Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Saab 9-3 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The engine lost total compression due to what the mechanic said was a well-documented case of intake valve failure, happened in northern california. The engine cut out while I was in traffic on the freeway, the car stopped, and the car was grazed from behind. Not much of a problem due to damage, just a quick re-paint of the back bumper, and paid out of pocket. The engine was gone. The Saab specialist told me that so many 9-3's,especially on the east coast, have experienced total intake valve failure like mine. I contacted Saab and they essentially said to go screw myself. Saab and a subsequent call to GM claimed they had "never heard of the issue" which my mechanic specialist said was a "bold lie" because there's an online history of this that I found, and they denied me any help in getting it fixed. …
We own a 2008 9-3 Saab that has approximately 120,000 miles on it. When it is cold outside (50 degrees and below), our car starts very roughly after 2-3+ minutes of continuous cranking. Once the car starts and has warmed up, it runs quite smoothly. However, it currently isn't starting at all now and is in the shop. We have been doing research online to see if this is a common problem among other 2008 Saab owners. So far we have seen a large amount of other owners of 2008 saabs expressing the same concerns/problems and have experienced a $2,00-$3,000 expense to fix it. Our diagnosis is that there isn't any compression and it is assumed that the lower intake valves are faulty and will need to be replaced for an estimated cost of $2,000-$3,000. …
I was driving at 55 miles per hour on the lodge freeway in metro detroit, I was in the left lane and there is no emergency lane on the left, and my engine turned off on itself (scary!). As we are aware, brakes pretty much stop working when the engine is off and I was driving with 55 MPH with many vehicles around me. I managed to pull over to the right without getting hit. When I stopped, I tried to start the car, it would start for 5 seconds and it will stall and I had about 10 gallons of gasoline in the tank. I had to get the vehicles towed to my house. Next day I started reading the blogs online to figure out how it is possible for the engine to stall like that without any warnings, especially one is going at highway speed. It turned same thing happened to a lot of Saab owners as well - engine stalled without any warnings when they were driving. …
We purchased a 2008 Saab 9-3 in 3/2011 with 34,000 miles. As of 2/2015 the vehicle has 104,000 miles. Last month the vehicle barely started after sitting overnight and would take several minutes to reach a normal idle. It would then start the rest of the day, sometimes after a "hard" start. The check engine light came on and the mechanic said the code read as a "cylinder misfire" code. 8 days ago the car would not start and is now sitting in my driveway. I called a Saab specialist about 2 hours away from me who knew exactly what the problem was. He explained the intake valve problem that a lot of Saab owners are experiencing due to defective materials used by GM and/or suppliers. He said the cost will be at least $2,200 but could easily be more depending on the severity. This is a known defect (a service bulletin has been issued detailing this issue) that should be subject to a recall. …
As is the case with many other Saab 9-3 built after 2006, my dealer's service department recently identified a problem with the intake valves in my vehicles engine, which has experienced premature failure at 77,000 miles. Other postings on line lead me to believe that this is major issue affecting thousands of these vehicles built by GM in years 2007 and later. The cause is widely known and is a manufacturers defect resulting in failure of the vehicle to start in cold weather. The fix required is a replacement of all of the engine intake valves. This is costly fix in the range of $3,000 per vehicle. Whether GM knew it was using inferior parts prone to failure or not, they are still responsible and should be required to perform the repairs at their cost, or to at a minimum participate in some way in the cost of the repairs.
I have owned my 2008 Saab 9-3 for about a year now and I have had an ongoing rough running issue that seems to be getting worse. When I start my car up in the morning it runs very rough and recently the check engine light has been turning on and off with cylinder misfire codes. I have done some research and had this problem diagnosed, several times, as having bad intake valves. After doing more research on this problem, I have come to find this is a rather common issue with this specific year make and model. This is concerning because I have had this repair quoted at over $2000.00. I am very familiar with manufacturer recalls and have been told by multiple dealerships to submit a complaint in order for this problem to be covered under a manufacturer recall due to faulty parts.
Reached 100K miles, and car began running very rough. Engine light came on and diagnosed as bad ignition coil. Paid for tune-up, ignition coil, and and fuel service. Less than a month later, same issue. Car running fine, then suddenly almost stalls and engine light blinks then stays on - car runs very rough at idle and acceleration. Replaced 2 more coils. Less than one month issue, same issue - car running OK, then just almost stalls and runs rough - engine light blinks then stays on - relaced #5 coil. When diagnosing, service tech advised that issue was likely worse, not maintaining compression - likely required valve job. Have already paid several thousands of dollars on ignition coils and other service to dealership for this issue, now facing large bill for valve job.
I have what I've searched is the "cold start problem". When starting the engine in cold weather, it takes it a try or two to start, but upon ignition, it sputters for a minute or two and once it warms, it runs perfectly fine. From reading reviews online, it sounds like many others have had this and it is the result of the valves going bad, meaning I need a whole new rebuild done. Car only has 127K miles on it and is in mint condition. Per the number of cases I've read online about this, it sounds like the '07-'08 models were the one's that were defective in my case. Bought the car recently from a friend who thought it was just a fuel pump issue needing to be replaced, which I'd pay the few hundred dollars for that, no problem. But now looking at close to $3,000 to have fixed??
My vehicle doesn't start/idle well in the cold due to the air intake manifold bolts slowly becoming loose. **when driving and shifting** the vehicle cannot handle the extra unclean air entering the system and will stall out while going anywheres from 0-60+ MPH, once the engine shuts off all power steering also shuts down. The secondary issue is an acceleration problem because the seals on the air intake valves into the combustion chamber have become faulty resulting in cylinder misfires and a high amount of vibration intermittently while driving, the symptoms come and go with increasing frequency as time goes on. This secondary issue ties into the first issue because of shifting with a standard my vehicle today (12/3/2020) shut off while driving 7 times to and from my job.
Recently, while starting the car it started up very rough. A few weeks ago the check engine light also came on and the mechanic told me there was an issue in cylinder 2. We replaced all spark plugs and coils, and the issue did not go away. In addition, the car has also started stalling randomly. Luckily, I haven't been driving at high speeds when this has happened but it's now shut off about 7 or 8 times in the last month. Been wondering if its intake valves, fuel pump, powertrain control module, camshaft timing... Sounds like lots of other people have experienced similar issues and hoping mines not because of the intake valves. Please email [redacted]@hotmail.com if you have experienced similar issues and know the fix. Car is a manual transmission.
Engine complaints in other 9-3 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2008 Saab 9-3?
NHTSA has 68 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2008 Saab 9-3, 37% of the model year's 184 complaints. The component named most often is engine (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Saab 9-3 engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2008 Saab 9-3, though it has 2 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 2008 Saab 9-3 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 86,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to engine & cooling 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.