36 SafetyHow do I position the seat to leave room for
the airbag to inflate?Don’t have your seat too far forward.
Recline the seat back to increase the dis-
tance between you and the airbag. For short
drivers, special accessory pedal extensions
are available through your Saab dealer.
Airbags inflate extremely rapidly and with
great force – to be fast enough to protect an
adult in the seat. When do the front airbags inflate? The airbag will only be inflated under certain
predetermined conditions in a moderate to
severe frontal, or near-frontal crash, depen-
ding on such factors as the force and angle
of the impact, the speed of the car on
impact, and the resistance to deformation of
the impacting object.
The airbag can only be activated once in the
same incident.
Do not attempt to drive the car after an
airbag has been inflated, even if it is
possible.
What won’t trigger the front airbags? The airbag will not be activated in all
front-end crashes. For instance, if the car
has hit something relatively soft and yielding
(e.g. a snow drift or a hedge) or a solid
object at a low impact speed, the airbag will
not necessarily be triggered. How loud is the inflation? The noise of the inflation is certainly loud,
but it is very short-lived and will not damage
your hearing. For a short time afterwards
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
airbag.
The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place for
children.
NEVER put a child seat in the front.
Sit as far back as possible from the airbag.
Always use safety belts and child res-
traints.
Are the smoke 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 minu-
tes complained only of minor irritation of the
throat and eyes. Avoid as far as possible
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.What should I do if the AIRBAG 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.
ProCarManuals.com
39 Security
To check the number of keys that are pro-
grammed for the car; see page 48.
Locking/unlocking the carWhen the car is locked and unlocked the
theft alarm is also affected.
Remote locking (1)
Press once on the control: all doors
locked.
The hazard warning lights will flash once.
The trunk/tailgate release switch on the dri-
ver´s door will not work when all doors are
locked.
Remote unlocking (2)
Press once on the control: the driver´s
door is unlocked. Press a second time to
unlock the rest of the doors.
The hazard warning lights will flash twice.If remote unlocking should fail to work
Unlock the front door with the key. To
silence the alarm, insert the key into the igni-
tion switch and turn it to the ON position.
The car can now be started. Contact your
local Saab dealer to have the system
checked and repaired.
NOTICEThe key contains delicate electronics.
Do not expose it to water.
Avoid rough handling.
Do not place the key where it may be
subjected to high temperatures, e.g.
on the instrument panel.
The key may malfunction if it becomes
very cold. Warm it in your hands for a
couple of minutes.
Never open the key. For changing the
battery, see page 41.
WARNING
The remote control also works from inside
the car. Therefore, hold the key in such a
way that the buttons are not unintentio-
nally pressed when the key is turned, or
inserted or removed from the ignition
switch.
Otherwise, the doors may be unintentio-
nally locked or the tailgate unlocked. On
Sedan models, the trunk may even be
opened.
IB3154
Locking/unlocking by remote control.1To lock
2 To unlock
ProCarManuals.com
40 SecurityLocking by key (1)
When the car is locked and unlocked the
theft alarm is also affected.
Turn the key clockwise: all doors locked.
The trunk/tailgate release switch on the dri-
ver’s door will not work when all doors are
locked.
Unlocking by key (2)
Turn the key counterclockwise once: the dri-
ver´s door will unlock.
Turn the key counterclockwise twice: all
doors, but not trunk lid/tailgate, unlocked. The central locking can also be operated
from inside the car by means of the
switch on the center console.
To lock all doors: press the symbol side of
the switch once.
To unlock the driver´s door: press the
switch once.
To unlock all doors: press the switch
twice.
This switch is inoperative when the car is
locked from the outside using the remote
control.
The interior locking buttons on each door
affect only the respective door.If the car is left with the doors open, the inte-
rior lighting and the courtesy lights in the
doors will be switched off automatically after
20 minutes, to prevent a drain on the bat-
tery. In such cases the electrically operated
seats will not function.
WARNING
Having the doors locked when you are
driving will reduce the likelihood of:
Passengers, especially children, ope-
ning doors and falling out of the car.
Intruders entering the car when it is
moving slowly or at a standstill.
Injury resulting from a door bursting
open in the event of a crash.
However, you must also remember that
locked doors can hamper rescuers in the
event of a crash.
IB451
Switch for operation of central locking
IB1555
2
1
Locking/unlocking by key1To lock
2 To unlock
ProCarManuals.com
46 SecurityAlarm signals When the car alarm is armed, it will be trig-
gered if any door, or the trunk lid or hood, is
opened.
The alarm will also be triggered if an attempt
is made to bypass or short-circuit the igni-
tion switch, or to disconnect the battery.
If the alarm is triggered, the following alarm
signals will be set off:
Flashing of hazard warning lights for five
minutes.
Horn wailing for 30 seconds.
The alarm signals will stop if the alarm is
deactivated (car unlocked) during the alarm
period.
Panic-functionIn the car alarm system there is a feature
called "Panic-function".
To activate panic function:
Push and hold one of the buttons on the
key for 2 seconds. Or, if you are sitting
inside the car, push the LOCK-switch on
the center console for 2 seconds.
These actions will trigger the alarm (hazard
warning lights and horn).
To deactivate panic function:
Push one of the buttons on the key, push
the LOCK-switch in the center console,
turn the key in the driver´s door or turn the
ignition to ON.
When the panic-function is activated the car
will be locked/unlocked depending upon
which button was pushed.
When the ignition is ON the panic-function
cannot be activated.
ProCarManuals.com
47 Security
Overview of functions
Alarm signals may differ between model variants for different
countries.
Some of the car-alarm functions can be reprogrammed – con-
sult your Saab dealer for further details (see page 264). Locking/
activation Hazard warning lights flash once.
The LED will come on for 10 seconds.
Unlocking/
deactivation Hazard warning lights flash twice.
The LED will come on for two seconds.
Unlocking/
deactivation of
trunk lid/tailgate
alarm Hazard warning lights flash three times.
The LED will flash three times per second for
10 seconds.
Alarm triggered Hazard warning lights flash for 5 min.
Horn wails for 30 seconds.
To switch off the alarm, deactivate the system in
the normal way (unlocking).
Key The range of the key is normally 5–10 yds. (5–
10 metres), although it can be substantially more
than this in ideal conditions (range can vary gre-
atly depending on the position of the car and its
surroundings).
If the key is not working, it may be because the
code signal has not been synchronized with that
in the control module for the car alarm. To rectify
this, press the unlock button on the key at least
four times in quick succession. When it is recog-
nized, the door locks will cycle.
If a key is lost, the new one will have to be pro-
grammed (all keys must be present) to match the
car’s unique security code. Contact an author-
ized Saab dealer.Battery for key The battery for the key will normally have a life of
4 years. When the battery needs changing,
”Remote control battery
low. Replace battery.”
will appear on the Saab Information Display
(SID).
Contact an authorized Saab dealer.
Car-battery
voltage If the battery is disconnected while the alarm is
active (car is locked), for example during an
attempt to steal the car, the alarm will be
triggered.
ProCarManuals.com
51 Instruments and controls
Indicator and warning
lights _______________ 52
Instruments ___________ 58
Saab Information Display
(SID) ________________ 61
Switches _____________ 67
Automatic climate control
(ACC) _______________ 73
AUTO
ECON OFF
AUTO
…F
…C
…F
…C
ECON OFF
CLEARCLEARSET
VOL
TREBAL ON
FA D BAS
PULL PUSH
ASSEARCH
2 13
5 46
DOLBY B NR
Instruments and controls
ProCarManuals.com
52 Instruments and controls
Indicator and warning
lights A number of indicator and warning lights will
come on when the ignition is switched on
prior to starting. Under normal conditions,
these should go out a few seconds after the
engine has started (see page 58).
This light will come on and a chime will
sound if a fault has been detected in any
system that is critical to safety. Any of the
following can activate the central warning
light and alarm:
Airbag system.
Low oil pressure in engine.
Parking brake is on (when car is moving).
Brake fluid level low.
Fault detected in ABS system.
Electronic brake force distribution (distri-
bution of brake pressure between front
and rear wheels).
Engine overheating.
Alternator not charging properly.
Central warning light
Main instrument panel 1 Tachometer
2 Indicator and warning lights
3 Speedometer
4 Indicator and warning lights
5 Pressure gauge6 Fuel gauge
7 Engine temperature gauge
8 Trip meter reset button
9 Odometer and trip meter
U.S. shown, Canada similar
ProCarManuals.com
53 Instruments and controls
This light will come on together with if
the engine oil pressure is dangerously low.
If the light flashes or comes on while you are
driving, stop the car, switch off the engine
and check the engine oil level (see
page 186).
This light will come on together with if
the battery is discharging. If it comes on
while you are driving, stop the car as soon
as possible and switch off the engine.
Check the alternator drive belt (see
page 194). If the belt has broken, the engine
may overheat (cooling system will not func-
tion properly), the battery will not be char-
ged, the A/C compressor will not run and
power assistance for the steering will be
lost.This light will come on together with if
there is insufficient brake fluid in the reser-
voir (see pages 189).
If the ABS warning light is on at the same
time, the ABS system may be inoperative
because of a fault (see ”Anti-lock brake war-
ning”, page 54).
Warning, oil pressure
(engine oil)
NOTICE
Under no circumstances must the car be
driven when this warning light is on. Low
oil pressure can result in serious engine
damage.
Warning, charging
Brake warning light
WARNING
Never drive the car when these warning
lights are on. Danger of brake failure!
Have the brake system checked at once
by an authorized Saab dealer.
ProCarManuals.com