2008 SAAB 9-3 ECO mode

2IntroductionThis 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 specify the equipment or
features included on individual models.
Importation and distribution of Saab auto-
mobiles, spare parts and accessories are
handled exclusively by Saab Cars USA, Inc.
in the United States and by General Motors
of Canada Limited in Canada.
We recommend that you read through the
manual before taking the car out for the first
time and keep it in the car for future refer-
ence.To find a specific item, use the overviews
given on page 3–7. A list of content 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 which contains impor-
tant warranty information and specifies the
regular maintenance to be carried out. Also
included is a Quick Reference Guide, an
Infotainment System manual, tire warran-
ties and (U.S. customers), a dealer directory
with Roadside Assistance Program infor-
mation.
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,
etc., your Saab dealer will be pleased to
help, or you may call the Saab Customer
Assistance Center in the U.S. at
1-800-955-9007 or email them at
[email protected]. In Canada,
please contact the Saab Customer Assis-
tance Center at 1-800-263-1999.
Enjoy the road ahead!
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.
WARNING
Failure to heed warnings may cause per-
sonal injury.NOTENOTICE texts warns of potential damage
to the car if the recommendations are not
followed.
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45 Safety
Frequently asked questions on
function of the airbagDo you still need to wear a safety belt if air-
bags are fitted?
Yes, always! The airbag system compo-
nents merely supplement the car’s normal
safety system. Moreover, the front airbags
will only be actuated in a moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crash, which means,
of course, that they provide no protection in
minor frontal crashes, major rear- or side-
crashes or if the car rolls over.
The safety belts help to reduce the sideway
movement of the body in a crash.
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, 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 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 The car's impact protection consists of
several different safety features
including the airbags, safetybelts,
steering wheel, seats and dashboard.
These parts are co-ordinated with
each other to provide optimum protec-
tion in the event of a collision, so never
install an airbag from one car into
another.
There is no guarantee that it would
then work satisfactorily in the event of
a collision.
All work involving the scrapping or
replacement of airbags or belt preten-
sioners must be carried out by autho-
rized personnel only.
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76 9-3 ConvertibleRollover Pop-up BarsThe Rollover Pop Up Bars, which are
located behind each rear seat head
restraint, are designed to deploy in the
event of a crash or rollover.
WARNING
You can be severely injured or killed in a
crash if you are not wearing your safety
belt - even if you have airbags and Roll-
over Pop Up Bars. Wearing your safety
belt during a crash helps reduce your
chance of hitting things inside the vehicle
or being ejected from it.
The Rollover Pop Up Bars have pow-
erful springs that rapidly extend the
bars in rollover crashes, as well as in
moderate to severe crashes in which
the airbags deploy. Rollover Pop Up
Bars are supplemental to the safety
belts. They are designed to work with
safety belts but do not replace them.
Rollover Pop Up Bars deploy with
great force, and you could be injured if
your arm or other body part, or if an
object is covering the bars when they
deploy. Don't put anything on the
cover of the Rollover Pop Up Bars.
The path of the Rollover Pop Up Bars
must be kept clear.
The Rollover Pop Up Bars are
designed to deploy only once. If they
deploy, take your vehicle to a work-
shop immediately to have the Rollover
Pop Up Bars repaired so that they
operate properly in the event of a
crash or rollover. We recommend that
you contact a Saab dealer.NOTETo avoid the risk of damage to the soft top
do not operated the soft top while the
bars are extended.
Rollover Pop-up Bars
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80 9-3 ConvertiblePlacing two golf bags
in the trunkThere is sufficient space in the trunk of the
Convertible for two golf bags. Proceed as
follows.
1 Start by inserting the narrow end of the
first bag to the right.
2 Lie down the bag. Turn the bag so that it
lies on its widest side and slide it
forward, in under the soft top storage
(see illustration).
3 Put in the second bag in the same way
as the first, but lie it on its narrow side
(see illustration).
Spoiler on trunklid3
33 3
Wind deflector3
33 3A wind deflector is available as an acces-
sory. Follow the fitting instructions supplied
with the wind deflector carefully.
WARNING
Some models have a spoiler on the trunk-
lid. Avoid getting fingers and hands
trapped between the spoiler and rear
fender when closing the trunklid.
Position of first golf bag Position of second golf bag
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91 Instruments and controls
When the engine is started, the function that
was selected when the engine was
switched off is displayed, with the following
exceptions:
Temp is displayed if the outside tempera-
ture is between 26 and 38°F (–3 and
+3°C).
D.T.E. is displayed if less than or equal to
30 miles (50 km).Outdoor temperature
The Temp function is always activated
(even in NIGHTPANEL mode) if the outdoor
temperature rises or falls to between 26 and
38°F (–3 and +3°C).
If the temperature sensor, located under the
front bumper, is covered by snow or ice,
temperature readings will be unreliable.Setting values
1 Select one of the functions using the
steering wheel controls, or .
Dist (preset to 100 miles (100 km) if not
previously set)
SpeedØ
Speed W (preset to 55 mph (90 km/h)
2 Press and hold the SET button until
given audible confirmation.
3 Use the steering wheel controls to select
the value. (Press CLR to reset the
value.)
4 Press the SET button to finish setup.
Using DIST as a trip meter
1Select Dist using the steering wheel
controls, or .
2 Press and hold the CLR button for
approx. 1 second.
An arrow will now appear on the right-hand
side of the display, indicating that the trip
meter is running.
WARNING
Remember that roads can be icy even at
temperatures of above 38°F (+3°C),
especially on bridges and stretches of
road that are sheltered from the sun.
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117 Instruments and controls
A/C Mode
Auto
Automatic engagement and disen-
gagement of the A/C. This is one of
the Default Settings.
A/C off
A/C compressor OFF (see also
page 111). The A/C compressor
can be activated temporarily by
pressing the AC or AUTO button
while on the road and if the outside
temperature is above 41°F (+5°C).
The A/C will be off the next time the
engine is started, if the engine has
been switched off for more than
2 hours.
Convertible: The A/C compressor is
switched off when the soft top is folded
down.
Further customizations to this function can
be made at a workshop. We recommend
that you contact a Saab dealer.
The A/C compressor can be on even
when the soft top is folded down.
The A/C compressor can be set to
operate as when the soft top was last
folded down.Dual/Single Zone
Dual zone
Individual temperature setting for
each zone (see page 109). The sys-
tem saves the settings when the
engine is switched off. This is one of
the Default Settings.
Single zone
Common temperature setting when
the engine is started. If the temper-
ature setting for the passenger zone
is changed, the system will switch to
Dual zone control. Single zone con-
trol will return the next time the
engine is started having been
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126 Interior equipmentPreparations for first-time programming
Before programming the garage opener for
the first time, you must delete any factory
codes.
Press and hold the two outer buttons until
the indicator light begins to flash-after
20 seconds. Release both buttons. Do not
hold for longer that 30 seconds. The garage
opener is now in the train (or learning) mode
and can be programmed at any time begin-
ning with "Programming" - step 2.Programming
The garage opener can record and store the
frequencies of three different remote con-
trols.
The battery in the remote control should be
fairly new for programming to work well.
Do not repeat "Programming" - step two
to train additional devices to a second or
third button. Begin with "Programming" -
step three.
1 Turn the ignition ON.
2 Press and hold the two outer buttons
(buttons one and three) - releasing only
when the indicator light begins to flash
(after 20 seconds). Do not hold the
buttons for longer than 30 seconds and
do not repeat step two to program a
second and/or third hand-held transmit-
ter to the remaining two buttons.
3 Position the end of your hand-held trans-
mitter 1-3 inches (5-14 cm) away from
the button you wish to program while
keeping the indicator light in view. The
transmitter should face the mirror from
below or left side of the mirror.
4 Simultaneously press and hold both the
chosen and hand-held transmitter
buttons. Do not release the buttons
until step 5 has been completed.Note: Some gate operators and garage
door openers may require you to replace
this Programming Step 4 with procedures
noted in the "Gate Operator / Canadian
Programming" section.
5 After the indicator light changes from a
slow to a rapidly blinking light, release
both the mirror and hand-held transmit-
ter buttons.
6 Press and hold the just-trained button
and observe the indicator light.
If the indicator light stays on
constantly, programming is complete
and your device should activate when
the button is pressed and released.
Note: To program the remaining two but-
tons, begin with "Programming" - step
three. Do not repeat step two.93_US_M08.book Page 126 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
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128 Interior equipmentErasing the three buttons
To erase programming from the three but-
tons (individual buttons cannot be erased
but can be "reprogrammed" as outlined
below), follow the step noted:
Press and hold the two outer buttons until
the indicator light begins to flash-after
20 seconds. Release both buttons. Do
not hold for longer that 30 seconds. The
garage opener is now in the train (or
learning) mode and can be programmed
at any time beginning with "Programming"
- step 3.Opening a garage door
To operate, simply press and release the
programmed button. Activation will now
occur for the trained device (i.e. garage door
opener, gate operator, security system,
entry door lock, home/office lighting, etc.).
For convenience, the hand-held transmitter
of the device may also be used at any time.
AutodimmingPress button 5 briefly to switch autodimming
on or off. When autodimming is switched on,
a 1 is displayed briefly in the compass win-
dow. A 0 indicates that autodimming is
switched off.Buttons for garage opener, autodimming
and compass
1–3 Garage opener
4LED
5 Autodimming/compass ON/OFF
6 Compass bearing
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