154 Starting and driving Driving in a low gear results in higher fuel
consumption than in a high gear because
of the lower engine speed for a given road
speed. Always change up to a higher gear
as soon as traffic conditions allow and use
the highest gear as much as possible.
Check the air pressure in the tires once a
month. Incorrect pressures increase tire
wear. It is better to have slightly higher
pressure than lower.
Check fuel consumption regularly.
Increased consumption can indicate that
something is wrong and that the car
needs to be checked by an authorized
Saab dealer.
Practical tests on the roads have demon-
strated that substantial savings in fuel con-
sumption can be made if the above advice
is heeded.Road conditions Wet roads increase fuel consumption, as do
unpaved roads and driving in hilly country
(the amount of fuel saved driving downhill is
less than the additional amount required to
climb the hill).
Engine block heater (standard
equipment in Canada, accessory in
U.S.)The following are just some of the benefits
to the car and the environment of using an
engine block heater:
Lower fuel consumption.
Reduced wear on the engine.
Inside of car warms up faster.
Exhaust emissions substantially reduced
over short runs.
The engine block heater is effective with
outside temperatures up to +60 – +70°F
(+15 – +20°C). The warmer it is outside, the
shorter the time the heater need be con-
nected. Longer than 1.5 hours is unneces-
sary.
If the car is equipped with a removable elec-
trical cabin heater that is not in use, this
should be stored in the luggage compart-
ment.
Driving in cold weatherBefore starting a journey in cold weather
you should check the following:
That the wiper blades have not become
frozen to the windshield/glass.
Brush any snow away from the air intake
for the heater system (opening between
hood and windshield).
It may be advisable to lubricate the
door-lock cylinder (use molybdenum
disulphide, MoS
2) to prevent its freezing.
If the lock has frozen, take care not to
break the key (or use the remote control)
– heat it first or spray it with de-icer.
Periodically during the winter, add gaso-
line anti-freeze to the fuel to dispel any
condensation in the fuel tank which could
freeze and cause problems in the system.
Keep the tank well filled to reduce the risk
of condensation forming.
If the car is parked outside in freezing
weather, fuel additives (gasoline
anti-freeze) will not do any good as it
cannot remove water that has already fro-
zen. Park the car in a warm place so that
any ice that may have built up melts, then
add gasoline anti-freeze when filling up
the tank. Condensation is caused by
changes in the outdoor temperature or by
the car being parked alternately in a
garage and outside.
It is particularly important when the roads
are slippery that the brakes and tires be in
good condition.
ProCarManuals.com
159 Starting and driving
Installing the roof carriers (acces-
sory) The carrier feet are marked with a top view
of the car and an arrow indicating their
positions.
1 Slip the plastic cover onto the adjustable
foot of the carrier (the foot with a knob for
tightening) to protect the paintwork
during assembly.
2 Open all the doors.
Fold back the rubber strip and locate the
fixing holes. On Coupés, the cover
plates for the rearmost points of attach-
ment must be removed.
3 Position the carrier gently across the
roof, with the rigid foot towards you. Hold
the foot clear of the roof to avoid damag-
ing the paintwork.
4 Fold back the rubber strip and insert the
pins of the foot into the fixing holes. In fit-
ting the rear carrier on Coupés, press
the foot down over the pins in the mount-
ing and slide it forward.
5 Carefully close the doors on this side, so
as to hold the feet in place.
6 Move to the other side of the car and
remove the plastic cover from the
adjustable foot. Fold back the rubber
strip and insert the pins of the foot into
the fixing holes.7 When fitting the rear carrier on Coupés,
press the foot down over the pins in the
mounting and slide it forward.
8 Make the carrier hand-tight by turning
the knob clockwise.
IB882
IB883
Mounting holes for load carrier, front on
Coupés and front/rear on five-door mod-
els Carrier mounting, rear, on Coupés
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183 Car care
Front fog light / cornering lights1 Slightly turn the bulb holder counter-
clockwise.
2 Unplug the connector.
3 Remove the bulb.
Stop lights, taillights and direction
indicators 1 Open the door in the trunk upholstery.
2 Press aside the plastic tab that secures
the bulb holder.
3 Carefully pull the entire bulb holder out
of the lamp unit. Replace the dead bulb.
4 When the bulb holder is being refitted,
check that its plastic catches snap into
place.
WARNING
Never crawl under a car that is
supported only by a jack use axle stands;
for further information about jacking up
the car, see page 197.
IB1127
1
2
IB955
Rear light clusters 1 Direction indicators
2 Tail lights/stop lights
3 Reversing lights
4 Rear fog light
5 High-mounted stop light
IB907
Front fog lights and cornering lights1 Front fog light
2 Cornering light
ProCarManuals.com
188 Car careMAXI fusesThe MAXI fuses are housed in the fuse box
under the hood. These fuses can be
checked in the same way as the other fuses.
The MAXI fuses are designed to protect the
car’s electrical system from being dam-
aged. Each MAXI fuse protects a number of
electrical circuits and functions and there-
fore has a higher rating (amperage) than the
standard fuses. No spare MAXI fuses are
supplied with the car.
DICE / TWICEDICE = Dashboard Integrated Central Elec-
tronics
TWICE = Theft-Warning Central Electronics
DICE and TWICE are electronic control
modules.
DICE controls, among other things:
Front lights and interior lighting.
Instrument illumination.
Intermittent wiper operation.
Electric heating of rear window and door
mirrors.
TWICE controls, among other things:
Central locking.
Car alarm (Anti-theft system).
Engine immobilizer.
Auto checking of lights.
Electric heating of rear seat.
Safety belt reminder.
Electrically adjustable passenger seat.The DICE and TWICE control modules are
linked to a data bus, which is basically an
information carrier that allows information to
be exchanged between all the control mod-
ules and components connected to the bus.
If a fault occurs in any of these components,
diagnostic faults codes are set in the rele-
vant control module, which enhances fault
diagnosis at the Saab dealer.
The scan tool connector for fault diagnosis
is located under the instrument panel on the
drivers side.
NOTEIf a MAXI fuse blows, it means that there
is a major fault in the electrical system.
Have the car checked without delay by an
authorized Saab dealer.
IB920
MAXI fuse for soft-top system
(Convertible)
ProCarManuals.com
218 Maintenance and owner assistance
Service Intervals **
Miles = U.S. Cars
Kilometers = Canadian Cars
1,000
(1,600 km)
10,000
(16,000 km)
20,000
(32,000 km)
30,000
(48,000 km)
40,000
(64,000 km)
50,000
(80,000 km)
60,000
(96,000 km)
70,000
(112,000 km)
80,000
(128,000 km)
90,000
(144,000 km)
100,000
(160,000 km)
Service #
1234567891011
Chassis (cont.)
RToe-in"""
R Cabin air filter!!!!!
R Door hinges, stops and locks##########
R Removable towbar###########
R Airbag system, SRS warning lamp, visual inspection"""""""""""
R Safety belts; operation and visual inspection of belt for
tears and fraying"""""""""""
R Wiper blades"""""""""""
R Washer system: check and top-up"""""""""""
R Reset service indicator"""""""""""
Customer programming
R Carry out systems programming per customer request"
Road test
R Check performance of drive train, steering and brakes
and verify tire balance.
Check function of instruments and controls, including
horn, windshield wipers, cruise control and climate sys-
tem.
Note any noises or problems for correction."""""""""""
ProCarManuals.com
226 Technical dataManual transmission
Automatic transmissionSuspension
SteeringType _____________________________ 5-speed, fully
synchronized with
final-drive gear and
differential
Oil type (for topping-up) ______________ Saab synthetic man-
ual gearbox oil
Oil capacity ________________________ 1.8 qts. (1.8 l)
Speed (mph/km/h) at 1000 rpm in 5th gear 26/42
Type _____________________________ Electronically con-
trolled 4-speed with
torque converter
and differential
Gear selector positions ______________ P R N D 3 2 1
Oil quantity, total ____________________ 7.4 qts. (7.2 litres)
Oil volume (on changing) _____________ 3.4 qts. (3.25 litres)
Oil type ___________________________ Texaco Texamatic
Dexron III, mineral
oil based
Clutch type ________________________ Hydraulically-oper-
ated plate clutches,
brake bands and
one-way clutches
Speed (mph/km/h) at 1000 rpm in 4th gear 25/40Spring type, front and rear ____________ Coil springs
Maximum deflection of springs:
front, Coupé/5-door/Convertible _______ 6.4" (163 mm)
front, Viggen ______________________ 6.5” (165 mm)
rear, Coupé/5-door/Convertible _______ 8.3" (212 mm)
rear, Viggen ______________________ 7.9” (200 mm)
Dampers, front and rear ______________ Gas-filled tele-
scopic shock
absorbers
Steering __________________________ Power-assisted
steering gear of
rack-and-pinion
type with tele-
scopic, universal
joint steering- col-
umn shaft
Number of turns, lock to lock __________ 3.0
Oil type ___________________________ Power Steering
Fluid CHF 11S
ProCarManuals.com
231 Technical data
Several of the systems in your Saab
car may be adjusted to better fit your
individual needsSome functions are governed by legal
requirements and cannot therefore be
reprogrammed.
Consult an authorized Saab dealer for fur-
ther information.
Car alarm/central locking system:
The level of the siren when locking/
unlocking, HIGH or LOW.
The number of blinks when locking/
unlocking, 1 to 7.
Automatic locking of the trunk when the
car is driven, 1 to 8 mph (2-14 km/h), YES
or NO.
Preclude the unlocking of the trunk while
the car is driven, YES or NO.
Automatic locking of the trunk after
1 second-4 minutes if it has not been
opened, YES or NO.
Automatic locking of the trunk when it is
closed, YES or NO.Automatic climate control (ACC):
Indoor temperature can be
increased/decreased relative to the
selected temperature.
Delayed start of fan after starting the car,
to reduce risk of fogging windshield.
Temperature at which the defroster mode
is automatically selected.
Response time for the fan speed when
the selected temperature is changed.
Temperature at which the air distribution
switches from defrost mode to
defrost/floor mode.
Last manual selection will be selected the
next time the car is started.Saab Information Display (SID):
Outdoor temperature display can be
adjusted.
Days remaining to next service can be
activated/counted or not.
Delete “Test Brake Light“ message on
SID at start-up.
Miscellaneous:
Select the on-time for heated rear seat.
Coolant temperature gauge adjustment
can be increased/decreased.
Fuel level gauge adjustment can be
increased/decreased.
Additional sweep of the wipers after wind-
shield washer function (ON or OFF).
Follow me home on-time can vary from 20
to 50 seconds.
Night panel illumination deactivation
speed for the speedometer can be
adjusted.
ProCarManuals.com
233 Index
Index
AA/C system, fault diagnosis
_______ 207
A/C system, maintenance
_________ 207
ACC
__________________________ 80
ACC, useful tips
_________________ 88
Adjustment, steering wheel
________ 118
Air conditioning (A/C),
fault diagnosis and maintenance
__ 207
Airbag
_________________________ 22
Alarm _________________________ 35
Alarm functions
__________________ 38
Alarm signals
___________________ 38
Anticorrosion treatment
___________ 203
Anti-theft safety, alarm ____________ 35
Ashtray
_______________________ 123
Audio System
___________________ 90
Automatic climate control (ACC)
_____ 80
Automatic transmission
___________ 141
BBattery
_______________________ 177
Boost starting from donor battery
___ 162
Brake fluid, check
_______________ 176
Brake fluid, grade _______________ 227
Brake pad wear indicators
________ 176
Brakes
________________________ 149Braking
_______________________ 149
Bulb table _____________________ 186
CCD changer
____________________ 101
CD player
______________________ 99
CHECK messages
____________ 63
, 68
CHECKING
__________________ 63
, 68
Cabin lighting
__________________ 121
Calibration, ACC _________________ 86
Car alarm
______________________ 35
Car phone, installation
___________ 109
Cassette player
__________________ 96
Center console compartment
______ 123
Central locking
__________________ 30
Change of address notification
_____ 214
Changing a wheel
_______________ 196
Changing bulbs
_________________ 181
Changing the coolant
____________ 175
Changing the engine oil __________ 173
Changing wiper blades
___________ 179
Chassis number
________________ 229
Child car seats
__________________ 18
Child safety
_____________________ 18
Child safety locks, rear doors
_______ 33
Child seats
_____________________ 18
Cigar lighter ____________________ 123
Cleaning the soft top
______________ 51
Climate-control system, manual
_____ 76
Clock
__________________________ 69Condensation water, A/C
__________ 78
Condensation water, ACC __________ 81
Convertible
_____________________ 42
Coolant
_______________________ 174
Courtesy Headlight Feature
________ 72
Cruise Control
__________________ 148
Cup holder
_____________________ 122
DDICE/TWICE
___________________ 188
Date code, tires _________________ 195
Dim low beam
___________________ 71
Dimmer
________________________ 74
Direction indicators
_______________ 72
Direction-indicator stalk
____________ 72
Dome lighting
__________________ 121
Door mirrors
___________________ 124
Drive belt
______________________ 179
Driving in deep water
_____________ 166
Driving in hot weather ____________ 156
Driving technique
________________ 153
Driving with a compact spare wheel
_ 165
Driving with a roof load
___________ 158
Driving with the trunk lid open
______ 166
EEconomical motoring
_____________ 153
Electrical system, technical data
____ 225
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