I own a saab 9-5 wagon, 2001. When it was only 3000 miles out of warranty, twice the unit (alarm system) failed, presumably because it had gotten wet. Saab says that when the AC drains are blocked, it can back up into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, thus causing damage to the twice unit. When the twice unit fails, it burns out all 5 door lock motors, since it erroneously sends a constant electrical signal to the motors. I see this problem as a major design flaw. The twice unit should not be located under the driver's seat and should not be susceptible to water damage. Also, the AC drains should not get blocked so easily, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. And the failure of the alarm system should not cause the door lock motors to burn out. Saab does not have a vehicle service bulletin for this problem and does not consider it a major defect or design flaw. It costs the consumer over $2500 to repair. I have had the twice unit replace, because the car would not operate without a failed unit. The door locks have not been repaired.
2001 Saab 9-5 electrical complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 56 of 56, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Add me to the list of drivers stranded on the highway with total loss of power because direct ignition cassette burnt up. The car only had 62,000 miles. It cost over $1,300 to replace.
Multiple times the car, when warm will just without warning. All electrical and engine simultaneously quits leaving the driver to deal with a situation of no power brakes and steering. Multiple trips to dealer has resulted in no diagnosis and genearl apathy about the problem. The car is stil under warranlty but it offers no value. Clear safety issue as the last event was at a elemenary school where a child was almost hit as the lack of braking and steering power. How can such a symptom betreated withsuch apathy. We will be forced to sel the car for safety reasons and no responsibility is taken by saab. Ironically we had a similar problem with a 1994 9000.
Wife was driving on hwy us 202 sb and suddenly the car dies without any warning. She almost got rear ended by the traffic behind her. Luckily she was able to coast to the shoulder. He car was towed to a dealer and they replaced the direct ignition module.
There were no unusual events leading to the failure. My wife was driving a 2001 saab 9-5 station wagon when the engine shut down and she lost all power. Thankfully she was driving on a local road and managed to pull over to the side. The engine would not restart and we had it towed to a local garage. The person who towed said he thought it was a "crank sensor" that failed and when it fails it completely shuts down the gas to the engine. I had it repaired and the local mechanic confirmed that it was a sensor that he called direct ignition which includes the cam sensor . My concern is that if it happened on a highway at 65 MPH, there would have been a serious accident. I don't understand how a car can totally shut down like that without any warning. Saab would not take my complaint because I did not have it checked at their garage. I think that policy, when it comes to safety, is ludicrous!
Exiting the highway on an overpass bridge the engine stopped without warning and would not restart. A few moments later smoke was visible from under the direct ignition cover and small flame was apparent. The flame went out after a few moments. However, we were left stranded on an unlit bridge overpass that was under construction at dusk (with an infant and toddler). Saab roadside assistance was contacted (they suggested we wait with the vehicle for approximately an hour until a tow truck could reach us.) this incident follows a string of minor electical / electronic "bugs" in which erroneous signals about light failures were displayed and the headlights failed to turn off when the key was removed (this is an automatic feature on saabs).
When driving at an undetermined speed engine check light appeared on the dashboard, then vehicle stalled. Consumer had informed the dealer about this issue. However, mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak when the vehicle stalled, a burning electrical wire odor filled the vehicle as consumer tried to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealership and guessed without inspecting the vehicle that the cause was di cassette.
Sudden complete power failure on highway! Relativly new car 2001 with low miles.traced to bad direct ignition (di) module. Is a safety hazard. No injuries thankfully.
I was driving on the highway and began exiting when the saab completely died. No warning..all lights came on and the car had no power. I coasted down the ramp. What would have happened had I been in the left lane? Saab quickly diagnosed this as a shorted out direct ignition cassette. They repaired it returned the car. It needed to go back as it had no power. The cassette's failure destroyed the catalytic converter as well. I have now heard of this incident three times on 2001 saab 9-5's. Where is the recall?
The engine on our 2001 saab 9.5 wagon completely shut down as we exited I-10 north of san antonio texas. The vehicle was at a speed of 65 MPH and the engine just quit. We were able to stop the car at the exits intersection because of its length of about 1/4 mile. There was no warning, just no engine and no restart. The direct ignition cassette was replaced.
I was traveling at a high speed on the bronx river pkwy and my passenger reached into the back seat. Her leg hit the key and turned the car off while I was traveling at 60 MPH. Luckily nobody was hurt. The car locked up and I shifted into neutral. It took a few anxious moments/minute or two before I realized what had happened. This happened two more times when I decided to contact saab. Their response in a letter is as follows " we have reviewed your concerns about the placement of the ignition switch with garden city saab, corporate technicians, and field representatives. Saab cars USA, inc. Has determined your vehicle is operating as designed." !!!!! So, they have designed a car to switch off while driving. All I asked was to be let out of my lease as this is a dangerous car and I no longer feel safe driving in it. They, by means of this letter, are refusing and telling me they have no issue. Fyi the 9.3 key is below the seat, in the 9.5 they decided to raise it above the seat. This is probably why they haven't addressed it yet. I guess they are waiting for someone to get really hurt or killed. Can any one help????
Key was touched by a baby bottle (very gently). The car shut off on a busy expressway. Luckily nobody was killed. I went to the car service and gently tapped the key and reproduced the key turning. The service person said that was normal! Please help before some one is killed.
Consumer states that while driving smoke starting coming from the engine.vehicle stalled out.had vehicle serviced,fire was a result of a problem with ignition cassette. Nlm
The car has stalled twice without warning, on the second occasion the vehicle was able to be restarted, in the first instance the dealer replaced the d1 cassette becuse it malfunctioned but in the second instance diagnostic test did not reveal a cause for the shut down. Nlm
While traveling consumer's purse touched ignition switch please provide further information.
Ignition switch failure.
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