25 Safety
Child tether anchorages for forward
facing child seatsSport Sedan
Convertible, see page 26
Child restraints with a tether strap must be
attached according to Canadian and U.S.
safety standards.
If you have any questions regarding child
anchorages please contact your Saab
dealer.The car is provided with three top tether
anchorages. Use the one that is right behind
the child restraint and attach the restraint as
follows:
1 Open the cover that is right behind the
child restraint, 1 in illustration.
2 Place the child restraint in the rear seat.
3 Secure the lower part of the child
restraint by means of the lower anchor-
ages (ISOFIX) or the safety belts as
described in the child restraint installa-
tion instruction.
4 Lower the headrest and route the tether
over it.
5 Attach the tether to the anchorage, 2 in
illustration.
6 Close the cover to the middle position, 3
in illustration.7 Tighten the tether so that the back of the
child restraint is pressed hard against
the backrest.
8 Pull the child restraint to make a second
check that the restraint is securely
attached at both the lower anchorages
bars on the safety belts and the top
tether strap.
WARNING
Child top tether anchorages are designed
to withstand only those loads imposed by
correctly fitted child restraints.
Under no circumstances are they to be
used for adult safety belts.
Child tether anchorages in parcel shelf, Sport Sedan
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26 SafetyChild tether anchorages for forward
facing child seatsConvertible
Child restraints with a tether strap must be
attached according to Canadian and U.S.
safety standards.
If you have any questions regarding child
anchorages please contact your Saab
dealer.
The car is provided with two top tether
anchorages. Use the one that is right behind
the child restraint and attach the restraint as
follows:
1 Remove the head restraint on the seat-
ing position where the child restraint
shall be fitted.
2 Place the child restraint in the rear seat.
3 Secure the lower part of the child
restraint by means of the lower anchor-
ages (ISOFIX) or the safety belts as described in the child restraint installa-
tion instruction.
4 Attach the tether to the anchorage.
5 Tighten the tether so that the back of the
child restraint is pressed hard against
the backrest.
6 Pull the child restraint to make a second
check that the restraint is securely
attached at both the lower anchorages
bars on the safety belts and the top
tether strap.
7 Put the head restraint back on and make
sure it is sucure mounted. Adjust it in its
highest position.
WARNING
Child top tether anchorages are designed
to withstand only those loads imposed by
correctly fitted child restraints.
Under no circumstances are they to be
used for adult safety belts.
WARNING
If the size of the child restraint makes it
impossible to put the head reatraint back
on, place it in the trunk.
How to take away the head restraint1 Raise the head restraint
2 Push the catch forward and pull the head
restraint straight upward
Top tether anchorages in the rear seat
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28 SafetyAirbag
Airbag system components Airbag in steering wheel
Airbag in instrument panel in front of
passenger seat
Side airbags in front seat backrests
Convertible: The side airbags help
protect the head also.
Inflatable curtains along length of headlin-
ing (from front to rear roof pillars)
(Sport Sedan only)
Safety belt pretensioners for front seats
and outer rear seats.
The airbag system supplements the protec-
tion provided by the safety belts to further
enhance the safety of occupants taller than
55 in. (140 cm).
When the system is activated at the moment
of impact, the airbag inflates and then
deflates through holes in the back. The
whole operation takes roughly 0.1 second,
quicker than the blink of an eye.
The steering wheel and passenger airbags
are so-called smart airbags. The driver and
passenger airbag system compensates for
safety belt usage and the force of the crash
at the moment of impact.Note:
The sensor reacts differently depending on
whether or not the front safety belts on the
driver’s and passenger sides are used. Sit-
uations can therefore arise where only one
of the airbags inflates. It is also possible for
only the safety belt pretensioners to be acti-
vated and for the airbags to remain unin-
flated.
If only Stage I is activated at the moment of
impact, Stage II will automatically be acti-
vated later to neutralize the gas generator in
the airbag.
WARNING
To reduce risk of death or serious injury:
Always wear your safety belt.
Always adjust your seat so that you
are as far back as possible but still
able to operate the pedals and reach
the steering wheel and controls
comfortably.
Passengers 12 and under or shorter
than 55 inches (140 cm) must always
travel in the rear seat as the car is fitted
with a passenger airbag.
Never fit a child seat in front of the
passenger airbag.
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33 Safety
Head protectionThe pillar trim and headlining (not Converti-
ble soft top) are designed to absorb energy,
softening possible blows to the head. After
a crash, these items must be changed in the
seat positions that were occupied. Never fit
accessories to the pillar trim or headlining
as these could reduce the effectiveness of
the head protection and inflatable curtain
(Sport Sedan).
Side-impact protection
The side airbags, which help protect the
upper body (head also in Convertible), are
integrated in the outside edges of the front
seat backrests. The side impact protection
of the Sport Sedan also includes inflatable
curtains (see page 34.
The front seats and outer rear seats have
safety belt pretensioners.
There are two sensors on each side of the
car, one at the rear of each door sill and one
in the lower part of each C-pillar. The side-
impact protection is only activated on the
side of impact, while the safety belt preten-
sioners on both sides are deployed.
Convertible: The Convertible has two side
impact protection sensors, one on each side
of the car. These are located at rear of the
sills. Never place anything on the dash or in
front of the seat as, in addition to being
a hazard to passengers, this could
interfere with the function of the airbag
in the event of a crash. The same
applies to the mounting of accessories
on the dash.
Keep feet on the floor – never put feet
up on the dash, on the seat or out of
the window.
Do not carry anything in your lap.
WARNING
This car is equipped with side airbags
and no extra seat cover should be
fitted. Failure to observe this warning
could result in the side airbags not
inflating as intended and thus not
providing the intended protection
either.
Never place any object in the area that
would be occupied by the inflated air-
bag.
For optimum protection, sit upright in
the seat, with your safety belt correctly
fastened.
The side-impact protection will only be
activated in the event of a side-on
crash and not in the event of a rear-
end crash or the car rolling over. For
the Convertible’s Roll-over protection
see page 68.
Damage or wear to the seat cover, or
the seat seam, in the area of the side
airbag must immediately be repaired
by an authorized Saab dealer.
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35 Safety
The inflatable curtains, which protect the
head, are concealed along the lengths of
the headlining (all the way from front to rear
roof pillars).
The inflatable curtains inflate at the same
time as the side airbags in the front seats in
case of a side-on impact.
The inflatable curtains reduce the risk of
head injuries to the occupants of the car’s
outer seats. The inflatable curtains deploys
into the window area between the front and
rear roof pillars.
If the airbag system registers forces equiv-
alent to a high-speed frontal crash (Stage II
for the steering wheel and passenger
airbags), the inflatable curtains will also be
deployed.
For optimal protection, do not sit too close to
the door. Bear this in mind, for example, if
someone is sleeping in the car. The inflat-
able curtain comes down from the headlin-
ing and covers a large portion of the side
windows.
Prohibited seating position
Inflated inflatable curtain, sport Sedan
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44 SecuritySwitches on front doorsThe central locking can also be operated
from inside the car using the button by each
front door handle.
Locking the car with the remote control
renders these buttons inoperative.
If you are sitting in the car and press the
button on the driver’s door, this will unlock
the driver’s door. Press the button a
second time to unlock the remaining
doors and the trunk lid. The button on the
passenger door works in the same way
except that this first unlocks the passen-
ger door. During this operation the rear
doors remain locked.
If the car is left with one or more doors open,
the interior lighting will be switched off auto-
matically after 20 minutes. This is to prevent the battery from running flat. Also, if the car
has electrically adjustable seats, these will
cease to operate.
Child safety locksThe rear doors are equipped with child
safety locks that are activated by means of
a catch next to the door latch.
Insert a screwdriver or the traditional key
(enclosed in the remote control) and turn it
45° in the direction shown on the label on
the door.
When the child safety lock is in the locked
position, the door can only be opened from
outside the car.
WARNING
If small children are carried in the rear
seat, the safety locks on the rear doors
should be activated to prevent uninten-
tional opening from the inside.
Child safety locks
Central locking switch
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62 9-3 Convertible8 Sit in one of the front seats and lock the
soft top to the windshield rail. Use the lug
wrench and the Allen key. Turn roughly
1/4 turn anticlockwise. Check that the
soft top is properly locked in place by
pressing up the front edge. The soft top
must not move upward.9 Lift up the rear window fully and hold it
there. Close the soft top cover. It is not
possible to lock the soft top cover after
manual raising.
10 Press down the rear edge of the soft top
as far as possible towards the soft top
cover.11 Now lock the rear window to the soft top
cover. Sit in the rear seat and insert the
tool (the same tool as used to lock the
soft top to the windshield rail) into the
hexagonal hole in the soft top mecha-
nism. Turn roughly 1/4 turn, anticlock-
wise on the right had side of the soft top
and clockwise on the left-hand side.
Look at the soft top cover when locking
the rear window. The rear window must
make a tight seal against the soft top
cover.
The soft top system must be checked and
rectified without delay at a Saab dealer.
NOTICETo avoid damaging the paintwork on the
soft top cover and the trunk lid, take care
when closing the soft top cover.Closing the soft top cover
Rear window locked to soft top cover
Soft top locked to windshield rail
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65 9-3 Convertible
"Easy entry"To facilitate getting in and out of the rear
seat, the front seats can be slid forward.
Manually adjusted passenger seats
1 Raise the handle by the head restraint
on the seat.
2 Tip the backrest and slide the seat
forward.
Repositioning:
1 Tip back the backrest.
2 Slide the seat back to the desired
position.
Make sure the backrest and seat are prop-
erly locked in position.Electrically adjustable front seats
1 Raise the handle by the head restraint
on the seat.
2 Tip the backrest forward.
3 The seat now moves to its foremost
position.
Repositioning:
1 Tip the backrest back to its normal
position.
2 Raise and hold the handle until the seat
has returned to its previous position.
WARNING
Always check that the backrest locks
properly when returned to normal
position.
Check that the fore-and-aft position of
the seat is properly locked. The back-
rest and the entire belt-in seat must be
locked in position; otherwise the occu-
pant of the seat is at risk of injury
during braking or in the event of a
crash, especially if a rear-facing child
seat is fitted behind the backrest.
"Easy entry" function. Illustration shows an electrically adjustable seat (option)
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