2008 Saab 9-3 Engine Problems

HAD TO HAVE VALVE JOB DONE DUE TO BAD /DEFECTIVE/INFERIOR INTAKE VALVES, FROM MANUFACTURER. HAD TO HAVE ALL INTAKE VALVES REPLACED, WITH MODIFIED/UPGRADED INTAKE VALVES. OBTAINED PO300 - RANDOM MISFIRE CODES, HAD ROUGH IDLE, CHECKED ENGINE COMPRESSION, HAD 45PSIG IN CYLINDER NUMBER 4. ENGINE HAD 72862MILES, ON IT, THIS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY BY SAAB/GM.

MY VEHICLE DOESN'T START/IDLE WELL IN THE COLD DUE TO THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD BOLTS SLOWLY BECOMING LOOSE. **WHEN DRIVING AND SHIFTING** THE VEHICLE CANNOT HANDLE THE EXTRA UNCLEAN AIR ENTERING THE SYSTEM AND WILL STALL OUT WHILE GOING ANYWHERES FROM 0-60+ MPH, ONCE THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF ALL POWER STEERING ALSO SHUTS DOWN. THE SECONDARY ISSUE IS AN ACCELERATION PROBLEM BECAUSE THE SEALS ON THE AIR INTAKE VALVES INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER HAVE BECOME FAULTY RESULTING IN CYLINDER MISFIRES AND A HIGH AMOUNT OF VIBRATION INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING, THE SYMPTOMS COME AND GO WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY AS TIME GOES ON. THIS SECONDARY ISSUE TIES INTO THE FIRST ISSUE BECAUSE OF SHIFTING WITH A STANDARD MY VEHICLE TODAY (12/3/2020) SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING 7 TIMES TO AND FROM MY JOB.

I BROUGHT MY 08 SAAB 9-3 TO A SHOP FOR A COMPRESSION TEST CAUSE IT KEPT STALLING WHEN I WOULD GO TO START IT, IT'S AN AUTOMATIC. I WAS TOLD MY INTAKE VALVES WERE WEARING DOWN AND IT'S DUE TO GMS FAULTY VALVES. YESTERDAY MY CAR STARTED TICKING WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND I LOST ALMOST ALL MY POWER, COME TO FIND OUT MY VALVES WERE ABOUT TO SNAP. NOW I'M MAKING PAYMENTS ON A CAR I CAN'T DRIVE AND GM REFUSES TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE CASES OF THIS HAPPENING TO 08-10 SAAB 9-3 WITH THE GM FACTORY VALVES. *TR

EXPERIENCED HARD STARTING IN COLD WEATHER IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THE PAST FEW YEARS. DID RESEARCH AND FOUND A TSB REGARDING THE INTAKE VALVES FOR 2.0 ECOTEC 4 CYLINDER. HAD A COMPRESSION TEST FOLLOWING SEVERAL CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS AND MULTIPLE READINGS DIAGNOSE A P0300 ENGINE CODE . COLD AND WARM COMPRESSION TEST SHOWED CYLINDER 2 COMPRESSION WELL OUT OF SPECIFICATION. DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. QUOTED $4000 FOR ENGINE REBUILD.

VEHICLE EXHIBITS ALL SIGNS OF PREMATURE INTAKE VALVE WEAR CAUSING LOSS OF COMPRESSION AND/OR HARD START/NO START WHEN AMBIENT AIR TEMP IS BELOW 40 DEGREES. SEE ALL PREVIOUS COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME ISSUE!

JUST PURCHASE VEHICLE FROM A FRIEND 2008 SAAB 9-3 2.0T CONVERTIBLE . WHEN I FIRST START UP THE VEHICLE (IT IS NOW COLD OUTSIDE) THE ENGINE IS RUNNING RUFF UNTIL IT WARMS UP. I UNDERSTAND MANY OTHER SAAB 2008 OWNERS HAVE THE SAME COMPLAINT AND HAVE READ THAT THE INTAKE VALUES USED BY GM ARE FAULTY.

ROUGH IDLE AND START ON COLD STARTS. THIS ISSUE IS WELL KNOWN IN THE SAAB COMMUNITY DUE TO GM PUTTING WEAK MATERIAL IN FACTORY FUEL INJECTOR VALVES. ENGINE LOSES COMPRESSION UNTIL CAR IS WARM, BUT MAY RESULT IN STALLS OR LIMP MODE

CAR STRUGGLED TO START WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW 40 DEGREES. AFTER A NUMBER OF TRIPS TO THE SHOP THAT MAINTAINS MY CAR THEY RESEARCHED ONLINE THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR SAAB WITH THIS ENGINE AND GM ISN'T WILLING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. PLEASE DO SOMETHING!

WE OWN A 2008 9-3 SAAB THAT HAS APPROXIMATELY 120,000 MILES ON IT. WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE (50 DEGREES AND BELOW), OUR CAR STARTS VERY ROUGHLY AFTER 2-3+ MINUTES OF CONTINUOUS CRANKING. ONCE THE CAR STARTS AND HAS WARMED UP, IT RUNS QUITE SMOOTHLY. HOWEVER, IT CURRENTLY ISN'T STARTING AT ALL NOW AND IS IN THE SHOP. WE HAVE BEEN DOING RESEARCH ONLINE TO SEE IF THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AMONG OTHER 2008 SAAB OWNERS. SO FAR WE HAVE SEEN A LARGE AMOUNT OF OTHER OWNERS OF 2008 SAABS EXPRESSING THE SAME CONCERNS/PROBLEMS AND HAVE EXPERIENCED A $2,00-$3,000 EXPENSE TO FIX IT. OUR DIAGNOSIS IS THAT THERE ISN'T ANY COMPRESSION AND IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE LOWER INTAKE VALVES ARE FAULTY AND WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR AN ESTIMATED COST OF $2,000-$3,000. I HAVE CONTACTED GM AND AM AWAITING THEIR RESPONSE AS TO WHETHER THERE ARE ENOUGH OTHER COMPLAINTS TO WARRANT A RECALL OR RECEIVE ANY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO COMPLETE THE REPAIRS. IT APPEARS THAT THE ORIGINAL GM PARTS ARE FAULTY AND BECOME WORN, WHICH RESULTS IN DIFFICULTY IN COLDER TEMPERATURES. WE PREVIOUSLY OWNED A 2003 SAAB, WHICH WAS BUILT BY SAAB, AND WE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY OF THESE SAID PROBLEMS.

HARD STARTING COLD WITH ENGINE MISFIRE AND LOW COMPRESSION, VEHICLE STARTS AND RUNS NORMALLY WHEN HOT 2007-11 9-3 B207 & 2011 9-5 A20NFT ______________________________________________ THIS IS A RE-ISSUE OF A PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED DOCUMENT WITH UPDATED INFORMATION HIGHLIGHTED INRED. MODELS: 2007-2008 SAAB 9-3 B207R (THIS PI DOES NOT APPLY TO THE B284 ENGINE) UPDATE: THIS CONDITION COULD ALSO OCCUR ON 2009-11 B207 OR 2011 9-5 A20NFT CONDITION/CONCERN: A TECHNICIAN MAY COMMENT OF HARD OR NO STARTING WHEN COLD. THEY MAY ALSO FIND ENGINE MISFIRES WITH DTC'S P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303 OR P0304. THE VEHICLE WILL START AND RUN NORMALLY WHEN HOT. RECOMMENDATIONS/INSTRUCTIONS: THIS CONDITION MAY BE CAUSED BY A WORN INTAKE VALVE AND IS TYPICALLY FOUND ON VEHICLES WITH 50,000 OR MORE MILES. DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS ISSUE IT CAN BE MORE FREQUENT IN COLD CLIMATES AND COULD EXHIBIT THE CONDITION AT A LOWER MILEAGE; INVERSELY IN WARMER CLIMATES IT MAY OCCUR AT A HIGHER MILEAGE. TAC HAS FOUND INTAKE VALVE WEAR OF THE VALVE SEAT FACE WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT COMPRESSION LOSS IN COLD TEMPERATURES THAT WILL NOT BE READILY APPARENT WHEN HOT. TO PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THIS CONDITION PERFORM A COLD (AFTER AN OVERNIGHT STAY IS BEST) COMPRESSION AND LEAK DOWN TEST. AS AN EXAMPLE, AN ENGINE WITH A 150-175 PSI HOT CRANKING COMPRESSION READING MAY ONLY SHOW 75 TO 90 PSI WHEN COLD. ONCE A TECHNICIAN HAS DETERMINED HE HAS THE ABOVE DESCRIBED CONCERN HE MUST INITIATE A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER (TAC) CASE BY EMAIL AT XXXX OR BY PHONE AT XXXXX PROMPT #3. TAC WILL PROVIDE THE FULL INFORMATION ON THE PARTS/REPAIR PROCEDURE WHEN THE CASE IS SET. PARTS REQUIRED: INLET VALVE 2007 TO 2011, BIOPOWER 55563529 (8 REQUIRED)

AS IS THE CASE WITH MANY OTHER SAAB 9-3 BUILT AFTER 2006, MY DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT RECENTLY IDENTIFIED A PROBLEM WITH THE INTAKE VALVES IN MY VEHICLES ENGINE, WHICH HAS EXPERIENCED PREMATURE FAILURE AT 77,000 MILES. OTHER POSTINGS ON LINE LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS MAJOR ISSUE AFFECTING THOUSANDS OF THESE VEHICLES BUILT BY GM IN YEARS 2007 AND LATER. THE CAUSE IS WIDELY KNOWN AND IS A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT RESULTING IN FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE TO START IN COLD WEATHER. THE FIX REQUIRED IS A REPLACEMENT OF ALL OF THE ENGINE INTAKE VALVES. THIS IS COSTLY FIX IN THE RANGE OF $3,000 PER VEHICLE. WHETHER GM KNEW IT WAS USING INFERIOR PARTS PRONE TO FAILURE OR NOT, THEY ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE AND SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO PERFORM THE REPAIRS AT THEIR COST, OR TO AT A MINIMUM PARTICIPATE IN SOME WAY IN THE COST OF THE REPAIRS.

CAR STARTS AND SHUTS OFF.

REACHED 100K MILES, AND CAR BEGAN RUNNING VERY ROUGH. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND DIAGNOSED AS BAD IGNITION COIL. PAID FOR TUNE-UP, IGNITION COIL, AND AND FUEL SERVICE. LESS THAN A MONTH LATER, SAME ISSUE. CAR RUNNING FINE, THEN SUDDENLY ALMOST STALLS AND ENGINE LIGHT BLINKS THEN STAYS ON - CAR RUNS VERY ROUGH AT IDLE AND ACCELERATION. REPLACED 2 MORE COILS. LESS THAN ONE MONTH ISSUE, SAME ISSUE - CAR RUNNING OK, THEN JUST ALMOST STALLS AND RUNS ROUGH - ENGINE LIGHT BLINKS THEN STAYS ON - RELACED #5 COIL. WHEN DIAGNOSING, SERVICE TECH ADVISED THAT ISSUE WAS LIKELY WORSE, NOT MAINTAINING COMPRESSION - LIKELY REQUIRED VALVE JOB. HAVE ALREADY PAID SEVERAL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON IGNITION COILS AND OTHER SERVICE TO DEALERSHIP FOR THIS ISSUE, NOW FACING LARGE BILL FOR VALVE JOB.

I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH MY CAR FOR A WHILE NOW AND COULDN'T FIGUREOUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. WHEN STARTED FROM A COLD START WOULD TAKE 2 OR 3 TIMES TO GET THE CAR RUNNING IT WOULD STALL OUT AND RUN REALLY ROUGH. AFTER A NUMBER OF TRIPS TO THE SHOP THAT MAINTAINS MY CAR THEY RESEARCHED ONLINE THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR SAABS WITH THIS ENGINE AND GM ISN'T WILLING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I HAD TO SPEND JUST UNDER 2000.00 TO GET THIS ISSUE FIXED. I SEE THERE ARE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE POSTING ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM THE INTAKE VALVE ISSUE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH GM SUPPLIED INTAVE VALVES ON 2007-20011 SAABS WITH THE B207 MOTOR.

INTAKE VALVE ISSUE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH GM SUPPLIED INTAVE VALVES ON 2007-20011 SAABS WITH THE B207 MOTOR. CAR STRUGGLED TO START WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW 40 DEGREES. WHEN IT FINALLY STARTED, THE CAR IDLED ROUGHLY. IN ADDITION CAR STALLED A COUPLE OF TIMES WHILE BEING DRIVEN ON THE HIGHWAY. TOOK IT TO THE SERVICE CENTER AND THEY PERFORMED A COLD BLOCK COMPRESSION TEST. VALUES WERE WELL BELOW 100 ON 2 OF THE VALVES. THE OTHER TWO TESTED ABOUT 20% BELOW NORMAL. 66K MILES, SERVICED REGULARLY, AND PREMIUM FUEL WAS USED EXCLUSIVELY. ALSO, SOUTHERN CARE FROM DAY 1.

THE VALVES ON THESE CARS ARE DEFECTIVE AND START FAILING AROUND 60K MILES. THIS IS A WIDELY KNOW ISSUE AFFECTING THE 2008 SAAB 9-3 2.0L ENGINES. GM NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE REPAIRS GIVEN THE KNOWN MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. CAR WILL NOT START WHEN COLD AND THERE IS NOTHING THE DEALER CAN DO OTHER THAN PERFORM A MAJOR VALVE JOB (+$2300) => HTTPS://WWW.SAABCENTRAL.COM/THREADS/08-SAAB-COLD-START-ROUGH-IDLE.327778/

I HAVE WHAT I'VE SEARCHED IS THE "COLD START PROBLEM". WHEN STARTING THE ENGINE IN COLD WEATHER, IT TAKES IT A TRY OR TWO TO START, BUT UPON IGNITION, IT SPUTTERS FOR A MINUTE OR TWO AND ONCE IT WARMS, IT RUNS PERFECTLY FINE. FROM READING REVIEWS ONLINE, IT SOUNDS LIKE MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THIS AND IT IS THE RESULT OF THE VALVES GOING BAD, MEANING I NEED A WHOLE NEW REBUILD DONE. CAR ONLY HAS 127K MILES ON IT AND IS IN MINT CONDITION. PER THE NUMBER OF CASES I'VE READ ONLINE ABOUT THIS, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE '07-'08 MODELS WERE THE ONE'S THAT WERE DEFECTIVE IN MY CASE. BOUGHT THE CAR RECENTLY FROM A FRIEND WHO THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A FUEL PUMP ISSUE NEEDING TO BE REPLACED, WHICH I'D PAY THE FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THAT, NO PROBLEM. BUT NOW LOOKING AT CLOSE TO $3,000 TO HAVE FIXED??

I HAVE OWNED MY 2008 SAAB 9-3 FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW AND I HAVE HAD AN ONGOING ROUGH RUNNING ISSUE THAT SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE. WHEN I START MY CAR UP IN THE MORNING IT RUNS VERY ROUGH AND RECENTLY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN TURNING ON AND OFF WITH CYLINDER MISFIRE CODES. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND HAD THIS PROBLEM DIAGNOSED, SEVERAL TIMES, AS HAVING BAD INTAKE VALVES. AFTER DOING MORE RESEARCH ON THIS PROBLEM, I HAVE COME TO FIND THIS IS A RATHER COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS SPECIFIC YEAR MAKE AND MODEL. THIS IS CONCERNING BECAUSE I HAVE HAD THIS REPAIR QUOTED AT OVER $2000.00. I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH MANUFACTURER RECALLS AND HAVE BEEN TOLD BY MULTIPLE DEALERSHIPS TO SUBMIT A COMPLAINT IN ORDER FOR THIS PROBLEM TO BE COVERED UNDER A MANUFACTURER RECALL DUE TO FAULTY PARTS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING AT 55 MILES PER HOUR ON THE LODGE FREEWAY IN METRO DETROIT, I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE AND THERE IS NO EMERGENCY LANE ON THE LEFT, AND MY ENGINE TURNED OFF ON ITSELF (SCARY!). AS WE ARE AWARE, BRAKES PRETTY MUCH STOP WORKING WHEN THE ENGINE IS OFF AND I WAS DRIVING WITH 55 MPH WITH MANY VEHICLES AROUND ME. I MANAGED TO PULL OVER TO THE RIGHT WITHOUT GETTING HIT. WHEN I STOPPED, I TRIED TO START THE CAR, IT WOULD START FOR 5 SECONDS AND IT WILL STALL AND I HAD ABOUT 10 GALLONS OF GASOLINE IN THE TANK. I HAD TO GET THE VEHICLES TOWED TO MY HOUSE. NEXT DAY I STARTED READING THE BLOGS ONLINE TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE TO STALL LIKE THAT WITHOUT ANY WARNINGS, ESPECIALLY ONE IS GOING AT HIGHWAY SPEED. IT TURNED SAME THING HAPPENED TO A LOT OF SAAB OWNERS AS WELL - ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT ANY WARNINGS WHEN THEY WERE DRIVING. I HOOKED UP THE VEHICLES TO A DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER AND IT SHOWED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR STOPPED WORKING. IF THERE ARE OTHER SAAB OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS, WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING TO PREVENT ANY INJURIES - HAPPY TO DISCUSS IT WITH ANYBODY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SAAB 9-3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE OVERHEATED AND STALLED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE EXTENSION TANK WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES. THE INNER HOSE DETACHED INTERNALLY AND THE DEALER PROVIDED NO SOLUTION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED NO REMEDY. THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN IF THE PART WAS REPLACED A FOURTH TIME AND IF THE FAILURE WOULD RECUR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.