2006 SAAB 9-2X engine

Driving tips
8-13
8
– CONTINUED –
Trailer towingYour vehicle is designed and intended to
be used primarily as a passenger-carrying
vehicle. Towing a trailer puts additional
loads on your vehicle’s engine, drivetrain,
brakes, tires and suspension and has an
adverse effect on fuel economy.
If you do decide to tow a trailer, your safe-
ty and satisfaction depend upon proper
use of correct equipment and cautious op-
eration of your vehicle. Seek the advice of
your Saab dealer to assist you in purchas-
ing a hitch and other necessary towing
equipment appropriate for your vehicle. In
addition, be sure to follow the instructions
on correct installation and use provided by
the trailer and other towing equipment
manufacturers.
Saab assumes no responsibility for inju-
ries or vehicle damage that result from
trailer towing equipment, or from any er-
rors or omissions in the instructions ac-
companying such equipment or for your
failure to follow the proper instructions.
Warranties and maintenanceFor details of application of warranties to
vehicle damage or malfunctions related
with trailer towing, please refer to the
“Saab Warranty and Service RecordBooklet”. If you use your vehicle to tow a
trailer, more frequent maintenance will be
required due to the additional load. (Refer
to “Maintenance schedule under severe
driving conditions” in the “Saab Warranty
and Service Record Booklet”.)
Under no circumstances should a trailer
be towed with a new vehicle or a vehicle
with any new powertrain component (en-
gine, transmission, differential, wheel
bearings, etc.) for the first 1,000 miles
(1,600 km) of driving.

Maximum load limits

Total trailer weightTotal trailer weightThe total trailer weight (trailer weight plus
its cargo load) must never exceed the
maximum weight shown in the following
table. Never exceed the maximum load
limits explained in the following. Ex-
ceeding the maximum load limits
could cause personal injury and/or
vehicle damage.

Adequate size trailer brakes are
required when the trailer and its
cargo exceed 1,000 lbs (453 kg)
total weight.
Before towing a trailer, check the
trailer total weight, GVW, GAWs
and tongue load. Make sure the
load and its distribution in your
vehicle and trailer are acceptable.
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Driving tips
8-19
8
– CONTINUED –

Before starting out on a trip

Check that the vehicle and vehicle-to-
hitch mounting are in good condition. If
any problems are apparent, do not tow the
trailer.

Check that the vehicle sits horizontally
with the trailer attached. If the vehicle is
tipped sharply up at the front and down at
the rear, check the total trailer weight,
GVW, GAWs and tongue load again, then
confirm that the load and its distribution
are acceptable.

Check that the tire pressures are cor-
rect.

Check that the vehicle and trailer are
connected properly. Confirm that
– the trailer tongue is connected prop-
erly to the hitch ball.
– the trailer lights connector is connect-
ed properly and trailer’s brake lights illu-
minate when the vehicle’s brake pedal
is pressed, and that the trailer’s turn sig-nal lights flash when the vehicle’s turn
signal lever is operated.
– the safety chains are connected prop-
erly.
– all cargo in the trailer is secured safe-
ty in position.
– the side mirrors provide a good rear-
ward field of view without a significant
blind spot.

Sufficient time should be taken to learn
the “feel” of the vehicle/trailer combination
before starting out on a trip. In an area free
of traffic, practice turning, stopping and
backing up.

Driving with a trailer

You should allow for considerably more
stopping distance when towing a trailer.
Avoid sudden braking because it may re-
sult in skidding or jackknifing and loss of
control.

Avoid abrupt starts and sudden acceler-
ations. If your vehicle has a manual trans-
mission, always start out in first gear and
release the clutch at moderate engine rev-
olution.

Avoid uneven steering, sharp turns and
rapid lane changes.

Slow down before turning. Make a long-
er than normal turning radius because the
trailer wheels will be closer than the vehi-
cle wheels to the inside of the turn. In atight turn, the trailer could hit your vehicle.

Crosswinds will adversely affect the
handling of your vehicle and trailer, caus-
ing sway. Crosswinds can be due to
weather conditions or the passing of large
trucks or buses. If swaying occurs, firmly
grip the steering wheel and slow down im-
mediately but gradually.

When passing other vehicles, consider-
able distance is required because of the
added weight and length caused by at-
taching the trailer to your vehicle.
1) Left turn
2) Right turn
Backing up with a trailer is difficult and
takes practice. When backing up with a
trailer, never accelerate or steer rapidly.
When turning back, grip the bottom of the
When towing a trailer, steering,
stability, stopping distance and
braking performance will be dif-
ferent from normal operation. For
safety’s sake, you should employ
extra caution when towing a trail-
er and you should never speed.
You should also keep the follow-
ing tips in mind:1
2
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8-20
Driving tips
steering wheel with one hand and turn it to
the left for a left turn, and turn it to the right
for a right turn.

If the ABS warning light illuminates
while the vehicle is in motion, stop towing
the trailer and have repairs performed im-
mediately by the nearest Saab dealer.

Driving on grades

Before going down a steep hill, slow
down and shift into lower gear (if neces-
sary, use 1st gear) in order to utilize the
engine braking effect and prevent over-
heating of your vehicle’s brakes. Do not
make sudden downshifts.

When driving uphill in hot weather, the
air conditioner may turn off automatically
to protect the engine from overheating.

When driving uphill in hot weather, pay
attention to the water temperature gauge
pointer (for all vehicles) and AT OIL TEMP
warning light (for AT vehicles) since the
engine and transmission are relatively
prone to overheating under these condi-
tions. If the water temperature gauge
pointer approaches the OVERHEAT zone
or the AT OIL TEMP warning light illumi-
nates, immediately switch off the air con-
ditioner and stop the vehicle at the nearest
safe place. Refer to the “Engine overheat-
ing” section in chapter 9, and “Warning
and indicator lights” section in chapter 3.
If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, avoid using the accelerator pedal
to stay stationary on an uphill slope in-
stead of using the parking brake or foot
brake. That may cause the transmission
fluid to overheat.

If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, place the selector lever as fol-
lows:
Uphill slopes: “D” position
Downhill slopes: A low-speed gear posi-
tion to use engine braking

Parking on a grade
Always block the wheels under both vehi-
cle and trailer when parking. Apply the
parking brake firmly. You should not park
on a hill or slope. But if parking on a hill or
slope cannot be avoided, you should take
the following steps:
1. Apply the brakes and hold the pedal
down.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks un-
der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place, re-
lease the regular brakes slowly until the
blocks absorb the load.
4. Apply the regular brakes and then ap-
ply the parking brake; slowly release the
regular brakes.
5. Shift into 1st or reverse gear (manualtransmission) or “P” (automatic transmis-
sion) and shut off the engine.A1910BE-A-GSAAB.book Page 20 Tuesday, September 6, 2005 8:37 AM
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9
In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in case of an
emergency ....................................................... 9-2
Temporary spare tire .......................................... 9-2
Flat tires .............................................................. 9-4
Changing a flat tire ................................................. 9-4
Jump starting ...................................................... 9-8
How to jump start ................................................... 9-8
Engine overheating ............................................ 9-10
If steam is coming from the engine
compartment ......................................................... 9-10
If no steam is coming from the engine
compartment ......................................................... 9-10
Towing ................................................................. 9-10
Towing and tie-down hooks .................................. 9-11
Using a flat-bed truck ............................................. 9-12
Towing with all wheels on the ground .................. 9-12
Rear liftgate – if the rear liftgate cannot be
unlocked .......................................................... 9-13
Moonroof – if the moonroof cannot be closed 9-14
Maintenance tools .............................................. 9-15
Jack and jack handle .............................................. 9-15
3 Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all cars (can depend
on model variant, engine variant, market specification, options
or accessories)
.
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In case of emergency
9-3
9
1) Tread wear indicator bar
2) Indicator location mark
When the wear indicator appears on the
tread, replace the tire.

The temporary spare tire must be used
only on a rear wheel. If a front wheel tire
gets punctured, replace the wheel with a
rear wheel and install the temporary spare
tire in place of the removed rear wheel.
1) Spare fuse
2) FWD connectorNOTE(If your vehicle is AWD with automatic
transmission, except Turbo models)
Before driving your vehicle with the
temporary spare tire, put a spare fuse
inside the FWD connector in the main
fuse box located in the engine com-
partment and confirm that the Front-
wheel drive warning light “FWD” in the
instrument cluster comes on. The All-
Wheel Drive capability of the vehicle
has now deactivated. After re-installing
the conventional tire, remove the spare
fuse from the FWD connector in order
to reactivate All-Wheel Drive.
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21
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Never tow a trailer when the tempo-
rary spare tire is used. The tempo-
rary spare tire is not designed to
sustain the towing load. Use of the
temporary spare tire when towing
can result in failure of the spare tire
and/or less stability of the vehicle
and may lead to an accident.
Never use any temporary spare tire
other than the original. Using other
sizes may result in severe mechani-
cal damage to the drive train of your
vehicle.
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9-4
In case of emergency
Flat tiresIf you have a flat tire while driving, never
brake suddenly; keep driving straight
ahead while gradually reducing speed.
Then slowly pull off the road to a safe
place.
Changing a flat tire
1. Park on a hard, level surface, whenev-
er possible, then stop the engine.
2. Set the parking brake securely and
shift a manual transmission vehicle in re-
verse or an automatic transmission vehi-
cle in the “P” (Park) position.
3. Turn on the hazard warning flasher and
have everyone get out of the vehicle.
4. Put wheel blocks at the front and rear
of the tire diagonally opposite the flat tire.
1) Jack
2) Jack handle
3) Spare tire5. Take out the spare tire, jack, and wheel
nut wrench.
The spare tire is stored under the floor of
the cargo area.
To remove the spare tire, proceed as fol-
lows:
Do not jack up the vehicle on an
incline or a loose road surface.
The jack can come out of the jack-
ing point or sink into the ground
and this can result in a severe ac-
cident.

Use only the jack provided with
your vehicle. The jack supplied
with the vehicle is designed only
for changing a tire. Never get un-
der the vehicle while supporting
the vehicle with this jack.

Always turn off the engine before
raising the flat tire off the ground
using the jack. Never swing or
push the vehicle supported with
the jack. The jack can come out of
the jacking point due to a jolt and
this can result in a severe acci-
dent.
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23 1
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9-8
In case of emergency
Jump starting
When your vehicle does not start due to a
run down (discharged) battery, the vehicle
may be jump started by connecting your
battery to another battery (called the
booster battery) with jumper cables.

How to jump start1. Make sure the booster battery is 12
volts and the negative terminal is ground-
ed.
2. If the booster battery is in another vehi-
cle, do not let the two vehicles touch.
3. Turn off all unnecessary lights and ac-
cessories.
4. Connect the jumper cables exactly in
the sequence illustrated.
Battery fluid is SULFURIC ACID.
Do not let it come in contact with
the hooks, skin, clothing or the
vehicle.
If battery fluid gets on you, thor-
oughly flush the exposed area
with water immediately. Get medi-
cal help if the fluid has entered
your eyes.
If battery fluid is accidentally
swallowed, immediately drink a
large amount of milk or water, and
obtain immediate medical help.
Keep everyone including children
away from the battery.

The gas generated by a battery ex-
plodes if a flame or spark is
brought near it. Do not smoke or
light a match while jump starting.

Never attempt jump starting if the
discharged battery is frozen. It
could cause the battery to burst or
explode.

Whenever working on or around a
battery, always wear suitable eye
protection, and remove metal ob-
jects such as rings, bands or oth-
er metal jewelry.

Be sure the jumper cables and
clamps on them do not have loose
or missing insulation.
Do not jump start unless cables in
suitable condition are available.

A running engine can be danger-
ous. Keep your fingers, hands,
clothing, hair and tools away from
the cooling fan, belts and any oth-
er moving engine parts. Remov-
ing rings, watches and ties is ad-
visable.

Jump starting is dangerous if it is
done incorrectly. If you are unsure
about the proper procedure for
jump starting, consult a compe-
tent mechanic.
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In case of emergency
9-9
1) Booster battery
2) Engine lifting bracket
3
4
2
1
1 2900270
1) Connect one jumper cable to the pos-
itive (+) terminal on the discharged bat-
tery.
2) Connect the other end of the jumper
cable to the positive (+) terminal of the
booster battery.
3) Connect one end of the other cable to
the negative (–) terminal of the booster
battery.
4) Connect the other end of the cable to
the engine lifting bracket.
Make sure that the cables are not near
any moving parts and that the cable
clamps are not in contact with any other
metal.
5. Start the engine of the vehicle with the
booster battery and run it at moderate
speed. Then start the engine of the vehi-
cle that has the discharged battery.
6. When finished, carefully disconnect
the cables in exactly the reverse order.
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