2006 Saab 9-3
This year drew an ordinary 179 complaints for a Saab 9-3 — the model's median is 86. What they were about is the unusual part: 11.2% of them mention brake pedal, against 2.2% across the model's other years.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 179 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 86 |
| Involving a crash | 11 |
| Involving a fire | 3 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 19.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- brake pedal — 11.2% of this year's complaints, against 2.2% across the model's other years (5.1×). Owners wrote it as: brake pedal, vacuum, booster, stop vehicle.
- dealers — 6.7% of this year's complaints, against 1.1% across the model's other years (6.4×). Owners wrote it as: dealers, miles away, get recall.
- assist — 6.1% of this year's complaints, against 2.1% across the model's other years (2.9×). Owners wrote it as: assist, after sitting.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
WHILE REVERSING THE VEHICLE AT 4 MPH, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP. HE HAD TO STAND ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY SIX TIMES AND ONLY WHEN DRIVING IN REVERSE. THE VEHICL…
TAKATA RECALL CONTACTED THREE CADILLAC DEALERS BEFORE FINDING ONE THAT WOULD HANDLE THE RECALL. CONTACTED BUSH AUTO PLACE IN WILMINGTON, OH AND WAS TOLD WE DO NOT WORK ON SAABS AND THEY WOULD NOT DO THE RECALL. VERY RUDE AND SHORT. ALSO CONTACTED GUSWEILLER CA…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V063000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V318000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 11E009000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Saab 9-3 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2006 Saab 9-3? What happened to yours?
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