Date: 9 Jul 2004 23:15:55 -0700 From: thirdmannospamta.com (Third Man) Subject: 2001 9-3 Stalls
Twice in the last 1000 miles, my 2001 Saab 9-3 SE AT (49.3K miles) stalled while on a highway. On both occassions, I was starting to speed up sligthly after slowing down for congestion ahead -- approx 40 mph when it stalled. What made things worse is that the car wouldn't restart (it almost felt like it started for 1-2 s before dying) -- so I had to find the shoulder quickly to get out of the way of moving traffic on both occassions. First time the dealer said it was a software glitch ("sensors were misread" he said matter-of-factly) that had been fixed in the latest upgrade -- hmm I thought to myself but took the car back. The next time the dealer said it is the throttle unit which is malfunctioning -- at least it is mechanical I thought. (I wish they would say "this Saab 9-3 is malfunctioning, let us replace it.") Left the car with them to drive around for a few days to see if they can recreate the problem. In the meantime, I am in a quandry as to what to do because I am not convinced they know what is really causing the stall. When I asked "do you have software glitches like this," they said "all the time" ... hardly comforting. Anyone experience this stall (or related) problem with a 9-3? Any suggestions of what I ought to do with Saab USA starting with the dealer? Thanks for any comments and suggestions