Topics

1

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Slow to fuel up? Evap system or 1 way valve?

« on: 08 August 2024, 10:35:33 AM »

Hi all, second time filling up last night and it took about 8 minutes to put 50l into the tank at a busy petrol station (I was not popular! but I needed to see how much fuel was needed to make the orange warning light go out! Now when I first got the car it was half full and took a little while to fill up but it was at Costco so I thought it might have been their pumps (my friend who took me to look at the car demanded I use her costco card on the way home as "now you've got a 2 litre turbo with all wheel drive you're going to be visiting petrol stations very often"... she's not wrong either).

Anyway, I'm wondering what to check or if I should just punt it into indysaab and let them deal with it, but having to take 8 minutes to fill from empty is not going to be very fun as I will be doing this very often!

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Long time coming...

« on: 25 May 2023, 10:01:08 AM »

I've not been here much recently, I dropped by and saw the post about where the forum can go in the future, but it brings me to another thought....

My 2007 9-3 Aero sport wagon is now 16, it has been a total joy to own, it's currently sitting on 133k, I got it 7 years ago at 82k, since then it's really not had anything "bad" go wrong with it. In that time I replaced all of the suspension, a couple of sets of tyres, back box at the recent MOT, it did need a new power steering pump and replacement vacuum pump, new air-con condenser, battery, drivers door lock but none of those were expensive or particularly bothersome as the car always kept rolling... I had only ever purchased it thinking I'd keep it 4-5 years, but it's been a very good car.

Anyway, it's getting a little bit worn around the edges now, I think it needs relegating to be a second car in the next year or two, I don't know how long I'll keep it but it's an expensive thing to tax each year (over £600 now!)...

So, what do I replace it with? I had considered a Subaru, but they seem to have given up making fast and interesting cars in recent years... maybe a Skoda Kodiak? none of BMW/Audi/VW appeal much to me, I had considered a Alfa Giulia but they only do a saloon. Citroen no longer make anything sufficiently weird for my tastes, I had considered a Mondeo, but Ford stopped making them... perhaps a Focus? Volvo might be a safe bet, but they just feel too appliance like and a bit bland.

Does anyone have any suggestions that won't break the bank with stupid repairs? and that doesn't feel like I'm buying a kitchen appliance...

3

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / headlamp restoration

« on: 21 September 2022, 08:46:27 PM »

I think I should restore one of the headlamps on the 9-3 as it's starting to go cloudy, one issue I've had before is that once you do it then it seems to deteriorate again quite quickly after, what I was wondering is if I get some UV protective film to put on the headlamps would this work better than using a sealant as A. I can't find any sealant B. I've read if you use sealant you have to do it again shortly after.

Anyone got any words of wisdom to offer?

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / 111111!

« on: 13 December 2018, 09:11:50 PM »

I managed this little milestone the other day. https://imgur.com/a/ZfmyUw9

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Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Headlamp washer replacement on 9-3

« on: 13 October 2018, 05:15:05 PM »

Today I finally got around to replacing the headlamp washer jet for the drivers side after I lost one of the sprayer nozzles a few months ago.

I sourced an aftermarket replacement from a seller in Poland via ebay for £31 which is far cheaper than a genuine Saab part which is about £80! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEADLAMP-HEADLIGHT-WASHER-NOZZLE-JET-SPRAYER-RIGHT-RH-FOR-SAAB-9-3-93-2003-2012/273056419371

One thing that I have noticed with the old washer nozzle off the car is that you can remove the little ball part with needle nose pliers so I'm going to keep the broken unit so that if in the future I lose another nozzle I have a spare, probably worth saying that I had to replace the passenger side earlier this year and the drivers side failed 6 months later so it may be that the plastic gets fatigued after 11 years on the car.

Some of this won't make sense unless you're doing the job but it's here for reference. Removing the nozzle was a bit tricky however I cheated and only removed the 3 screws in the wheel arch on the drivers side and the 6 clips that hold the top of the bumper skin on and peeled the bumper back rather than go for removing the whole bumper (which is what the workshop manual says to do). If you do this job and are struggling to release the nozzle then you have to push very very hard on the clip to make it open up, I removed the washer hose from the joint so that I could handle it a bit more easily and then put the hose back on the joint before pushing it into the nozzle.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Anyone got a Tech-II I can use for 20 minutes near Cambridge/Bedford?

« on: 05 May 2018, 06:39:12 PM »

Hi guys,

I just got back from holiday and while away in the south west kept getting ESP failure warning messages that cleared after turning it off and on again. They only appear to arise after driving up and down hills when we were away, now we're home they appear to have gone again. Anyway, I had the tracking sorted just before we went away but didn't have the steering angle reset by Tech-II. I just want to reset steering angle and read and clear the ESP codes so should only take 15 minutes, I'd rather not pay a professional to look at this as I can do most of the diagnostics and fixing myself!

So if anyone has a Tech-II I can use for 15 minutes around Cambridge/Bedford areas in exchange for a few beer tokens then please let me know!

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Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Fixed (well almost) a very annoying thing!

« on: 28 April 2018, 09:33:42 PM »

Ever since I got the 9-3 over 2 years ago there has been a very high pitched rattle/whistle noise which only comes when travelling at specific speeds and over particular road surfaces. I thought it was coming from under the dash but never got around to dismantling the car to investigate as it never seems to happen on roads around home which is lucky as while travelling away on holiday we finally managed to pin point it!

The source of this noise is the top part of the auto gear selector lever, the lower part is a plastic cover that can rattle with a very high pitched vibration which made it very very hard to find. I think just a single bit of blu-tack or tape will fix this permanently!

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Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / W5W / 501 white side light bulbs.

« on: 22 April 2018, 05:25:44 PM »

Can anyone recommend a good W5W/501 white side light bulb? I've now had to replace 4 white halogen side light bulbs from Osram in 19 months and I'm getting bored of it. I'm not really wanting to try out LED replacements unless someone can suggest a good well known led bulb rather than some pointing at stuff  on ebay as I don't want to have to keep replacing bulbs or get bulbs that will melt the headlight (have seen this before with people using LED replacements). If not I think I will just go back to having yellow sidelights and get long life bulbs!

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Hirsch or Maptun

« on: 19 April 2018, 02:42:55 PM »

So, I'm thinking about tuning my car, given the choice would you do Hirsch or Maptun? If so why would you pick that option?

Maptun should give slightly better performance, Hirsch is obviously better certified!

I don't want to hear suggestions for other options as they have been discounted for good reasons

10

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Amazon possible source of Eibach springs

« on: 19 December 2017, 08:40:29 AM »

I'm very happy right now as I'm waiting for my Eibach pro spring kit to be delivered from Amazon. Managed to get the kit for the 9-3 for just £122.08! Amazon no longer appear to have them in stock but it's worth keeping an eye on Amazon for cheap Saab parts as the springs will be matched up to a pair of sachs rear dampers I got several months ago also from Amazon that cost me just £16 each!

Now I just need some new front dampers (I've seen the sachs front dampers as low as £150 for the pair) and will be buying new genuine top mounts and bearings from ebay for £70. Means I might get all the parts for a rebuild of the suspension on the car for under £400!

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Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Replacement headlight washer jets.

« on: 14 September 2017, 01:53:55 PM »

I've lost one of the nozzles for the passenger side headlamp washer, just had a look at how much the replacement part is and it's £85 RRP and I can get it for £75 from http://www.saabits.com

It appears you can't just get the nozzles but does anyone know any different? It is said that the plastic cracks and the nozzle comes out but the surround looks fine so I even wonder if someone has stolen it. 

The part number is 12803972 (superseded from 12763888)

I wouldn't be that bothered if it wasn't for the power steering reservoir is leaking on the 9-3 so I've just had to buy a complete replacement pump for £199.95, looks like this is turning out to be an expensive week!

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / First time driving in France and Belgium.

« on: 09 July 2017, 11:58:36 AM »

We're going on holiday in September to France and Belgium, it'll be the first time I've driven outside the British Isles and in a country with right hand traffic (apart from 10 minutes in a parking lot in the states which was also the first time I drove an LHD car and an automatic!).

What things do you guys think I should be aware of or do that may not be obvious? Although as I've not even looked at how to get the car there yet or booked accommodation I guess we may have to go somewhere else entirely!

13

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / DAB Radio upgrade for 9-3

« on: 06 March 2017, 08:47:46 AM »

I've got annoyed with the poor radio reception in the 9-3 and I'm not paying £220 for the dual amplifier upgrade kit.

This led me to look at what options are out there that would also give me DAB radio and found this:

http://www.pure.com/car-audio/products/highway-600

As it also does bluetooth streaming/calls it looks like it may be a great solution for the car although I'm not sure where I'd put the control unit.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I'm hoping that using DAB will let me reliably listen to the radio again although I note that the DAB coverage maps have huge holes in East Anglia and Scotland. Means I may have to keep a big playlist on my phone for my holiday later in the year. 

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Gallery / Stereotypical Swedish car at Ikea image. my MY07 SAAB 9-3 Aero Anniversary

« on: 23 January 2017, 08:53:14 PM »

How could I not take this photo! http://imgur.com/a/Ecjdl

15

Classic Saab 9-5 (MY 1998-2010) / MOVED: Remote Central Locking / Alarm problem?

« on: 27 December 2016, 05:10:26 PM »

This topic has been moved to Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on).

http://www.saabtechtalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3537.0