r/saab

hey everyone, i just got my hands on my first ever saab and want to get in touch with the community due to these things being niche as all can be! i’ve got an ‘06 9-3 Combi with the 5 speed and it’s been nothing but fun to ride around in! it’s got around 136,000 miles and ive already put 2,000 on the clock and have put a BSR cold-air-intake on and used a tech2 to program my headlight switch to actually work. if you guys got any advice to help me keep this car going best as possible and things to look out for please let me know, i want to lower the car a little bit go for an OEM+ look. only notable issues is the front subframe is rusted pretty bad, the steering wheel needs to be slightly turned left to steer the car straight, and the the ecu is causing random misfires under heavy acceleration at low RPM’s. thank you in advance guys, can’t wait to start a new adventure with this beast!

I love non ai brainrot

Found this beauty with only 200k km. It has some damage on the roofshield but it still seals and didn’t have a lot of owners.
Is this a reliable daily? Can i replace my new gen ford ka with the saab 900?
My ka is so reliable but a saab is so much cooler and im okay with increased fuel usage. I’d love to drive around in this car when autumn hits

I Got this saab 9-3 aero 2.0 T, it didn’t start and was sitting when i bought it, i repaired it (finished today) some minimum stuff like a sensor and some little things, i just need a new battery to drive it. Do you have any advice for a new and young (18) owner? I’m really excited because it’s my first saab and i have always loved saabs.

Or did someone move it? I've read about them failing due to heat, and that this is a reason to relocate.

No big crisis - just noticed it for the first time while I was trickle charging the battery.

2011 9.3 Convertible.

Anyone else have a Saab where every job somehow creates three more jobs?

I've got some bumper intake ducts that need finishing, some composite part moulds, CAD work for the Carlsson bodykit and reimagined whaletail and many more...

So I picked one small job and just got it done: printed a replacement Lucas MAF housing.

The car was running Trionic 5, so the MAF itself isn't actually being used anymore, but the intake still needs something there. Measured the original, modelled a replacement in Fusion then printed it in PET-CF.

Original was around 1 kg. The printed one is about 150 g.

Nothing particularly exciting, and definitely not the most important thing on the car. But it went from idea → finished part in one day, which honestly felt pretty damn good.

Maybe that's the trick with these projects: occasionally pick the stupidly small thing and just finish it.

Anyone else constantly end up with projects within projects? How do you stop yourself from starting another thing before finishing the last one?

yes I know I don’t have to move the ECU, search was providing bad info

No rust on the sub frame, no service records (though everyone said they where in the trunk), belt, hoses, look good, fluids are all bright and clean (still going to change all of them), oil leak some where for sure, trying to find the shop she worked with in San Jose / Santa Cruz to see if they have records of the work done.

Car runs great, pulls hard, no chain rattle sound. Grandma hit something to blow then front passenger fog light out and backed into something to crack the bumper paint. Both front seats are cracked and will need to be redone. SAAB, managed to stich the rear passenger seatbelt bracket backwards so it is forever twisted. Top has some knicks in it but works perfect and is still nice and tight.

Brake pads new, brake rotors not so much. Wheels, oof not factory but all of them are beat to shit. Need some suggestions for 18’s that are period correct. Suspension fucccckking hell. Sit in the car and it drops 1-2 inches. Need to get it all the way off the ground still so I can see what i’m fighting.

Assuming chain and guides are good. ECU Spacer, ignition cartridge and Crank sensor on hand, and two functional keys. What else do I need to be looking at to keep this bad boy running because it’s everything I like about driving and none of the modern shit that ruins cars.

Just bought a 2004 9-3 2.0T ARC coupe with the B207R engine and TD04-14T turbo with 88k on the odo. Single owner with a carfax history that made me do backflips; transmission services, tune-ups, regular oil changes and other PM services. Has some minor body work that needs to be done, definitely gonna need new rims due to passenger side damage.

I replaced the boost solenoid, and I have to replace the air intake hose. OBD2 is pulling codes for ignition circuit problems on cyl1+4, fortunately no misfires yet, and I will be replacing the coil packs soon alongside a tune-up. I plan on doing a flush and fill to the transmission, as it's last noted tranny service was around 50k - before that, at 30k - alongside an oil change and brake/rotor swap. If the ignition coil replacement doesnt fix my ignition circuit codes, I planned on getting my ecm fixed and likely putting a heat shroud behind it. I also intend to get an external transmission cooler. I'll also be replacing the disc player, as it refuses to recognize any cd, including laser lens cleaners.

I did spot residual grease buildup around the oil pan, no leaks, and brake cleaned it until it looked factory and plan to keep an eye on any future developments. I'll also be replacing the sway bar links as the bushings decided to remain intact but separated themselves from the linkage. Everything else underneath is gorgeous, which wasn't too much of a shock based on the service records.

Any further input and advice would be highly recommended. This is my first saab, and so far she's an absolute pleasure to drive. I'll be doing all the maintenance and repairs myself, with the exception of some specialized repairs (ecm repair, body work, etc).

TL;DR: Got my first saab, she's in great shape, just needs TLC, please let me know any advice or things to keep an eye on.

In about 4 years, I should have the 333,333.3 update.

And yes - Ive done questionable things to my Saab during my ownership (~80k miles) including putting 15% ethanol gas.

I’m on a trip across Sweden and starting day two in Trollhättan. Currently posting this while sitting down in the corner of the Saab car museum. Honestly so many more unique and of a kind cars than I would have imagined. Absolutely worth the 200sek for two people!

Just wish I could’ve parked my 06 9-3 Aero in the parking lot out front

Decided to change the instrument cluster LEDs for something a little different 🤷🏻‍♂️ now I need to get that stupid polarizing film for the sid, anyone ever mess with that??

Got to visit the annual Fitted Fest event in Lahti this weekend. Got to see lots of insane stance builds. Of course, I was on a lookout for Saabs.

The first one is by a guy from Lithuania - check out his Instagram at pijus_the_offensive_95. As a fellow 9-5 owner, I was stoked to see the build. Pijus shared, that he had to build a custom air suspension because Saabs are a bit less mainstream in the stance culture than your run of the mill BMWs and JDMs (I know, shocker).

The 9-3 wagon is from Sweden. Unfortunately, I didn't get the dude's socials, but I was able to track down a YouTube video featuring it: When A Standard Saab 9-3 WON'T Cut It! 600HP And Widebody 4K.

Bonus car - a 9-3 Aero sedan I found in the parking spot right by the festival, looked pretty cool to me!

Huge kudos to the owners of these cars for keeping Saabs alive and present.

UPD: I was able to find the socials of the guy who owns the deep-blue 9-3: Instagram - 4ervi4ok

Hi, I just picked up another 9-5 since I blew the motor on my original one. This one’s a Aero, however it’s automatic and has a decent amount more rust. And the interior is also not in the best condition.

I’m thinking to just take the motor out of this one and swap it into my other car. Same color silver 9-5 but a linear
but near perfect body and perfect interior, plus it’s already set up for a manual. I’d swap over the Aero body kit and interior

I wanted to ask, is it possible for me to swap over the rear heated seats?

Is it easier for me to pull this auto engine out of the top?

And then for the manual I was planning on dropping the entire subframe, removing the engine off of it and then placing this engine after being refreshed onto the subframe mounting the flywheel and clutch, and raising it all back into my original car

Or should I just attempt to pull the manual engine out the top too

1993 C900 Turbo (manual) RHD suddenly lost 5th while driving and then started struggling to select 3rd without rev matching. I stopped, put it into reverse so I could remove the key, and when I went to drive again, reverse was completely gone along with the other gears behaving strangely. The gear lever became extremely floppy with almost no 3rd/4th centring. And the gear changes didn’t seem like the stick was actually engaging, it just felt strange, I could seemingly select 1st–4th, but I’m not convinced the lever positions corresponded to the actual gears. When I thought I had it in neutral with the clutch up, turning the key made the car lurch/stall, so it clearly wasn’t actually in neutral. I was stuck on double yellows so had to move the car, changing gears did noting to the revs, maybe stuck in 3rd, I’m not sure. The car has now been recovered. Any ideas where I should start looking? Any common issues like this anyone knows about?

Pics for attention
Thank you in advance