1996 Saab 900 Owner Complaints

Passenger airbag deployed for no reason while driving car, no warning lights on dashboard, no impact, no precipitating event occured

NHTSA ID

11569616

Incident

Feb 2, 2024

DRIVING SMOOTHLY AT 50 MPH IN 1996 SAAB 900 SE TURBO, 99K MILES. ENGINE RPM SUDDENLY BUT SMOOTHLY DROPS TO ZERO AND STOPPED IN A VERY UNSAFE PLACE ON THE HIGHWAY. CAR WOULD NOT RE-START. ABSOLUTELY NO FAULTS OF ANY KIND OCCURRED DURING THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO THIS INCIDENT. THIS CAR'S DIRECT IGNITION CASSETTE WAS REPLACED ONCE ALREADY IN JAN. 2000 BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER. *JB

NHTSA ID

10141798

Incident

Nov 2, 2005

Mileage

99,000 mi

IN JUNE 2003, A CRACK WAS DISCOVERED IN THE FUEL TANK OF MY 1996 SAAB 900S. THE TANK WAS REPLACED. ON 28 JULY 2004, THE REPLACEMENT TANK WAS DISCOVERED TO HAVE A LEAK AND WAS REPLACED. ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2005, THE SECOND REPLACEMENT TANK WAS DIAGNOSED AS LEAKING.*JB

NHTSA ID

10135288

Incident

Jun 30, 2003

Mileage

58,857 mi

PRIOR TO DI FAILURE, STARTING IMPAIRMENT AND MISFIRES DETECTED WITH CEL. UPON FAILURE, CAR WOULD NOT RUN AND STEERING WAS LOST. TO CORRECT FAILURE, NEW DI WAS FITTED AFTER IT WAS BROKEN. SYMPTOMS SHOULD HAVE BEEN REASON ENOUGH TO CHANGE IT EARLY. *NM

NHTSA ID

10130620

Incident

Oct 13, 2003

Mileage

100,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING BALL BEARRINGS EXPLODED IN THE LOWER ENGINE. CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD BOOM. THE VEHICLE WAS FULL OF CLEAN OIL. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE MAUFACTURER AND THE DEALER. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT DEALER. *AK

NHTSA ID

10103134

Incident

Nov 6, 2004

Mileage

100,000 mi

WHEN THE REAR PASSENGER DOOR WAS OPENED FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, AND SMOKE ENTERED THE PASSENGER'S CABIN. *AK

NHTSA ID

10042730

Incident

Oct 4, 2003

Mileage

100,000 mi

ON APRIL 27, 2003, MY SAAB 900 SE HAD AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE WHILE DRIVING WITHIN A MINUTE HAD COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE CAR. THE "CHECK BATTERY" LIGHT CAME ON ALONG WITH THE HAZARD LIGHT. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND JUST ESCAPED THE VEHICLE WHEN IT WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE POLICE HAD TO CALL ME TO GET THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER AND VIN, AS THEY HAD MELTED. THE CAR HAD 72,000 MILES AND HAD BEEN CHECKED TWICE IN THE PAST YEAR. JUST MONTHS BEFORE IT HAD BEEN COMPLETELY INSPECTED. THE CAR WAS IN SHOW ROOM CONDITION. *JB

NHTSA ID

10016693

Incident

Apr 27, 2003

Mileage

72,000 mi

ODOMETER FRAUD. THE ADVERTISED MILEAGE WAS 55,000 BUT THE CARFAX REPORTED THE MILEAGE AT 150,000 MILES OVER A YEAR AGO. I REPORTED IT TO THE DEALER, TOOK BACK MY DEPOSIT AND GAVE BACK THE CAR. THEY INFORMED ME THEY ALREADY HAD ANOTHER BUYER FOR THE CAR AND ARE STILL ADVERTISING IT WITH 55,000 MILES. *JB

NHTSA ID

10011091

Incident

Mar 26, 2003

THE TIMING BELT FAILED. *JB (SAAB 900 SE)

NHTSA ID

10011829

Incident

Mar 14, 2003

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

766724

Incident

Sep 4, 2002

WHILE DRIVING HEARD A RADDLING NOISE, HAD IT CHECKED OUT. MAIN FRONT LEFT SPRING HAD FRACTURED. SPRING REPLACEMENT, 44 83-178.CONTACTED DEALER.*AK

NHTSA ID

8016343

Incident

Jul 14, 2002

WILL NOT SHIFT INTO FIRST, FIFTH, OR REVERSE. KEY CANNOT BE REMOVED SINCE IT WILL NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE. SAAB HAS REFUSED TO PAY FOR REPAIR.*AK

NHTSA ID

763930

Incident

Jun 28, 2002

PLASTIC FUEL TANK IS LEAKING, DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

NHTSA ID

8009085

Incident

Mar 15, 2002

S MODEL, CONSUMER SMELLED FUEL, DEALER DETERMINED THE PLASTIC FUEL TANK WAS LEAKING. PART WAS REPLACED, NEW FUEL TANK HAS LEAKED TWICE.*JB

NHTSA ID

8009011

Incident

Mar 15, 2002

INTERMITTENTLY GEARBOX LIGHT WILL LIGHT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO LOSE 1ST AND SECOND GEAR. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS VEHICLE MAY NOT GET UP TO HIGHTWAY SPEEDS AT RAMPS, ALMOST CAUSING A REAR END COLLISION. THIS IS A KNOW ISSUE W/ SAAB. I CONTACTED THEM REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. THEY STATED THERE ARE NO SAFETY ISSUES OPEN ON THIS VEHICLE. OVER 25 POSTS FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM ON SAABNET.COM. DEALER HAS TRIED TO REPAIR VEHICLE TWICE WITHOUT SUCCESS. I HAVE SPENT OVER $800.00 TRYING TO REPAIR THIS SAFETY PROBLEM . PLEASE HELP. *AK

NHTSA ID

759497

Incident

Jan 16, 2002

THIS CAR HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A NIGHTMARE. IT HAS REQUIRED THREE TOWS FROM JUNE 2001 TO FEBRUARY 2002. THE MOST EXPENSIVE FAILURE OCCURRED THE DAY AFTER I HAD TAKEN THE CAR TO A LOCAL DEALER FOR A ROUTINE OIL CHANGE (INTERNATIONAL MOTORS, FALLS CHURCH, VA), AND THE TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH FAILED BECAUSE THERE WAS A TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAK THAT WAS NOT CAUGHT BY THEIR MECHANICS. I HAVE CONTACTED SAAB CORPORATE BY LETTER IN DECEMBER 2001 ABOUT MY MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR. THEIR RESPONSE BY TELEPHONE WAS THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT THEY COULD DO. *AK

NHTSA ID

758034

Incident

Jan 15, 2000

WHILE TRAVELING 60MPH TRANSMISSION BECAME LOCKED IN GEAR. WAS NOT ABLE TO SHIFT INTO ANOTHER GEAR. HAD REMAINED IN 4TH GEAR UNTIL ABLE TO SHIFT. TOOK VEHICLE TO SERVICE STATION, AND MECHANIC COULD NOT LOCATE ANY PROBLEMS. TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP.*AK

NHTSA ID

890255

Incident

Jun 4, 2001

TIMING CHAIN HAS TO BE REPLACED AFTER 75,000 MILES. VEHICLE WAS MAKING A LOUD WARNING NOISE. SAAB DEALER FOUND PROBLEM AFTER DOING A ROUTINE SERVICE CHECK. ALTHOUGH THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN FOUND, DEALER HAS NEVER DONE REPAIRS. *AK

NHTSA ID

888235

Incident

Apr 15, 2001

SAAB CARS USA REFUSES TO PAY FOR A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. I HAVE HAD THE CLUTCH PLATE EXAMINED BY SPECIALISTS AND THEY ALL THINK THIS IS AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURER DEFECT. MOST EXPERTS HAVE NEVER SEEN A CLUTCH PLATE SPLIT IN HALF LIKE THIS. THE DEBRIS FROM THE CLUTCH DISINTEGRATING BLEW INTO THE TRANSMISSION HOUSING CAUSING A HOLE. THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANY REFUSES TO PAY FOR THE TRANSMISSION BECAUSE IT WAS CAUSED BY THE CLUTCH EXPLODING. I SENT PHOTOS TO SAAB AND THREE SEPARATE LETTERS REQUESTING THEY FIX THIS PROBLEM TO NO AVAIL. I HAVE ALL THE DOCUMENTATION TO SUPPORT THESE FACTS.*AK

NHTSA ID

739164

Incident

Aug 19, 2000

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

737809

AFTER A 30 MINUTES OF DRIVING VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT. SMOKE WAS NOTICED COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE HOOD AREA BEFORE A FIRE STARTED. FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ON SITE TO PUT OUT FIRE. SAAB HAS BEEN CONTACTED.*AK VEHICLE TRAVELING, CHECK THE ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED AND STAYED ON THE CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE A SENSOR. THE VEHICLE SLIPS WHILE IN GEAR AND BEFORE GOING INTO GEAR DUE TO LOSS OF FLUID BY LTHE LEAKING TRANSMISSION. *YH

NHTSA ID

873699

Incident

Apr 27, 1997

VEHICLE EXPERIENCED CLUTCH PROBLEM AND A TRANSMISSION FAILURE, CONSUMER WANTS REIMBURSEMENT. (ATTORNEY FOR CLIENT) *SLC

NHTSA ID

555074

SAFETY ALERT COMES ON AND NEEDS DEALER SERVICE IF BATTERY DISCONNECTED. CANNOT TELL IF AIRBAG WORKS - REQUIRES DEALER SERVICE TO CORRECT EACH TIME. *AK

NHTSA ID

721932

Incident

Jan 15, 2000

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 55 MPH, THE ELECTRIC SEAT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE STARTED MOVING TO THE REAR. THIS HAPPENED FIVE TIMES BEFORE DRIVER ARRIVED AT HOME, AND WAS CAUSING THE DRIVER'S FEET TO BE PULLED AWAY FROM THE PEDALS. *ML

NHTSA ID

845539

Incident

Aug 19, 1999

REMOTE ALARM SYSTEM FAILED. NLM

NHTSA ID

547823

Incident

May 16, 1996