Engine & cooling

2002 Saab 9-5 Engine problems

Owners have filed 13 complaints about the 2002 Saab 9-5's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 20% of all its complaints, most recently on June 5, 2014. They describe 0 crashes, 2 fires and 1 injury. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

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Complaints: 13
Recalls: 0
Crashes: 0
Fires: 2
Injuries: 1
Deaths: 0

Engine complaints

Engine & cooling

The engine on my 4 cylinder saab 9-5 (2002) has suddenly stopped while driving at least 4 times since owning the car, both on the highway and in slower traffic. The first time I reported officially (2007) to the dealer, "no cause was identified." I noticed the last time that it happened (around may 2011) that it seemed to coincide with inadvertently bumping into the ignition switch lightly while driving. The symptoms match that of another owner's complaint on this site for the 2002 saab 9-5. I expected my...

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car to be included in the recent recall involving the faulty ignition switch but got no notification. I have also paid in june 2008 and again in october 2009 and january 2013 to replace/reset a faulty ignition cassette, which I believe should have been part of a recall campaign and not charged to me, but the parts were not included in the recall. In summary, due to the car shutting off, I feel it is not safe and that it should be included in the recent gmc recall. And that the faulty ignition cassette should have been recalled and not replaced at owner expense multiple times. I have documented service records of the above incidents. *Tr

Engine & coolingFire

Letter from insurance company regarding loss of saab due to fire with request for payment**cc the consumer noticed that one of the lights on the dashboard had illuminated and the vehicle began to act strangely. The consumer arrived home parked the vehicle in the garage and then suddenly the vehicle caught on fire. *Jb updated

Engine & cooling1 injury

Bolt came off on turbo-charger and blasted a hole through the turbo-charger. My car suddenly stopped accelerating during a merge and I almost crashed. This resulting in $2000 worth of repairs. *Nm

Engine & coolingElectrical system

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...

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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) *jb

Engine & coolingFuel systemFire

Dt: consumer states on october 6, 2005 while driving on a road the vehicle caught on fire. The fuel line was ripped, and one smelled gasoline all over the passenger side of the vehicle. Consumer stated when putting the vehicle in reverse it will stall intermittently. Consumer took the vehicle to dealer and no codes showed up on the diagnostic machine. The dealer changed catalytic converter and the oxygen sensor twice. The dealer could not pin point the problem. The engine failure light did come on before the vehicle caught on fire. The dealer said that some type of debris came from the highway that caused the fuel line to rip. *Ak

Engine & cooling

While driving on the new jersey turnpike at 70 mph the engine shut down, and vehicle lost power. Consumer took vehicle to dealer, and computer was replaced. However, vehicle continued to shut down.*Ak..In spring of 2004 .General sales automotive cover dealer of westchester, pennsylvania told consumer that the problem was due to carbon buildup in the engine. They cleaned the cylinder, and told consumer that this wasn't under warranty. This cost consumer approximately $500.00. Despite the cylinder's being...

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cleaned vehicle continued to stall/hesitate at speed of 35-45 mph. Brought vehicle back to dealer in april 2005, and was informed by dealer that they weren't able to duplicate the problem. *Ak the consumer feel as though this is a frustrating situation and feels it is unsafe with these recurring problems.*Sb

Engine & coolingElectrical system

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.*Ak

Engine & coolingElectrical system

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. *Ak

Engine & cooling

Problems with delay in report of warranty claim and the availability of service.*Mr the vehicle stalled in traffic posing a safety hazard. Upon contacting his local dealer, the consumer was given an appointment for repairs two weeks after the call. Consumer felt this was unacceptable, and this serious safety defect shouldn't wait as long. Consumer is holding saab responsible for anything that may happen between the date of the phone call and the appointment. *Ph

SteeringEngine & cooling

While driving at highway speed vehicle shut down ,causing loss of power steering. Please add any additional information.*Jb..*Ak

Engine & cooling

The car stalled without warning while driving, losing power steering and brakes. Each occurance happened while driving 45 mph. Dt

Engine & cooling

Consumer stated while driving 60mph vehicle stalled w/o warning causing power steering and brake functions to fail. Checked by dealer who can not duplicate problem or determine cause. Ts

Engine & cooling

While driving vehicle will stall out and will start right back up. Contacted dealer, and the dealer is not willing to do anything.*Ak

Saab 9-5 engine complaints by year

1998 1999 2000 2001 132002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

9-5 engine problems, every year

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked 22 hours ago. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

2002 Saab 9-5 Engine problems

Engine complaints

Saab 9-5 engine complaints by year

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