2006 Saab 9-3 problems
Owners have filed 227 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Saab 9-3. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 38% of complaints. After that come brakes (15%) and seat belts (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 227 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 21 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 40,000 miles 132 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 33 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 9 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 132 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 40,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 21 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Saab 9-3 with enough data (76 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 saab 9-3. While driving 20 MPH, the steering wheel locked and the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. The contact crashed into a ten foot barrier. GM sent an engineer to gather evidence and survey the damage. One occupant was injured and a police report was filed. GM stated that they will take apart the vehicle to find out why it stalled and crashed. The failure mileage was 36,000.
I would like to report that on tuesday, january 29, 2013, I was in an accident which destroyed the front end of my car. The car was subsequently declared a total loss by my insurance company. In spite of the significant impact, my airbags did not deploy. To confirm that this was a malfunction with the car, the car's information screen denoted an airbag malfunction. I have photos of the message on the information screen if needed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 saab 9-3. The contact discovered that his brakes failed shortly after starting the vehicle when he placed the vehicle in reverse to back out of his parking space. When the transmission is shifted from park into reverse or drive before the engine has been warmed up, the brakes do not work to slow the vehicle and the brake pedal feels rock hard. To stop the vehicle the contact shifted the transmission into park. Brake function appeared to return to normal after the engine warmed up.
Multiple shorts indicated on sid. Original message "electronic stability control failure". This is a common complaint amongst saab owners for this make and model. Occasionally, an associated an ABS failure indication will appear while traveling. Have not noticed a loss in ABS function yet, but it was dry when these shorts occurred. The failure is assumed to be associated with the cruise control function and its use has been lost.