Stats focus on model years from 1960 onwards.
Earlier years appear in the detailed table below where data exists.
Ask About This Model
Get plain-language explanations of recalls and complaints for the
Saab 9-3. Powered by AI, backed by NHTSA data.
AI Assistant
Important: This assistant provides context from aggregated NHTSA data.
Always check your specific VIN on
NHTSA.gov
for vehicle-specific recall information.
Key Takeaways
A quick scan of where recalls and complaints concentrate for the Saab 9-3,
based on aggregated NHTSA counts and campaign metadata.
Coverage spans model years 1994–2011 with 38 recall campaigns and 1685 complaints in NHTSA data.
Years with the most recall activity: 2004 (5), 2003 (4), and 2002 (4).
Years with the most complaint volume: 2003 (323), 2004 (236), and 2006 (227).
Top recall themes: Seats and restraints, Fuel and emissions, and Airbags.
Most reported complaint areas (across all years): Air bags, Seat belts, Electrical system.
Complaints are not proof of a defect, but repeated themes can be useful signals when researching a used vehicle.
Always check your specific VIN for open recalls (open recalls are VIN-specific and can change over time).
Recall Themes
Instead of listing long campaign narratives, this groups recall campaigns into a few recurring areas.
Each theme links back to official notices as evidence.
Seats and restraints
5 campaigns · Years: 1999, 2003–2011
These campaigns relate to seats, belts, airbags restraint integration, or child restraint anchoring components.
Across all model years, the most frequently reported areas for the
Saab 9-3 in NHTSA complaint data are
Air bags, Seat belts, Electrical system.
Jump to Model Year
Year-by-Year Overview
Each row shows how often this model appears in NHTSA recalls and consumer
complaints for a given model year. These are counts of campaigns and
complaints, not risk predictions.
Model Year
Recalls
Complaints
Details
2011
3
33
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Seat belts, Power train.
2010
3
31
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Engine, Seat belts.
2009
2
46
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system.
2008
2
214
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system.
2007
2
182
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Suspension, Engine.
2006
2
227
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Service brakes, hydraulic, Seat belts.
2005
2
114
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Seat belts, Suspension:front, Suspension.
2004
5
236
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Seat belts, Suspension:front, Suspension.
2003
4
323
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Electrical system, Suspension:front, Power train:automatic transmission.
2002
4
52
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Electrical system, Electrical system:ignition:module, Power train:automatic transmission.
2001
4
74
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Electrical system:ignition:module, Electrical system, Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings.
2000
2
72
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Electrical system:ignition:module, Air bags, Electrical system:ignition.
1999
3
80
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Air bags, Electrical system:ignition:module, Air bags:frontal.
1994
0
1
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Engine and engine cooling:engine.
What to Do Next
Check open recalls by VIN on the official NHTSA site (open recalls are VIN-specific).
If buying used, ask for proof of recall remedy completion (dealer paperwork helps).
If symptoms match common complaint themes, consider a mechanic inspection before purchase or long trips.
A compact evidence view of recall campaigns that include this model.
The default text is an original summary line, with official notice text available on demand.
Most common areas involved:
Seat belts
, Air bags
and Fuel system
Show recall evidence by year
2011
Fuel system, other: Fuel pump:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Saab is recalling certain model year 2010 and 2011 passenger vehicles manufactured from june 2010 through december 2010. Certain fuel pumps installed as original equipment may have internal components with incorrect specifications.
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Air bags: Inflator module:
Safety recall involving the air bags area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 depl
2010
Fuel system, other: Fuel pump:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Saab is recalling certain model year 2010 and 2011 passenger vehicles manufactured from june 2010 through december 2010. Certain fuel pumps installed as original equipment may have internal components with incorrect specifications.
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Air bags: Inflator module:
Safety recall involving the air bags area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 depl
2009
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Air bags: Inflator module:
Safety recall involving the air bags area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 depl
2008
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Air bags: Inflator module:
Safety recall involving the air bags area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 depl
2007
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Air bags: Inflator module:
Safety recall involving the air bags area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 depl
2006
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Air bags: Inflator module:
Safety recall involving the air bags area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 depl
2005
Service brakes, hydraulic: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the service brakes area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain sport sedan and convertible passenger vehicles were produced with a vacuum pipe check valve for the brake booster that may fail from exposure to elevated temperatures. This could result in sudden loss of power brake assist, usually with little or no warning.
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
2004
Seats: Recliner:
Safety recall involving the seats area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 207, "Seating systems." The backrest locking mechanism on some front seats may have been installed incorrectly.
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Some sport sedans were built with seat belt retractors that were damaged during the manufacturing process. If damaged, over time, the automatic tensioning system (ats) cable in the seat belt retractor could break causing the belt webbing to not retract.
Service brakes, hydraulic: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the service brakes area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain sport sedan and convertible passenger vehicles were produced with a vacuum pipe check valve for the brake booster that may fail from exposure to elevated temperatures. This could result in sudden loss of power brake assist, usually with little or no warning.
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: General motors is recalling certain model year 2004 saab 9-3 sedans. Some of these vehicles were produced with front seat belt retractors that, over time, could fail to retract.
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
2003
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Some sport sedans were built with seat belt retractors that were damaged during the manufacturing process. If damaged, over time, the automatic tensioning system (ats) cable in the seat belt retractor could break causing the belt webbing to not retract.
Engine and engine cooling:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: On certain passenger vehicles, the engine management system software may cause engine hesitation or stalling.
Service brakes, hydraulic: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the service brakes area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain sport sedan and convertible passenger vehicles were produced with a vacuum pipe check valve for the brake booster that may fail from exposure to elevated temperatures. This could result in sudden loss of power brake assist, usually with little or no warning.
Fuel system, gasoline: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The tie rod end retaining nuts may not have been properly tightened at the factory.
Fuel system, gasoline: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain passenger vehicles equipped with b205/b235 4-cylinder gasoline engines and b308 6-cylinder gasoline engines may experience overheating and burnout of the isolated gated bipolar transistor (igbt) within the ignition discharge module (idm) due to increased susceptibility to electrical loads
Fuel system, gasoline: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Vehicle description: certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with requirements of fmvss no. 208, "Occupant crash protection." The air bag alert labels may not be permanently affixed as required by this standard.
Fuel system, gasoline: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain passenger vehicles equipped with b205/b235 4-cylinder gasoline engines and b308 6-cylinder gasoline engines may experience overheating and burnout of the isolated gated bipolar transistor (igbt) within the ignition discharge module (idm) due to increased susceptibility to electrical loads
Fuel system, gasoline: Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings:
Safety recall involving the fuel system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Vehicle description: certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with requirements of fmvss no. 208, "Occupant crash protection." The air bag alert labels may not be permanently affixed as required by this standard.
Electrical system: Module:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Certain passenger vehicles equipped with b205/b235 4-cylinder gasoline engines and b308 6-cylinder gasoline engines may experience overheating and burnout of the isolated gated bipolar transistor (igbt) within the ignition discharge module (idm) due to increased susceptibility to electrical loads
1999
Equipment: Labels:
Safety recall involving the equipment area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The air bag alert label on the driver side visor was omitted. This does not conform to the requirements of fmvss no. 208, "Occupant crash protection."
Seats:
Safety recall involving the seats area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Vehicle description: passsenger vehicles. Failures of the "easy entry" cable in the front driver or passenger manual seats can cause the seat fore/aft adjustable mechanism to be unlocked.
Equipment: Labels:
Safety recall involving the equipment area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The brake reservoir label was omitted. This does not comply with the requirements of fmvss no. 135, "Passenger car brake systems."
Other Saab Models
Explore recall and complaint data for other Saab models.
Recall Explained provides independent analysis of official NHTSA data.
This site does not replace the official NHTSA VIN lookup and should not be
treated as legal or safety advice for your specific vehicle.
For any safety concerns: Always check your VIN on the official
NHTSA site and contact an authorized dealer.
