Tl* the contact owns a 2008 saab 9-3. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced an intermittent loss of brake assist power. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic and the technician diagnosed that the vacuum assist pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified the failure. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 05v236000 (service brakes, hydraulic), but the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
Saab 9-3 brake failure problems
19 of the 1,346 owner complaints about the Saab 9-3 describe brake failure, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 19
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical mileage
- 30,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
During routine under hood inspection, brake fluid reservoir cap was observed to have split into multiple pieces. This damage, apparently heat related, compromised the ability of the braking system to maintain pressure and could result in loss of braking, crash, and bodily injury. Vehicle was removed from service pending receipt of replacement part.
Intermittent brake failure at start. Depress brakes, either from driveway in reverse or starting forward after leaving driveway, and brakes do not work. Depressing brakes feels like power braking system is not engaging. Have to pull over to side of road, and after a few minutes, brakes return. This has happened periodically over the period since I bought the car new, december 2009. The consumer experienced an intermittent brake issue that was evident from the first year of ownership. Upon starting the vehicle in the morning, there was brake failure until the vehicle warmed up sufficiently for the problem to be resolved. He would generally catch the problem before exiting his driveway, but there were times the problem persisted upon shifting into forward gear. The consumer had the vacuum pipe replaced. The consumer referenced the federal safety agency action number pe08005, in which he believed was closed prematurely. Updated 08/27/14
In cold weather (slightly below freezing at the time) vehicle started but idled very roughly. Drove down street and while coasting engine was idling and sputtered and stalled within 1 minute of initial start. Loss of brake assist, power steering, power to accelerate with traffic. Pulled off to side and restarted engine. Again rough idle. Applied gas pedal and held rpms slightly above idle to warm engine. After ~5 minutes, car was idling normally. No further issues once engine reached operating temperature. Upon research saab/gm (spna technical assistance) has issued a notice to certified service centers that intake valves are prematurely wearing causing severe issues in cold start situations. Notice is dated 12/17/2013 and was re-issued to expand scope of model years known to be effected. This warrants an investigation for potential recall, as no vehicle should result in such significant degradation of a major engine component with such limited miles. Repair requires major engine work to replace all intake valves.
2007 saab aero convertible - brake loss. Upon startup car intermittently loses its braking function. It actually first happened to the saab tech. They order new vacuum hoses and replaced them. That did not correct the problem. They have since resurfaced the rotors and flushed the brake system ' still having the problem. The dealer is now going to replace the master cylinder. Brake failure has been a low speeds and upon start up but almost hit the wall of my office building and almost hit when car was unable to stop while leaving parking lot. With all of the complaints on this board, I don't understand why no recall has been issued.
Brake vacuum pipe check valve broke apart, resulting in a loss of braking power and check engine fault. Car was not drivable after incident.
Sudden loss of braking power immediately after I start the car. At low speed, I had to engage the emergency brake and transmission to stop the car. Brake pedal was depressed to the floor.
Intermittent brake failure. More noticeable at cold starts pulling out forward or backward. Brake pedal goes to the floor with very little braking power. Very dangerous to drive and we parked the car and contacted the dealer. They have now had the car for 4 weeks and are waiting on a part from the factory. This is a very dangerous situation on this car and could very easily result in an accident with injuries or death. I am a male and it was all I could do to get the car stopped on at least 2 occasions. I had to use the emergency brake on one occasion to avoid a collision. This car has 32,000 miles on it. The dealer said the problem was a vacuum line on the brake booster but the replacement must come from saab. I am not sure if this will resolve the problem or not.
Similar issue to the federal safety agency defect investigation # pe08005. Loss of brake power assist after a cold start up and reversing. The vehicle is very hard to stop, requiring high pedal pressure, until the car has warmed up for ~30 seconds. This has occurred numerous times over the past 6 months. It is more prominent after sitting for several days. Also while driving on the road, when a bump is hit while brakes are applied, brakes make a metal-on-metal grinding sound and the braking action does not work until additional pressure is applied. This also happened when braking on slippery road conditions such as snow or rain. This caused a near accident when my car did not stop for another 10 feet than intended and entered an intersection on a red light.
Loss of brake power assist after a cold start up. The vehicle is very hard to stop, requiring high pedal pressure, until the car has warmed up for ~30 seconds. This has occurred numerous times over the past 6 months.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- Certain sport sedan and convertible passenger vehicles were produced with a vacuum pipe check valve for the brake booster that may fail from exposure to elevated temperatures. This could result in sudden loss of power brake assist, usually with little or no warning.
- Risk
- If this condition were to occur when minimum stopping distance is required, a crash could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new redesigned check valve. The recall began on march 17, 2006. Owners should contact saab at 1‑800‑955‑9007.
Recall number 05V236000 · Recall details
Questions about the Saab 9-3 brake failure
Which Saab 9-3 years have brake failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (7 complaints), 2007 (5 complaints) and 2003 (2 complaints).
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