2003 Saab 9-3: tire blowout or tread separation

Filed May 18, 2014 · Tires · 40,000 miles · CT · 1 injury

Michelin pilot sport a/s 3 dot: b9n) 11rx 3213 these tires have to be defected!!!! With no warning, the pilot sport a/s 3 tire just blew! Bam car pulled hard to the side of the flat tire and driver steered over to the shoulder of i95 the tire's threads completely separated from both the inner & outer walls of the tire. The rim was still holding onto a thin strip of the circumference of the tire- where the rim and tire connect. A week prior to the incidence the car had the 40k service including tires rotation. Nitrogen air was at the correct inflation level as well. And the day prior to the blow out. New breaks were installed and all the tires and alignment were checked again-- with no problems to be found. Just pulling out of a service station that inspected the tires to note only minor wear. Low miles on the tires and not hitting anything to cause a flat= something wrong not right with the construction of this tire. Tires were: 6 months old, from costco, with about 5,000 miles tops. The dot code states that it was a 2013 tire. Those little tire nubs haven't even had a chance to wear down yet. Please look into theses tires!! I go to costco tomorrow for a replacement. I am afraid that these are defected tires and I have 3 more on the car. I will keep the shredded tire in case it is needed for investigation purposes.

Filed May 31, 2009 · Suspension · 66,000 miles · NY

Coil spring failed on 2003 saab 9-3 puncturing tire and causing car to cross center line of roadway. Had there been any oncoming traffic, this coil spring induced tire blowout may have resulted in a head-on frontal collision on a busy two-lane state highway. Had this been on an interstate or other roadway with higher speeds, it may have been fatal.

Filed Feb 5, 2009 · Suspension · 93,445 miles · IN

2003 saab 9-3 arc. Started car and smelled tire burning, drove around building, checked tires -- all 4 looked fine, checked, drove about 1 mile and right front tire blew. Had aaa change tire, and was shown it blew from the inside. Took vehicle to costco for tire replacement. Was informed that the spring coil broke (was handed about a 6 inch piece) and that was what blew through the tire. Car was towed to the saab dealership and both springs were replaced. The left front is very eroded from rust and also appears ready to break. Consequences - 2 new tires, 2 new front coil springs and a tow.

Filed Jan 5, 2009 · Suspension · 70,000 miles · OH

Another front suspension coil spring failure on a saab 9-3. On returning from a 2 week vacation I started the car in the airport parking lot and heard a clicking / rubbing noise from the front left wheel. I stopped and inspected the wheel and noted rust on the brake rotor and assumed that this was the cause of the noise and would wear off when the brakes were applied. Drove ~1/4 mile and stopped at a light before turning on to the interstate when I saw smoke coming from the wheel. Closer inspection revealed that the front left suspension coil spring had failed and the fractured spring was rubbing on the tire. The car was towed to the saab dealer where the front springs were replaced and the damaged tire replaced. I have the failed spring hardware. Despite the large number of similar failures of the front spring on saab 9-3s, saab refused to acknowledge that this was an issue and charged me for the repair. I feel lucky that I stopped to investigate before turning on to interstate. If I had not it would have undoubtedly resulted in a high speed tire failure.

Filed Dec 22, 2008 · Suspension · 78,000 miles · OH

Front driver side spring coil broke which caused tire blowout and car to be immobilized..did not cause any injuries or accidents but very well could have had there been anyone else on the road at the time.

Filed Apr 11, 2008 · Suspension · 34,527 miles · IL

Driving on local city street, when right front tire blows out. Blow happened because right front coil spring sheered into two pieces and cut into right front tire causing blowout. Right front tire replaced and new coil spring installed on right front suspension. Yes, I have the failed coil spring in my possession.

Filed Mar 23, 2005 · Tires · 12,000 miles · CA

After blowing a tire by running over a pothole, I discovered that my pirelli tires were seriously worn much earlier than anyone should expect. My tires have roughly 12,000 miles on them and they are worn down to the wear tread indicators. After a brief conversation with my dealer I discovered that saab and pirelli are aware of the situation, but they have failed to launch a recall to fix the problem. Instead, they are replacing tires on an "as-discovered" basis. In other words, as saab owners discover they have a tire issue and actually report this to the dealer, the tires are then replaced. So, if a saab owner does not think to complain to the dealer, his/her tires will not be replaced at no charge. This to me is a severe safety hazard as no driver should expect tires to be worn to near baldness after only 12,000 miles. A blowout hazard seems to be quite possible, yet neither saab nor pirelli seem inclined to do anything about it until they're forced to replace the tires of only those who complain.

Filed Sep 2, 2004 · Tires · 14,200 miles · IL

Experienced a sidewall blowout of the front passenger tire on my recently-purchased saab 9-3 linear. The vehicle had 13.5k miles when purchased, the tire blew at 14.2k. Was driving 50 MPH on a local highway, did not hit anything, tires had very recently been inspected for wear and inflation, there was no precipitating event prior to hearing a loud "pop"; shortly thereafter felt and heard the effects of the deflated tire. Tire remained on the wheel, but was flat with a significant hole in the sidewall. The tires on the vehicle were pirelli p6 four season tires 215/55r16.