V6 ENGINES WAS LOWER, AT 1.3 PERCENT, THESE VEHICLES ALSO HAD THE HIGHEST RATE OF CONFIRMED (OPEN FLAME VERIFIED) FIRES AT 62 PER 100,000 VEHICLES.GM WILL INSTRUCT OWNERS TO BRING THEIR VEHICLES TO A DEALER FOR IDM INSPECTION AND REPLACEMENT, IF NECESSARY.CONSEQUENTLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.ODI WILL MONITOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SCOPE AND REMEDY OF GM'S ACTION AND TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED.

With only 670 miles on a new set of tires, an inspection for a completely unrelated reason found that there was a bulge in 3 of the 4 NEW tires. Installed in Jun, issue found in Dec; car is driven very little. Tires were purchased from Tire Rack and installed by Discount Tire. Inspection by Discount tire found the 3 defective tires. They report bulges as "impact damage". I have had one other tire ever with impact damage in 180,000 miles on this 20+ year old car. On this set of tires, there were no incidents, such as hitting a curb or pothole. I have to believe that these tires have a manufacturing defect. For all I know, they had a sidewall bulge from day one. I am replacing all four tires. I have contacted Vredestein customer service, at both domestic and international email customer service contacts. They have not answered, even with an acknowledgement of receipt.

NHTSA ID

11568403

Incident

Dec 28, 2023

TURBO MALFUNCTION AT A COST OF $455.00 AND ALSO ENGINE FILTER BOX.VEHICLE STILL NOT RUNNING CORRECTLY.WILL ONLY GO AT SPEED OF 25 MPH.REPAIRED ON 03/27/2018.STARTED OUT SMOKING ALL OVER THE PLACE FROM EXHAUST.WAS TOLD TURBO WENT BAD.I THINK A LOT OF THESE CARS HAVE THIS PROBLEM AS I READ ON FORUMS(SAAB,).THAT I HAVE SINCE JOINED.THE SAAB HAS 139,000 MILES..I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET AT SPEED AROUND 35MPH.STARTED TO SMOKE HEAVY,BUT ONCE OUT OF CITY AS LONG AS I DROVE 50 MPH ON HIGHWAY SMOKE WAS DISPERSED FROM WIND AND MADE IT HOME BUT WHEN STOPPING FOR RED LIGHT WOULD BUCK AND TRY TO SHUT OFF.SMOKE NOT GOOD FOR ENVIRONMENT......

NHTSA ID

11083893

Incident

Mar 3, 2018

Mileage

139,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 SAAB 9-5. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WHEEL DETACHED FROM THE VEHICLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE BECAME DIFFICULT TO CONTROL, SLAMMED TO THE GROUND, AND CAME TO A STOP. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW ROTOR, HUB ASSEMBLY, AND FRONT RIM. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 194,000.

NHTSA ID

10853349

Incident

Mar 31, 2016

Mileage

194,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 SAAB 9-5. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING AND FAILED TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO RESTART. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V399000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.

NHTSA ID

10776576

Incident

Aug 19, 2015

Mileage

100,000 mi

MY 2001 SAAB 9-5 HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FOR AWHILE ON AND OFF. THE VEHICLE WILL SOMETIMES STALL RANDOMLY AND NOT START UNTIL ENGINE COOLS DOWN. THE CODES FOR CEL LEAD TO DIRECT IGNITION. A PREVIOUS RECALL ON THESE VEHICLES, ONE MY VEHICLE RECEIVED. I CALLED DEALER AND THEY SAID SEEING AS IT WAS ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF ONCE NOTHING CAN BE DONE. I KNOW I WILL TO HAVE TO GET IT FIXED TO PASS EMISSIONS TESTING DUE TO FAULTY DIRECT IGNITION. NOT TO MENTION HOW UNSAFE IT IS IF IT STALLS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10597832

Incident

Jun 12, 2014

Mileage

174,621 mi

I JUST BOUGHT THIS CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON INDICATING A SERIOUS PROBLEM. I HAD THE ERROR CODES CHECKED. THEY ARE P1312 AND P1334. THESE CODES INDICATE A PROBLEM WITH THE "DIC" (DIRECT IGNITION CONTROLLER). EARLIER MODELS WERE SUBJECT TO RECALL. THERE IS APPARENTLY STILL A PROBLEM. I KEEP CLEARING THE WARNING SIGNAL, BUT IT KEEPS RECURRING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10521786

Incident

Jun 21, 2013

Mileage

101,550 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 SAAB 9-5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, HE NOTICED AN OVERPOWERING ODOR OF GASOLINE AND THE FUEL WAS BURNING MUCH FASTER THAN NORMAL. AFTER STOPPING THE VEHICLE, HE NOTICED A LEAK. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY ADVISED HIM THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO DROP THE ENTIRE FUEL TANK TO INSPECT THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NEITHER INSPECTED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY ADVISED HIM THAT HE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 07V087000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE: DELIVERY: HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS). THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 122,500. UPDATED 01/20/12*LJ UPDATED 03/05/12

NHTSA ID

10439001

Incident

Dec 7, 2011

Mileage

122,500 mi

I HAVE A 2001 SAAB 9-5. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE DIRECT IGNITION COIL TWICE IN MY CAR. I RECENTLY READ THAT THIS ITEMS HAVE BEEN RECALLED AND I WANT TO SEE IF I AM ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND FOR THE WORK DONE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10296363

Incident

Aug 16, 2009

Mileage

120,000 mi

This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.

Vehicle Wide Programming (VWP) is a new process to update software on GM Vehicles. It provides the ability via a single selection within Techline Connect to first identify which modules need updating and then proceed to updating affected modules (with some exceptions). The updating of modules is completed in parallel instead of the technician needing to update one module at a time. This allows a more streamlined approach for dealers and customers.

This service bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, Crank no start, extended crank or misfire, MIL with DTCs, and explains how Top Tier fuels should be used to reduce carbon build-up.

This bulletin provides information for use on a Product Assistance Claim (PAC), which is formerly known as a Product Allegation Resolution (PAR) claim.

This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Service Programming System (SPS) Error Codes E4398, E4399, E4401, E4403, M4404, M4413, M6954, M6955, E4414, E4423, E4491, E4492, or E6961 and resolution information.

This technical bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, Crank no start, extended crank or misfire, MIL with DTCs, and explains how Top Tier fuels should be used to reduce carbon build-up.