August 12, 2006 our 2002 saab 9-5 sportwagon caught fire. Returning home from vacation the check engine light displayed. Information in the owner's manual and a phone call to our saab dealer lead us to believe that the car was safe to drive. As we approached the toll plaza in mays landing, nj the car stalled and began to smoke. We evacuated the car. Toll personnel extinguished the fire and summoned the laureldale fire company and the nj state police. The action taken by the toll personnel prevented a potential disaster. The car was towed to an impound lot in egg harbor ctiy, nj . After a few hours we were able to arrange fora rental to transport us and our vacation baggage home. At this time we did not know the extend of damage to the car other than it could not be driven to our home and it was a saturday. The closest saab dealer in cherry hill, nj was not open for service calls. We arrived home 5 hours later than expected with a rental car that cost $125/day and $0.20 a mile + gas. We droveback to nj in the morning to return the rental because we did not want to incur any unnecessary expenses. Sunday august 13 we traveled back to galloway, nj to return the rental vehicle. This fire should not have occurred and saab should pick up any expenses relating to a car fire of a 2002 vehicle with 59,518 miles. The car has been repaired, we picked it up from the dealer in cherry hill, nj august 19, 2006. Repairsr were covered by saab along with the towing to the dealership. The failure of two ignition cassettes caused a fire in the catalytic converter, damaging the converter, exhaust pipe, and mounts. Saab has not explained why the mechanical failure caused the fire and has given us no assurance that it will not happen again. Saab has declined to pay the additional cost we incurred which total less than $500.00 we filed a complaint with saab customer service and a claim with our insurance carrier.
2002 Saab 9-5 electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 33 of 33, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving in traffic when my engine started to stall and lost power. I noticed a burning smell coming from the engine compartment. I pulled the car over and could not re-start it. It was towed to the dealer who diagnosed a failed ignition module. My car is a 2002 saab 9-5 and had been re-called because of failures of this component. However, despite the fact that the car engine was of the type that should have been covered by the recall, when saab notified its' dealers it limited the modules to be replaced to only certain serial numbers. This, despite the fact that according to the federal safety agency all engines not having the qp3 modification, which my car does not, should have been re-called. Thus, saab refuses to pay for replacement of the part even though it is the same part that was failing and prompted the recall initially. I believe that this is a hazard due to the overheating of the part which LED to stalling and could have started a fire. Saab should not be allowed to limit the serial numbers replaced because other serial numbers appear to have the same defect. *jb consumer called on 9/12/06 to report a second idm failure incident that occurred on 8/18/06. The following is per a conversation w/ mrs. Alder on 9/14/06: during this incident, his wife was driving the vehicle on the highway in heavy traffic when the vehicle started to lose power. As she was pulling off the hwy, she smelt a burning smell and saw smoke coming into the car. Pulled over and started to call husband when she saw flames coming from underneath the front of the vehicle. Fire department put out fire and vehicle was towed. She reported that the dealer said her catalytic converter had burned.
While driving to work 28 april 2006 my 2002 saab 9-6 b308 v6 engine car began sputtering and the engine light came on. I made it into the parking lot where I work then proceeded to call a saab dealership. Saab dealership mechanic stated that the car's computer put itself into "lame" mode and that the car was safe to drive to dealership (15 miles away)and that it was probably an ignition module. I simply pulled car onto the parking lot and it sputtered to a stop/stall, smoke came from the hood and it wouldn't restart. I had the car towed to the dealership. After the car had arrived at the dealership I was notified by the dealership that the defective part was an ignition module. After looking this information up I find that this part was defective in and recalled in over 100,000 saab's from 2000-2002 however after calling saab corporate they deny that this part is recalled in my particular make and year. My make, model, engine type and year however are listed as recalled on several web sites including your dot.gov web site. I had to pay $600 + dollars to have my car repaired and have the ignition module replaced as I need this car. After having the part replaced 2 days later the engine light came on; I immediately brought the car back to the dealership to find that they state the car now needs a new catalytic converter (as stated by the saab dealership) the cat converter was warranted for 8 years or 80,000 miles but has broken after the 90,000 mile mark. I feel that driving the car when the ignition module has gone bad may have damaged the cat converter (as stated can happen if driving car with bad ignition module)
I would like to cite the federal safety agency campaign #05v399000. While driving my 2002 saab 9-5 6 cylinder on 4/20/2006 I began to experience rough operation and reduced power of the engine. I was a short distance from my destination where I parked thinking I would need to be towed. At first I thought my car was overheating because there seemed to be steam coming from under the hood but there was an odd smell. I went into the coffee shop I was visiting and within a minute or two I turned to check on my car and I saw that the interior was filled with smoke. I went outside and noticed sparks and flames coming from under the vehicle in the area of the back seat and I immediately called the fire department. They arrived and put out the fire under the car and in the back seat where the flames had burned through the carpet. I called a tow service and went back into the store to finish my coffee and wait for the tow truck. When I came back out I noticed that there was still smoke coming from under the hood so I called the fire department again to put out the remnants of the fire. The car was then towed to the nearest saab dealer which is in gainesville, florida, about 40 miles away. Later that day I called the dealer to ask about the above referenced recall which I had discovered on the internet, and they told me that my particular car was not covered. In the letter of acknowledgement dated september 13, 2005 from gm to the nthsa, gm states that "a sustained vehicle fire is unlikely and gm knows of none." due to the exactness of my situation and the recall, I can only assume that gm now has at least one fire on record.
Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle completely stalled while driving 20 MPH. It was towed to the contact's home and then towed to the dealer. They determined the ignition module failed resulting in vehicle stalling and produce damage to other engine parts. The module, spark plugs and the catalytic converter were replaced which appears to remedy the problem. 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. Updated 04/06/06.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40mph in normal conditions, the engine light illuminated and the vehicle smelled hot. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the road for inspection and the engine turned off. However, the vehicle immediately restarted. The vehicle was driven to a service station where oil was added to the engine. The contact decided to have the vehicle towed to the dealer for additional inspection. The dealer performed diagnostic testing and determined the vehicle displayed an internal open circuit in the ignition. The dealer replaced the ignition module and the vehicle performed normally.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 30 MPH the engine stalled without warning. There is a the federal safety agency recall, # 05v399000, regarding the electrical system 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.
On 13 occasions over the last two years, starting 9/13/03, the car's engine malfunction and automatic transmission fault warning lights came on and the car was automatically put in "limp-home" mode. In limp-home mode, the engine is depowered. This has happened when driving both on the highway and in the city, creating a very dangerous situation where the car is in the middle of traffic with little power to manuever. The dealership has attempted to repair this 12 times without success. Vehicle is leased.
Dt: the contact states there is the federal safety agency recall campaign 05v399000 concerning the module sensor. This consumer is experiencing the same problems as indicated in the recall, but is not included in the recall due to VIN. The contact repaired the vehicle at his own expense. *ak updated 01/04/06.
Dt: contact stated the engine will shut off while driving. There are no warning lights or signs indicating a problem. When this happens there is no power steering or acceleration. The service dealer can not duplicate the problem. , therefore, can not repair the problem. They are going to attempt to find the problem on november 11, 2005. The manufacturer sent a regional manager, and he said it could be the ignition switch. The ignition switch was replaced, but it did not correct the problem.
On multiple occasions starting around june or july 2003 and through july 2005, the vehicle stalled while in operation (going 35 to 40 MPH and within two miles of starting) causing a sudden loss of power, brakes, and steering. Fortunately, it was possible to coast the car to the side of the road without being struck. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, hunt valley saab, on at least three occasions. On one occasion, the crank sensor was replaced. On one occasion, additional software for the engine management system was uploaded. On one occasion, the mass air flow sensor and air mass meter. Each time I was told the car was fixed, and each time the car failed again. Obviously, the car was not repaired.
Direct ignition cartridge failures. On three occasions my car has suddenly stopped with no warnings. Fortunately in each case I was able to get to the side of the road safely. In each case the dealer has replaced the cartridge calling it "defective". I am not on my fourth cartridge in 35,000 miles.
My 2002 saab 9-5 stalled and would not restart in the middle of a very busy 4 lane road. I have also noticed there are 14 other complaints on the federal safety agency website with the same problem as mine. This an extremely dangerous problem a vehicle stalling on a highway or anywhere else can result in a crash or death. There was no prior warning of said issue. Saab dealer found code p1310 referred to tsb248-2428 and reprogrammed the sps. New #5387691 completed idm test and found current status 141 idd check code 57047. Located as an internal fault in the idm and also found the spark plugs fouled. Replaced idm and spark plugs. Direct ignition cassette. A tsb means that saab knows about this problem. I feel unsafe getting into my vehicle now.
Car failed at 70 miles/hour on expressway. Just stopped. Cause was diagnosed as direct ignition cassette-web search shows this to be a common saab problem. Was quite terrifying and dangerous to lose power on expressway-definite safety hazard.
March 25,'04, june 3,o4,june 10, 'o4;july 21'o4;aug 2,'04: traveling along highway keeping up with the flow of traffic (65 MPH) when a sudden and complete loss of power occurs necessitating emergency avoidance procedures to advert serious multi-car crash. Dealership,smithtown saab (530 east jericho tpke, smithtown,ny,117870) says it's fixed -5 times. Not. Saab USA refuses to do anything despite my numerous calls. Car is a 2002 saab 9-5,with 27,000 mles,under warranty.
In the last week- june 2,2004 to june 9th,2004-my car, a saab 9.5 has suddenly and without warning lost power , the emergency lights on the dashboard came on, and I had all I could to narrowly advoiding a three car collision. Is there a previous safety defect complaint on this car?
While driving the vehicle 40+MPH, the engine completely shut down without warning. The diagnosis, throttle failure. Saab replaced the throtte body on 05/14/2004. Then again on 05/17/2004, the engine shut down in the midst of driving without warning. The engine light came on. Saab has not been able to duplicate the problem. The car has proven to be extremely dangerous and unsafe to operate.
While driving at 60 MPH all the electrical power to the vehicle shut down. A few seconds later the vehicle stalled on the highway. This has happened twice with this vehicle. The first time the dealer replaced the TCM module and the second time the crank shaft sensor was replaced. The manufacturer is aware of the problem. *nm the consumer stated the vehicle stalled a third time.
On three occasions I have gotten a "check engine light" with a "transmission" or "coolant" amplifying light. On both occasions the car went into a limp mode as defined in the saab handbook. Two items, a temp sensor and thermostat were replaced without the problem being fixed. Today's fix is a programming update (ECM programming). Don't know if this will fix the problem but beginning to think the car has a basic flaw and don't want to take trips in it.
Driving at steady 65 MPH, car suddenly lost power, and engine stopped after I pulled to side of interstate.diagnosed as failed direct ignition cassette and replaced by dealer.
While driving approximately 30 MPH vehicle suddenly stalled in the middle of the road. Intermittently, the electrical mechanism to open the trunk was not working properly. *ak when exposed to prolonged intense sunlight/heat, the interior child release feature wouldn't work either.
On 3 separate occasions the car has completely shut down, losing brakes, steering, power, etc. The 1st at 70 MPH on freeway, the 2nd on city st. About 35 MPH and the 3rd in my neighborhood at 20 MPH. Saab has replaced 3 different things. The car is too unpredictable and unsafe for driving.
The vehicle stalled without warning, the dealer diagnosed the direct ignition cassette failed. *jb scc
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