Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Saab 9-3 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
This is a serious issue known to NHTSA and GM under pe 08051. It needs to be addressed and a recall issued. Backing out of garage I heard a pop from right front area of car when put in reverse. Drove about 200 feet before I smelled burning rubber. Car became very difficult to steer. I had car towed to independent service garage. It is determined that the right front spring broke and became entangled in front suspension, steering and tire. Had I been going at a speed greater than 20 miles per hour I would have not been able to steer the car to a safe stop. Both GM and NHTSA know of the breaking front spring in salted road areas including missouri. This vehicle has only 55000 miles and is stored in a garage at home and work. Please put out a recall issue immediately, this is a very serious issue. Also a front seat belt recall went out last summer. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Saab 9-3. The contact stated that the front springs and front struts failed without warning. The contact stated that the fracture happened twice, once on each side. A mechanic diagnosed that the springs prematurely fractured and the front struts and sprints needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
I took my vehicle in for a blower motor malfunction and a brake job to my regular mechanic who works on all my vehicles. While they had the vehicle up on the lift, he noticed that the right front spring had broken and gouged the tire leaving the tire damaged and the car inoperable. When they called the dealership to order a new spring from Saab, the parts department said that b/c of mileage and age it would be covered under a service bulletin. Yeah! So, I called dealership and inquired about having the vehicle towed (100 miles) and the Saab dealership do the work. Mileage on 9-3, 94,484 good! 6 months past the "time" limit! Bad! Needless to say, after $700 later I have replaced both front springs as well as the $175 damaged tire. …
Left work parking lot and felt something rubbing on drivers side tire. Pulled over to see what was wrong. Could not find anything. Started driving again and smelled a tire smell and noticed blue smoke from my rearview mirror. Started to pull over and the tire blew. Thought I blew a tire. Go to put the spare tire on and see the spring from the strut had almost cut my tire off the inside of the rim. Called my local Saab dealer and they said they would replace the one spring. As I was looking up how much this was going to cost me(before I found out I was still under warranty) every site I visited said the same thing Saab recommends replacing both springs yet the dealership says they will only replace the one that broke and shredded my tire. Looking on the internet I see this is a problem that has not turned into a recall. …
I was backing out of my garage when I heard a loud clunk coming from the front left area of my car, accompanied by a burning rubber smell emanating from somewhere. I got out of the car and thought it looked a little lower on the left side. I felt it was unsafe to drive due to the loud noise when I put it in reverse, not to mention the smell of burning rubber. I got my car towed for $75, only to find out I was correct in my online assessment of the problem being my front suspension coil being broken (as per a local auto body diagnostic), due to the numerous and very similar sounding complaints especially for the 2003 and 2004 saabs. I'm lucky that I didn't end up shredding my tire and losing control of my vehicle as I as about to embark on an hour drive, using highways, to meet a friend. …
Was driving 2004 Saab 9-3 vehicle when the strut spring broke, and started digging into the tire creating a lot of smoke from burnt rubber. Upon closer inspection it appears that the strut strings had broke on both sides, only the passenger side spring came off of its 'mount' and dug its way into the tire. Nothing was hit to cause this reaction. Upon searching the internet, this seems to be a more common, than not problem with this model of 9-3. Saab has agreed to extend the warranty to fix the problem, but this is a very serious safety hazard and these springs should be recalled. A significant amount of damage was done to the tire before I stopped. If the vehicle had been traveling any faster, I believe the consequences could have been significantly worse.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Saab 9-3. When the contact released the seat belt, the mechanism on the door post made a loud noise and the seat belt failed. The dealer advised her to call the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer advised her to not drive the vehicle. The contact would have to pay for the repairs and then have the dealer inspect the vehicle. The dealer stated that the seat belt failed and would cost $400 to repair. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number 04V226000 (seat belts:front:retractor); however, the dealer stated that this recall does not exist. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 49,200. Updated 08/04/09 the right front coil spring was broken. Updated 08/10/09.
Upon driving our 2004 Saab 9-3 into a parking lot we noticed the car was not handling correctly. Front end was very low to ground, car not turning correctly, and making a noise. Upon having it towed to the dealer it appeared one of the front coil springs had snapped. Based on numerous other reported complaints similar to ours, we were very lucky that it happened very close to work, after getting off of the mass pike or we could have had a blown tire at 70 MPH. After discussion with the Saab dealer and their district manager, Saab replaced both front coil springs at no cost to us without any argument. Ironically a friend of ours had just had the exact same problem a month earlier with the same outcome.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Saab 9-3. While driving at approximately 2 MPH, the contact heard a loud pop noise from the front end of the vehicle. After driving half a mile at approximately 30 MPH, he heard another loud pop and the front passenger tire blew out. The tire was replaced with a spare and contact drove to a repair center where he was informed the front passenger side coil spring broke and pierced the tire. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that the failure was a known issue that was being serviced on a case by case basis. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were approximately 72,000.
After noticing an increasingly loud suspension clunk coming from the drivers side front wheel. I brought the car into the Saab dealership for service, I was told that the front spring was snapped and both front needed to be replaced as the car was no longer safe to drive. After further investigation on the web I have found there are similar problems with the springs for this year and model, I was lucky that I did not experience and failure at high speed as some others have. I find this to be extremely dangerous that the springs are rotting and snapping after only a few years. I live in the snow belt that is noted in the already open investigation. Action# pe08052 and ea08026.
NHTSA investigations
Front suspension coil spring fracture
On August 28, 2008, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe08-051) to investigate alleged front suspension coil spring fractures in certain model year (my) 2003-2004 Saab 9-3 vehicles sold or registered in salt belt states.(note: for purposes of this investigation, the salt belt includes connecticut, delaware, the district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland,…
Front Suspension Coil Spring Fracture
To date, ODI is aware of 142 non-duplicative complaints related to the alleged defect.In addition, ODI is aware of 2,626 subject vehicles with one or more warranty claims related to the alleged defect.In total, ODI is aware of 2,714 unique subject vehicles that have experienced one or more front suspension coil spring fractures.ODI is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the alleged defect.The engineering…
Suspension complaints in other 9-3 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2004 Saab 9-3?
NHTSA has 52 complaints about the suspension of the 2004 Saab 9-3, 25% of the model year's 207 complaints. The component named most often is front (29 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Saab 9-3 suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2004 Saab 9-3, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Saab 9-3 suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.