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43 Safety
For optimal protection, do not sit too close to
the door. Bear this in mind, for example, if
someone is sleeping in the car. The inflat-
able curtain comes down from the headlin-
ing and covers a large portion of the side
windows.
Airbag warning lamp What Will You See After an
Airbag Inflates?
After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates,
so quickly that some people may not even
realize the airbag inflated. Some compo-
nents of the airbag module - the steering
wheel hub for the driver's frontal airbag, the
instrument panel for the right front passen-
ger's frontal airbag or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows - will be hot
for a short time. The parts of the bag that
come into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from the vents in
the deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does
not prevent the driver from seeing or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
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 87.
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
others, have your vehicle serviced
right away if the airbag readiness light
stays on after you start your vehicle.
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Page 46 of 318

46 SafetyWhen do the airbags in the steering wheel
and passenger side of the dash board
inflate? The airbag will only be inflated under certain
predetermined conditions in a moderate to
severe frontal, or near-frontal crash,
depending 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 possi-
ble.What won’t trigger the airbag? The airbag will not be activated in all frontal
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 neces-
sarily be triggered.
How 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 a workshop. We recommend that you
contact a Saab dealer as soon as possible.
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Page 52 of 318

52 SecurityLocking/unlocking the carRemote locking and unlocking also control
the car alarm.
Remote locking
Press the button once:
Sport Sedan: all doors locked.
SportCombi: all doors and tailgate locked.
The hazard warning lights will flash once to
confirm.Remote unlocking
Pressing the button once: the driver´s
door is unlocked.
Pressin a second time:
Sport Sedan: the rest of the doors are
unlocked.
SportCombi: the rest of the doors and tail-
gate are unlocked.
The hazard warning lights will flash twice to
confirm.
Saab Information Display (SID), see
page 93.
Intermittent malfunctioning
Equipment in the vicinity of the car that uses
the same frequency as the remote control
may cause interference to the remote con-
trol signal. In this case, retry from another
angle and aim at the receiver located by the
steering wheel.If remote unlocking should fail to work
1 Remove the traditional key from the
remote control by pressing the emblem
on the reverse of the remote control.
(This key only fits the front left-hand
door.)
2 Unlock the door with the key.
The car alarm will be tripped. To silence the
alarm, insert the remote control into the igni-
tion switch.
WARNING
Leaving children or pets unattended in a
locked car is dangerous. It is also danger-
ous to leave children in a vehicle with the
ignition key. A child or others could be
badly injured or even killed.
Never lock anyone in the car.
Locking/unlocking the front left-hand door
with the traditional key1 Lock
2 Unlock
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53 Security
Locking a car with dead batteryThe steering wheel lock requires sufficient
battery voltage to lock and unlock. If the bat-
tery voltage drops below a certain level
while the remote control is in the ignition
switch, you will not be able to remove the
remote control.
If you must leave the car, proceed as
follows:
1 Lock the car by pressing down the lock
buttons on the doors.
2 Lock the front left door from outside with
the traditional key (see page 52). The
car is now locked but the car alarm will
remain inactive.
Trunk lid/TailgateOpening
Sport Sedan: The trunk lid is unlocked and
slightly opened when the button on the
remote control or on the inside of the driver’s
door is pressed once.
SportCombi: The tailgate is unlocked (not
opened) when the button on the remote
control or on the inside of the driver’s door
is pressed once.
The hazard warning lights will flash three
times to confirm.
Closing
Sport Sedan: The trunk lid is locked when
closed.
SportCombi: The tailgate is not locked
when closed. It is locked together with the
doors when button on the remote con-
trol is pressed once.
If the doors are locked when the trunk lid is
closed it is armed and the movement sensor
in the cabin will be armed.
Opening button on driver’s door
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Page 54 of 318

54 SecuritySwitches on front doorsThe central locking can also be operated
from inside the car using the button by each
front door handle.
Locking the car with the remote control ren-
ders these buttons inoperative.
Sport Sedan: If you are sitting in the car and
pressing the button on the driver’s
door, the driver’s door will unlock. Pressing
the button a second time will unlock the
remaining doors.
SportWagon: If you are sitting in the car
and pressing the button on the driver’s
door, the driver’s door will unlock. Pressing
the button a second time will unlock the
remaining doors and the tailgate.
The button on the passenger door works in
the same way except that this first unlocks
the passenger door. During this operation
the rear doors remain locked.
If the car is left with one or more doors open,
the interior lighting will be switched off auto-
matically after 20 minutes. This is to prevent
the battery from running flat. Also, if the car
has electrically adjustable seats, these will
cease to operate.
Child safety locksThe rear doors are equipped with child
safety locks that are activated by means of
a catch next to the door latch.
Insert a screwdriver or the traditional key
(enclosed in the remote control) and turn it
45° in the direction shown on the label on
the door.
When the child safety lock is in the locked
position, the door can only be opened from
outside the car.
WARNING
If small children are carried in the rear
seat, the safety locks on the rear doors
should be activated to prevent uninten-
tional opening from the inside.
Child safety locks
Central locking switch
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Page 63 of 318
63 9-3 Convertible
Advice on soft top
operation ___________ 64
Operating the soft top __ 65
Raising the soft top
manually ___________ 70
SID warnings and
messages __________ 73
"Easy entry" __________ 75
Head restraints _______ 76
Safety belts, rear seat,
Convertible _________ 77 Rollover Pop-up Bars ___ 78
Electric windows _______ 79
Interior lighting ________ 80
Unlocking the trunk lid
manually ____________ 81
Placing two golf bags
in the trunk __________ 82
9-3 Convertible
3Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all cars
(can depend on model variant, engine variant,
market specification, options or accessories).93U S M 06.book Page 63 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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73 9-3 Convertible
Cause Suitable action
Soft top front not locked.
Try again.Failure of the soft top to lock automatically to
the windshield. Move the car so that it is standing level if on
a steep slope.
Press the soft top button to fold the soft top
slightly. Fold the soft top again.
Soft top power pack
overheated.
Allow to cool.This message appears if the soft top is operated
continuously for more than 3 minutes.Wait 6 minutes to allow the hydraulic pump to
cool down.
Open trunk.
Move goods away from
top storage area.Move the object hindering soft top operation.
Soft top may be
damaged if operated
at low temperature.Displayed if the soft top is folded at temperatures
below 23°F (–5°C).
Only manual
operation possible.
Contact Saab dealer.
Soft top cover not locked.
Try again.
SID warnings and messagesThe following messages associated with the soft top system and can be displayed on the SID together with a chime:93U S M 06.book Page 73 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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Page 83 of 318
83 Instruments and controls
Warning and indicator
lights _______________ 84
Instruments ___________ 88
Information display,
main instrument panel _ 91
Saab Information Display
(SID) ________________ 93
Switches _____________ 102
Wipers and washers ____ 106
Manual climate-control
system 3 ____________ 110
Automatic climate-
control system (ACC)__ 115
Instruments and controls
3Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all cars
(can depend on model variant, engine variant,
market specification, options or accessories).93U S M 06.book Page 83 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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