Saab problems by model
Owners have filed 1,986 complaints with NHTSA about the 4 Saab models with enough data to profile here, covering 11 model years from 1995 through 2008. The 9-3 draws the most at 1,300, 65.5% of the make's total.
Complaint volume tracks how many cars a make sold as much as how they held up, and NHTSA complaints are unverified owner reports rather than confirmed defects. Nothing on this page compares Saab against another manufacturer. Use it to find the model, then the model year, then read what owners of that year actually filed.
Every Saab model
| Model | Model years | Complaints | Most-reported year | Top system that year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-3 | 6 2003–2008 | 1,300 | 2003 323 | Electrical system (15.8%) |
| 9-5 | 3 1999–2001 | 391 | 1999 157 | Electrical system (57.3%) |
| 900 | 1 1995–1995 | 159 | 1995 159 | Power train (16.4%) |
| 9-2X | 1 2005–2005 | 136 | 2005 136 | Air bags (33.8%) |
Model years shown are those with at least 100 complaints on file, the gate every page on this site has to clear.
Reading the numbers
Across every Saab model year on the site, electrical system is the system named most often: 349 complaints, 21.4% of those filed under a named system. Individual model years diverge from that sharply, which is the reason to read the year rather than the badge.
The three most-reported Saab models (9-3, 9-5 and 900) account for 93.2% of the make's complaint volume. That is a concentrated picture: most of what gets reported about Saab here comes from three nameplates. Bear in mind that a nameplate selling in the millions will out-file a niche one whatever its record.
Of the 1,986 complaints, 85 describe a crash, 45 describe a fire and 2 report a death.
Most-reported Saab model years
The single heaviest model year of each Saab nameplate, 1995–2008. Heaviest is not worst. Read it alongside the model page.