There are 3 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2007 Saab 9-3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WHILE DRIVING THE IGNITION SWITCH TURNS TO THE OFF POSITION SUDDENLY. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THERE ARE ANY VIBRATIONS IN THE CAR SUCH AS WHEN I REACH INTO AND SHUT THE CENTER COUNSEL, SHUT THE GLOVEBOX, WHEN ANYTHING EVEN LIGHTLY GRAZES THE KEY FOB, WHEN A BALLOON POPPED IN MY CAR AND EVEN WHEN I SNEEZE IN THE CAR! WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE CAR COMPLETELY LOOSES POWER SUCH AS LIGHTS (INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR), POWER STEERING, SPEED AND BASICALLY ALL CONTROLS OF THE CAR ARE LOST. THE CAR IGNITION HAS MOVED TO OFF AT MANY SPEEDS INCLUDING 65 MPH ON THE FREEWAY, 50 MPH, 35 MPH, 25 MPH AND EVEN WHILE BACKING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! I CAN'T DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY BECAUSE I AM DEATHLY SCARED MY CAR WILL SHUT DOWN WHEN I HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD. IF THAT WAS TO HAPPEN I WOULD BE DEAD IN A SECOND! THIS FAULTY IGNITION COULD CAUSE GREAT HARM TO NOT ONLY MYSELF YET TO INNOCENT PEOPLE ON THE ROAD. THIS IS THE SECOND IGNITION SWITCH I HAVE PUT IN MY SAAB AND IT HAS 94.5K MILES ON IT. SAAB'S ARE FAMOUS FOR THEIR ELECTRICAL IGNITION ISSUES AND I BEG THE GOVERNMENT TO PLEASE STEP IN AND DEMAND A RECALL. BEST REGARDS, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
DURING COLDER STARTS, THE ENGINE WILL TAKE MUCH LONGER THAN IT SHOULD TO START. EITHER IT WILL TRY AND CRANK UNTIL IT DOES OR IT WILL CRANK AND STALL. USUALLY A FEW TRIES AND IT WILL CLEAR UP ONCE THE ENGINE IS WARM. I THINK THIS MIGHT HAVE TO DO WITH THE INTAKE VALVES BEING WARN OUT PREMATURELY. MANY OTHER SAAB OWNERS IN THE SAME FEW YEARS AND MILEAGE ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. *TR
UPON START, ROUGH IDLE AND MISFIRES. OCCASIONAL STALLING. DEFECT TRACED TO METALLURGICAL ISSUES IN THE INTAKE VALVES OF THE VEHICLE CAUSING AN IMPROPER SEAL WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD. *TR
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