Page 42 of 292
40 SafetyHow loud is the inflation? The noise of the inflation is certainly loud,
but it is of an very short duration and will not
damage your hearing. For a short time after-
wards you could experience a buzzing
noise in your ears.
Most people who have experienced it
cannot remember the noise of the inflation
at all – all they remember is the noise of the
crash. Can you still use a child seat in the front if a
passenger airbag is installed? Definitely not!
Children 12 and under or shorter than
55 inches (140 cm) can be killed by the air-
bag.
The back seat is the safest place for chil-
dren.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the
front.
Sit as far back as possible from the airbag.
Always use seat belts and child restraints.
What should I do if the AIR-BAG warning
light comes on? If the warning light is on, it means that a fault
has been detected in the system. The
airbag cannot be relied on to operate as
intended and it might even be activated
erroneously. You should therefore take the
car to an authorized Saab dealer as soon as
possible.
Are the dust and fumes given off when the
airbag operates at all harmful? Most people who have remained in a car
with little or no ventilation for several min-
utes complained only of minor irritation of
the throat and eyes. Avoid as much as pos-
sible getting dust on your skin as there is a
risk of skin irritation.
If you suffer from asthma, the incident may
bring on an attack, in which case you should
follow the normal procedure advised by
your doctor. It is advisable to consult a
doctor afterwards.
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Page 57 of 292
55 9-3 Convertible
Advice on soft top
operation ___________ 56
Operating the soft top __ 57
Raising the soft top
manually ___________ 62
SID warnings and
messages __________ 65
"Easy entry" __________ 67
Head restraints _______ 68
Safety belts, rear seat,
Convertible _________ 69 Rollover Pop-up Bars ___ 70
Electric windows _______ 71
Interior lighting ________ 72
Unlocking the trunk lid
manually ____________ 73
Manually opening the
fuel filler door ________ 74
Placing two golf bags
in the trunk __________ 74
9-3 Convertible
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Page 69 of 292
67 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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Page 71 of 292
69 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 251 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 16.
WARNING
If 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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Page 72 of 292
70 9-3 ConvertibleRollover Pop-up BarsThe Rollover Pop Up Bars, which are
located behind each rear seat head
restraint, along with the windshield frame
and the seatbelt pretensions, are designed
to deploy in the event of a crash or rollover.
WARNING
You can be severely injured or killed in a
crash if you are not wearing your safety
belt - even if you have airbags and Roll-
over Pop Up Bars. Wearing your safety
belt during a crash helps reduce your
chance of hitting things inside the vehicle
or being ejected from it.
The Rollover Pop Up Bars have pow-
erful springs that rapidly extend the
bars in rollover crashes, as well as in
moderate to severe crashes in which
the airbags deploy. Rollover Pop Up
Bars are supplemental to the safety
belts. They are designed to work with
safety belts but do not replace them.
Rollover Pop Up Bars deploy with
great force, and you could be injured if
your arm or other body part, or if an
object is covering the bars when they
deploy. Don't put anything on the
cover of the Rollover Pop Up Bars.
The path of the Rollover Pop Up Bars
must be kept clear.
The Rollover Pop Up Bars are
designed to deploy only once. If they
deploy, take your vehicle to your Saab
dealer immediately to have the Rollo-
ver Pop Up Bars repaired so that they
operate properly in the event of a
crash or rollover.NOTICETo avoid the risk of damage to the soft top
do not operated the soft top while the
bars are extended.
Rollover Pop-up Bars
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Page 80 of 292
78 Instruments and controls
Warning and indicator
lightsThe following warning and indicator lights
are found on the main instrument panel.This warning light illuminates when a fault
arises in the antilock brake system.
The following message is shown on the
Saab Information Display (SID):
The brake system will continue to function
but without ABS modulation.
This light comes on when the battery is not
being charged by the alternator. If the light
comes on during driving, stop as soon as
possible and switch off the engine.
Check the drive belt, see page 210.
Antilock braking warningAntilock brake malfunction.
Contact Saab dealer.Charge warning light
Main instrument panel1 Tachometer
2 Speedometer
3 Turbo gauge
4 Fuel gauge5 Engine temperature gauge
6 Information display
7 Trip meter reset button
Main instrument panel (Arc panel shown)
U.S. shown, Canada similar
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Page 83 of 292
81 Instruments and controls
This light reminds the driver to buckle up.
This light comes on when the parking brake
is applied (see page 173).
The parking brake is mechanical and oper-
ates on the rear wheels.This light comes on if a potentially serious
fault has occurred in the airbag system.
The following message is shown on the
Saab Information Display (SID):
This light will come on for about four sec-
onds when the ignition switch is turned to
the Start or Drive position.This light comes on when there is less than
about 2.5 gallons (10 litre) of fuel left in the
tank.
Safetybelt reminder
Parking brake warning
light
WARNING
Always apply the parking brake when
parking, see page 173.
Always apply the parking brake
before removing the remote control.
Do not apply the parking brake while
the car is moving.
Airbag warning lightAirbag malfunction.
Contact Saab dealer.
WARNING
If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start your vehicle, it means
the airbag system may not be working
properly. One or more of the following
conditions may occur:
- Non-deployment of the airbags in the
event of a crash.
- Deployment of the airbags without a
crash.
- Deployment of the airbags in crashes
less severe than intended.
To help avoid injury to yourself or
others, have your vehicle serviced
right away if the airbag readiness light
stays on after you start your vehicle.
Indicator, fuel
NOTICE
If the car runs out of fuel, air can be drawn
in with the fuel, which, in turn, can cause
the catalytic converter to be damaged by
overheating.
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Page 102 of 292
100 Instruments and controlsPriority of audible informationSound from various functions in the car,
such as the direction indicators, parking
assistance and seatbelt reminders, come
from the same sound source: the car’s
sound system. If two or more of these func-
tions are active simultaneously, the most
important function at that time will be priori-
tized.
If, for example, the direction indicators are
active when you engage reverse, the park-
ing assistance (if fitted) will be heard instead
of the direction indicators. When reverse is
disengaged, the direction indicators will be
heard, if they are still active.
Wipers and washersWindshield wipersPosition 1 is a spring-loaded position that
will produce a single sweep of the wipers.
In position 2 you can set the delay period for
intermittent wiping using the thumbwheel on
the stalk switch. There are 5 delay periods
from which to choose, ranging from 2 to
15 seconds.
The wipers always return to their home posi-
tion when the ignition is turned off.
To leave the wipers positioned vertically on
the windshield, proceed as follows:
1 Switch off the engine and remove the
remote control.
2 Activate the wipers within the next
16 seconds by pressing the stalk switch
down.
When the ignition is next switched on the
wipers will return to their home position.
WashersActivate the washers by pulling the stalk
switch towards the steering wheel.
When the washers are operated, the wipers
will make 3, 4 or 5 sweeps, depending on
how long the washers were kept on. If
the speed of the car is less than 12 mph
(20 km/h), the wipers will make an addi-
tional sweep after roughly 8 seconds.
When the washer fluid level drops below
1 quart (1 litre), the headlight washers (if
equipped) are deactivated. This is in order Windshield wipers0OFF
1 Single sweep
2 Intermittent wiping
3 Low speed
4 High speed
5 Windshield and headlight washing (certain
variants only)
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