2008 SAAB 9-3 engine

151 Starting and driving
Ignition switch ________ 152
Steering wheel lock ____ 154
Starting the engine ____ 154
Important considerations
for driving __________ 156
Refueling ____________ 159
Engine Break-in Period _ 163
Manual transmission___ 164
Automatic
transmission3
33 3______ 165
Cruise control ________ 171
Braking ______________ 172
Traction Control System
(TCS) ______________ 175
Electronic Stability
Program ESP
®
______ 177
Parking brake_________ 179
Parking ______________ 179
Saab Parking
Assistance3
33 3________ 182 Economical driving _____ 185
Driving in cold weather__ 187
Driving in hot climates __ 189
Towing a trailer3
33 3______ 190
Driving with a roof rack
load ________________ 194
Driving with a load _____ 196
Driving with the trunk lid
open________________ 196
Driving in deep water ___ 196
Driving at night ________ 197
Towing the car _________ 197
Jump starting _________ 200
For long trips __________ 202
Starting and driving
3Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all cars
(can depend on model variant, engine variant,
market specification, options or accessories).93_US_M08.book Page 151 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

153 Starting and driving
OFF positionParts of the electrical system are operative.
Do not leave the remote control in the
OFF position with the engine not running
as this could cause the battery to run flat
in a matter of hours.
Cars with automatic transmission: The
gear lever is not locked. See also page 166.
If the ignition switch is turned from ON to
OFF before the car is stationary then turning
to LOCK may not be possible. In which case
turn the ignition switch to the ON position
until the ABS lamp goes out,
approx. 2 seconds. Following which, turn it
back to OFF.
ON positionThe entire electrical system is operative.
Do not leave the remote control in the ON
position when the engine is not running.
Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position
to disconnect the electrical system.
When you turn the ignition switch to ON,
some indicator and warning lights will come
on in the main instrument panel. These
should go out after about 3 seconds.
ST - starter positionThe starter motor operates (automatic
transmission: selector lever must be in P or
N) when the ignition switch is turned to this
position. When released, the ignition switch
will spring back to the ON position.
The car has an electronic restart lock. If the
engine fails to start, the ignition switch must
first be turned back to a position between
OFF and LOCK before the starter motor can
be operated again.
93_US_M08.book Page 153 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

154 Starting and drivingSteering wheel lockThe steering wheel lock is electronic. The
lock engages when the remote control is
removed from the ignition and unlocks when
the remote control is inserted. A click can be
heard when the steering wheel lock locks
and unlocks.
If the car is parked with one front wheel
touching the curb, for example, you may
need to turn the steering wheel slightly
when you insert the remote control to allow
the steering wheel lock to unlock. If you do
not succeed on first attempt you must
remove the remote control before trying
again. Turn the steering wheel and insert
the remote control into the ignition switch.
If the steering wheel lock does not disen-
gage it will not be possible to turn the remote
control in the ignition switch.
The following message is shown on the SID:If a fault arises affecting the steering wheel
lock, the following message will be
displayed on the SID:
If the steering wheel lock malfunctions while
the remote control is in the ignition switch,
this may prevent the removal of the remote
control or prevent the car from being
restarted once the engine has been
switched off.
If you have to leave the car, lock the car by
pressing down the lock buttons on the
doors. Lock the front left door from outside
with the traditional key (see page 50). The
car is now locked but the alarm is inactive.
Starting the engine
Pull out key, turn
steering wheel. Restart.
Steering lock malfunc.
Make a safe stop.
WARNING
When starting the engine:
–Sit down in the driver’s seat.
–Depress the clutch pedal fully (M/T). If
the gear lever is not in the neutral posi-
tion, the clutch pedal must be fully
depressed or the car will jump for-
wards or backwards, which may
cause a crash.
–Never start the car from outside the
vehicle, e.g. through a window that is
down. This could lead to serious per-
sonal injury.
Cars with automatic transmission:
select position P to remove the ignition
key. The key can only be removed in
this gear position.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless,
odorless, poisonous gas. Be alert to
the danger of CO – always open the
garage doors before starting the
engine in the garage.
Do not rest or sleep in the car when
parked with the engine running. There
is a risk of depressing the accelerator
which could lead to engine damage.
There is also a danger of CO poison-
ing if the exhaust system is leaking.
93_US_M08.book Page 154 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

155 Starting and driving
Starting the engineAvoid racing the engine or loading it heavily
before it has warmed up. Do not drive away
before the warning and indicator lights have
gone out.
The engine has an automatic choke and
should be started as follows:
Cars with manual transmission
To start the engine the clutch pedal must
be fully depressed.
1 Make sure the parking brake is applied.
2 Depress the clutch pedal but do not
touch the accelerator.
3 Start the engine. Let the ignition switch
spring back as soon as the engine has
started and is running smoothly.
Allow the engine to idle for about
10 seconds. Do not apply full throttle for at
least 3 minutes after starting.Cars with automatic transmission
The selector lever must be in the P or N
position.
1 The selector lever must be in the P or N
position.
2 Keep your foot on the brake pedal.
Note! Once the engine has started, the
brake pedal will sink. This is perfectly
normal.
3 Start the engine. Let the ignition switch
spring back as soon as the engine has
started and is running smoothly.
Allow the engine to idle for about
10 seconds. Do not apply full throttle for at
least 3 minutes after starting.
Useful tips on starting the engineIf the engine has failed to start after several
attempts in very cold weather, proceed as
follows:
1 Turn the ignition switch to ON (it is
essential that you turn the ignition to
ON before depressing the accelerator).
2 Press the accelerator to the floor and run
the starter motor for 5-10 seconds. This
will prevent the engine being flooded
(fully depressed accelerator cuts off the
fuel supply).
3 Now start the engine in the normal way
- do not touch the accelerator.
If the engine stalls immediately after starting
(e.g. if the clutch was released too quickly),
do not touch the accelerator when restarting
the engine.
93_US_M08.book Page 155 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

156 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.The light comes on in the event of an engine
or gearbox fault (cars with automatic gear-
box), which may cause drivability problems
but that does not affect exhaust emission.
The car can still be driven but perhaps with
limited performance.
Contact a dealer whenever an opportunity
occurs. We recommend that you contact a
Saab dealer.
NOTEIf 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 dam-
age.
Limited performance.
93_US_M08.book Page 156 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

157 Starting and driving
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.
If the diagnosis function detects a fault in the
engine management system, the light
"Engine malfunction (CHECK ENGINE)" in
the instrument panel will come on (see
page 83). Have the car checked at a work-
shop as soon as possible. We recommend
that you contact a Saab dealer.
Important considerations with
catalytic convertersThe catalytic converter is an emission con-
trol device incorporated in the car’s exhaust
system. It consists of a metal canister with a
honeycomb insert, the cells of which have
walls coated in a catalytic layer (precious
metal alloy).
To ensure that the catalytic converter con-
tinues to function properly, and also to avoid
damage to the converter and its associated
components, the following points must be
observed:
NOTEIf "Engine malfunction (CHECK
ENGINE)" warning light starts to flash
(indicating that the engine is misfiring and
the catalytic converter can be damaged),
ease off the accelerator slightly. The light
should go out or start to shine constantly.
If the light continues to flash despite
easing off the accelerator, you may con-
tinue to drive the car but at the minimum
throttle permitted by the current traffic sit-
uation. Have the car checked as soon as
possible. We recommend that you con-
tact a Saab dealer.
NOTEUse only unleaded gasoline. Leaded gas-
oline is detrimental to the catalyst and
oxygen sensor and will seriously impair
the function of the catalytic converter.
93_US_M08.book Page 157 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

158 Starting and drivingHave the car serviced regularly in accor-
dance with the service program.
Always be alert to any misfiring of the
engine (not running on all cylinders) and
any loss of power or performance. At the
first sign of a malfunction, reduce speed
and take the car to a workshop. We
recommend that you contact a Saab
dealer.
If the engine fails to start (in severe cold or
if the battery is flat), the car can be bump
started (manual transmission only) or
started using jump leads to a donor
battery. However, as soon as you have
started the engine, it is important that it
runs on all cylinders. If it is misfiring, allow
it to idle for up to 5 minutes to give it time
to settle and run smoothly. If, after this
time, the engine still fails to run properly,
switch off the engine to avoid serious
damage to the catalytic converter. We
recommend that you contact a Saab
dealer for advice.Never park the car on dry grass or other
combustible material. The catalytic
converter gets very hot and could there-
fore start a fire.
Never drive off if the engine is misfiring.
If you bump start the car when the engine
is already at normal working temperature,
the engine must start to run on all cylin-
ders. Abort bump starting if the engine
fails to start immediately.
Failure to strictly follow these instructions
can result in damage to the catalytic con-
verter and associated components, and
could represent a breach of the warranty
conditions.
NOTEIf the car runs out of gas, air may be drawn
in with the fuel, which, in turn, can cause
the catalytic converter to be damaged by
overheating.
WARNING
If the engine is being run with the car on a
rolling road or dynamometer, to ensure
adequate cooling, air must be blown into
the engine compartment and under the
car at a rate equivalent to the ram-air
effect that would obtain at the corre-
sponding road speed.
Engine management system with catalytic
converter1 Engine control module
2 Oxygen sensor
3 Catalytic converter
93_US_M08.book Page 158 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

159 Starting and driving
Refueling
WARNING
If you spill fuel and then something ignites
it, you could be badly burned. Fuel can
spray out on you if you open the fuel cap
too quickly. This spray can happen if your
tank is nearly full, and is more likely in hot
weather. Open the fuel cap slowly and
wait for any “hiss” noise to stop. Then
unscrew the cap all the way.
Gasoline fumes are highly explosive.
Therefore:
never smoke while refueling.
never use gasoline for any purpose
other than as engine fuel.
gasoline is extremely flammable and
can cause severe burns. No open or
exposed flames near gasoline.
do not use a mobile phone at the
same time as refueling.
If a fire starts while you are refueling, do
not remove the nozzle. Shut off the flow of
fuel by shutting off the pump or by notify-
ing the station attendant. Leave the area
immediately.
NOTEDo not overfill. Fuel should not come
right up the filler pipe as room for
expansion is needed for when the
temperature rises.
The use of fuel with too low an octane
rating can cause serious engine dam-
age.
Clean fuel from painted surfaces as
soon as possible.
NOTEThe engine control module (ECM) moni-
toring the engine parameters also stores
fault codes.
Under certain circumstances, this may
cause constant illumination of the Engine
malfunction (CHECK ENGINE) lamp
, thus indicating a fault that must be
checked by your Saab dealer, see
page 83.
NOTE: always observe the following two
measures:
Make sure that the fuel filler cap is
screwed on correctly before the
engine is started. Screw on the fuel
filler cap until you hear three clicks.
Avoid driving with the fuel low level
indicator illuminated. The symbol illu-
minates when less than approximately
2.5 gallons (10 litres) of fuel remains
in the tank.
93_US_M08.book Page 159 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com