2007 SAAB 9-3 light

259 Car care
7 Retouching the wheel bolts after twenty
or so miles.
Tightening torque:
Light-alloy wheels: 80 ft.lb. (110 Nm).
Steel wheels: 80 ft.lb. (110 Nm).
We advise against using wheels with large
ventilation slots in winter, as the brake com-
ponents are then more exposed to slush,
road salt and grit.
If you fit wheels of a different dimension, the
speedometer can be reprogrammed to
ensure it is as accurate as possible. We rec-
ommend that you contact a Saab dealer.
Driving with tire chains3, see page 186
NOTICE Do not overtighten the bolts using a
impact wrench: not only can this
damage the wheels but it can also
make it impossible to undo the bolts
using the wheel wrench in the car’s
toolkit.
When refitting a wheel cover, make
sure that the valve protrudes through
the marked recess in the wheel cover.
Do not wipe away the grease in the wheel
hub.
Clean any rust or dirt from the contact sur-
faces between the wheel and brake disc.
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261 Car care
Cleaning and caring for leather
upholsteryThe principal reason for treating leather
upholstery is to maintain its elegant appear-
ance and to provide it with a protective film.
Disco lour at ion caused by dust and wear
mainly affects the lighter shades, although
this is not detrimental to the leather, indeed,
the patina resulting from use is often consid-
ered desirable in leather. But if the leather is
allowed to become too grubby, it can start to
look shabby.
The leather upholstery should be cleaned
and reconditioned twice a year in conjunc-
tion with spring and autumn inspections. In
very warm, dry climates the leather may
need more regular reconditioning. Use con-
ventional leather care products. Follow the
instructions on the packaging.
Do not use harsh polishing agents, cleaning
agents, sprays, coarse soap or hot water.
Textile carpetingTextile carpeting should be vacuum
cleaned regularly. Carpeting can also be
cleaned using a brush or sponge and carpet
shampoo.
For safety reasons, vacuum cleaners that
are not earthed (grounded) must not be
used out of doors.Engine bayThe engine bay should be cleaned with an
engine decreasing and rinsed with hot
water. The headlights must be covered
over. Do not use a pressure washer. Avoid
spraying electrical components and con-
nectors.
Do not use petrol as a cleaning agent or sol-
vent when carrying out repairs or mainte-
nance. Saab recommends the use of envi-
ronmentally-friendly decrescendos.
WashingThe bodywork must be washed frequently.
When the car is new, the body should be
washed by hand using plain cold water and
a clean, soft brush through which the water
flows. Automatic caresses should be
avoided when the car is new.
After 5–6 months the paintwork will have
hardened. To facilitate cleaning, a suitable
detergent can be added to the water, which
should be lukewarm.
Remove any bird droppings without delay,
as these can discolor the paintwork and
prove difficult to polish out. Lay a wad of wet
paper on the patch of dirt and leave it for a
minute or so. It will then be easy to wash off
the dirt.
Use a soft cloth moistened with white spirit
to remove splashes of tar or asphalt. Do not
use strong cleaners, as these can dry out
the paintwork.
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262 Car care
The underside of the car also needs wash-
ing regularly, and this should be done extra
thoroughly at the end of winter. Clean the
underside of the car by hand if the car is
usually washed in an automatic car wash
without special facilities for underbody
cleaning.
Never wash or leave the car to dry in the
sun, but wipe it dry with a chamois leather
immediately after washing to avoid smears
and streaks.
Clean the inside of window glass using a
proprietary window cleaner. This is particu-
larly important when the car is new, as
upholstery and trim have a tendency to
sweat a little at first.
Keep the glass well polished, as this helps
to prevent misting.
Clean the outside of the windows with Saab
washer fluid. This is especially important if
the car has been washed in an automatic
car wash, as sometimes a wax treatment is
used that can contaminate the windshield
and impair the performance of the wipers.
In the U.S., Saab offers a full complement of
car care products. See your dealer or visit
us at www.saabcatalog.com.Convertible:
If a pressure washer is used be heedful of
the following recommendations:
on the lower part of the car (not higher
than the door handles): max pressure
of 100 bar and not closer than 8 in.
(20 cm).
on the upper part of the car: tax pres-
sure of 100 bar and not closer than
32 in. (80 cm).
Do not use any drying chemicals or water-
proofing agents.
Avoid automatic car washes.
NOTICEDo not use alcohol-based cleaners on the
plastic lenses of the front or rear lights, as
these can cause a crackling effect on the
lenses.
The door mirrors should be folded in
before the car enters an automatic car
wash.
Try your brakes on leaving a car wash.
Wet brake discs reduce the performance
of the brakes.
Fixed antennae, such as for a mobile
phone, must be removed if the car goes
through an automatic car wash.
Cars with Saab Parking Assistance: Do
not spray the sensors or closer than 8 in.
(20 cm) to the sensors with a pressure
washer, as this can damage them.
WARNING
Read and follow the instructions on
the packaging of the recommended
cleaning agents and waterproofing
agents. We recommend that you
contact an authorised Saab workshop
regarding recommended cleaning
agents and waterproofing agents.
Never treat the soft top with hot wax or
similar.
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263 Car care
When the soft top is only slightly soiled,
follow the directions on the cleaning agent
packaging. No brushing is necessary.
Check the soft top for water penetration
from time to time by spraying a small
amount of water on it. If water does not form
droplets but disappear into the material, it is
recommended to wash normally and then
waterproof.
If the soft top is heavily soiled and normal
recommended cleaning does not produce a
noticeable improvement, carry out the follo-
wing.
The following cleaning method must be only
used if the soft top is heavily soiled and must
not be carried out more than twice a year.
1 Stop normal cleaning.
2 Rinse off the thick dirt thoroughly with
water.
3 Spray the newly rinsed soft top with the
recommended cleaning agent and allow
it to work in for 15-20 minutes.4 Move the washing brush backwards and
forwards, not diagonally, from side to
side or in circles. Use a soft brush, like a
clothes brush or a micro fibre cloth so
that the cleaning agent foams. Never
use a wire brush.
5 Then rinse the soft top with warm water
and brush using a soft brush in the direc-
tion of the vehicle until all foam has
disappeared. Brush carefully to prevent
damaging the material.
6 Dry the soft top using a clean chamois
leather or a cloth that does not leave lint
on the soft top.
7 Allow the soft top to dry fully. Touch with
a hand after a while, if the material feels
damp, allow it to dry for longer. Never use petrochemical based
solvents for cleaning. Only use water
with a recommended cleaning agent.
Petrochemical based solvents can
cause irreparable damage to the soft
top.
Never use a pressure washer to clean
the soft top. Only use normal house-
hold water pressure.
NOTICE Only operate the soft top when it is
clean and dry.
Do not lower the soft top when it is
damp. This can cause folds and pres-
sure marks. If the soft top is heavily
soiled, the dirt may cause irreparable
visible chafe marks.
Only use water, recommended clea-
ning agents and a microfibre cloth if
the soft top is already damaged, other-
wise the damage can become worse.
At creases, seams and window edges
the cleaning motion should be away
from the crease, seam or window
edge in to the soft top.
WARNING
Water hotter than 37 °C can burn the skin,
cause skin irritation and/or cause injuries.
Use suitable protection.
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264 Car care8 If spots are still visible, repeat the treat-
ment on these spots as before. Press
lightly with the brush to prevent damag-
ing the material. Do not use the brush
excessively. This can irreparably
damage the material. Do not repeat the
treatment more than twice.
9 When the soft top has fully dried, it must
be waterproofed immediately. Only use
the recommended waterproofing agent.
Follow the instructions on the packa-
ging.
10 To obtain even and optimum water-
proofing, the car must be closed for
24 hours after treatment. Do not touch
the material and do not place any
objects on it.
Waxing and polishingDo not wax a new car during the first three
or four months. In fact, there is no need to
polish the car before the paintwork has
started to dull through oxidation. Other than
in exceptional cases, do not use abrasive
polishes containing a cutting agent on a new
car. Always wash the car thoroughly before
waxing or polishing.Touching up the paintDamaged paintwork should be treated as
soon as it is discovered: the longer it is left,
the greater the risk of corrosion. The anti-
corrosion warranty does not cover corrosion
resulting from untreated defects.
Paintwork damage sustained in a crash is
usually extensive and can only be properly
restored by professionals.
However, you can repair small scratches
and stone chip damage yourself. The nec-
essary tools and materials, such as primer,
touch-up paint and brushes, are available
from a workshop. We recommend that you
contact a Saab dealer.
In the case of minor flaws in the paintwork,
where the metal has not been exposed and
an undamaged layer of paint remains,
touch-up paint can usually be applied
directly, after any dirt has been scraped
away using a pointed knife.If corrosion has already set in, such as the
result of stone-chip damage, use a pointed
knife to scrape off all surface rust. If possi-
ble, the damaged area should be taken
back to the bare metal. The metal should
then be primed with two thin coats of primer
applied by brush.
After the primer has dried, apply several thin
layers of topcoat until the surface of the
repaired area is flush with the surrounding
paintwork.
Stir both primer and touch-up paint thor-
oughly before use and allow each coat to
dry before applying the next.
Two-coat enamelAs the name implies, two-coat enamel is
applied in two operations. The first coat, the
base color, contains the pigment, metal
flakes and binder. The second coat consists
of a clear enamel, which provides the final
gloss for the paintwork and protects the
base from moisture and environmental con-
taminants.
Touch-up stone-chip damage as follows:
1 Thoroughly clean the damaged area.
2 Then apply the primer, base color and
finally, the clear enamel. To achieve the
best finish, apply two or three coats of
primer.
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269 Car care
Other than in extremely cold weather, do not
screen the radiator, e.g. with netting, as this
will greatly diminish its cooling capacity.
Applicable to the manual climate control
system - During cold months the air condi-
tioning should be switched on once or
twice a month and run for 5–10 minutes
during highway driving once the engine is
warm.
This action saves the gaskets in the
compressor from being spoiled. The
compressor uses a lubricant that circu-
lates with the coolant.
Note:
The A/C system cannot be switched on
when the outside temperature is below 32°F
(0°C). Turn on the A/C system when the car
is standing in a warm place. Simplest is to
always have the A/C button pressed in. The
A/C system will then cut in automatically
when the outside temperature is high
enough.
Headlight aimingThe vehicle has a visual optical headlight
aiming system equipped with vertical
aiming device. The aim has been preset at
the factory and should normally not need
further adjustments.
If your headlights are damaged in a crash,
the headlight aim may be affected. If you
believe your headlights need to be re-
aimed, we recommend that you take it to
your Saab dealer for service. However, it is
possible for you to re-aim your headlights as
described in the following procedure.To check the aim, the vehicle should be
properly prepared as follows:
The vehicle shall be placed so that the
headlights are 25 ft (7.6 m) from a light
colored wall or other flat surface. The
aiming area should be darkened, this will
improve your ability to see the beam of the
low beam headlight being aimed.
An optical headlamp aimer can also be
used and will than replace the wall.
The vehicle must have all four wheels on
a perfectly level surface which is level all
the way to the wall or other flat surface.
The vehicle should be placed so it is per-
pendicular to the wall or other flat surface.
The vehicle should be unloaded and fuel
tank full, and one person or 160 lbs.
(75 kg) on the drivers seat.
The vehicle should be fully assembled
and all other work stopped while headlight
aiming is being done.
The vehicle should not have any snow,
ice or mud attached to it.
Tires should be inflated to the prescribed
pressure.
Close all doors.
Rock the vehicle to stabilize the suspen-
sion.
Headlight aiming is done with the vehicle
low beam lamps. The high beam lamps will
be correctly aimed if the low beam lamps
are aimed properly.
WARNING
Before checking/adjusting the headlight
aiming, switch off the engine to avoid
danger of fingers and hands being injured
by moving parts.
The radiator fan can start up even when
the engine is switched off.NOTICETo make sure that your headlights are
aimed properly read all instructions
before beginning. Failure to follow these
instructions could cause damage to
headlight parts or a not correctly aimed
headlight.
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270 Car careIf you find that the headlight needs adjust-
ment follow these steps:
1 Open the hood and locate the vertical
aiming devices there are two vertical
aiming devices which shall be turned
simultaneously and the same amount of
turns.
2 Locate the marker on the lens.
3 Measure the distance from the ground to
the aim marker No.1 on each lens.
Subtract 2 inches.
4 At the wall or other flat surface, measure
from the ground to the recorded
distance (see point 4) and draw a hori-
zontal line the width of the vehicle.5Cars with xenon lights:
Xenon lights with automatic headlight
levelling system must first do a refer-
ence run before aiming: Start the engine
and let the headlights do a reference
run. Turn off the engine but leave the low
beam on.
Cars with halogen lights:
Turn on the low beam headlights.
Both variants:
Place a piece of cardboard or equivalent
(although not directly on the lens) in front
of the headlight not being aimed. This
should allow the beam cut-off of the
headlight being aimed to be seen on the
flat surface.1 Wall or garage door.
2 25 ft (7.6 m) between wall and headlight lens.
3 Measurement from the ground to the low beam aiming marker on the headlight lens.
4 Same measurement as (3) but substract 2 inches.
Vertical aiming device1 Aiming marker on headlight lens
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271 Car care
6 Turn the two vertical aiming screws
simultaneously in the same direction
indicated on the headlight until the hori-
zontal cut-off of the headlight is aligned
with the horizontal line on the wall.
7 If an optical headlight aimer device is
used follow point 1 and 2 and center the
lens of the optical headlight aimer
device at the intersection of the two
markers on the headlight lens.
Then follow the instructions in the optical
headlight aimer instruction manual and
point 1, 2, 5, and 6 in this instruction.NOTICEDo not cover a headlight directly on the
lens to improve beam cut-off when
aiming. Covering a headlight may cause
excessive heat build-up that may cause
damage to the headlight.
Horizontal line on wall or other flat surface
Correctly adjusted low beam
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