
12 SafetySeats Both front seats are electrically operated. 
On certain models the driver´s seat is 
equipped with a memory function.
To facilitate getting into the car, both seats 
can be adjusted when either of the front 
doors is open.
For safety reasons, if the door is closed, the 
seat can only be adjusted when the ignition 
is ON. 
Note, however, that both seats can be 
adjusted for 30 seconds after both doors 
have been closed. The following seat adjustments can be 
made to achieve a comfortable driving 
position: 
 height
 legroom
 backrest rake angle
 lumbar support
 head-restraint height
We recommend that adjustments to the 
driver’s seat be performed in the following 
order: 
1height
2 legroom
3 seat tilt angle
4 backrest rake angle
Lastly, adjust the steering wheel (see page  
124).
 Side airbags (see page  36).Head restraint(see page 16).
Height To raise the seat, lift the lower control 
straight up. 
To lower the seat, press the lower control 
down. 
The same control can be used to adjust the 
height of the front and rear edges of the seat 
independently. 
WARNING
The seats are actuated by powerful 
motors. Bear this in mind when adjusting 
the seat, and make sure that nothing gets 
caught and damaged. Ensure that noth-
ing can be trapped when adjusting the 
seat. 
Bear in mind that children can be injured 
if they play with the electrically-operated 
seats.
Always remove the ignition key when you 
leave the car to prevent personal injury 
caused by the electrically adjustable 
seats, for example, due to children play-
ing.
WARNING
Never adjust the driver’s seat except 
when the car is stationary. 
IB401
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23 Safety
Child safety
 
Car safety tips Protect your children from getting 
trapped in the trunk of a car
For Trunk Release Handle information see 
page  46 and  148.
WARNING
 NEVER put a rear-facing child seat in 
the front.
 Children must 
always be suitably 
restrained in the car. 
All child restraints and 
booster seats are 
designed to be 
secured in vehicle 
seats by the lap belt of a lap-shoulder 
belt or LATCH. If the child restraint is 
not properly secured, a child can be 
injured or killed in a crash.
 Children 12 and under can be killed by 
the airbag.
 According to crash statistics, the 
BACK SEAT is SAFER for properly 
restrained children than the front seat.
 Sit as far back as possible from the air 
bag.
WARNING
 Never leave your children unattended 
in a car, even for a short time.
– Children can suffer heat stroke – per-
haps die – in a matter of minutes.
– Children can put the car into gear and 
hurt themselves or others.
 At gas stations, take the keys from the 
car while filling the tank.
 Never allow children to climb on top of 
– or under motor vehicles.
 Always look for children before back-
ing your motor vehicle out of a garage 
or driveway.
 To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, 
never let a car idle in the garage.
 Supervise young children around 
buckets of water while washing your 
car. Small children can drown in 
seconds in less than an inch of water.
WARNING
 Teach your children not to play in or 
around cars.
 Watch your children when loading or 
unloading the car so they don’t get 
locked in by mistake.
 Always lock the doors and trunk of 
your car, and keep the keys out of chil-
dren´s sight and reach.
 Keep the rear fold-down seats closed 
to help prevent kids from getting into 
the trunk from inside the car.
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42 SecurityDoorsDoor handlesPull the handle to open the door. 
If the door is stuck (e.g. if frozen), hold the 
handle from above to secure a better grip.
Central locking
 
Key / Remote control The key unit consists of a mechanical key 
with integrated remote control. 
The mechanical key is used for manual 
locking and unlocking.
The remote control is used for remote lock-
ing and unlocking.
The key fits all the car’s locks.
The key supplied with the car has a code 
number on a black plastic tag that needs to 
be quoted for ordering additional keys. You 
should therefore make a careful note of the 
number. 
The key contains a unique electronic code 
for your car. When the key is inserted in the 
ignition, the code is checked. If it matches, 
the car can be started. Two keys are supplied with the car. It is pos-
sible to have up to four at one time that are 
coded for your car. If one is lost, contact 
your authorized Saab dealer to obtain a 
replacement. 
NOTE: For this reason, we strongly advise 
you to take two keys with you on long jour-
neys and to keep them separate. If all keys 
are lost, it will be necessary to replace costly 
electronic components as well as the keys. 
This loss and replacement cost is not cov-
ered by the new car warranty.
If an additional key is to be added, all of the 
original keys must be brought to the dealer 
so that the control module can ”learn” to rec-
ognize the new components.
WARNING
Leaving children or pets unattended in a 
locked car is dangerous. It is also danger-
ous to leave children in a vehicle with the 
ignition key. A child or others could be 
badly injured or even killed.
Key / Remote control1To lock
2 To unlock
3 Opening the trunk (9-5 Sedan)
Unlocking the tailgate (9-5 Wagon) 
IB1524
3
2 1
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43 Security
To check the number of keys that are pro-
grammed for the car; see page 52.Electronic starting interlock 
(immobilizer)Each time the key is removed from the igni-
tion, the electronic starting interlock is acti-
vated and the car is thus immobilized, see 
also page 49.Reprogramming lock system 
functionsCertain lock system functions can be repro-
grammed by your authorized Saab dealer; 
see page 271.
Locking/unlocking the car When the car is locked and unlocked the 
theft alarm is also affected.
Remote locking (1) 
Press   once on the control: all doors 
locked.
The hazard warning lights will flash once 
and the horn chirps once to confirm.
The tailgate cannot be opened now from 
inside using the switch on the driver´s door.
Remote unlocking (2) 
Press   once on the control: the driver´s 
door is unlocked. Press a second time to 
unlock the rest of the doors.
The hazard warning lights will flash twice 
and the horn chirps twice to confirm.
If remote unlocking should fail to work
Unlock the driver’s door with the key. To 
silence the alarm, insert the key into the igni-
tion switch and turn it to the ON position.
The car can now be started. Contact your 
local Saab dealer to have the system 
checked and rectified.
NOTICEThe key contains delicate electronics.
 Do not expose it to water.
 Avoid rough handling.
 Do not place the key where it may be 
subjected to high temperatures, e.g. 
on the instrument panel.
 The key may malfunction if it becomes 
very cold. Warm it in your hands for a 
couple of minutes.
 Never open the key. For changing the 
battery, see page 45.
IB1557
Locking/unlocking by remote control.1To lock 
2 To unlock 
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44 Security
Locking by key (1) 
When the car is locked and unlocked the 
theft alarm is also affected.
Turn the key clockwise: all doors locked. 
The trunk lid/tailgate cannot be opened now 
from inside using the switch on the driver’s 
door. 
Unlocking by key (2) 
Turn the key counterclockwise once: the 
driver´s door will unlock.
Turn the key counterclockwise twice: all 
doors, but not trunk lid/tailgate, unlocked. The central locking can also be operated 
from inside the car by means of the   
switch on the center console.
 To lock all doors: press the symbol side of 
the switch once.
 To unlock the driver´s door: press the 
switch once.
 To unlock all doors: press the switch 
twice.
This switch is inoperative when the car is 
locked from the outside using the remote 
control.
The interior locking buttons on each door 
affect only the respective door.
WARNING
The remote control also works from inside 
the car. Therefore, hold the key in such a 
way that the buttons are not unintention-
ally pressed when the key is turned, or 
inserted or removed from the ignition 
switch.
Otherwise, the doors may be unintention-
ally locked or the tailgate unlocked. On 
Sedan models, the trunk may even be 
opened.
IB451
Switch for operation of central locking 
IB1555
2
1
Locking/unlocking by key1 To lock 
2 To unlock 
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45 Security
If the car is left with the doors open, the inte-
rior lighting and the courtesy lights in the 
doors will be switched off automatically after 
20 minutes, to prevent a flat battery. In such 
cases the electrically operated seats will not 
function. 
Child safety locksThe rear doors are equipped with child 
safety locks that are operated by means of 
a catch adjacent to the door lock. 
Insert a key and turn the catch 45° clockwise 
or counterclockwise as indicated by the 
label on the door. 
When the child safety catch is in the locked 
position, the door cannot be opened from 
the inside.
Changing the key batteryWhen the battery voltage in the key falls 
below a predetermined level the Saab Infor-
mation Display (SID) will issue the following 
message: ”REPLACE KEY BATTERY”. 
Press the CLEAR button on the SID to 
acknowledge this message. You must then 
replace the battery without delay to avoid 
malfunctions. The life of the battery is nor-
mally 4 years.Contact a Saab dealer to 
have the battery replaced.
WARNING
Having the doors locked when you are 
driving will reduce the likelihood of:
 Passengers, especially children, 
opening doors and falling out of the 
car.
 Intruders entering the car when it is 
moving slowly or at a standstill.
 Injury resulting from a door bursting 
open in the event of a crash.
However, you must also remember that 
locked doors can hamper rescuers in the 
event of a crash.
WARNING
If small children are carried in the rear 
seat, the safety locks on rear doors 
should be activated to prevent uninten-
tional opening from the inside.
IB1871
Child safety lock on rear doors 
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46 SecurityTrunk lid lock, 9-5 SedanThe trunk lid lock is independent of the cen-
tral-locking system. The trunk lid release 
switch on the driver’s door is inoperative 
when the car is locked from the outside or 
moving at a speed greater than 2.7 mph 
(4 km/h).Unlocking
The trunk lid is unlocked using:
 The   button on the key
 The trunk lid switch on the inside of the 
driver’s door (if the car is unlocked and at 
a standstill)
Remote unlocking is confirmed by the direc-
tion indicators flashing three times.
The trunk lid switch on the driver’s door is 
inoperative when the car is locked.
Locking
The trunk lid release is locked automatically 
when closed.
Trunk Release HandleThere is a glow-in-the-dark trunk release 
handle located inside the trunk on the latch. 
This handle will glow following exposure to 
light. Pull the release handle down to open 
the trunk from the inside.NOTICEThe trunk release handle was not 
designed to be used to tie down the trunk 
lid or as a an anchor point when securing 
items in the trunk. Improper use of the 
trunk release could damage it.
IB1833
Trunk Release Handle
IB457
Trunk lid switch 
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47 Security
Tailgate, 9-5 WagonThe tailgate is not unlocked when the other 
car doors are unlocked. The tailgate button 
on the driver’s door is inoperative when the 
car is locked or moving at a speed greater 
than 2.7 mph (4 km/h).Unlocking
The tailgate is unlocked using: 
 The   button on the key
 The tailgate switch on the inside of the 
driver’s door (if the car is unlocked and at 
a standstill) or
 Manually, using the key in the trunk lock. 
The keyhole is protected by a cover plate 
that can be removed carefully as illus-
trated.
Remote unlocking is confirmed by the direc-
tion indicators flashing three times.
If the alarm is activated (the car is locked), 
the alarm will sound if the trunk lid is 
unlocked with a key. However, if the trunk lid 
is opened using remote unlocking, the 
alarm will not be triggered.
Locking
The tailgate is locked using:
 The   button on the key
 The   button on the centre console
 The key in the driver’s door.
 When vehicle speed exceeds 2 mph 
(4 km/h).
IB1880IB1879
Unlocking the tailgate with a key, 
9-5 Wagon Use the key to pry out the cover plate cov-
ering the lock, 9-5 Wagon
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