Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Saab 9-3 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Warning message that airbag is not working. Loud hissing sound immediately in front of dashboard, as if air is escaping. We cannot drive the car for fear of the airbag inflating. We are going to have to towed to a repair shop to be fixed and will keep all paperwork.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Saab 9-3. While driving at approximately 15 MPH while the brake pedal was depressed, the seat belt violently seized across the contact's chest causing her to lose consciousness. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 163,000.
I contacted the local dealership in elk grove, GMC and on 3 different occasions they state they do not service Saab vehicles. I told them that GMC is responsible for it and they stated there is only one location that we could take it to in central california by fresno if I want to get it fixed. Which it will be an undue hardship. I also told them that our car was spilling gas due to an original faulty unit. They stated there was a recall for that however, it somehow doesn't show on my VIN. Several times we ran out of gas and our kids got gasoline on their clothes. We called 4 dealerships and all of them state to go somewhere else. When I open the hood I see GMC brand all over the car. I believe GMC is discriminating against people with disabilities and not accommodating me. I told them I cannot drive 300 miles, I have to have someone take it because I had a stroke. …
Takata recall, I took my 06 Saab 93 aero into bellevue washington Cadillac dealership to get my air bag recall fixed, after I hot the recalled airbag replaced they reset my ECM and now my airbag light is on intermittently and drains my battery dead over night! I have called bellevue Cadillac and they refuse to do anything about the damage they did to my car by replacing the recalled airbag with another bad airbag! They listed in their computers that they fixed my car and never did so now I am stuck with another bad faulty airbag and now a battery drain issue from it. My car has been literally undriveable since the day they replaced the recalled airbag. …
I would like to report that on Tuesday, January 29, 2013, I was in an accident which destroyed the front end of my car. The car was subsequently declared a total loss by my insurance company. In spite of the significant impact, my airbags did not deploy. To confirm that this was a malfunction with the car, the car's information screen denoted an airbag malfunction. I have photos of the message on the information screen if needed. My fear is that this is an error on more cars than mine and this should be looked into for all 2006 Saab vehicles.
"Takata recall" - I'm very upset and angered that the GM safety recall 28810/Saab safety recall 15041informs me of the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants but provides no remedy! According to the recall letter that I received and verification from the GM dealership that sold me my vehicle, there are no parts available to order and GM won't provide for a loaner or rental car! Therefore I'm expected to rent a car until the parts are available at my own expense or risk injury or death to me, my wife, my children or any other occupants for a potentially 3-12 month period of time. How is this acceptable or allowed by my government safety administration? …
Takata recall, after getting a notice I looked online called every single dealer in my area they all said they don't work on saabi hope everything is GM finally I found one most of them said sub went bankrupt so in a few years the car should be fixed faded out and you should get rid of it they said no one will fix it because there's no older this is the of the dealerships within 100 mile radius dealership GMC's somehow I got connected to a repair shop that specializes in sob and they said they said they could do it there about one month out and I would have to come to them which was 400 miles away I told him it was a hardship also and if they could arrange to pick it up or we could arrange another shop to fix it for the dealer they said nope with only ones in northern california appointment later I got a notice from GMC it was and ambiguous it stated your seatbelt and airbag might not …
Takata recall. I was notified by letter in March of 2016 that my Saab was part of the Takata airbag recall and that I would be notified when and where to take my car for air bag replacement. I was also notified in that letter that parts were not currently available and I would be notified when they were available and what service center I would need to take the cart to for repairs. Sometime in April 2017, I was notified that dorito bros Saab, in walnut creek, california would be doing the air bag replacement and I would likely be contacted within the next month about scheduling the repairs. I did not hear back and I tried to contact dorito bros. Saab and it appears they are no longer in business. I tried calling the "toll-free vehicle safety hotline, ([phone] or [phone]) and have got nothing but a busy signal. What should I do about getting the airbag replaced in my 2006 Saab 93? …
Takata recall -- I received a recall notice for my car and immediately contacted the Saab customer assistance center. I spoke with lisa who told me "don't worry about the recall notice. There really isn't a problem." I then contacted GM corporate and spoke with ranette in the GM executive office. She refused to talk with me and kept repeating "I do apologize. I do not have any additional information on this matter." I asked to speak with her supervisor and she threatened to "disconnect the call". I told her not to disconnect the call and asked for her supervisor's name. Then she put me on hold for one hour and forty minutes. Nothing is being done. Nothing is being handled and I am being told this is not an issue. Validated news reports show that people are being killed by this defect. …
Tl* Takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 Saab 9-3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V063000 (air bags). The manufacturer sent a post card indicating that the parts were available and to contact the dealer. The dealer scheduled an appointment and confirmed the appointment the day before the repair date. Twenty minutes before the repair appointment, the dealer stated that the part was not available. The dealer (schumacher auto group, 3001 okeechobee blvd, west palm beach, fl 33409, [phone]) did not give a specific date for when the part would become available. The manufacturer could not provide an estimated date for when the contact's vehicle would receive the recall repair. The contact was not experiencing a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator on Saab 9-3 and 9-5 vehicles and will replace the driver's frontal airbag module on Saturn Astra vehicles, free of charge.
NHTSA investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Airbag complaints in other 9-3 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2006 Saab 9-3?
NHTSA has 87 complaints about the air bags of the 2006 Saab 9-3, 49% of the model year's 179 complaints. The component named most often is frontal › sensor/control module (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Saab 9-3 airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 16V-063 (inflator module, Feb 3, 2016). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Saab 9-3 airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 93,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.