
3
Instrument panel High/low beam ________________ 75
Parking lights __________________ 75
Daytime running lights ___________ 75
Changing bulbs _______________ 206High/low beam control stalk 75
Direction indicators _______ 76
Cruise Control __________ 169Rear fog light ___________ 77
Front fog lights ___________ 77Instrument lighting ________ 78
Warning and indicator lights _____ 60
Tachometer __________________ 66
Speedometer _________________ 66
Odometer and trip meter ________ 66
Gauge showing turbo pressure ___ 67
Fuel gauge __________________ 68
Temperature gauge ____________ 67
IB731
Ashtrays ___________________ 141
Cigarette lighter ______________ 141
Tr i p c o m p u t e r
(Saab Information Display, SID) __ 69
Night panel __________________ 73
Clock _______________________ 74
Washers and wipers ______ 78
Rear-window wiper _______ 79
Replacing wiper blades __ 204Audio system____________ 94
Cassette player _________ 100
CD player _____________ 103Hazard warning lights _____ 76Climate control system:
manual _______________ 80
Climate control system:
automatic _____________ 84
Car care ______________ 191Seat heating controls ____ 135
Steering-wheel-mounted
controls, Audio System __ 109
ProCarManuals.com

5
Interior Power steering _________ 251
Steering-wheel adjustment 137
Airbag _________________ 28
Internal rearview mirror ________ 143
Door mirrors ________________ 143
Vanity mirror ________________ 140
Safety belts _____________ 12
Safety-belt care ________ 224
Airbag _________________ 28
Child seats _____________ 19
Child safety lock catch ____ 39Glove compartment _____ 141Manual transmission ____ 161
Automatic transmission __ 162
IB1353
Seat adjustment ________ 130
Safety belts _____________ 12
Seat heating ___________ 135
Rear seat _____________ 144
Folding down the rear seat 144
Child seats _____________ 19
Upholstery: cleaning _____ 225
Interior lighting switch _________ 139
Interior lighting: changing bulbs __ 210
Center console ______________ 136
Electric windows _____________ 136
Sunroof ____________________ 138
Convertible __________________ 48
Ignition switch _______________ 152
Starting the engine ___________ 153
Engine break-in period ________ 161
Parking ____________________ 174
Driving in hot/cold weather _____ 177
ProCarManuals.com

9
WL16
Child lock safety catch Locked.
The door can not be opened
from inside.
IB1705
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.
ProCarManuals.com

57 Convertible
Trunk Pass-Through in the rear
seatback for long, narrow loadsA trunk pass-through is provided in the rear
seatback support so that long narrow
objects can be carried. Before using this
trunk pass-through, the rear seatback must
be lowered.
Suspend the top storage bag by means of
the hooks as previously described on page.
56.
Cleaning the soft top, 9-3
Convertible
NOTEThe trunk pass-through can only be used
when the top is raised.
If you attempt to lower the top with the top
storage bag suspended from the hooks or
with a load pressing against the top stor-
age bag, the SID will display the message
"CHECK SOFT TOP STORAGE" (see
page 54).
NOTE Note that some automatic car washes
can damage a textile soft top. This
applies to washes that have mechani-
cal feelers in contact with the body-
work.
We advise against washing a Saab
9-3 Convertible in automatic car
washes.
Park in the shade if possible. Long
standing in strong sunlight can affect
the color and material of the soft top.
Never use strong bleaches or abra-
sive cleaning agents, since they can
damage the textile soft top.
Wash bird droppings off at once, since
they can have a corrosive effect on the
textile soft top and paint.
During prolonged parking, especially
winter storage, the soft top should be
up to give optimum airing of the fabric.
Do not wash the fabric soft-top with a
high-pressure jet.
Strong detergents and solvents can
damage the flame retardant treatment
of the soft top.
IB857
Pass through for long loads
ProCarManuals.com

61 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
203). 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 should come on briefly when you
turn the ignition key to ON. If it doesn´t come
on, have it fixed so it will be ready to warn
you if there is a problem.
The brake warning light will come on
together with if there is insufficient
brake fluid in the reservoir, see page 200.
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
warning, see page 62).
Parking brake warning
light
The light will show when the parking brake
is on (see page 174.)
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, see page 174.
Always apply the parking brake before
removing the ignition key.
Do not apply the parking brake while
the car is moving.
ProCarManuals.com

63 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.
Electronic brake force distribution (distri-
bution of brake pressure between front
and rear wheels).
Engine overheating.
Alternator not charging properly.
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 168.
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.).
NOTEThe car should be checked immediately
at an authorized Saab dealer to prevent
more serious faults from arising.
ProCarManuals.com

75 Instruments and controls
SwitchesThe parking lights and daytime running
lights come on automatically when the igni-
tion switch is in the ON position.
Note to owners in the U.S.: If you do not
want Daytime Running Lights, this feature
can be disconnected: switch off the engine
and remove fuse No. 15 (see page 214).
Note to owners in Canada: Daytime Run-
ning Lights must not be disconnected as
they are a Canadian Federal legal require-
ment.
The parking lights can be switched on
regardless of the position of the ignition
switch. Do not use parking lights when driv-
ing.
Note:
The lighting switch must be in parking or
headlight position to operate the rear fog
light (see page 77).The headlights come on when the ignition
switch is in the OFF, ON or START posi-
tions. Note that they go off again when the
ignition switch is turned to LOCK.
High/low beam To switch from high to low beam, move the
control stalk towards the steering wheel to
position 2. That the high beam is on is indi-
cated by an indicator light in the main instru-
ment panel (see page 64).Headlight flasher To flash your headlights, move the control
stalk towards the steering wheel to
position 1. The high beam will remain on
until you release the switch.
Daytime running lights
Parking lights
Headlights
IB745
Light switches
1 Headlight flasher
2 High/low beam
IB1594
12
ProCarManuals.com

143 Interior equipment, trunk
Rear-view mirrorsThe rear-view mirror has day/night positions
that can be selected by means of a knob
beneath the mirror. Adjust the mirror for best
vision in the day position and pull the tab on
the bottom of the mirror toward you for the
night position.
Door mirrorsThe door mirrors are electrically adjustable.
The controls are on the driver’s door.
1 Use the upper button to select a door
mirror.
2 Use the touch pad to set the mirror ver-
tically and horizontally. There are raised
points at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock posi-
tions to indicate adjustment points.
If subjected to a certain force, the whole
mirror will fold back to prevent injury. The mirror can also be retracted by hand,
which can be useful when parking in con-
fined spaces, e.g. on car ferries. Don’t forget
to fold the mirrors out again before driving
away.
The electric heating of the door mirrors is
switched on and off with the same button as
the heating of the rear window.
NOTEThe door mirrors should be retracted
before the car is put through an automatic
carwash.
IB813
Adjusting the door mirrors 1 Select mirror
2 Use touch pad to adjust mirror
IB814
Retracting a mirror
IB812
Rear-view mirror1 Day position
2 Night position
ProCarManuals.com