2004 SAAB 9-3 Owners Manual

137 Interior equipment
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 inside.
Tie down eyesThere are tie down eyes in the trunk that
should be used to secure loads. In general,
loads should be placed as far forward and
as low down as possible in the trunk.
NOTICEThe trunk release handle was not
designed to be used to tie down the trunk
lid or as an anchor point when securing
items in the trunk. Improper use of the
trunk release could damage it.
WARNING
 Lay heavy bags on the floor. Place
smaller and lighter bags on top.
 Secure heavy and bulky items using
the four lashing eyes provided in the
trunk. This will avert the danger of
luggage flying around if the car should
brake suddenly or be involved in a
crash.
 Secure small items if the backrest is
folded down. Small items can also be
thrown around inside the car and
cause personal injury.
 The elastic cargo net is only designed
for light objects that are to be kept in
place while driving
 Elastic cargo net: WARNING. Avoid
eye injury. DO NOT overstretch.
ALWAYS keep face and body out of
recoil path. DO NOT use when strap
has visible signs of wear or damage.
 The rear seat must be in the upright
position to protect against load
displacement in the event of a crash.
 Do not exceed the load capacity of the
car, as this will alter its handling char-
acteristics (see page 268).
 Match your speed and driving style to
how the car is loaded. The handling
characteristics of the car can be
affected since a load in the trunk will
alter the car’s center of gravity.
Tie down eyes in the trunk
Trunk Release Handle
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138 Interior equipmentTrunk lightingOn the underside of the parcel shelf is a light
that is switched on and off when the trunk is
opened and closed.
If the trunk lid is left open, the lighting will be
switched off automatically after 20 minutes
to prevent the battery from running flat.
Emergency opening of the narrow
backrestThe narrow section of the backrest can be
opened in an emergency if the car is without
electricity (not possible to open trunk lid)
and you need to access the trunk for a warn-
ing triangle, for example.
 Remove the cover and depress the yellow
lever forward.Tools and spare wheel, see page
243.
Cover over emergency opening lever, on
parcel shelf
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139 Starting and driving
Ignition switch ________ 140
Steering wheel lock ____ 142
Starting the engine ____ 142
Important considerations
for driving __________ 144
Refueling ____________ 147
Engine Break-in Period _ 151
Manual transmission___ 152
Automatic transmission 153
Cruise control ________ 159
Braking ______________ 160
Traction Control System
(TCS) ______________ 163
Electronic Stability
Program (ESP) ______ 165
Parking brake_________ 167
Parking ______________ 167
Saab Parking Assistance 170 Economical driving _____ 173
Driving in cold weather__ 175
Driving in hot climates __ 177
Towing a trailer ________ 178
Driving with a roof rack
load ________________ 182
Driving with a load _____ 183
Driving with the trunk lid
open________________ 183
Driving in deep water ___ 183
Driving at night ________ 184
Towing the car _________ 184
Driving with the compact
spare tire ____________ 187
Jump starting _________ 187
For long trips __________ 190
Starting and driving
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140 Starting and drivingIgnition switchThe ignition switch is located on the center
console between the front seats. In cars
with automatic transmission, the remote
control can only be removed when the
selector lever is in position P.NOTICETake care not to spill drinks or to drop
crumbs over the ignition switch. If dirt or
liquid gets into it, the switch may not
operate properly.
If snow from clothing falls into the ignition
switch and melts, the ignition switch can
seize (freeze). Brush snow off clothing
before getting into the car.
WARNING
• Always remove the remote control
before leaving children unattended in
the car.
 Apply the parking brake before remov-
ing the remote control.
 Never remove the remote control
while the car is moving. This will acti-
vate the steering wheel lock and make
it impossible to steer the car.
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141 Starting and driving
To allow the various systems in the car time
to register that the remote control has been
inserted into the ignition switch, do not turn
the remote control for roughly half a second. LOCK position
The position lights, hazard warning lights and interior lighting can be
turned on.
Cars with automatic transmission: Move the gear lever to P.
The gear lever is locked in position. This is the only position in which the
remote control can be removed.
Cars with manual transmission: The remote control can be removed
regardless of the position of the gear lever.
OFF position
Parts of the electrical system are operative.
Do not leave the remote control in the OFF position with the engine
not running as this could cause the battery to run flat in a matter of
hours.
Cars with automatic transmission: The gear lever is not locked. See
also page 154.
ON position
The entire electrical system is operative.
Do not leave the remote control in the ON position when the engine
is not running.
Turn the remote control to the OFF position to disconnect the electrical
system.
When you turn the remote control to ON, some indicator and warning lights
will come on in the main instrument panel. These should go out after about
3 seconds.
ST - starter position
The starter motor operates (automatic transmission: selector lever must
be in P or N) when the remote control is turned to this position. When
released, the remote control will spring back to the ON position.
The car has an electronic restart lock. If the engine fails to start, the remote
control must first be turned back to a position between OFF and LOCK
before the starter motor can be operated again.
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142 Starting and drivingSteering wheel lockThe steering wheel lock is electronic. The
lock engages when the remote control is
removed from the ignition and unlocks when
the remote control is inserted. A click can be
heard when the steering wheel lock locks
and unlocks.
If the car is parked with one front wheel
touching the curb, for example, you may
need to turn the steering wheel slightly
when you insert the remote control to allow
the steering wheel lock to unlock. If you do
not succeed on first attempt you must
remove the remote control before trying
again. Turn the steering wheel and insert
the remote control into the ignition switch.
If the steering wheel lock does not disen-
gage it will not be possible to turn the remote
control in the ignition switch.
The following message is shown on the SID:If a fault arises affecting the steering wheel
lock, the following message will be
displayed on the SID:
If the steering wheel lock malfunctions while
the remote control is in the ignition switch,
this may prevent the removal of the remote
control or prevent the car from being
restarted once the engine has been
switched off.
If you have to leave the car, lock the car by
pressing down the lock buttons on the
doors. Lock the front left door from outside
with the traditional key (see page 42). The
car is now locked but the alarm is inactive.
Starting the engine
Steering wheel locked.
Pull out key, turn steering
wheel. Try again.
Steering lock malfunc.
Make a safe stop.
Contact Saab dealer.
WARNING
 When starting the engine:
- Sit down in the driver’s seat.
- Depress the clutch pedal fully. If the
gear lever is not in the neutral position,
the clutch pedal must be fully
depressed or the car will jump
forwards or backwards, which may
cause a crash.
- Never start the car from outside the
vehicle, e.g. through a window that is
down. This could lead to serious
personal injury.
 Cars with automatic transmission:
select position P to remove the ignition
key. The key can only be removed in
this gear position.
 Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless,
odorless, poisonous gas. Be alert to
the danger of CO – always open the
garage doors before starting the
engine in the garage.
 Do not rest or sleep in the car when
parked with the engine running. There
is a risk of depressing the accelerator
which could lead to engine damage.
 There is also a danger of CO poison-
ing if the exhaust system is leaking.
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143 Starting and driving
Starting the engineAvoid racing the engine or loading it heavily
before it has warmed up. Do not drive away
before the warning and indicator lights have
gone out.
The engine has an automatic choke and
should be started as follows:
Cars with manual transmission
To start the engine the clutch pedal must
be fully depressed.
1 Make sure the parking brake is applied.
2 Depress the clutch pedal but do not
touch the accelerator.
3 Start the engine. Let the remote control
spring back as soon as the engine has
started and is running smoothly.
Allow the engine to idle for about
10 seconds. Do not apply full throttle for at
least 3 minutes after starting.Cars with automatic transmission
The selector lever must be in the P or N
position.
1 The selector lever must be in the P or N
position.
2 Keep your foot on the brake pedal.
Note! Once the engine has started, the
brake pedal will sink. This is perfectly
normal.
3 Start the engine. Let the remote control
spring back as soon as the engine has
started and is running smoothly.
Allow the engine to idle for about
10 seconds. Do not apply full throttle for at
least 3 minutes after starting.
Useful tips on starting the engineIf the engine has failed to start after several
attempts in very cold weather, proceed as
follows:
1 Turn the ignition switch to ON (it is
essential that you turn the ignition to
ON before depressing the accelerator).
2 Press the accelerator to the floor and run
the starter motor for 5-10 seconds. This
will prevent the engine being flooded
(fully depressed accelerator cuts off the
fuel supply).
3 Now start the engine in the normal way
- do not touch the accelerator.
If the engine stalls immediately after starting
(e.g. if the clutch was released too quickly),
do not touch the accelerator when restarting
the engine.
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144 Starting and drivingImportant
considerations for
driving1 Starting and driving
 Do not use full throttle until the engine
is warm, so as to avoid unnecessary
wear. If the needle of the turbo gauge
repeatedly enters the red zone, the
engine may suddenly lose power, due
to the initiation of a monitoring system
that limits the boost pressure. Contact
a Saab dealer as soon as possible.
 Under certain barometric conditions
(high outside temperature and/or high
altitude) the needle may enter the first
part of the red zone without necessarily
indicating that a fault has arisen.
 A protective function (interruption of the
fuel supply) limits the engine speed.2 Stopping the engine
 Do not rev the engine immediately
before switching it off - stop the engine
when it is idling.
3 Regulating the charging pressure
 The system is optimized for AON 90.
One of the advantages of boost pres-
sure regulation is that the engine can
also be run safely on gasoline with a
lower octane rating, although not lower
than AON 87. Severe engine damage
will occur if gasoline lower than 87
octane is used. However, engine
performance will fall slightly and heavy
loading and laboring should be
avoided. For optimum performance,
use the recommended grade of fuel.
 The maximum boost pressure is regu-
lated according to the tendency of the
engine to knock. Short-lived knocking
is perfectly normal. This can occur
when the engine is running at about
3,000 rpm under a heavy load. The
extent of this knocking will depend on
the grade of fuel in the tank.
 Isolated instances of knocking can
occur with low-octane fuel. This
controlled form of knocking, followed
by a reduction in the boost pressure, is
a sign that the control system is work-
ing normally, and is perfectly safe for
the engine.
Limp-homeThe engine management system has a
diagnostic feature that checks a number of
internal functions. If a fault is detected in the
throttle valve, the engine management
system will set the throttle system to the
limp-home mode. This means:
 idling control will be poor (uneven idling
since regulated by ignition and fuel
supply)
 engine performance will be reduced
 the cruise control will not function
 the capacity of the A/C compressor will be
limited.NOTICE If the engine sounds strange there is a
malfunction. Contact a Saab dealer
immediately.
 The use of fuel with too low an octane
rating can cause serious engine
damage.
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