2008 Saab 9-3: sudden loss of power

Filed Apr 5, 2015 · Engine · 710,000 miles · MA

At about 70,000 miles the car began to start rough on cold mornings this continued on until this year 2014-2015 it would barely start on all on a cold morning, after less then a minute of running it would be smooth with no apparent lose of power. All plugs and plug ignition coils we replaced with no effect. Finally I did a web search and found out a number of 9-3 saab's 2006-2008 had bad metal in some of valves causing them to wear paper thin.once the engine was warm the metal expanded giving normal compression. A compression check on mine came back cycl 1,3,4 50lbs cycl 2 200lbs. This starting problem was first noticed at 70,000 I got the motor fixed at 92,000 miles. Of course the fix was a valve job and a cost to me of $2088.02. I feel saab (gm) should share a large portion of this cost. This problem was very well documented on all the saab forums. I hope anyone reading this and has the same problem please file a complaint this is not right.

Filed May 21, 2014 · Engine · 48,000 miles · MO

My wife's car is a 2008 saab 93 sedan. It had approximately 48,000 miles on it when the engine control module failed at highway speed. This caused loss of power-brakes, power-steering and ability to continue driving. Fortunately, we were able to coast over to the side of the road. The engine would not re-start. We were able to restart it after figuring out which fuse control the "ECM" and pulling/resetting the fuse. The problem re-appeared multiple times on approximately 100-mile intervals. We finally had the ECM replaced with a used one by an independent mechanic. The local saab dealer quoted ~$1000 for a new ECM. The used unit cost ~$350 and required the shop to "marry" the unit with the car's VIN. There was no warranty on this car as saab went bankrupt. This is a serious safety concern. Fortunately I was driving and the kids were not in the car.

Filed Jul 6, 2010 · Engine · 4,500 miles · IA

2008 saab 9-3 turbo x. I had a engine misfire with flashing check engine light under heavy acceleration. Caused the car to run really rough with reduced power. Would have been very unsafe had it happened while passing someone. Took to the dealership and it was diagnosed as a bad ignition coil. One coil was replaced but the car still was running rough at the dealership so they are still trying to fix it. From researching online, it seems to be a problem with 2008 saab turbo x. Lots of complaints on faulty ignition coils.

Filed Mar 3, 2010 · Engine · 14,450 miles · CA

While accelerating on a freeway on ramp, the engine began to misfire and stutter. Trying to merge with the flow of traffic, power was unavailable. The engine operated normally when not accelerating. The car was unable to keep up with the flow of traffic and would only maintain a speed of approximately 50 MPH. Pressing the accelerator more causes more stuttering. The check engine light flashed on briefly and then went away. The problem resolved itself after pulling over and shutting down and restarting the engine. The problem occurred again the next day under the same conditions... Normal operating temperature and moderate to heavy engine load for accelerating. Took the car to dealer who replaced the coil pack for cylinder #6. The problem was resolved, but there are still occasional stutters, just not constant stutters that caused the loss of power. I have researched this issue on message boards and the problem is not unique to my car. Many others have had issues with the coil packs and some reporting the same cylinder #6.

Filed Dec 1, 2008 · Electrical · 7,000 miles · NC · crash

2008 saab 93 2.0t sedan stalled (no sputter or buck, but just a loss of power) while driving. Resulted in a collision. Initial dealership mechanics have "no findings" - they will have a field engineer investigate tomorrow.