2004 SAAB 9-3 tow

4ExteriorAnti-corrosion treatment ___ 253
Body __________________ 251
Service program _________ 262
Sunroof ________________ 120
Touching up paintwork ____ 251
Washing _______________ 250
Waxing and polishing _____ 251Brake lights _____________ 215
Changing bulbs __________ 208
Light switches ___________ 91
Taillights _______________ 215Towing _________________ 184
Towing hook eyes ________ 184
Towing a trailer __________ 178Folding down the rear seat _ 134
Lighting ________________ 215
Load-through hatch _______ 136
Spare wheel ____________ 138
Tools __________________ 138
Trunk __________________ 134
Maximum loads _______________ 268
Mounting holes for roof carriers ___ 182
Roof load ____________________ 182
Hood _______________________ 192
Washing the engine bay_________ 249
Central locking __________ 40
Child safety locks ________ 44
Lock buttons ____________ 40
Trunk lock ______________ 43Changing bulbs _________ 208
Dipswitch ______________ 91
Direction indicators_______ 93
Front lights _____________ 210
Headlight levelling (Bi-
Xenon) _______________ 91
Headlight switches _______ 91
Headlight washers _______ 206Economical motoring _____ 173
Fuel filler door __________ 147
Fuel gauge _____________ 81
Fuel grade _____________ 271
Refueling ______________ 147
Braking _____________________ 160
Changing wheels ______________ 245
Spare wheel _________________ 243
Tire pressure ________________ 277
Tire pressure monitor __________ 229
Tires _______________________ 231
Wheels _____________________ 275
Winter driving ________________ 175
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13 Safety
Front safety beltsFasten the belt by pulling the belt and insert-
ing the tongue in the buckle. Check that it is
securely fastened.
Position the lap part low across the hips.
Grasp the shoulder belt close to the buckle
and pull the belt towards the shoulder to
tighten the lap belt part.The belt must be as far in on the shoulder as
possible.
Press the red button on the belt buckle to
release the belt.
The front safety belts have their lower
anchorage points on the seats. The safety
belts follow the seats when the legroom is
adjusted.
Refer to page 248 for how to check the func-
tion of the safety belts, cleaning, etc.
Belt height adjustment, Sport SedanThe belt guide on the door pillar for the front
safety belts can be set at different heights.
The front belt guide in the Convertible is not
adjustable due to belt in seat.
Adjust the belt so that it is as high up as pos-
sible without rubbing against the neck. To
avoid chafing in the case of a short person,
the guide can be lowered until the belt
comes about an inch (a few centimetres)
from the throat but still provides safe
restraint.
Raise the belt guide by pushing it upward to
the desired position. To lower it, depress the
catch release button while lowering the
guide. Check that the guide locks in its new
position.
To fasten the belt Press the red button to release the belt
The belt guide on door pillar
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15 Safety
Safety belts, rear seat
Safety belts rear seat, Convertible,
see page 67The three rear seats all have three-point
safety belts with inertia reels.
Fasten the belts by pulling the belt across
you and inserting the tongue into the buckle.
Check that it is securely fastened.
Grasp the shoulder belt close to the buckle
and pull the belt towards the shoulder to
tighten the lap belt part.
The belt must be as far in on the shoulder as
possible.Press the red button on the buckle to
release the belt.
See page 248 for the checking of belt func-
tion, cleaning, etc.
WARNING
 Make sure that the belt does not
become trapped when the backrest is
folded down or raised (see page 134).
 If a cargo has to be placed on a seat,
it must be properly secured with the
safety belt. This reduces the risk of the
cargo being thrown about during hard
braking or a crash, which could cause
personal injury.
 Check that the belt is not twisted or
lying against sharp edges.
 Make sure you use the correct safety
belt buckle. The buckles for the center
and left-hand rear seats are close
together.
Rear safety belts
Securing an item on the rear seat
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54 9-3 ConvertibleAdvice on soft top
operation• Once you have raised the soft top and
before driving off, always check that the
soft top is properly engaged with the wind-
shield rail.
 Once you have folded the soft top and
before driving off, check that the soft top
cover is locked.
 Do not operate the soft top in tempera-
tures below 23°F (–5°C).
 Note that certain automatic car washes
can damage the soft top. This applies to
car washes that use mechanical feelers
bearing against the body. Saab advises
against washing the Convertible in an
automatic car wash.
 After rain or washing the car, allow the soft
top to dry completely before folding it.
Folding a wet or damp soft top can cause
water damage in the car and mildew to
form on the soft top. Roof racks and ski holders must not be
mounted on the soft top.
 On no account should anything be put into
the stowage space of the soft top (under
the soft top cover) since this could cause
an obstruction when the soft top is being
folded away.
 Do not place any objects on the covers
over the roll bars as this can hamper their
function.
 When operating the soft top, raise or fold
it fully until notified that operation is com-
plete by the SID. Do not leave the soft top
partially open/closed. If the soft top is left
in an intermediate position it will collapse
progressively after 20 seconds to prevent
overloading the drive system.
 Washing the soft top, see page 250.
WARNING
 Never touch the hinges and struts of
the soft top nor the upper rail of the
windshield while operating the soft
top.
 Do not operate the soft top while there
are bystanders close to the car.
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61 9-3 Convertible
4 Close the trunk lid fully as otherwise it
will obstruct the soft top cover.
5 Open the soft top cover, upward and
backward.
6 Tip forward the front seat backrests.7 Before raising the soft top, the two
catches in the leading edge of the soft
top must be opened. Stand in the rear
seat and pry off the cover with the screw-
driver. Using the tool, turn clockwise to
open the catches.
Stand in the rear seat and raise the soft
top. Pull it towards the windshield. This
operation requires 7.2 ft (2.2 m) of verti-
cal clearance.
WARNING
 Do not touch the hinges and struts of
the soft top during raising.
 Keep your hands clear of the front
windshield rail.
 Pinch hazard may cause personal
injury.
Soft top cover opened Manual closing started Soft top pulled towards windshield
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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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67 9-3 Convertible
Safety belts, rear seat,
ConvertibleThe two rear seats have three-point safety
belts with inertia reels.
Fasten the belt by pulling the belt and insert-
ing the tongue in the buckle. Check that it is
securely fastened.
Position the lap part low across the hips.
Grasp the shoulder belt close to the buckle
and pull the belt towards the shoulder to
tighten the lap belt part.
The belt must be as far in on the shoulder as
possible.
Press the red button on the belt buckle to
release the belt.
Refer to page 248 for how to check the func-
tion of the safety belts, cleaning, etc.
For how to secure loads on the rear seat,
refer to page 15.
WARNING
 If a cargo has to be placed on a seat,
it must be properly secured with the
safety belt. This reduces the risk of the
cargo being thrown about during hard
braking or a crash, which could cause
personal injury.
 Check that the belt is not twisted or
lying against sharp edges.
 Make sure you use the correct seat-
belt buckle.Safety belts, rear seat, Convertible
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81 Instruments and controls
If the needle repeatedly enters the red zone
and the engine at the same time loses
power, because the monitoring system is
limiting the boost pressure, you should
contact a Saab dealer as soon as possible.
When the speed of the car exceeds
143 mph (230 km/h), acceleration is limited
by reducing the boost pressure. The pres-
sure gauge then moves towards the middle
of the white field, indicating a drop in engine
power and consequently the car’s speed.
Fuel gaugeWhen less than about 2.5 gallons (10 litre)
of fuel is left in the tank, a warning light on
the main instrument panel comes on.
Refueling, see page 147.
Information display,
main instrument panelUnder the speedometer is a display. The
information shown here varies depending
on whether the car has a manual transmis-
sion or automatic transmission.
Cars with manual transmission:
 The odometer reading is shown on the
left-hand side of the display.
 Various information and faults are
displayed in the center of the display.
 The trip meter reading is shown on the
right-hand side of the display.
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