Date: 18 Aug 2003 06:33:03 -0700 From: dschadnopsamtiernet.net (don schad) Subject: 1999 9-3 Reverse question 5-sp manual
Hi. I have a Saab 9-3, 1999 with a 5-sp. It currently has 52k on it, and I have owned it for about 6 months. Occasionally I can't get the thing into reverse. I know that I have to pull up the ring, so that's not the problem - it goes partically into the slot, but not into gear. Sometimes running through the shift pattern 1-2-3-4-5-R I can get it in, but occasionally even doing this multiple times will not work. Under such circumstances I have found that putting it into 2nd or 3rd gear and stalling it generally works. I have searched the news groups and I found refernces to Saabs not have a syncro-meshed reverse, but it wasn't clear if this was only for older cars or if this continues into the 9-3s etc. The lack of synchro problem is certainly what is seems like (esp. given that runninng through the gears often works), but this little problem can be quite dangerous, not to mention annoying. Am I experiencing a Saab "feature", or is this something that I should have addressed by a transmission person? Thanks very much for your input, don