2007 Saab 9-3 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (62) · Suspension (18) · Engine (11)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Saab 9-3 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
81 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2016-02-03 · campaign 16V063000 · 113,716 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Saab 9-3 vehicles manufactured May 31, 2002, to February 15, 2011, 2006-2009 Saab 9-5 vehicles manufactured June 7, 2005, to May 28, 2009, and 2008-2009 Saturn Astra vehicles manufactured April 11, 2007, to July 24, 2008. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator on Saab 9-3 and 9-5 vehicles and will replace the driver's frontal airbag module on Saturn Astra vehicles, free of charge. The recall began on March 1, 2017. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007 or Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 28810.
Seat Belts:front:retractor 2014-06-12 · campaign 14V318000 · 28,789 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2011 Saab 9-3 Convertible vehicles manufactured July 30, 2003, to February 15, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the driver's side front seat belt retractor may break, causing the seat belt webbing not to retract.
Risk: In the event of a crash, a seat belt that has not retracted may not properly restrain the seat occupant, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007. GM's number for this recall is 14222. Note: Special Coverage 10086 will replace the passenger side seat belt retractor if it fails, free of charge, for the life of the vehicle.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2011-02-28 · campaign 11E009000 · 4,887 vehicles
Defect: TI AUTOMOTIVE IS RECALLING CERTAIN FUEL PUMPS, PART NUMBERS TU456 AND TU303, SOLD UNDER VARIOUS BRAND NAMES AS AFTERMARKET AND REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR THE MOTOR VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP MAY SEIZE, STOPPING THE FUEL FLOW TO THE ENGINE CREATING A STALLING CONDITION.
Risk: A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR SHOULD THE ENGINE STALL WHILE IN USE.
Fix: TI AUTOMOTIVE WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND WILL REPLACE ANY DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP WITH A NEW OR REWORKED FUEL PUMP FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 22, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TI AUTOMOTIVE AT 1-866-867-3759 OR LOG ON TO WWW.RECALLRESPONSE.COM.
Service bulletins (165)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-08-07 · PIC5650M · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming on. technician may find diagnostic trouble codes b3055, b3060, b3935, c0750, c0755, c0760, c0765, and/o
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Engine 2024-09-27 · 04-06-04-051J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin provides information for maintenance cleaning of the fuel injectors and gasoline detergent additive.
Showing the 6 most recent of 165 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2019-10-28 · Air Bags“i called elkins chevrolet in marlton nj as listed on my recall form. i called them two times. the first time they told me the part is not available. i then received a few more recall notices still listing them as the service center. i called again an was then told the only work of chevrolets. both turned out to be bold faced lies!…”
2019-09-05 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2007 saab 9-3. the contact received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign number: 16v063000 (air bags). after contacting malcolm cunningham chevrolet (2031 gordon hwy, augusta, ga), the contact was informed that they did not service saab vehicles. the manufacturer was not notified. the vehicle was not repaired. th…”
2019-06-01 · Engine · 90,000 mi“i was having an issue with my engine idling rough when starting up and while driving cold. after the car warms, the issue get a bit better. but while cold, the car runs terribly rough. after spending over $3000 trying to diagnose and fix the issue, including replacing the entire fuel system, several engine parts, and hours of labor and wasted time,…”
2018-05-31 · Seat Belts:front:retractor · 106,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2007 saab 9-3. the contact stated that the driver's side seat belt failed to retract whether the vehicle was in operation or not. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 14v318000 (seat belts); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasona…”
2018-03-20 · Suspension · 134,000 mi“first issue was front suspension coils. replaced both. biggest issue was once the weather became very cold, car would not start. ended up being a victim of the bad intake valves provided by gm. now, after a complete valve job and having the car run great from march 2017 to dec 2017..it appears it may have a cracked block. car never overheated. flui…”
2018-01-24 · Seat Belts · 161,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2007 saab 9-3. the contact stated that the driver's seat belt was inoperable. the contact stated that the seat belt pretensioner failed to retract the seat belt after coming to a stop. the vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v318000 (seat belts). the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. delaware cadillac (1606 …”
2017-12-29 · Suspension“tl* the contact owns a 2007 saab 9-3. the contact stated that the engine valves failed prematurely. the service engine indicator illuminated and the vehicle performed roughly each time the failure occurred. in addition, the springs that connected to the front struts had premature rust and corrosion, which caused it to fracture without warning. an i…”
2017-12-05 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2007 saab 9-3. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v063000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. two dealers were contacted (sewell cadillac of dallas, dallas,…”
2017-11-24 · Air Bags“takata recall - received a letter stating that i could go online for a $25 mastercard reward card after i completed repairs on the saab. i completed the repairs. tried to access the website but it was not a working website. unable to apply for the reward card.…”
2017-10-31 · Air Bags“airbag recall there was only one store listed on your website for the recall, i called them and they told me that they do not do saab cars…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.