2006 SAAB 9-3 load capacity

148 Interior equipmentLoad-through hatch, Sport SedanConvertible: There is no load-through hatch.
A load-through hatch is incorporated in the rear seat backrest to
enable long, narrow items to be carried inside the car.
Before loading or unloading long items, switch off the engine and
apply the parking brake. This avoids the danger of the car moving
off if a long item were to knock the gear or selector lever into gear.
 Fold down the armrest and open the hatch by lifting the handle.
There is a lock on the rear side of the hatch. Use this to lock or unlock
the hatch.
To lock: Open the hatch and lock the lock. Close the hatch. The
hatch is now locked.
To unlock: Fold down the wide section of the backrest and unlock
the lock. Alternatively, you can unlock the hatch from the trunk.
WARNING
 Always secure the load firmly, for example using the middle
safety belt. This reduces the danger of personal injury result-
ing from the displacement of the load on hard braking or in the
event of a crash.
 Do not exceed the load capacity of the car, as this will alter its
handling characteristics (see page 294).93U S M 06.book Page 148 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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150 Interior equipment
Trunk lightingOn the underside of the parcel shelf is a light
that is switched on and off when the trunk is
opened and closed.
If the trunk lid is left open, the lighting will be
switched off automatically after 20 minutes
to prevent the battery from running flat.
Emergency opening of the
narrow backrest, Sport SedanThe narrow section of the backrest can be
opened in an emergency if the car is without
electricity (not possible to open trunk lid)
and you need to access the trunk for a warn-
ing triangle, for example.
 Remove the cover and depress the yellow
lever forward.
Tools and spare wheel, see page 270.  Do not exceed the load capacity of the
car, as this will alter its handling char-
acteristics (see page 294).
 Match your speed and driving style to
how the car is loaded. The handling
characteristics of the car can be
affected since a load in the trunk will
alter the car’s center of gravity.Cover over emergency opening lever, on
parcel shelf
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152 Interior equipment
WARNING
 Lay heavy bags on the floor. Place smaller and lighter bags on
top.
 Elastic cargo net3: WARNING. Avoid eye injury. DO NOT
overstretch. ALWAYS keep face and body out of recoil path.
DO NOT use when strap has visible signs of wear or damage.
 Secure heavy and bulky items using the lashing eyes provided
in the trunk. This will avert the danger of luggage flying around
if the car should brake suddenly or be involved in a crash.
 Secure small items if the backrest is folded down. Small items
can also be thrown around inside the car and cause personal
injury.
 Do not exceed the load capacity of the car, as this will alter its
handling characteristics (see page 294).93U S M 06.book Page 152 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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153 Interior equipment
Load-through hatch, SportCombiA load-through hatch is incorporated in the rear seat backrest to
enable long, narrow items to be carried inside the car.
Before loading or unloading long items, switch off the engine and
apply the parking brake. This avoids the danger of the car moving
off if a long item were to knock the gear or selector lever into gear.
 Fold down the armrest and open the hatch by lifting the handle.
WARNING
 Always secure the load firmly, for example using the middle
safety belt. This reduces the danger of personal injury result-
ing from the displacement of the load on hard braking or in the
event of a crash.
 Do not exceed the load capacity of the car, as this will alter its
handling characteristics (see page 294).
TEMPORARY
FILE
TEMPORARY
FILE
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164 Starting and drivingImportant
considerations for
driving1 Starting and driving
 Do not use full throttle until the engine
is warm, so as to avoid unnecessary
wear. If the needle of the turbo gauge
repeatedly enters the red zone, the
engine may suddenly lose power, due
to the initiation of a monitoring system
that limits the boost pressure. We
recommend that you contact a Saab
dealer as soon as possible.
 Under certain barometric conditions
(high outside temperature and/or high
altitude) the needle may enter the first
part of the red zone without necessarily
indicating that a fault has arisen.
 A protective function (interruption of the
fuel supply) limits the engine speed.2 Stopping the engine
 Do not rev the engine immediately
before switching it off - stop the engine
when it is idling.
3 Regulating the boost pressure
 One of the advantages of boost pres-
sure regulation is that the engine can
also be run safely on gasoline with a
lower octane rating, although not lower
than AON 87. However, engine perfor-
mance will fall slightly and heavy load-
ing and laboring should be avoided. For
optimum performance, use the recom-
mended grade of fuel.
 The maximum boost pressure is regu-
lated according to the tendency of the
engine to knock. Short-lived knocking
is perfectly normal. This can occur
when the engine is running at about
3,000 rpm under a heavy load. The
extent of this knocking will depend on
the grade of fuel in the tank.
 Isolated instances of knocking can
occur with low-octane fuel. This
controlled form of knocking, followed by
a reduction in the boost pressure, is a
sign that the control system is working
normally, and is perfectly safe for the
engine.
Limp-homeThe engine management system has a
diagnostic feature that checks a number of
internal functions. If a fault is detected in the
throttle valve, the engine management
system will set the throttle system to the
limp-home mode. This means:
 idling control will be poor (uneven idling
since regulated by ignition and fuel
supply)
 engine performance will be reduced
 the cruise control will not function
 the capacity of the A/C compressor will be
limited.NOTICE If the engine sounds strange there is a
malfunction. We recommend that you
contact a Saab dealer immediately.
 The use of fuel with too low an octane
rating can cause serious engine
damage.
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200 Starting and drivingRecommendations for cars with
manual transmissionRises in coolant temperature are indicated
by the temperature gauge in the main instru-
ment panel.
When the needle is just outside the red
zone, the A/C compressor will be switched
off and, on certain engine variants, the max-
imum engine torque will be limited.
When continuing your journey, select a low
gear in which the engine speed is about
3,500 rpm until the incline eases.
Trailer hitch loadThe weight distribution on the trailer makes
a lot of difference to the handling properties
of the car and trailer combination. With a
two-wheel trailer, concentrate the load over
the wheels and keep it as low as possible.
The trailer should be loaded so that the load
on the towball is 110–165 lbs. (50–75 kg).
Note that this load must be included in the
total load for the car. If this now exceeds the
specified load capacity, the load in the trunk
may have to be reduced by the correspond-
ing amount.
WARNING
Remember to use engine-braking (selec-
tor position 1, 2, or 3) to spare the brakes
when you are driving on a long or steep
downhill slope.
Overheating can cause the brakes to
fade!
Distribution of load in trailera Light
b Moderate
cHeavy
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262 Car careTemperature – A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, representing the tire’s resistance
to the generation of heat and its ability to dis-
sipate heat when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high temperature can
cause the material of the tire to degenerate
and reduce tire life, and excessive temper-
ature can lead to sudden tire failure. The
grade C corresponds to a level of perfor-
mance which all passenger car tires must
meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 109. Grades B and A
represent higher levels of performance on
the laboratory test wheel than the minimum
required by law.
Warning: The temperature grade for this tire
is established for a tire that is properly
inflated and not overloaded. Excessive
speed, underinflation, or excessive loading,
either separately or in combination, can
cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.
Wheel Alignment and Tire
BalanceThe wheels on your vehicle were aligned
and balanced carefully at the factory to give
you the longest tire life and best overall per-
formance.
Scheduled wheel alignment and wheel bal-
ancing are not needed. However, if you
notice unusual tire wear or your vehicle pull-
ing one way or the other, the alignment may
need to be reset. If you notice your vehicle
vibrating when driving on a smooth road,
your wheels may need to be rebalanced.
Wheel ReplacementReplace any wheel that is bent, cracked or
badly rusted or corroded. If wheel nuts keep
coming loose, the wheel, wheel bolts and
wheel nuts should be replaced. If the wheel
leaks air, replace it (except some aluminum
wheels, which can sometimes be repaired).
See your dealer if any of these conditions
exist.
Your dealer will know the kind of wheel you
need.
Each new wheel should have the same
load-carrying capacity, diameter, width,
offset and be mounted the same way as the
one it replaces.
If you need to replace any of your wheels,
wheel bolts or wheel nuts, replace them only
with new Saab original equipment parts.
This way, you will be sure to have the right
wheel, wheel bolts and wheel nuts for your
vehicle.
WARNING
Using the wrong replacement wheels,
wheel bolts or wheel nuts on your vehicle
can be dangerous. It could affect the
braking and handling of your vehicle,
make your tires lose air and make you
lose control. You could have a collision in
which you or others could be injured.
Always use the correct wheel, wheel bolts
and wheel nuts for replacement.
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265 Car care
Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG):
Tire manufacturers are required to grade
tires based on the performance factors:
treadwear, traction and temperature resis-
tance. For more information see “Uniform
Tire Quality Grading” on page 261.
Maximum Cold Inflation Load Limit: Max-
imum load that can be carried and the max-
imum pressure needed to support that load.
For information on recommended tire pres-
sure see “Recommended lowest tire pres-
sure, cold tires” on page 306 and “Loading
Your Vehicle” on page 267.
Tire SizeThe following illustration shows an example
of a typical passenger car tire size.
Tire Width: The three-digit number indi-
cates the tire section width in millimeters
from sidewall to sidewall.Aspect ratio: A two-digit number that indi-
cates the tire height-to-width measure-
ments. For example, if the tire size aspect
ratio is “55”, as shown in item “C” of the illus-
tration, it would mean that the tire´s sidewall
is 55% as high as it is wide.
Belt Rating: A letter code is used to indicate
the type of ply construction in the tire. The
letter “R” means radial ply construction; the
letter “D” means diagonal or bias ply con-
struction; and the letter “B” means belted-
bias ply construction.
Rim Diameter: Diameter of the wheel in
inches.
Load range: The load range represents the
load carry capacity a tire is certified to carry.
Speed Rating: The maximum speed that a
tire is certified to carry a load. Speed ratings
range from “A” to “Z”. 215/55 R 16 93 H
||||||
abcdef
aTire Width
b Aspect Ratio
c Belt Rating
d Rim diameter
e Load range
f Speed rating
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