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My 2005 9-3 1.9 TiD Vector Sport

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2005 sport
37K views 105 replies 7 participants last post by  pandp 
#1 ·
Just recently bought this. As some of you will know its come with a few issues, I won't list them because it depresses me

I'm determined to make this perfect


 
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#2 ·
Reasonable looking car for a ten year old and black too, my favourite colour. I've owned black cars since the mid 90's, won't have any other colour.

Scottish registered I see, Glasgow area, made it's way down to Essex. I'm wondering if it was originally supplied by Western Saab, Glasgow. Might be interesting to see if they did supply it and if they have any registered history for it. http://www.easternwestern.co.uk/saab/

If you do decide to get it into Chelmsford Saab, it'd be nice to know what they find on Tech, hopefully not too many issues. I hope you sort things.
 
#3 ·
Cheers caddyman. I'll keep my posts updated with any findings.

I have owned many cars, none of them black but always wanted a black car. Now I have one, just needs a bit of sorting out. Bodywork and interior are very good for the age. Just ordered another heater control as I was looking to change the faded buttons, £70 for the buttons or £48 for the control unit in superb condition. I get new heated seat switches too so I can rule the switch out if they still don't work.
 
#4 ·
Very nice car pandp , and Black I think is the Brest Colour . and your lucky you have the heated seat option . that's the only thing with mine with the leather seats my back side is very cold at the moment .
At least caddyman was very helpful finding you a garage local to you that dose saabs .get it in there and they will! Be able to sort it out .
 
#5 ·
Yeah, heated seats, chuffed to bits I have them in mine, especially on freezing cold mornings! That leather can get blinking cold lol!

As for the Saab garage, yes, hopefully they're a good lot and will help sort any issues. My work colleague whose ECU was recently replaced, had been putting up with niggly electrical problems for months until the car just died. With little hope of wondering how he was going to sort it, he did seriously consider scrapping the car. I pointed him to a Saab independent just a few miles from where he lives, which like you pandp, he had no idea was so close to him. The car was sorted and back on the road within 48 hours, recon ECU, all electrics sorted and car runs sweet. It cost him £400, but a damn sight cheaper than buying a replacement car. It's amazing what taking the car to a Saab Master Technician with a proper interest in what they do and the expertise to match, can achieve over taking it to garage with limited knowledge and non specific tech equipment. I'm not saying all other garages/mechanics don't know what they're doing, I'm just saying when you're trying to figure out umpteen different makes of car on a daily basis, the likelihood is, the mechanic will neither have the time or the relevant knowledge to deal with specific marque problems.

I look forward to the updates!
 
#6 ·
I'd be happier if the seats worked lizzard, another problem to sort.

Cheers for all the help guys. I got a call back from my local garage today as I was awaiting a price for cambelt, water pump, thermostat etc. Been quoted £385 which I think is reasonable. At least it will put my mind at rest with regards to the cambelt.
 
#7 ·
Okay I'm trying to remain positive. On my way home just now I glanced at the speedo showing 90mph but I was barely doing 50. Stationary my speedo shows 30 mph so not only has my rev counter gone off the scale, the speedo has decided to join it. What next?
 
#10 ·
Well to try to make you feel better since I brought the car in November . booed it in for MOT . it failed on 1 spring broken . 1 antirol bar link shot . 1 steering rack end . so had the whole front suspension replaced to keep things equal .
Then the temperature gauge started to go into the red and stay there !.even with car turned off ( like yours ) .
And now when I first start the car from cold there's a "cracking " sound from around the alternator aera .( so now I either require a new alternator or the tensioner ) .
So at the mo , I'm begging to wonder " what next " .
But I know that if I were to give up and sell ,I would not achieve a good return . and if I were to buy something else I could be buying a whole heap of truble .
I know what's wrong and with a bit of money it will be put right .and it will go on for years .
And also annoying is the fact that I can look past its faults , and it is a mighty fine car .
So don't dispair .
 
#11 ·
I'm the same as you lizzard, I'm determined in sorting this rather than putting money into another car that could be just as problematic. Like you I'll sort it. It's booked in for the cambelt etc on Wednesday, Saturday diagnostics and to discuss the egr. Been reading up on this and quite a lot of companies that offer mapping also offer the service to delete the egr. The Saab guys will be best to discuss this with and I'll make my mind up then.

On the plus side, I have my new heater unit, to fit tomorrow. I have fitted my new Saab boot badge and sport badge and I have also fitted my new mirror switch so I can now adjust my mirrors. Also my obd2 scanner arrived so new toy. It's still going in to Saab regardless on Saturday.
 
#12 ·
Just a small update. Fitted my new heater control unit, looks much better than the other. Connected my obd2 scanner and I got two stored issues, one was the egr which I knew was on there and the other was glow plug circuit a. Before I bought the Saab the previous owner had to have the glow plug relay replaced so that's probably that error. I disconnected my negative lead whilst I investigated the egr and after connecting it back, all my dials have returned to normal, very happy. The first thing I noticed with the egr is the connector, whoever disconnected it failed to see how you remove the plug and its been ripped out, means it does not click into place but seems to hold. Is it possible to buy a new plug for the egr?
 
#13 ·
Gladd you're having a better day! Concerning the EGR plug, I'm assuming you're talking about the part that actually plugs into the EGR......mmmm, if it's that damaged, it might need a new plug end fitting and I'm not sure how difficult that is. Your visit to the Saab garage next week, well they'll undoubtedly let you know if it can be sorted easily or not.

As for your booked visit to the Saab garage next Saturday, I realise you've disconnected the negative lead and all seems 'normal' at the moment, but it would still be good to know how things are going on 'deeper' if you will. The code reader you bought will only read certain stuff anyway, whereas Tech 2 will give a much clearer indication of how things are. It could be too that there might be software updates that need applying to your car that haven't been done before and the Saab Tech will be able to do that for you if needed. Let us know how it goes.
 
#15 ·
As for the dials going wiggly on you . I don't know if I told you to do that in your first post or not . but when my temperature gauge goes off the scale I just disconnect battery and hay presto all back to normal . I know what mine requires ( a dash panel ) but for 5 minutes work and a 10 mm spanner . it soon rights its self .
 
#16 ·
Yes lizzard I removed the positive after your post. Today I removed the negative whilst working on the car. I think it's just coincidence that it corrected itself.

Just ordered a new egr, mine is possibly okay but its majorly caked up. When the new one comes I'll swap them over and give the old one a good clean up. I'll then have a spare should I need one.
 
#17 ·
£402 later and new cambelt, water pump etc. Also had new thermostat and whilst they were there they replaced the alternator belt.

On the way home I pulled off the bypass and whilst queueing in traffic I noticed lots of smoke pile out from what looked like under the car. When I set off lots of smoke and a horrible smell in the cabin. Pulled over to check and nothing. I'm guessing that was the dpf regenerating? A light should come on on the dash as I near **** myself when I saw the smoke.

Anyone done the gearshift mod? I found a shop, x8r that sell repair kits for repairing the gear shift and a few other mods for common issues with the 9-3. Mine gets a little awkward finding the gears, 2nd to 3rd, 4th to 5th, feels a bit stiff. Just wondered if anyone had done this mod.

My new egr valve arrived from neo Bros so that's going on this weekend.
 
#18 ·
Well I'm just waiting for my week off so I can get this to Chelmsford Saab. I'm annoyed I am getting issues and its costing me but I have already spent on it so I need it sorting.

Since owning it I have spent £700 replacing the cambelt and thermostat. I removed the blanking plate from the EGR and fitted a new EGR. Today I fitted a new glowplug relay as this kept flagging on my obd2 scanner and I have always had the EML on, it is off now. I also replaced the cabin filter as I get strong fumes when sitting in traffic. I have a new set of glow plugs that I will fit at sometime.


My current issues are I keep getting airbag malfunction on the SID, usually when I reverse, it doesn't stay on and its intermittent. My steering wheel controls don't work how they should either, volume up turns the stereo down. I mentioned when I first bought this that the cruise control didn't work, the up and down at the end of the stalk feels broken so I'm thinking this has been tampered with and not put back right. Having read up on these issues, it points towards the CIM which isn't cheap unless I buy used from neo Bros. Hopefully all this will be confirmed after being on tech2.


MOT is due in a couple of months so I'm hoping it doesn't fail too bad. I have heard people replace the suspension on these as the ride can be harsh. What are people replacing? I ask because if anything on the suspension fails at the MOT I'll probably look in to changing it all.
 
#19 ·
Concerning the suspension, I've got rid of all of the factory installed shocks and replaced with Bilstein B4's plus I replaced all four coil springs with standard road springs, genuine Saab springs on the front, Lesjofors brand on the rears. New droplinks too. Ride is tight and cornering is excellent for this size of car. I did all of the work myself as well as buying all of the parts and total cost for everything came to about £500. For me it was worth it as one of my factory fit front shocks was knackered at just 30 odd k miles.
 
#21 ·
With reference to the CIM , and the non functioning sterring wheel controls . It may well be the clock spring , but if you are having tech 2 session that will pic up the fault . If you buy second hand CIM then you require the remotes that come. With that CIM plus tech 2 to re programme . There is a man I used when mine went wayward he knows his saabs and dose reasonable rates .
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAAB-9-3-...e:Saab&hash=item43c357004c:g:KAEAAMXQ2u5Ri48n
If it dose require suspension at some point do as caddyman said , I just had all mine replaced ( Bilstein b4 front and rear and lesjofors springs ) plus drop links , top bearings on front and control arms . About the same price as caddyman . But well worth it .
Going forward with mine , last week the alternator failed ( had crackling sound when cold ) and it got worse and then the battery light came on . So booked it in with this man I use . So he replaced the alternator , plus the tensioner and auxiliary belt , plus he did a full service ( minus cambelt as had been replaced 2 months before ) in total came to £480.00p sounds ok if you say it fast , but I'm a believer that if you are changing one component in one aera then might as well do the whole lot .
 
#22 · (Edited)
Cheers for the link lizzard. Hopefully its not the CIM but I have a feeling it is. With regards to the suspension, did you buy all from one place? The lesjofors, quite a variety, do you have the part number? I have found a few different places for Saab parts but most of my purchases have been from neo Bros. I have just emailed them to see if I can have a run over to them Saturday. They are 40 miles away but they seem to know what they are doing.

Glad you got your sorted mate.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Car is booked to go to Chelmsford Saab Thursday evening so Friday I should know what it needs with regards to airbag light etc.

I thought I'd compile a list of issues(just to depress myself more) and work through them.


Airbag malfunction light on with constant annoying bing
Steering wheel controls don't work
Cruise control +/- switch doesn't work
Heated seats don't work
Annoying rattle from the rear when going over bumps, sounds like something is loose but can't find anything
Knocking/ rattle from engine bay, drivers side when the car is cold, changes when I press the clutch
Crunching gear change from 1st to 2nd unless I do it really slow
Central locking, drivers side back door doesn't always unlock
Very harsh drive from suspension
Strong fumes smell from outside the car and sometimes from inside too. Cabin filter changed but still evidentAlso rev counter goes all the way round and stays there, constant disconnecting the negative terminal to reset


I think that's it for now but quite a list and not what I had hoped for when buying this.


So far I have replaced the glow plug relay, cabin filter, cambelt, water pump, thermostat, egr and heater control unit. Spent around £700 so far.
 
#26 ·
Car is at Chelmsford Saab, just had a call from them and diagnostics show what I feared it would be, the CIM. Anyway it's going to cost around £575. Need it doing and the mech has gone to get the part. I do hope nothing else goes wrong with this car.
 
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