28 SafetyAirbag The AIRBAG system comprises an airbag in
the steering wheel, a front passenger airbag
and side airbags in the front seats.
The system supplements the protection
provided by the safety belts to further
enhance the safety of the occupants.
If a fault is detected in the AIRBAG, the
AIR BAG warning light on the main instru-
ment panel will come on (see pages 55
and 33). When the system is triggered by impact of a
frontal crash, the airbags in the steering
wheel and passenger side of the dash board
are inflated, after which they deflate through
vents in the back of the bags.
The driver and passenger airbags are refer-
red ta as ‘smart’ airbags. This means that
the system compensates for factors such as
the force of the collision.Note:
The sensor reacts differently depending on
whether or not the front seatbelts on the dri-
ver’s and passenger sides are used. Situa-
tions can therefore arise where only one of
the airbags inflates.
It is also possible for only the seatbelt pre-
tensioners to be activated and for the air-
bags to remain uninflated.
The entire process takes less than
0.1 second – literally, faster than the blin-
king of an eye.
These airbags are triggered only by mode-
rate to severe frontal or near-frontal cras-
hes. They will not be activated by minor
front-end impacts, rear-end or side impacts,
or by the car rolling over.
WARNING
To reduce risk of 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 com-
fortably.
Children 12 and under or shorter than
55 inches (140 cm) should always
travel in the rear seat as the car is fitted
with a passenger airbag.
Never fit a child seat in front of the pas-
senger airbag.
IB419
Inflated airbag (driver side) Inflation and deflation together take less than
0.1 second.
ProCarManuals.com
30 Safety
IB1742
5
1
4
2
6
3
2
6
7
7
5
AIRBAG system with belt pretensioners1 Central sensor
2 Belt pretensioners (for both front safety belts)
3 Steering wheel with integral airbag
4 Passenger airbag
5 Side-airbag sensor
6 Side airbag
7 Front sensors
IB1743
Accessories and other equipment must
not be fitted to the surfaces marked as
these are where the airbags inflate in the
event of a crash.
IB417Moment of impact.
The sensors detect
deceleration and send
a signal via the cen-
tral sensor to the gas
generator that infla-
tes the airbag.
The inflating airbag
cushions the driver.
Airbag now fully infla-
ted.
The airbag starts to
deflate.
ProCarManuals.com
32 SafetySide airbags
The side airbags, which help protect the
upper body are integrated in the outside
edges of the front seat backrests.
In a side impact, only the airbag on that side
will be activated, and only then if certain pre-
determined conditions are met such as the
force and angle of the impact, the speed of
the car on impact, and at which point on the
car’s side the impact occurs.
The sensors, which are fitted in the front
doors, sense the rise in pressure caused by
the door panel being pressed in during an
impact condition. The side airbag trigger will
be commanded based on the characteris-
tics of this pressure rise.
WARNING
This car is equipped with side airbags
and no extra interior trim should be fit-
ted. Failure to observe this warning
could result in the side airbags not
inflating as intended and thus not pro-
viding 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 sensors for the side airbags are
fitted in the front doors. We advise
against doing any work on the doors
that could affect the moisture barrier in
the door or the airbag sensors. It is
essential that the moisture barrier
(thick plastic film) in the front door is
not damaged in any way.
Improvement of the anticorrosion tre-
atment of the doors should only be
carried out by an authorized Saab
dealer. Otherwise there is a risk that
the side impact sensor and the mois-
ture barrier in the front door could be
damaged.
The side airbags will inflate only in the
event of a side impact; not in the event
of a front or rear-end crash or of the
car’s rolling over.
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.
Do not modify the speaker installation
in the front doors or install speakers
other than those specifically approved
by Saab.
ProCarManuals.com
33 Safety
AIRBAG warning light
WARNING
If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start your vehicle, it means
the airbag system may not be working
properly. See page 55. The airbags in
your vehicle may not inflate in a crash,
or they could even inflate without a
crash.
To help avoid injury to yourself or oth-
ers, have your vehicle serviced right
away if the airbag readiness light stays
on after you start your vehicle.
IB1182
Side airbag inflated
IB1707
Side airbag components 1 Side airbag
2 Sensor
3 Moisture barrier
4 Text on seat
ProCarManuals.com
48 SecurityOverview of LED signals and SID messagesSome signals may differ between model variants for different
countries. Status LED signal
Activation (during 10-second delay). Comes on for 10 seconds.
Alarm activated (after delay). Flashes once every other
second.
Deactivation. Comes on for 2 seconds.
Alarm not activated. Off.
Door, trunk lid/tailgate or hood open
or opened during delay period.Flashes three times per
second for 10 seconds.
Unlocking the trunk lid/tailgate. Flashes three times per
second for 10 seconds.
Closing of door, trunk lid/tailgate or
hood after delay period.Comes on for 10 seconds.
Car immobilized but not locked.
Car alarm not activated.Flashes twice at three
seconds intervals.
Fault in a switch serving doors, hood
or trunk lid.Flashing (instead of being
on continuously) during
delay period.
SID message Reason/action
Theft protection failure.
Contact service.Probably a fault in one of the sensors
or the horn.
Have the car checked by an authori-
zed Saab dealer.
Key not accepted.
Contact service.Fault in key transmitter or in igni-
tion-switch receiver.
Turn ignition switch to ON and press
the unlock button on the key. Start
the engine.
Have the car checked by an authori-
zed Saab dealer.
Remote control battery
low. Replace battery.Fit a new battery in the key, see
page 41.
REMOTE KEY
TRANSPONDRTurn the ignition key to position ON
and then press the button for ope-
ning the trunk lid. Saab Information
Display (SID) displays the number of
keys and transmitters (transponders)
coded to the car.
ProCarManuals.com
59 Instruments and controls
Speedometer(U.S. speedometer shown)
The speedometer receives signals from the
wheel sensors in the ABS system.
If the NIGHT PANEL mode has been selec-
ted, the scale will be illuminated up to 87
mph (140 km/h). The remainder of the scale
will be illuminated if the speed of the car
exceeds 84 mph (135 km/h).
Fuel gauge Fuel-tank capacity, 18.5 US gal. (70 liters).
The fuel gauge shows the amount of fuel left
in the tank. When this is down to about
2.5 gal. (10 liters), a warning light on the
main instrument panel will come on (see
page 55).
Use the Saab Information display (SID) to
check the approximate distance that can be
traveled on the remaining fuel
(see page 61).
Temperature gauge The temperature gauge shows the tempe-
rature of the coolant. The needle should be
in the middle of the scale when the engine
is at normal operating temperature.
If the needle approaches the red zone,
which can occur in very hot weather or when
the engine is under a heavy load, drive in the
highest gear possible, keep the engine revs
low and avoid shifting down.
If the needle enters the red zone, the
warning light will come on and an alarm
chime will sound.
2030405060
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
240
260220200180160
140 120 100
80
60
40
20
10
IB1851
IB345
IB343
ProCarManuals.com
71 Instruments and controls
Wipers and washers There are three intermittent wiper positions.
Moving the control stalk to the spring-loa-
ded position between 0 and 2 will produce a
single sweep of the wipers.
The wipers are designed for optimal clea-
ning at all driving speeds. At higher speeds,
it may be possible to detect a slight ”sweep-
ing” sound. This may be due to the
increased air pressure on the blades at
higher speeds.Headlight washers(if equipped)
If low beam is on, the headlights are washed
every fifth time the windshield washers are
used or if 2 minutes have elapsed since the
windshield was last washed. The headlight
washers cannot be activated separately.
The headlight washers are of the high-pres-
sure type, which means that other parts of
the car may become wet if you activate the
washers while the car is stationary.
Rain sensing wipers(if equipped)
The rain sensor automatically controls the
windshield wipers. The sensor is located on
the windshield beside the rearview mirror.
The system varies between single sweeps
of the windshield and continuous wiping
depending on how much water or snow
there is on the windshield.
WARNING
Turn the rain sensor off if the ignition is
ON when clearing snow and ice from the
windshield, to avoid personal injury.
NOTICETo avoid damaging the windshield
wipers, turn the rain sensor off before
washing the car in an automatic carwash.
IB359
0
41
2
3
0 OFF
1 Intermittent operation
2 Low speed
3 High speed
4 Washers
12
IB569
Control for setting wiper delay1 Long delay
2 Short delay
ProCarManuals.com
72 Instruments and controlsActivate the system by lifting the control
stalk to position 1. The wipers make one
sweep for reference to see how much water
and snow is on the windshield. In future, the
sensor compares the amount of water and
snow on the windshield with this reference
value.
When the engine has been switched off,
the control stalk must be moved to posi-
tion 0 and back to position 1 to reactivate
the sensor.
Set the sensitivity using the control on the
wiper stalk (the same control as used for
wiper delay on cars not fitted with a rain sen-
sor). The sensor has three sensitivity set-
tings. It is most sensitive when in the upper-
most position (1). When a higher degree of
sensitivity is selected, the wipers make one
sweep of the windshield for reference.
The rain sensor has a daylight and a night
time mode. The sensor measures the
amount of available light and automatically
selects the appropriate mode. The sensor is
more sensitive at night. The function of the
rain sensor is impaired by dry snow.
Rear-window wiper(9-5 SportWagon)
The rear-window wiper and washer are ope-
rated with the same stalk switch as used for
washing and wiping the windshield and
headlights.
This stalk has two additional switches,
ON/OFF and .
The ON position provides intermittent
wiping.
The position provides washing and
wiping. After a few sweeps the wiper stops
or reverts to intermittent wiping, if this has
been chosen. About 15 seconds after com-
pletion of the washing/wiping of the rear
window, the wiper makes a single sweep to
wipe away any remaining washer fluid.
A spring-loaded position between the OFF
and ON positions allows for a single sweep
of the rear-window wiper.
Intermittent wiping of the rear window
occurs when reverse gear is engaged if the
windshield wipers are in position 1, 2 or 3,
see page 71.
For how to adjust the rear window washer
jet on the 9-5 SportWagon, refer to
page 195.
2 1
IB1207
Rear-window wiper1 Intermittent wiping
2 Washers
ProCarManuals.com