2000 SAAB 9-3 brake

4Exterior Sunroof _______________ 120
Convertible _____________ 42
Washing the car ________ 201
Waxing and polishing ____ 202
Touching-up of paintwork _ 202
Anticorrosion treatment ___ 203
Service program ________ 215Taillights ______________ 183
Stop lights _____________ 183
Light switches ___________ 71
Changing bulbs _________ 181Towing ________________ 160
Towrope attachment eyes _ 160
Towing a trailer _________ 156Trunk lid lock ___________ 125
Lowering the rear seat ____ 125
Trunk _________________ 128
Spare wheel ___________ 130
Tools _________________ 130
Lighting _______________ 183
Driving with a roof rack load ____ 158
Mounting of roof rack __________ 158
Maximum loads ______________ 220
Hood release handle __________ 168
Engine compartment: washing __ 201
Central locking __________ 30
Interior locking buttons ____ 31
Trunk lock ______________ 33
Child safety lock catch ____ 33
Car alarm (Anti-theft alarm) 35Headlight switches _______ 71
High/low beam control stalk 71
Turn signal & lane change
indicators ______________ 72
Headlamp wipers _______ 180
Changing bulbs ________ 181Fuel filler door __________ 138
Refuelling _____________ 138
Fuel grade ____________ 224
Fuel gauge _____________ 61
Fuel economy __________ 153
Tires & Rims _____________ 192 / 227
Driving in cold weather ________ 154
Brakes and braking ___________ 149
Compact spare wheel _________ 195
Changing a wheel ____________ 196
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6Engine bay: turboWarning labels ___________ 7
V.I.N. number __________ 229
Engine number _________ 229
Gearbox number ________ 229
Color coding ___________ 229Ignition system _________ 225
Drive belt ______________ 179
Alternator _____________ 179
Spark plugs ____________ 225
Catalytic converter ______ 137
Simple fault tracing
(A/C, ACC) ____________ 207Turbo-compressor ________ 60
Pressure gauge __________ 60
Important considerations
for driving _____________ 136
Technical data: engine ___ 223Manual transmission __________ 173
Automatic transmission ________ 173
Transmission oil ______________ 173
Gearbox: technical data ________ 226
Battery _____________________ 177
Battery charge _______________ 177
Jump starting ________________ 162IB733
Engine: description ____________ 168
Engine oil, level control
and topping up _______________ 172
Engine oil: changing ___________ 172
Oil grade, viscosity ____________ 223
Washer fluid ___________ 180
Topping up with fluid _____ 180
Washer jets ___________ 180
Wiper/washer control stalk _ 74
Steering servo _______________ 177
Fluid checking
and topping up ______________ 177
Coolant, checking
and topping up ________ 174
Coolant, changing ______ 175
Temperature gauge ______ 60
Driving in hot weather ____ 156
Driving in cold weather ___ 154Fuse panels ___________ 187
Changing a fuse ________ 187
Table of fuses __________ 189
Relays _______________ 191
Brake system ________________ 227
Brake fluid __________________ 176
Brake pads __________________ 176
ABS brakes _________________ 149
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9
WL16
Child lock safety catch Locked.
The door can not be opened
from inside.
IB963
Jack – The jack is designed solely for use in changing a wheel
or fitting snow chains.
– The car must be standing level and the jack must be
positioned on a firm, level surface.
– Never crawl under the car while it is raised on the jack.
USE
1 Apply the parking brake and engage first or reverse
gear; if the car has automatic transmission, select P.
2 Fit the jack at the jacking point nearest to the wheel
that is to be changed.
3 Wind up the jack until the car just begins to lift.
4 If there is a wheel cover, remove it by inserting a
screwdriver behind it and prying it off.
5 Loosen the wheel bolts by half a turn, using the tool
in the toolkit.
6 Wind up the jack so that the wheel clears the ground.
Unscrew all the wheel bolts and take the wheel off.
7 Fit the spare wheel and tighten the wheel bolts
enough for the bolts and wheel to seat correctly.
8 Lower the car. Tighten the wheel bolts in the
sequence shown by the figure.
IB934
Soft top, Saab 9-3
Convertible Push the handle in before
driving away.
There would otherwise be
a risk of injury.
Keep hands away from moving parts of the
convertible top.
Failure to do so may cause personal injury.
Do not raise or lower top with passengers in
the rear seat.
Personal injury may result from head contact
with top.
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13 Safety
Safety-belt pretensionersThe belts of the front seats are fitted with
automatic pretensioners, which are acti-
vated in the event of a severe frontal colli-
sion or very violent rear-end collision. They
serve to reduce the forward movement of
the body by tensioning the belt.
The belt pretensioners do not activate in
less severe frontal collisions, nor to side col-
lisions, or rollovers.
Correct position for safety belt  The lap part of the belt should be pulled
as tightly as comfortable and as low as
possible across the hips, so that it is just
touching the top of the thighs. The shoul-
der belt should be well in on the shoulder
but not touching the neck.
 Check to ensure that the belt is not twisted
or rubbing against any sharp edges.
 There should not be any slack in the belt.
Pull the belt tight – particularly important
when thick outer clothing is worn. Refrain from tilting the backrest more than
necessary, as the safety belt provides
better protection when the seat is in the
more upright position.
 Only one person per safety belt!
 For most of the time a safety belt is worn,
the retractor will allow the wearer freedom
of movement. The retractor locks up auto-
matically if the belt is jerked or withdrawn
sharply, the car tilts, the brakes are
applied hard or a collision occurs.
WARNING
If the car is involved in a collision, the
safety belts, belt pretensioners and other
components must be inspected by an
authorized Saab dealer and replaced as
necessary.
Never make any alterations or repairs to
the safety belt yourself but visit an author-
ized Saab dealer.
WARNING
Proper positioning of the safety belt is
extremely important. An out of position
safety belt can result in the wearer sliding
underneath the belt in a collision (subma-
rining) and injury can result from the lap
portion cutting into the abdomen.
WARNING
If two people share a belt, they risk injury
by being crushed together in the event of
an accident.
IB816
Sit correctly before putting the belt on
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55 Instruments and controls

Warning charging
This light comes on together with if the
battery is not charging. If it comes on while
you are driving, stop the car as soon as pos-
sible and switch off the engine.
Check the alternator drive belt (see page
179). If the belt has broken, the engine may
overheat (cooling system will not function
properly), the belt is slack or broken, battery
charging will be poor and engine cooling
unsatisfactory.
Brake warning light
This light will come on together with if
there is insufficient brake fluid in the reser-
voir, see page 176.
If the ABS warning light is on at the same
time, the ABS system may be inoperative
because of a fault (see anti-lock brake warn-
ing).
Parking brake warning
light
The light will show when the parking brake
is on (see page 151.)
If the car driven with the parking brake on,
will also come on and a chime will
sound.
The parking brake is mechanical and oper-
ates on the rear wheels.
WARNING
Never drive the car when these warning
lights are on. Danger of brake failure!
Have the brake system checked at once
by an authorized Saab dealer.
WARNING
• Always apply the parking brake when
parking
 Always apply the parking brake before
removing the ignition key
 Do not apply the parking brake while
the car is moving (see page 151)
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56 Instruments and controls
Anti-lock brake warning
This light together with and indi-
cates that a fault has occurred in the ABS
system. Conventional braking without the
ABS function will still be available.
For safety reasons, stop the car and check
the level of the brake fluid (see page 176).
If the level is normal, depress the brake
pedal firmly two or three times. Now check
the level again. If the level is still normal, you
may drive the car, with considerable cau-
tion, to the nearest authorized Saab dealer
to have the brake system checked.

Airbag warning light
This light together with will come on if
a potentially serious fault has occurred in
the airbag system.
This light will come on for about three sec-
onds when the ignition switch is turned to
the Start or Drive position. It should go out
after the engine has started.

Indicator, fuel
This light comes on when there is less than
about 2.5 gallons (10 litre) of fuel left in the
tank.
WARNING
 If the ABS is inoperative, there is a
danger of the rear wheels locking up
on hard braking
 If the level of brake fluid in the reser-
voir is below the MIN mark, the car
should be towed to an authorized
Saab dealer
WARNING
 If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start your vehicle, it means
the airbag system may not be working
properly.
 The airbags in your vehicle may not
inflate in a crash, or they could even
inflate without a crash.
 To help avoid injury to yourself or
others, have your vehicle serviced
right away if the airbag readiness light
stays on after you start your vehicle.
NOTEIf the car runs out of fuel, air can have
been drawn in with the fuel, which, in turn,
can cause the catalytic converter to be
damaged by overheating.
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57 Instruments and controls
Central warning light
This light comes on and a chime will sound
if a fault has been detected in any system
that is critical to safety. Any of the following
can activate the central warning light and
alarm:
 Airbag system.
 Low oil pressure in engine.
 Parking brake is on (when car is moving).
 Brake fluid level low.
 Fault detected in ABS system.
 Engine overheating.
 Alternator not charging properly.
The symbol and the chime will also sound if
the ignition key is turned to the ON position
but the engine is not started within 10 sec-
onds.
Cruise Control
indicator light
The symbol is lit when cruise control is
active.
Engine malfunction
(CHECK ENGINE)
This light indicates a malfunction in the
fuel-injection or ignition system. The car
may still be driven with care and with some-
what diminished performance.
SPORT Mode Indicator
On cars with automatic transmission the
indicator light comes on when you press the
SPORT button on the gear-lever knob.
In SPORT mode, the transmission remains
longer in the (D, 3, 2, 1) gears before
upshifting.
Quit Sport mode by again depressing the
SPORT button; see also page 147.
WINTER Mode Indicator
On cars with automatic transmission the
indicator light comes on when, in the D posi-
tion, you press the WINTER button on the
center console next to the gear selector.
When the car is in the Winter mode it starts
in 3rd gear, which gives a better grip in
slippery conditions by reducing the ten-
dency to spin the wheels.
Quit Winter mode by again depressing the
WINTER button; see also page 147.
WARNING
An illuminated CHECK ENGINE indicator
light indicates a serious engine-related
problem. While your car may be able to be
driven with the CHECK ENGINE indicator
light illuminated (limp-home mode), you
are advised to have your car serviced at
an authorized Saab dealer as soon as
possible.
Continued driving without this problem
being corrected might cause serious fur-
ther damage to your car and create
unsafe driving conditions. The operator
should be prepared to take action if such
unsafe conditions arise (e.g., apply the
brakes, disengage transmission, turn off
the ignition etc.).
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63 Instruments and controls
CHECK messages When the engine is started, CHECKING will
appear on the display for about four sec-
onds, while the SID checks are being per-
formed.
When a CHECK message is generated
while the car is being driven, a chime will
sound, INFO DISPL will illuminate on the
main instrument panel, and the message
will appear on the SID. The number of mes-
sages that can be displayed by the SID
varies with the specification of the car.
If more than one CHECK message has
been generated, the
+ symbol will appear to
the left of the text on the display. The mes-
sages appear in order of priority.
If a new fault occurs while another message
is being displayed, the message relating to
the new one will appear for 10 seconds,
after which the display will return to the ear-
lier one.
Press CLEAR once to acknowledge a mes-
sage, whereupon it will be cleared from the
display. It will not be displayed again before
the ignition has been switched off and then
on again. The following CHECK messages may be
displayed:
1 This message cannot be removed by pressing
CLEAR. Press the brake pedal to clear.
2 This message will be displayed approxi-
mately 600 miles (1,000 km) before the next
scheduled service is due, or when 365 days
have elapsed since the last service. The
message should be cleared at the time of that
service (see the Saab Warranties & Service
Record Booklet).
If you have carried out the service yourself,
you can clear the message by pressing
CLEAR once. Reset by pressing CLEAR for
at least eight seconds, until ”SERVICE”
appears on the display and a chime sounds.
Night Panel To improve night-driving conditions inside
the car, the Night Panel mode can be
selected. In this mode, the amount of infor-
mation displayed is reduced, and only the
most important instruments and displays
will be illuminated.
When the Night Panel button is pressed,
only the speedometer will be illuminated (up
to the 87 mph or 140-km/h graduation), all
the other instruments illumination will be
extinguished and their needles moved to
zero. Both the SID and the ACC displays will
be extinguished and the backlighting for
switches and other controls will be dimmed.
Note: All indicator and warning lights,
together with the display of CHECK mes-
sages, will operate as normal.
The following conditions will wake up the
respective displays in the Night-Panel
mode:
 Adjusting of the Audio System, SID or
ACC (display comes on for ten seconds).
 CHECK message generated in the SID.
 High engine revs cause the rev counter to
be illuminated until the engine speed has
fallen again.
 If the quantity of fuel remaining falls below
4 gallons (15 liters), the fuel gauge will be
illuminated.
 If the engine temperature rises above nor-
mal, the temperature gauge will be illumi-
nated. Display shows: See
page
TEST BRAKE LIGHTS
1)
183
BRAKE LIGHT FAILURE 183
FRONT LIGHT FAILURE 181
REAR LIGHT FAILURE 183
FOG LIGHT FAILURE 183
WASHER FLUID LEVEL LOW 180
FILL COOLANT FLUID 174
TIGHTEN FUEL FILLER CAP 138
KEY NOT ACCEPTED 39
REPLACE KEY BATTERY 39
SERVICE THEFT ALARM 39
TRANSMISSION OVERHEAT-
ING 144
TIME FOR SERVICE
2)
212
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