2007 Saab 9-3 problems
Owners have filed 182 complaints with NHTSA about the 2007 Saab 9-3. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 37% of complaints. After that come suspension (14%) and engine (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 182 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 37% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 103 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 | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 23 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 17 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 103 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 61,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2007 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Saab 9-3 with enough data (56 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.
Air bag failure 2007 saab aero convertible I was in a 4 car pile up in which I hit the car in front of me at approximately 25 MPH. Air bag sensors were hit but airbag failed to deploy. I was seatbelted but did hit the steering wheel face first and was taken to the hospital by ambulance from the scene. I did suffer a concussion and facial bruising and a full set of cuts in my mouth.
2007 saab 9-3 went on fire with driver in it. Car was serviced at massey saab, orlando, flon june 3rd, 2008 (40,000 mile service, electrical repairs, detail, wheel alignment). Vehicle was in mcdonald's drive-through in orlando fl on junction of 535 n and hotel plaza blvd. Engine caught on fire. Manger of mcdonald's (frederico) and I (driver) pushed car away from building and other people. Flames entered cabin while I was in the vehicle steering it. I jumped out just in time, and the whole car went up in flames.
2007 saab 9-3 aero equipped with 2.8l v6 turbo engine (convertible) - engine compartment fire - (odometer - 23,200 miles) upon starting, engine ran a little rough, proceeded to saab dealer for service - no service lights on dash - eventually lost power brakes - engine stalled and burst into flames - all happened within a one-mile distance.
While driving my saab 9-3 2007 I started hearing some rattling noise from the front left suspension. I stopped the vehicle but could not see anything unusual. When I reached my garage I was able to remove the front wheel and noticed about 6 inches of the bottom spring coil was broken off from the rest of the spring. I contacted saab exchange dealer in lake bluff, illinois and was told the 2007 saab does not have any recalls related to the springs and the replacement cost would be about $1250.
Upon attempting to start the engine, sometimes it runs very rough and then stalls. Repeated attempts to start the engine result in stalls or, finally, result in the engine running very rough and then gradually smoother.