2Introduction This manual provides practical guidance on
driving and caring for your Saab.
Although this manual describes the most
important differences between model vari-
ants, it does not include precise specifica-
tions of the different variants. Some differ-
ences also occur to meet special legal
requirements in different countries.
Importation and distribution of Saab auto-
mobiles, spare parts and accessories are
handled exclusively by General Motors of
Canada Limited in Canada and by Saab
Cars USA, Inc. in the U.S.A.We recommend that you read through the
manual before taking the car out for the first
time and that you keep it in the car for future
reference.
To find a specific item, use the overviews
given on pages 3–6. A list of contents is
given at the beginning of each section of the
manual, and there is also a comprehensive
index at the back of the book.
Supplied with the car is a Warranty and Ser-
vice Record booklet and a tire warranty
folder which specifies the regular mainte-
nance to be carried out. The book also con-
tains important warranty conditions.
Since the policy at Saab is one of continual
improvement, we retain the right to incorpo-
rate modifications and to alter specifications
during production without prior notice.
3 Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all
cars (can depend on model variant, engine
variant, market specification, options or
accessories).
If you have any questions concerning your
car, its equipment, the warranty conditions
or the like, your Saab dealer will be pleased
to help.
Best wishes,
Saab Automobile AB Saab Automobile AB does not accept liability for
any damage caused by the fitting of spare parts,
exchange parts or accessories that are not
approved by Saab Automobile AB.
The specifications, design particulars and illus-
trations included in the manual are not binding.
WARNING
WARNING texts warn against the danger
of injury if the specified instructions are
not followed. NOTICENOTICE texts warn of potential damage
to the car if the recommendations are not
followed.
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18 SafetySeats Both front seats are electrically operated.
On certain models the driver´s seat is
equipped with a memory function.
To facilitate getting into the car, both seats
can be adjusted when either of the front
doors is open.
For safety reasons, if the door is closed, the
seat can only be adjusted when the ignition
is ON.
Note, however, that both seats can be
adjusted for 30 seconds after both doors
have been closed. The following seat adjustments can be
made to achieve a comfortable driving
position:
height
legroom
backrest rake angle
lumbar support3
head-restraint height
We recommend that adjustments to the
driver’s seat be performed in the following
order:
1height
2 legroom
3 seat tilt angle
4 backrest rake angle
Lastly, adjust the steering wheel (see
page 114).
Side airbags
(see page 36).
Head restraint
(see page 21).
HeightTo raise the seat, lift the lower control
straight up.
To lower the seat, press the lower control
down.
The same control can be used to adjust the
height of the front and rear edges of the seat
independently.
WARNING
The seats are actuated by powerful
motors. Bear this in mind when adjusting
the seat, and make sure that nothing gets
caught and damaged. Ensure that noth-
ing can be trapped when adjusting the
seat.
Bear in mind that children can be injured
if they play with the electrically-operated
seats.
Always remove the ignition key when you
leave the car. This prevents personal
injury caused by the electrically adjust-
able seats, for example, due to children
playing.
WARNING
Never adjust the driver’s seat except
when the car is stationary.
IB3225
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29 Safety
Airbag 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 61
and 37). 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 entire process takes less than
0.1 second – literally, faster than the blink-
ing of an eye.
The driver and passenger airbags are
referred to 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
driver’s and passenger sides are used. Sit-
uations 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.
These airbags are triggered only by moder-
ate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes.
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
59 inches (150 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.
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40 SafetyFrequently asked questions on
function of airbagsDo you still need to wear a
safety b
elt if air-
bags are fitted?
Yes, always! The airbag merely supple-
ments the car’s normal safety system.
Moreover, the airbag will only be actuated in
a moderate to severe frontal, or near-frontal
crash, which means, of course, that it pro-
vides no protection in minor frontal crashes,
major rear-end or side-on crashes or if the
car rolls over.
The safety belts help reduce the chance of
the car occupants from being thrown around
and injured or killed inside the car.
But they also ensure that, if a crash occurs
in which the airbags are inflated, the airbag
will make the optimum contact with the
occupant, i.e. square on from the front. If the
occupant meets the airbag in an offset posi-
tion, the protection afforded will be reduced.
In addition, airbags provide no protection
against a secondary impact occurring in the
same incident. So there is no doubt about
the benefit of wearing safety belts at all
times.
Do not sit too close to the airbag: it needs
room to inflate.
The airbag inflates very quickly and power-
fully in order to protect an adult person,
before they are thrown forward, in a serious
frontal crash.
How do I position the seat to leave room for
the airbag to inflate?Don’t have your seat too far forward.
Recline the seat back to increase the dis-
tance between you and the airbag. For short
drivers, special accessory pedal extensions
are available through your Saab dealer.
Airbags inflate extremely rapidly and with
great force – to be fast enough to protect an
adult in the seat. When do the front airbags 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
possible.
What won’t trigger the front airbags? The airbag will not be activated in all
front-end 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 necessarily be triggered. How loud is the inflation? The noise of the inflation is certainly loud,
but it is very short-lived and will not damage
your hearing. For a short time afterwards
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
airbag.
The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place for
children.
NEVER put a child seat in the front.
Sit as far back as possible from the air-
bag.
Always use safety belts and child
restraints.
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46 Security
If remote unlocking should fail to work
Unlock the front door with the key. To
silence the alarm, insert the key into the igni-
tion switch and turn it to the ON position.
The car can now be started. Contact a work-
shop to have the system checked and
repaired. We recommend that you contact
an authorized Saab dealer.
Locking by key (1)
When the car is locked and unlocked the
theft alarm is also affected.
Turn the key clockwise: all doors locked.
The trunk/tailgate release/unlock switch on
the driver’s door will not work when all doors
are locked. Nor will the switch on the center
console.
Unlocking by key (2)
Turn the key counterclockwise once: the
driver´s door will unlock.
Turn the key counterclockwise twice: all
doors, but not tailgate, unlocked. Switch in
driver´s door and switch in center console
enabled.
WARNING
The remote control also works from inside
the car. Therefore, hold the key in such a
way that the buttons are not unintention-
ally pressed when the key is turned, or
inserted or removed from the ignition
switch.
Otherwise, the doors may be unintention-
ally locked or the tailgate unlocked. On
Sedan models, the trunk may even be
opened.
Having the doors locked when you are
driving will reduce the likelihood of:
Passengers, especially children,
opening doors and falling out of the
car.
Intruders entering the car when it is
moving slowly or at a standstill.
However, you must also remember that
locked doors can hamper rescuers in the
event of a crash.
IB1555
2
1
Locking/unlocking by key1To lock
2 To unlock
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53 Security
Overview of functions
Alarm signals may differ between model variants for different
countries.
Some of the car-alarm functions can be reprogrammed – con-
sult your Saab dealer for further details (see page 270). Locking/
activation Hazard warning lights flash once.
The LED will come on for 10 seconds.
Unlocking/
deactivation Hazard warning lights flash twice.
The LED will come on for two seconds.
Unlocking/
deactivation of
trunk lid/tailgate
alarm Hazard warning lights flash three times.
The LED will flash three times per second for
10 seconds.
Alarm triggered Hazard warning lights flash for 5 min.
Horn wails for 30 seconds.
To switch off the alarm, deactivate the system in
the normal way (unlocking).
Key The range of the key is normally 5–10 yds. (5–
10 metres), although it can be substantially more
than this in ideal conditions (range can vary
greatly depending on the position of the car and
its surroundings).
If the key is not working, it may be because the
code signal has not been synchronized with that
in the control module for the car alarm. To rectify
this, press the unlock button on the key at least
four times in quick succession. When it is recog-
nized, the door locks will cycle.
If a key is lost, the new one will have to be pro-
grammed (all keys must be present) to match the
car’s unique security code. We recommend that
you contact an authorized Saab dealer.Battery for key The battery for the key will normally have a life of
4 years. When the battery needs changing,
”Remote control battery
low. Replace battery.”
will appear on the Saab Information Display
(SID).
We recommend that you contact an authorized
Saab dealer.
Car-battery
voltage If the battery is disconnected while the alarm is
active (car is locked), for example during an
attempt to steal the car, the alarm will be
triggered.
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54 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 sec-
ond for 10 seconds.
Unlocking the trunk lid/tailgate. Flashes three times per sec-
ond 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 sec-
onds 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 a workshop.
We recommend that you contact an
authorized 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 a workshop.
We recommend that you contact an
authorized Saab dealer.
Remote control battery
low. Replace battery.Fit a new battery in the key. We rec-
ommend that you contact an autho-
rized Saab dealer.
Turn the ignition key to position ON
and then press the button for open-
ing the trunk lid. Saab Information
Display (SID) displays the number of
keys and transmitters (transponders)
coded to the car.
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58 Instruments and controls
Indicator and warning
lights A number of indicator and warning lights will
come on when the ignition is switched on
prior to starting. Under normal conditions,
these should go out a few seconds after the
engine has started (see page 64).
Engine malfunction
(CHECK ENGINE)
WARNING
An illuminated ”Engine malfunction
(CHECK ENGINE)” indicator light indi-
cates an engine-related problem. While
your car may be able to be driven with the
”Engine malfunction (CHECK ENGINE)”
indicator light illuminated (Limp-home
mode), you are advised to have your car
serviced at an authorized Saab dealer as
soon as possible.
Continued driving without this problem
being corrected might cause serious fur-
ther damage to your car and create
unsafe driving conditions. The driver
should be prepared to take action if such
unsafe conditions arise (e.g.brake
smoothly, engage neutral, stop in a suita-
ble place, switch off the engine, etc.).
Main instrument panel 1 Tachometer
2 Indicator and warning lights
3 Speedometer
4 Indicator and warning lights
5 Pressure gauge 36 Fuel gauge
7 Engine temperature gauge
8 Odometer and trip meter
9 Trip meter reset button
IB4117
U.S. shown, Canada similar
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