There are 5 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2006 Saab 9-3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
ECU ISSUES, LOSS POWER WHEN DRIVING.
I WAS DRIVING CAR ON MIDDLE LANE ON HIGHWAY APPROACHING TRAFFIC, WHEN MY CAR COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. THIS WAS AFTER GETTING A COMPLETE TUNE UP INCLUDING OIL CHANGE, NEW BATTERIES AND TIRES. TOWED CAR TO REPAIR SHOP AND AFTER REPAIR, THE ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON AND THEN THERE WAS SMELL OF GAS AND CAR CONTINUED TO STALL. TOOK CAR BACK TO REPAIR SHOP, WHERE THE FUEL INJECTOR WAS REPLACED AND GAS SMELL WAS ELIMINATED. BUT ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON AND CAR COMPLETELY SHUT OFF AGAIN. TOOK IT TO REPAIR SHOP, YET AGAIN. THIS TIME, STARTER WAS CHANGED AND MECHANIC CLAIMS THAT A NEW ECU/ECM IS NEEDED FOR ENGINE BUT PART FOR 2006 MODEL HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED AND IS NOW RUNNING ON 2004 ECI/ECM AND ENGINE LIGHT STILL REMAINS ON AND STARTED IS A BIT ROUGH.
MULTIPLE SHORTS INDICATED ON SID. ORIGINAL MESSAGE "ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL FAILURE". THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT AMONGST SAAB OWNERS FOR THIS MAKE AND MODEL. OCCASIONALLY, AN ASSOCIATED AN ABS FAILURE INDICATION WILL APPEAR WHILE TRAVELING. HAVE NOT NOTICED A LOSS IN ABS FUNCTION YET, BUT IT WAS DRY WHEN THESE SHORTS OCCURRED. THE FAILURE IS ASSUMED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL FUNCTION AND ITS USE HAS BEEN LOST. *TR
BRAKES HAVE FAILED TO WORK SEVERAL TIMES. THEY FEEL LIKE THEY ARE LOCKED AND NOT ABLE TO PRESS DOWN. TODAY AFTER ACCELERATING FROM 0 TO ABOUT 35 MILES PER HOUR THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE ON IT'S OWN. I FELT LIKE THE CRUISE CONTROL KICK IN. I TRIED TO PRESS ON THE BRAKES BUT THEY WOULD NOT WORK. I WAS DRIVING IN THE PASSING LANE TO AVOID HITTING ANY CARS. I NOTICED THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS ON. I TURNED IT OFF AND THE BRAKES FINALLY STARTED TO WORK. THE DEALERSHIP CAN NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND CLAIMS HE HAS NEVER HEARD OF ANY SUCH COMPLAINTS. I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL OF THESE COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET. *JB
CLEAR DAY. HIGHWAY TRAVEL. CRUISE CONTROL SET TO 65-70 MPH. 2006 SAAB 9-3 CONVERTIBLE 3200 MILES. ENTERED CONSTRUCTION ZONE AND ATTEMPTED TO SLOW/BRAKE AND THE CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN. CAR CONTINUED AT SET SPEED. SEEMS THE CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT DISENGAGE AND THE CAR WAS FIGHTING TO KEEP THE SPEED UP TO CRUISE CONTROL SETTING. TRUCK AHEAD SLOWED AND I DID NOT. MANEUVERED LEFT TO AVOID TRUCK AND MADE CONTACT WITH A CONSTRUCTION TRAILER. CONTINUED TO AFTER CONTACT. HAD TO USE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP VEHICLE. PENN DOT CALLED POLICE TO THE CRASH SCENE. CAR WAS TOWED AND THE RETRIEVED BY DEALER. INSURANCE ADJUST, SAAB TECH AND SAAB COLLISION MANAGER PULLED AN ERROR CODE FROM THE DIAGNOSTIC AND VERBALLY STATED THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT DISENGAGE. LATER AFTER THE ADJUSTER LEFT WAS CONTACT BY A REGIONAL DEPARTMENT STATING THAT THE TECH MIS-INTERPRETED THE CODE. SAAB SALES MANAGER HAS NOT RETURNED 5 MESSAGES FOR INFORMATION OF RELEASING US FROM OUR LEASE. *JB
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