There are 9 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2004 Saab 9-3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Constant random recurrence of error codes P2122 and P2138 (either together or on their own) which results in the car switching to low power mode, with very low acceleration which makes it very dangerous to merge into traffic, pull out of stops, red lights, etc. Technically supposed to require changing the throttle pedal sensor, but changing it does not solve the issue, which is electrical. This is a known issue for GM cars.
WHILE DRIVING, WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE CAR ENGINE STALLS. NO WARNING AT ALL!! ONCE IT STOPS, IGNITION KEY WON'T WORK. THE ONLY WAY TO RESTART THE CAR IS TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. THIS IS ALL DONE IN THE EMERGENCY SHOULDERS, BREAKDOWN LANES, ITS ALSO HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY EXIT RAMPS. LUCKILY EACH TIME THERE WAS A PLACE TO PULL OVER. WE COULD GET KILLED. IT HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES . SOMETIMES IT STALLS 2-3 TIMES A DAY. I AM SO DISAPPOINTED IN THIS CAR. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT, AND HOW CAN I SELL IT KNOWING THAT SOMETHING BAD COULD HAPPEN TO THE NEW OWNER.
THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR DOESN'T ALWAYS LOCK OR UNLOCK USING THE KEYFOB. IT SOMETIMES CLICKS LIKE IT'S TRYING TO LOCK/UNLOCK, BUT IS ALWAYS .5-1 SECOND SLOWER THAN THE OTHER DOORS. *TR IT DOES NOT HAVE A KEY SLOT TO UNLOCK THE DOOR VIA A KEY. THE DOOR CAN BE LOCKED/UNLOCKED USING THE PUSH/PULL ROD ON THE INTERIOR - UNTIL THE ACTUATOR FULLY FREEZES, THEN IT CAN'T BE LOCKED OR UNLOCKED AT ALL.
2004 SAAB 9-3 ARC. THE CIRCUIT LOCATED IN THE REAR OF THE CAR, WHICH CONTROLS THE REAR LIGHT CLUSTERS INCLUDING THE TOP MOUNTED BRAKE LIGHT OFTEN FAILS. I HAVE REPLACED IT TWICE IN JUST OVER A YEAR AND IT HAS FAILED AGAIN. IT STARTS WITH ONE BULB FAILING AND THE WARNING MESSAGE SHOWS UP ON THE DISPLAY. THEN IN A SERIES ALL THE OTHER BULBS START TO FAIL. THEY EITHER DON'T WORK OR ARE ALWAYS ON EVEN IF THE CAR IS SWITCHED OFF AND LOCKED. THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT BOARD WAS REPLACED TWICE AT A PRICE OF OVER $700 INC OF LABOR. *TR
INTERIOR CABIN FAN.. THE FAN STAYS ON ALTHOUGH THE CAR IS "OFF" (KEY OUT OF IGNITION), AND WHILE AC OR HEAT ARE OFF (AT 0). THERE IS ALSO A NOISE AT TIME COMING FROM THE FAN UNDER THE GLOVE BOX. DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS NOT A DEFECT AND WILL COST AROUND $1000, THE DARN CAR IS LESS THAN 3.5 YEARS OLD AND NOT A DEFECT.. SURE. *TR
THE KEYLESS ENTRY AND ALARM SYSTEM HAVE NOT BEEN WORKING. THEY STARTED SLOWING DOWN IN WORKING, BUT THEN THE KEYLESS ENTRY MODULE (THE ACTUAL KEY) JUST STOPPED. I CHANGED THE BATTERY ON THE KEY, YET IT STILL DOES NOT WORK. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SO LONG. *TR
MY CAR STALLS WHILE ACCELERATING OR DEACELERATING AND THE CANNOT BE RESTARTED. DEALER NOW HAS THE AUTO AND HAS INDICATED IT IS THE MAIN MODULE AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED. THE CAR IS A 2004 SAAB CONVERTIBLE 2.0T 9 3. THE CAR WAS LEASED ON APRIL 23, 2004. ALTHOUGH THE MANURFACTURER'S WARRANTY INDICATES REPAIR OR REPLACE, THE DEALER DOES NOT WANT TO REPLACE THE VEHICLE. THEY ACTUALLY WOULD LIKE ME TO HAVE THE LEASE TERMINATED AND TO ROLL THE LAST THREE PAYMENTS INTO A NEW LEASE WITH A NEW CAR.
DT: THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 SAAB 93ARC. COULD TAKE THE KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION SWITCH WITHOUT THE CAR BEING IN PARK. ON JULY 22, 2005 CAR ROLLED DOWN DRIVEWAY, CAUSING PROPERTY DAMAGE. THE CONTACTED CONCERN WAS THAT SOMEONE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM A MAY GET HURT. THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED BY THE DEALERSHIP, WHO REPLACED SOME PARTS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. BUT THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN OF WHAT PARTS WERE REPLACED. *AK THE DEAR REPLACED THE IGNITION, IGNITION SWITCH, REPROGRAMMED THE KEY AND INSTALLED THE LATEST SOFTWARE. *NM
PULLED INTO A STANDARD, PAVED, PARKING SPACE TURNED ELECTRONIC IGNITION KEY TO OFF POSITION AND REMOVED KEY. CAR DID NOT TURN OFF, ENGINE AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CONTINUED TO FUNCTION AS THOUGH KEY WAS IN IGNITION.*AK ONBOARD COMPUTER DISPLAYED "STEERING WHEEL LOCK FAILURE: CONTACT SERVICE." TURNED STEERING WHEEL, CHECKED FOR OBSTRUCTIONS, AND ATTEMPTED TO TURN CAR OFF BY REINSERTING KEY INTO IGNITION. WHEN KEY INSERTED INTO IGNITION, ONBOARD COMPUTER TOGGLED TO "KEY NOT RECOGNIZED: CONTACT SERVICE" AND THEN BACK TO PREVIOUS MESSAGE. WAS ONLY ABLE TO TURN CAR OFF BY REMOVING FUEL PUMP FUSES, AND THEN BY REMOVING BATTERY TERMINAL TO PREVENT BATTERY DRAINAGE AS ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CONTINUED TO FUNCTION. CAR ONLY HAS 4000 MILES AND WAS BROUGHT IN INITIALLY BY TOW TRUCK TO SAAB DEALERSHIP ON 6/15 AND IGNITION WAS SAID TO BE REPLACED. ON 6/16, DROVE CAR HOME AND TURNED OFF WITHOUT PROBLEM. ON 6/17, DROVE TO WORK AND EXACT SAME SITUATION WAS REPEATED, WITH A TOW REQUIRED. CAR CONTINUES TO BE IN SERVICE, NEW RELAY ORDERED, BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS, AND OTHER DIAGNOSTICS ARE BEING RUN BY SERVICE DEPARTMENT. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE IS NO RECORD OF SIMILAR OCCURRENCE IN 2004 SAAB 9-3 SPORT SEDAN. WILL MOST LIKELY NEVER BUY ANOTHER SAAB OR VOLKSWAGEN AGAIN.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026