2001 Saab 9-3 Air Bags & Restraints Problems

unexpected and unrequested deployment of driver side seat air bag. i was driving the vehicle at a speed of 0-5mph attempting to back the vehicle into a parking spot when the driver seat air bag deployed. a report was made with the local police department. no indicator or failure lights were present, the vehicle is able to be inspected at this time for further information. It is unknown about any other inspections by anyone other than the local police department.

I left my home with my daughter in the afternoon to go to the bank and hardware store. I drove to the bank to make a deposit. We had to wait for quite awhile in the drive-through line at the bank, so I turned off my engine a couple of times rather than having the car idle. After making the deposit at the bank, I pulled out of the bank lot and began driving to the hardware store. I had driven for about two minutes and was driving along at approximately 25-30 miles an hour, and suddenly there was a terrible explosion at my left ear and massive pain in my left arm. I thought the car had been shot at and my arm hit. I was terrified we were still being shot at and looked at my daughter whose hands were over her ears. I could tell by that time that I was not bleeding and so was worried that the bullet had hit her. I could hear only faintly out of my left ear. There was smoke and the smell of an explosion. I could see by this time that an airbag had come out of my driver's seat and thought that it had been hit too. My daughter told me she was o.k. and to pull the car over so that we could see what had happened. I was shaking with fear and pain in my arm but finally calmed down enough to park the car and get out to see what had happened. It became clear that the car had not been shot at and that the driver's side seat airbag had simply spontaneously exploded without any warning whatsoever. The driver's seat side seam was completely ripped, multiple pieces of seat foam were lying about, and the air bag in the seat was out and ripped. The seat was still smoking. Luckily I had had my window completely down, or the explosion would have been louder in the car, and my arm and left side could have been more badly injured. I called my longtime Saab repairman who told me that what happened to me was extremely rare. He said I would need a new seat and that the computer system would need to be reset for the airbag system to work again. Insurance will examine soon. I may try GM too.

NO INCIDENT

WHEN COMING TO A STOP AT AN INTERSECTION, THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT LOCKS REPEATEDLY MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO LEAN FORWARD TO SEE IF THE INTERSECTION IS CLEAR. EVEN AFTER SLOWLY LEANING ALL OF THE WAY BACK AND TRYING TO LEAN FORWARD AGAIN, IT LOCKS. THE SEAT BELT MUST BE REMOVED TO AVOID BEING HELD BACK IN THE SEAT AND UNABLE TO SEE. IN ADDITION, WHEN TRYING TO REMOVE THE SEAT BELT, THE BUTTON STICKS AND MUST BE PRESSED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT RELEASES. *TR

TL * THE CONTACT OWNED A 2001 SAAB 9-3. THE CONTACT WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE DRIVER DIED AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE SPEED WAS 40-45 MPH. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000. UPDATED 09/11/14*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE 7 YEAR OLD PASSENGER WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL. THE A PILLAR AS WELL AS THE ROOF CAVED IN. POLICE DETERMINED VEHICLE SPEED WAS NOT A FACTOR. UPDATED 1/13/2015 *JS