1999 Saab 9-5: sudden loss of power

Filed May 2, 2006 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · CA

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 60 to 65 MPH the engine lost all power without warning. There was smoke coming for the rear of the vehicle and it was pulled off the road without incident. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, upon inspection the ignition control module had failed. There is a the federal safety agency recall, # 05v399000, regarding the electrical system: ignition control module. The model year was not included in the recall. There was also an the federal safety agency investigation, # pe5017, regarding the electrical system: ignition control module.

Filed Apr 14, 2006 · Electrical · 122,000 miles · MA

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle shuddered followed by a loss of all power. The warning lights did not illuminate to indicate a failure. A strange burning odor was present but no flames or smoke was visible. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop; the ignition module and coil assembly were replaced. There is a the federal safety agency recall, # 05v399000, regarding the electrical system. The vehicle had the same problems as indicated in the recall; however was not included in the recall due to the VIN. Updated 05/04/06.

Filed Mar 17, 2006 · Electrical, Engine · 67,187 miles · PA

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 25 MPH the check engine light illuminated, the vehicle lost power and the speed dropped to 10 MPH. The contact managed to get the vehicle home and once the engine was turned off, it would not restart. The vehicle was towed the dealer, where the ignition cassettes and spark plugs were replaced. The dealer determined the spark plugs were damaged as a result of the ignition cassette failure. There is a the federal safety agency recall, #05v399000, regarding the ignition module. The vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the VIN. This happened on the road where the speed limit was 30 MPH. If this would have happened at one of the highways where people are driving at 65 MPH there would have been a fatality. This vehicle would not do over 15 MPH. The contact was able to drive home. The small of the car was very bad so the contact waited 20 minutes before leaving. There was no fire. Both ignition cassettes were replaced, as well as spark plugs.

Filed Oct 7, 2005 · Electrical · 105,000 miles · CA

While driving on a very busy l.a. Freeway on a saturday evening my car suddenly lost power with no warning to the point of almost stalling. Lucky for me I say my prayers and was able to navigate to the off ramp and coast on to the street where I was pushed out of traffic by a good samaritan (I'm a single female driver). I noticed the check engine light was on. I was able to start it again after awhile and chugged home 30 slow miles to my house ( I was all out of tows on aaa and no mechanics open at that time).next week my saab mechanic indicates that it is the di failing. Estimated cost part/labor is $550.00. I just replaced the di 9/15/2003 after a similar incident happened and all power was lost while driving, I coasted to the side of the road and had it towed to saab. Cost to me the first time was approximately $450.00 not including car rental. Needless to say this is a huge safety hazard on the '99s as all these posted complaints indicate and I'm not understanding why the current recall is not including '99s. I've held off replacing the replacement that lasted only 20,000 mi/2 years hoping to get some recognition/help from saab with this. Part is available. Obviously the current (failed) di in my car is a 2000 - 2002 saab di - so will they take responsibility for this repair? This is ridiculous! I adamantly believe saab should take responsibility for this problem on the 99s as (I have found out) it is a known problem among owners.

Filed Oct 3, 2005 · Electrical · 56,000 miles · IL

I was driving my car at highway speeds in the express lanes of 90/94 in chicago and experienced a dramatic loss of power. Was able to slowly travel to exit and get off onto surface streets. Had to have car towed to dealer. Direct ignition cassette was replaced. This is the *same* component that is currently under a voluntary recall for later model years of my vehicle.

Filed Jul 22, 2005 · Electrical · 72,850 miles · NY

1999 saab 9-5 with v6 engine. Sudden failure of both ignition discharge modules (idm) on highway rendered car inoperable. On a business trip with two coworkers, driving north on new york interstate 87 at around 65-70 MPH, car started to buck and surge, with dramatic loss in engine power. Check engine light came on and I managed to cross two lanes of traffic to get to approaching offramp. Bucked and wheezed my way to a busniess park, where I called for a tow to the local saab dealrship. Failure was immediate and with no warning. Consequences were putting three lives in peril on the interstate by sudden loss of engine power, and forced cancellation of business trip due to lack of transportation. Dealer diagnosed critical failure of both ignition discharge modules (also referred to as direct ignition cassettes). Both modules replaced along with 6 spark plugs, at a total cost of $835.33 to me.

Filed Apr 25, 2005 · Engine · 50,200 miles · TX

Catastrophic failure of upper idler pulley on '99 2.3liter low pressure turbo enginee on saab 95se. The pulley disintegrated on startup of the vehicle. Caused piecees of plastic outher ring material to be scattered around the engine compartmetn and outside of the vehicle. Sepentine belt slipped down onto the hub and caused failure of accessories such as: power steerign pump, leternator etc.*ak had this occured durign drivign on the highwya, the imediate loss of power and accessories woudl have generated major problem and might have caused an accident. The car is 1999 model year, with ~ 50,200 miles duing incident. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any further questions at 512‑301‑7425. I hav efollowe dup on web based owner and enthusiast networks. It apperas that this failur eis becomign an common courence on 99 & 2000 saabs95 operated in southern USA. Please check or search at www.saabnet.com : http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/bb/9-5/search.html?query=idler+pulley this search indicates 256 messages related ot the problem most of them over the last six months. I had the pulley replaced at the local delership under extended third party warranty, however I belive that this is a case of bad selection of materials for this application. The pulley body was made out of plastic, that is crackign and failuring due to heat exposure. I have pieces of pulley available fo ryour inspection if needed. Jerzy

Filed Apr 21, 2005 · Electrical · 118,000 miles · NJ

Complete, instantaneous shutdown of the entire vehicle at speed. Loss of power, loss of power steering and brakes, had to angle across two lanes of high speed traffic while coasting! Thankfully, no one hit me! Had to replace the "direct ignition cassette". This failed completely.