Page 1 of 288
1
Owner’s Manual
Saab 9-5, Model Year 2004
Safety 11
Security 39
Instruments and controls 53
Saab 9-5 Audio System 85
OnStar - Telematics 107
Interior equipment and trunk 119
Starting and driving 147
Car care and technical information 199
Customer Assistance and Information 263
Specifications 269
Index 283
© Saab Automobile AB 2003
Service Readiness, Saab Automobile AB, Trollhättan, Sweden
Printed in Sweden
ProCarManuals.com
Page 19 of 288

19 Safety
Children who have grown out of a child
seat should be restrained by the car’s
standard three-point belts. Make sure that
the shoulder belt is not in contact with the
neck or throat. If it is, a booster seat/cush-
ion may be necessary.
Front safety belts Fasten the belt by pulling the belt and insert-
ing the tongue in 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.
Then grip the belt at the shoulder, pull it out
and, without letting go, allow the slack to be
taken up by the reel. Make sure that the belt
is well in on the shoulder.
Because the lower belt-anchorage points
are on the seat, the belt buckle follows the
movement of the seat during seat adjust-
ment.To release the belt, press the red button on
the belt buckle, as illustrated.
See page 253 for the checking of belt func-
tion, cleaning, etc.
WARNING
Never fasten the safety belt with the
shoulder belt behind the body or pull the
belt off the shoulder and under the arm.
IB411
To fasten the belt
IB412
Press the red button to release the belt
ProCarManuals.com
Page 21 of 288

21 Safety
Safety belt, rear seat Three-point safety belts are provided for all
three rear seat passengers.
Fasten the belt by pulling out the strap care-
fully and inserting the tongue in the lock.
Check that it is securely fastened.
Then grip the diagonal part of the strap near
the lock and pull the belt upwards towards
the shoulder to tighten the lap strap. The lap
strap should lie low over the hips.The diagonal part should lie as far in on the
shoulder as possible.
To release the belt, press the red button on
the belt lock.
See page 253 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 135).
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.
IB???IB415
Safety belt, rear seat
IB416
Securing an item on the rear seat
ProCarManuals.com
Page 25 of 288

25 Safety
LATCH installationTo facilitate the proper fitting of new
specially-designed child restraints, rigid
lower anchorages (ISOFIX) have been
installed to the vehicle that shall be used
with the top tether anchorages in the two
outboard rear seating positions. There is an
additional top tether anchorage for the
center rear seating position that is to be
used together with the safety belt.
LATCH is a U.S./Canadian government
standard for an uniform method of fitting
child restraints without using the standard
safety belts. Only certain child restraints are
equipped to utilize these rigid lower anchor-
ages behind where the seat cushion and
seat back come together. LATCH child
seats also utilize a top tether strap that is
found on some newer child seats that still
require installation with the standard safety
belts.There are two bars attached to the car body
for each specially designed LATCH child
restraint. A small label is located on the seat
back just above the outer attachment bars
to facilitate installing the child restraint. The
label contains a circle and a rearward facing
child restraint.
1 Place the child restraint on the seat
cushion.
2 Press the child restraint rearward into
the space between the backrest and
cushion, lining up the restraint attach-
ment arms with the labels.
3 Follow the child restraint instructions to
confirm that both restraint arms are
properly attached to the bars.
4 Attach the top tether strap to the in-car
anchorage and tighten according to the
restraint instructions, see page 27 and
28.
5 Pull the child restraint to make a second
check that restraint is securely attached
at both the lower anchorage bars and
the top tether strap.
ProCarManuals.com
Page 27 of 288

27 Safety
Child tether anchorages for forward
facing child car seatsChild restraints with a tether strap must be
anchored according to Canadian and USA
laws.
If you have any questions regarding child
tether anchorages please contact your
Saab dealer.9-5 Sedan:
1 Open the cover that is right behind the
child restraint. Make sure it locks.
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 mounting
instruction.
4 Route the tether under the headrest.
5 Attach the tether to the anchorage.
6 Tighten the tether so that the back of the
child restraint is pressed hard against
the backrest.
7 Pull the child restraints to make a
second check that the restraints are
securely attached at both the lower
anchorages bars and the top tether
strap.
WARNING
Child 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.
IB1698
Child tether anchorages in parcel shelf,
Saab 9-5 Sedan
ProCarManuals.com
Page 28 of 288

28 Safety9-5 SportWagon:
1 Fold the backrest of the rear seat
forward, see page 135.
2 Fold the anchor that is right behind the
child restraint to its upright position.
3 Place the child restraint in the rear seat.
4 Raise the head restraint to its upper
position and then route the tether under
the head restraint.
5 Attach the tether to the anchor.
6 Raise the backrest of the rear seat.
Make sure it locks properly.
7 Secure the lower part of the child
restraint by means of the safety belt or
lower anchorages (ISOFIX) as
described in the child restraint mounting
instruction on the previous page.8 Tighten the tether so that the back of the
child restraint is pressed hard against
the backrest.
9 Pull the child restraints to make a
second check that the restraints are
securely attached at both the lower
anchorages bars and the top tether
strap.
It is not possible to route the tether through
the cargo net (accessory), if one is fitted.
Instead we recommend a cargo guard
(accessory).
WARNING
Make sure the child-restraint anchorages
are folded all the way up or down other-
wise it can obstruct locking the rear seat
backrest.
IB1352
Child tether anchorages, Saab 9-5 Sport-
Wagon
ProCarManuals.com
Page 29 of 288

29 Safety
Lockable belt tongue In fitting a child seat that is intended to be
secured in position by the lap portion of the
safety belt, make use of the locking function
of the buckle.
Locking the lap portion of the belt lessens
the risk that the seat will work loose while
the car is in motion.
The button for the locking function is located
on the back of the buckle.
1 Position the child seat in the back of the
car.
2 To activate the locking function, move
the locking button on the tongue of the
belt to the position marked
”CHILD SEAT” (item 1 in the figure) in
order to activate the locking function.
3 Secure the base of the child seat with
the lap portion of the safety belt in accor-
dance with the installation instructions
accompanying the child seat.
4 Grasp the shoulder part of the safety belt
and pull it upwards to tighten the lap
portion against the child seat.
5 Check for correct locking function by
pulling on the lap portion of the belt. The
belt must not unreel.
IB822
Locking the lap belt1 Locked
2 Unlocked
ProCarManuals.com
Page 30 of 288

30 SafetyInstallation of child restraint using the
standard safety belt
Child restraints that are approved for rear-
ward facing installation in the rear seat can
be positioned in any of the three rear places.
If you intend to install another make of child
restraint make sure that it is possible to fit it
in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions.
Saab recommends rearward facing child
restraints up to 3 years.
WARNING
Failure to follow all the manufacturer’s
instructions on the use of this child
restraint system can cause your child to
strike the vehicle´s interior during a
sudden stop or crash.
WARNING
A special accessory is available for lock-
ing the center armrest so that a child seat
can be installed in the middle seat. See
your Saab dealer for details.
When a rear-facing child seat is fitted in
the center position of the rear seat in the
Saab 9-5 Sedan the center armrest must
be secured in place with this strap. If this
is not done, the center armrest could
swing down in the event of a frontal crash
and cause injury to the child.
IB1204
Fitting the locking strap on the center
armrest, Saab 9-5 Sedan (not needed on
SportWagon).
The locking strap is standard equipment in
certain markets.
ProCarManuals.com