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Date: Thu, 09 Sep 1999 09:34:24 -0400
From: Michael Gabriel <mgabrielnopsaml.net>
Subject: 9-3 Vent Selector Gripe


Hi all, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with the big rotary vent selector on the 9-3 (the one to the right of the fan speed selector dial). Since I've had this car (May 1998), anytime I want to redirect the air flow, I literally have to "rock" the dial back and forth, coaxing it to change position, almost as if there were a heavy weight involved. Typically, it won't go from the 6 o'clock position (cabin vents) to the 12 o'clock (windshield and demister vents) without going back and forth. The result: twice now the dial and/or mechanism inside broke and I'm off to the dealer for a few hours after waiting for a week for the parts to come in. Last weekend it happened a third time and again I'm waiting for the part(s) and a rendez-vous at the dealer who "admitted" to only _one_ other 9-3 having had this problem, only it happened 4 times for the other guy. The dealer said that Saab "engineers" were looking into it. Uh-huh... There seems to be very little torque afforded by the frail plastic dial to turn the mechanism inside. I'm surprised that something so simple could be so cheaply made. Even my long departed 1986 Honda Civic sedan had knobs that worked flawlessly and lasted surely longer than its 9 year existence. I know it's a trivial thing on one hand, but the time wasted in waiting for the parts and then time off from my busy schedule to sit at the dealership and wait for them to fix something that shouldn't have even broken is pretty annoying. I know that it could be worse in that at least I'm not paying for the warrantied repair, but maybe Saab (or any car dealer) should consider paying penalties to the car owners who are inconvenienced by nuisances caused by poor design. I wonder how much more thought would go into car engineering then! Okay, off my soapbox. basically, I'd just like to know if any other 9-3 owners have had a similar experience. Thanks for reading, Michael

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