2004 Saab 9-3: tire blowout or tread separation

Filed Jul 27, 2015 · Tires · 95,000 miles · IN

Tire has bulge in sidewall. Owner noticed it and was able to prevent a blow out. This is not an impact related damage.

Filed Jan 29, 2014 · Suspension · 140,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 saab 9-3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the front passenger's side tire blew. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic, who replaced the damaged tire and also advised that the failure was caused by fractured coil springs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 140,000.

Filed Mar 25, 2012 · Suspension · 145,000 miles · MN

Front right tire started smoking, followed quickly by blowout. After removing tire, discovered the spring part of the suspension had fractured into 2 pieces, one piece loose and unattached, the other still intact with the car. The piece still attached to the car was out of place and in the way of the tire which caused it to rub up against the tire and caused it to blow out after cutting through the entire circumference of the tire.

Filed Jan 9, 2012 · Suspension · 55,400 miles · OH

Broken front coil springs caused the vehicle to be unsafe to operate. Both left and right springs are broken with spring material extending towards the tire. Will require tow for service. Tire failure is likely if driven.

Filed May 4, 2011 · Suspension · 124,000 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 saab 9-3. While driving approximately 55 MPH the front passenger side tire blew out. The contact was able to pull off to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technicians stated the front passenger side coil spring needed to be replaced. The contact decided to replace both front driver and passenger side coil springs. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer issued an extended warranty for the failure but the vehicle was not covered under the warranty due to the mileage. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000. Updated 05/18/11 *bf updated 2/9/12

Filed Jun 14, 2010 · Suspension · 9,060 miles · WI

Left work parking lot and felt something rubbing on drivers side tire. Pulled over to see what was wrong. Could not find anything. Started driving again and smelled a tire smell and noticed blue smoke from my rearview mirror. Started to pull over and the tire blew. Thought I blew a tire. Go to put the spare tire on and see the spring from the strut had almost cut my tire off the inside of the rim. Called my local saab dealer and they said they would replace the one spring. As I was looking up how much this was going to cost me(before I found out I was still under warranty) every site I visited said the same thing saab recommends replacing both springs yet the dealership says they will only replace the one that broke and shredded my tire. Looking on the internet I see this is a problem that has not turned into a recall. If I had made it to the first round about the speed limit goes to 55mph the amount of force that pulled my car to the right at 15mph was almost enough to hit an on coming car. I can only imagine what it would have done at 55mph on a two lane highway.

Filed Apr 13, 2010 · Suspension · 72,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 saab 9-3. While driving at approximately 2 MPH, the contact heard a loud pop noise from the front end of the vehicle. After driving half a mile at approximately 30 MPH, he heard another loud pop and the front passenger tire blew out. The tire was replaced with a spare and contact drove to a repair center where he was informed the front passenger side coil spring broke and pierced the tire. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that the failure was a known issue that was being serviced on a case by case basis. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were approximately 72,000.

Filed Mar 13, 2010 · Suspension · 55,600 miles · PA

In feb 2010 I received a letter from saab saying that the front springs of my car could fail due to corrosion. They said could cause the height of the vehicle to decrease by an inch or two. What they neglected to say was that the broken spring can hit the tire and cause the tire to fail, which is what has happened to me and may other saab owners. Their letter should have mentioned this since tire failure caused my car to break down in the middle of a busy road which had no shoulder and I had no warning that this could happen.

Filed Feb 20, 2009 · Suspension · 53,000 miles · NJ

While driving my wife experiences a scraping sound. Then her right front tire blew out and was shredded. Fortunately she was traveling very slowly on a local street, and was able to pull over; otherwise the tire blowout could have caused her serious harm. Turns out it was the spring (or coil) that had broken. Cost us $650.00 to repair and replace both springs (saab said you have to replace both springs at same time, even though only one broke) and for a new tire. Saab dealer said broken springs/coils not covered. I kept the broken spring. We had the local car repair shop discard the shredded tire.

Filed Apr 10, 2008 · Suspension · 74,000 miles · OH

While driving the right front coil spring broke and then punctured tire causing blow out. Was able to control the car and pull off road. Had I been on the highway a different outcome could have been expected. Had no symptoms leading up to this.

Filed Jan 13, 2008 · Lights · 53,000 miles · NJ

Headlights.. I have replaced the headlight bulbs 3 times in one year. Currently the driver side headlights, side light lower bumper, and light within the headlight assembly have blown. There seems to a an electrical problem with the headlights as they continue to blow out.. Short lights as high beam are okay. I have purchased the light bulbs in autozone, pepboys and oem to ensure that its not vendor supplier issue.

Filed Mar 30, 2007 · Suspension · 62,000 miles · PA

Backing my 2004 saab 93 out of the garage I heard I loud rubbing noise. I got my husband, he had me drive up the driveway, then back down. On the way back a tire blew, so we had the car towed to the dealer. The right front spring had broken and jetted into the tire, causing the blowout. The left front spring was also cracked at the base, so both needed to be replaced at a cost to me of $1300. The car has about 62k miles on it.