2009 SAAB 9-7X brakes

Downshifting the transmission in slippery road conditions
could result in skidding, see “Skidding” underLoss of
Control on page 4-12.
D (Drive) can be used when towing a trailer, carrying a
heavy load, driving on steep hills, or for off-road driving.
You may want to shift the transmission to 3 (Third) or,
if necessary, a lower gear selection if the transmission
shifts too often.
3 (Third):This position is also used for normal driving.
It reduces vehicle speed more than D (Drive) without
using the brakes. You might choose 3 (Third) instead of
D (Drive) when driving on hilly, winding roads, when
towing a trailer, so there is less shifting between gears
and when going down a steep hill.
To shift to the 3 (Third) position, you must rst press
the large button on the shift handle. While the button
is pressed, move the shifter to the 3 (Third) position.
2 (Second):This position reduces vehicle speed even
more than 3 (Third) without using the brakes. You can
use 2 (Second) on hills. It can help you control vehicle
speed as you go down steep mountain roads, while
using the brakes off and on.To shift to the 2 (Second) position, you must rst press
the large button on the shift handle. While the button
is pressed, move the shifter to the 2 (Second) position.
You can also use 2 (Second) for starting the vehicle
from a stop on slippery road surfaces.
1 (First):This position reduces vehicle speed even
more than 2 (Second) without using the brakes.
You can use it on very steep hills, or in deep snow or
mud. If the shift lever is put in 1 (First) while the vehicle
is moving forward, the transmission will not shift into
rst gear until the vehicle is going slowly enough.
To shift to the 1 (First) position, you must rst press
the large button on the shift handle. While the button
is pressed, move the shifter to the 1 (First) position.
Notice:Spinning the tires or holding the vehicle in
one place on a hill using only the accelerator pedal
may damage the transmission. The repair will not be
covered by the vehicle warranty. If you are stuck, do
not spin the tires. When stopping on a hill, use the
brakes to hold the vehicle in place.
2-26
ProCarManuals.com

Headlamp Washer
For vehicles with headlamp washers, they clear debris
from the headlamp lenses by soaking the lens with
uid, waiting for about ve seconds, then rinsing away
the loose debris.
The headlamp washers are located under the
headlamps. The headlamp washers activate for one
wash-wait-rinse cycle when the front windshield washer
button is pressed for the rst time after the vehicle is
turned on. The headlamps washers then activate
automatically for one cycle after every four front
windshield washes.
The headlamps must be on to be washed. If the
headlamps are off, only the front windshield will be
washed.
The headlamp washers use the same uid bottle as the
windshield washer. However, the headlamp washers
will run out of uid before the windshield washer. If the
windshield can be washed, but not the headlamps,
check the uid level. SeeWindshield Washer on
page 3-9for more information.
Cruise Control
With cruise control, a speed of about 25 mph (40 km/h)
or more can be maintained without keeping your foot
on the accelerator. Cruise control does not work
at speeds below about 25 mph (40 km/h).
If the brakes are applied, the cruise control shuts off.
{CAUTION:
Cruise control can be dangerous where you
cannot drive safely at a steady speed. So, do not
use the cruise control on winding roads or in
heavy traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerous on slippery
roads. On such roads, fast changes in tire
traction can cause excessive wheel slip, and you
could lose control. Do not use cruise control on
slippery roads.
3-10
ProCarManuals.com

Resuming a Set Speed
Suppose the cruise control is set at a desired speed
and then the brakes are applied. This disengages
the cruise control. But it does not need to be reset.
Once the vehicle is going about 25 mph (40 km/h) or
more, move the cruise control switch briey from
RtoS.
The vehicle returns to the chosen speed and stays there.
If the switch is held at resume/accelerate the vehicle will
keep going faster until the switch is released or the
brake is applied. So unless you want the vehicle to go
faster, do not hold the switch at resume/accelerate.
Increasing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed:
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher
speed. Press
Tat the end of the lever, then
release the button and the accelerator pedal.
The vehicle will now cruise at the higher speed.
If the accelerator pedal is held longer than
60 seconds, cruise control will turn off.
Move the cruise switch fromRtoS. Hold it there
until the desired speed is reached, and then
release the switch. To increase the vehicle speed
in small amounts, move the switch briey to
resume/accelerate. Each time this is done, the
vehicle goes about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise
Control

Press in the button at the end of the lever until the
lower desired speed is reached, then release it.
To slow down in very small amounts, briey press
the set button. Each time this is done, the vehicle
goes about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using
Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase the vehicle’s
speed. When you take your foot off the pedal, the vehicle
will slow down to the cruise control speed set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well the cruise control works on hills depends upon
the vehicle’s speed, load and the steepness of the
hills. When going up steep hills, you might have to
step on the accelerator pedal to maintain the vehicle’s
3-12
ProCarManuals.com

speed. When going downhill, you might have to brake
or shift to a lower gear to keep the vehicle’s speed
down. When the brakes are applied this disengages
the cruise control.
Ending Cruise Control
To turn off the cruise control, do one of the following:
Step lightly on the brake pedal,
move the cruise control switch to9,or
shift the transmission to N (Neutral).
If your vehicle has the StabiliTrak feature, cruise
control will turn off if road conditions cause
StabiliTrak to activate.
If the accelerator pedal is held longer than
60 seconds, cruise control will turn off.
The cruise control will turn off automatically if the
traction control system or StabiliTrak system activate,
if your vehicle has either feature.
Erasing Speed Memory
The cruise control set speed memory is erased when
the cruise control or the ignition is turned off.
Headlamps
The exterior lamp control is located in the middle
of the turn signal/multifunction lever. SeeTurn
Signal/Multifunction Lever on page 3-6.
O(Exterior Lamp Control):Turn the control with this
symbol on it to operate the exterior lamps.
The exterior lamp control has the following four positions:
O(On/Off):Turns off the Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL) and Automatic Headlamps. Turning the
control to this position again turns the automatic
lighting system back on. This feature is not available
for vehicles rst sold in Canada.
AUTO (Automatic):Automatically turns the exterior
lamps on and off depending upon how much light
is available outside of the vehicle.
;(Parking Lamps):Turns on the parking lamps
together with the following:
Sidemarker Lamps
Taillamps
License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights
5(Headlamps):Turn the control to this position to
turn on the headlamps, together with the previously
listed lamps and lights.
3-13
ProCarManuals.com

Antilock Brake System (ABS)
Warning Light
For vehicles with the
Antilock Brake System
(ABS), this light comes on
briey when the engine
is started.
If it does not, have the vehicle serviced by your
dealer/retailer. If the system is working normally the
indicator light then goes off.
If the ABS light stays on, turn the ignition off. If the light
comes on while driving, stop as soon as it is safely
possible and turn the ignition off. Then start the engine
again to reset the system. If the ABS light stays on,
or comes on again while driving, the vehicle needs
service. If the regular brake system warning light is
not on, the vehicle still has brakes, but not antilockbrakes. If the regular brake system warning light is also
on, the vehicle does not have antilock brakes and
there is a problem with the regular brakes. SeeBrake
System Warning Light on page 3-31.
For vehicles with a Driver Information Center (DIC),
seeDIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-45for all
brake related DIC messages.
StabiliTrak®Service Light
This light will come on
briey when the engine is
started.
This light will come on if a problem is detected in the
StabiliTrak
®system.
For more information seeStabiliTrak
®System on
page 4-6.
3-32
ProCarManuals.com

Drunk Driving
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Your
reexes, perceptions, attentiveness, and judgment
can be affected by even a small amount of alcohol.
You can have a serious — or even fatal — collision
if you drive after drinking. Do not drink and drive or
ride with a driver who has been drinking. Ride home
in a cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a global tragedy.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a
vehicle: judgment, muscular coordination, vision, and
attentiveness.
Police records show that almost 40 percent of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, more than 17,000 annual
motor vehicle-related deaths have been associated with
the use of alcohol, with about 250,000 people injured.For persons under 21, it is against the law in every
U.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good medical,
psychological, and developmental reasons for
these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the leading highway
safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol and
then drive.
Medical research shows that alcohol in a person’s
system can make crash injuries worse, especially
injuries to the brain, spinal cord, or heart. This means
that when anyone who has been drinking — driver
or passenger — is in a crash, that person’s chance of
being killed or permanently disabled is higher than if the
person had not been drinking.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems help to control the vehicle
while driving — brakes, steering, and accelerator. At
times, as when driving on snow or ice, it is easy to ask
more of those control systems than the tires and road can
provide. Meaning, you can lose control of the vehicle.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affect
vehicle performance. SeeAccessories and Modifications
on page 5-3.
4-3
ProCarManuals.com

Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 3-31.
Braking action involves perception time and reaction
time. Deciding to push the brake pedal is perception
time. Actually doing it is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about three-fourths of a
second. But that is only an average. It might be less
with one driver and as long as two or three seconds or
more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness,
coordination, and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol,
drugs, and frustration. But even in three-fourths of a
second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels
66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in an
emergency, so keeping enough space between
the vehicle and others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road, whether it is pavement or
gravel; the condition of the road, whether it is wet, dry, or
icy; tire tread; the condition of the brakes; the weight of
the vehicle; and the amount of brake force applied.Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts — heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking — rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. The brakes might not have time to cool between
hard stops. The brakes will wear out much faster with a
lot of heavy braking. Keeping pace with the traffic and
allowing realistic following distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means better braking and
longer brake life.
If the engine ever stops while the vehicle is being driven,
brake normally but do not pump the brakes. If the brakes
are pumped, the pedal could get harder to push down.
If the engine stops, there will still be some power brake
assist but it will be used when the brake is applied. Once
the power assist is used up, it can take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affect
vehicle performance. SeeAccessories and Modifications
on page 5-3.
4-4
ProCarManuals.com

Antilock Brake System (ABS)
This vehicle has the Antilock Brake System (ABS),
an advanced electronic braking system that will
help prevent a braking skid.
When the engine is started and the vehicle begins to
drive away, ABS checks itself. A momentary motor
or clicking noise might be heard while this test is going
on. This is normal.
If there is a problem with
ABS, this warning light
stays on. SeeAntilock
Brake System (ABS)
Warning Light on
page 3-32.
Along with ABS, the vehicle has a Dynamic Rear
Proportioning (DRP) system. If there is a DRP problem,
both the brake and ABS warning lights come on
accompanied by a 10-second chime. The lights and
chime will come on each time the ignition is turned on
until the problem is repaired. See your dealer/retailer for
service.Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You
slam on the brakes and continue braking. Here is what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that the wheels are slowing down.
If one of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer
will separately work the brakes at each front wheel
and at both rear wheels.
ABS can change the brake pressure to each wheel, as
required, faster than any driver could. This can help
the driver steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As the brakes are applied, the computer keeps
receiving updates on wheel speed and controls braking
pressure accordingly.
Remember: ABS does not change the time needed to get
a foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease stopping
distance. If you get too close to the vehicle in front of you,
there will not be enough time to apply the brakes if that
vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave enough
room up ahead to stop, even with ABS.
Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let antilock work. The brakes might
vibrate or some noise might be heard, but this is normal.
4-5
ProCarManuals.com