2009 SAAB 9-3 stop start

43 Safety
For optimal protection, do not sit too close to
the door. Bear this in mind, for example, if
someone is sleeping in the car. The inflat-
able curtain comes down from the headlin-
ing and covers a large portion of the side
windows.
Airbag warning lamp What Will You See After an
Airbag Inflates?
After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates,
so quickly that some people may not even
realize the airbag inflated. Some compo-
nents of the airbag module - the steering
wheel hub for the driver's frontal airbag, the
instrument panel for the right front passen-
ger's frontal airbag or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows - will be hot
for a short time. The parts of the bag that
come into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from the vents in
the deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does
not prevent the driver from seeing or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
WARNING
 If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start your vehicle, it means
the airbag system may not be working
properly. See page 85.
 The airbags in your vehicle may not
inflate in a crash, or they could even
inflate without a crash.
 To help avoid injury to yourself or
others, have your vehicle serviced
right away if the airbag readiness light
stays on after you start your vehicle.
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64 9-3 ConvertibleOpeningThe following conditions must be fulfilled for
the soft top to be folded:
 Vehicle speed must not exceed 20 mph
(30 km/h).
 Battery voltage must exceed 10 V.
 Outside temperature must exceed 23 °F
(–5 °C).
 The trunk lid must be locked.
 There must be sufficient space in the
trunk for the soft top.
1 Start the engine and let it idle. Clearance
for soft top operation: height, min. 7.2 ft
(2.2 m); behind car, min. 2" (5 cm).2 Press and hold the soft top button until
the soft top is fully folded and the soft top
cover raised. Completed folding is indi-
cated by a chime. If there is a malfunc-
tion a text message will be shown on the
SID. Refer to page 71.
Do not press any of the buttons on the
same section of the instrument panel as
the soft top switch while folding the soft
top. This will cause the soft top to stop
and then sink after about 20 seconds.
Remote opening3
You can fold the soft top when outside the
car by pressing and holding the
(unlock) button on the remote control. See
also page 119.
Folding
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66 9-3 ConvertibleRaisingThe following conditions must be fulfilled for
raising the soft top:
 Vehicle speed must not exceed
20 mph (30 km/h).
 Battery voltage must exceed 10 V.
 The trunk lid must be locked.
1 Start the engine and let it idle. Clearance
for soft top operation: height, min. 7.2 ft
(2.2 m); behind car, min. 2" (5 cm).2 Press and hold the soft top button until
the soft top is fully raised and the soft top
cover closed. Completed raising is indi-
cated by a chime. If there is a malfunc-
tion a text message will be shown on the
SID. Refer to page 71.
Do not press any of the buttons on the
same section of the instrument panel as
the soft top switch while raising the soft
top. This will cause the soft top to stop
and then sink after about 20 seconds.
Check that the hooks in the soft top hold it
securely to the upper edge of the wind-
shield.
Raising
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85 Instruments and controls
The brake system provides Electronic
Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). This distrib-
utes the brake pressure between the front
and rear wheels, in such a way as to achieve
optimum braking performance irrespective
of the car’s load.
If a fault arises in the EBD function, the ,
and lights will come on. Also, the
following message will appear on the Saab
Information Display (SID):
If this is the case, drive carefully and contact
a workshop as soon as possible. We recom-
mend that you contact a Saab dealer. Refer
to Brake warning light on page 84, Antilock
braking warning on page 82 and ESP
® OFF
indicator on page 86.
This light reminds the driver to buckle up,
see page 12.This light comes on when the parking brake
is applied (see page 177).
The parking brake is mechanical and oper-
ates on the rear wheels.
If the parking brake is applied when the car
starts off, the following message will appear
on the Saab Information Display (SID):
This light comes on if a potentially serious
fault has occurred in the airbag system, see
also page 32.The following message is shown on the
Saab Information Display (SID):
This light will come on for about four sec-
onds when the ignition switch is turned to
the Start or Drive position. Brake malfunction.
Make a safe stop.
Safety belt reminder
Parking brake warning
lightRelease park brake.
WARNING
Always apply the parking brake when
parking, see page 177.
Always apply the parking brake
before removing the remote control.
Do not apply the parking brake while
the car is moving.
Airbag warning light
Airbag malfunction.
Contact service.
WARNING
 If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start your vehicle, it means
the airbag system may not be working
properly. One or more of the following
conditions may occur:
– Non-deployment of the airbags in the
event of a crash.
– Deployment of the airbags without a
crash.
– Deployment of the airbags in crashes
less severe than intended.
 To help avoid injury to yourself or oth-
ers, have your vehicle serviced right
away if the airbag readiness light stays
on after you start your vehicle.
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119 Interior equipment
Electric windowsThe electric windows are operated by
means of switches in the door armrests.
For the electric windows to work, the ignition
switch must be in the ON position.
At the end of a journey and having removed
the remote control, you can still operate the
windows, so long as neither of the front
doors has been opened.Windows having the automatic closing func-
tion (option) can be operated as long as the
car is unlocked and until 20 minutes has
passed since the remote control was
removed from the ignition switch.
To openPress down the front edge of the button one
step.
The window will stop when it is fully open or
when the button is released.
Automatic opening: Press the button all
the way down and release it.
Comfort opening3Comfort opening is the remote opening of
windows and the moonroof.
Press and hold the unlocking button on the
remote control until the windows and
optional moonroof start to open (approx.
2 seconds).
During comfort opening of the windows,
moonroof3 and soft top (Convertible), the
range is reduced by approximately half.
Convertible: For the remote opening3 of
the soft top, refer to page 64.
WARNING
Bear in mind the pinch hazard when clos-
ing the side windows. May cause serious
or fatal injuries!
Always remove the remote control
from the ignition switch when you
leave the car. This will prevent per-
sonal injury caused by the activation of
the electric windows, for example, due
to children playing.
 The person operating the electric
window is responsible for ensuring
that no one, especially a child, has
their head, hands or fingers in the
window openings, before raising the
window.
 Do not stick any part of the body or the
head out through an open window
while the car is moving.
Window switches
Window switch in rear door
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129 Interior equipment
To closeManually controlled closing
Slide the control forward to its first position.
The moonroof will halt when you release the
control.
Automatic closing3
Slide the control forward to its second posi-
tion and release it. The moonroof will close
fully.
The moonroof pinch protection halts closing
and opens the moonroof slightly if some-
thing obstructs closing.
Moonroof without automatic closing3
Slide the control forward to position 3 (see
illustration). The moonroof will stop when
you release the control or once it is fully
closed.Ventilation position (rear edge of moon-
roof open)
 To open – press in the control.
 To close – slide the control forward to the
second position.
It is also possible to select the ventilation
position when the moonroof is open by
pressing in the control. The moonroof will
then close automatically. Press the control
once more to open the moonroof to its ven-
tilation position.
If you wish to open the moonroof fully from
the ventilation position, you must first close
it (slide the control forward). You can then
slide the control rearward to open the moon-
roof.
The moonroof incorporates an interior,
manual, sliding sun blind.
Moonroof without automatic closing3
 To open – press the control up.
 To close – slide the control forward to
position 3.
Comfort opening3Comfort opening is the remote opening of
windows and the moonroof.
Press and hold the unlocking button on the
remote control until the windows and
optional moonroof start to open (approx.
2 seconds).
During comfort opening of the windows,
moonroof (option) and soft top, the range is
reduced by approximately half.
If the moonroof is in the ventilation position,
it will not open.
Convertible: For the remote opening of the
soft top, refer to page 64.
WARNING
Exercise great care when closing the
moonroof to ensure that nothing gets
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151 Starting and driving
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.
Steering 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.
Pull out key, turn
steering wheel. Restart.
Steering lock malfunc.
Make a safe stop.
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153 Starting and driving
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.
Important
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.
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