What gets recalled
2011 Saab 9-3 recalls (3)
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.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
Fuel system, other › Delivery › Fuel pump
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.
Remedy: Saab will notify owners and replace the defective fuel pumps free of charge. The safety recall began on March 3, 2011. Owners May contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
2010 Saab 9-3 recalls (3)
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.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
Fuel system, other › Delivery › Fuel pump
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.
Remedy: Saab will notify owners and replace the defective fuel pumps free of charge. The safety recall began on March 3, 2011. Owners May contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
2009 Saab 9-3 recalls (2)
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.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
2008 Saab 9-3 recalls (2)
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.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
2007 Saab 9-3 recalls (2)
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.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
2006 Saab 9-3 recalls (2)
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.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
2005 Saab 9-3 recalls (2)
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
Service brakes, hydraulic › Power assist › Vacuum › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
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.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new redesigned check valve. The recall began on March 17, 2006. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
2004 Saab 9-3 recalls (5)
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVER SIDE RETRACTOR FREE OF CHARGE. IF THE FRONT PASSENGER RETRACTOR WERE TO FAIL TO RETRACT, GM WILL REPLACE THE FRONT PASSENGER RETRACTOR FREE OF CHARGE UNDER A SPECIAL COVERAGE THAT WILL BE…
Service brakes, hydraulic › Power assist › Vacuum › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
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.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new redesigned check valve. The recall began on March 17, 2006. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat belt retractor assemblies. The recall began on January 24, 2005. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Show 1 more recall
Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
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.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the vehicle's front seats to determine if they are equipped with the improperly installed component. If either or both of the seats have this component, they will be replaced.
2003 Saab 9-3 recalls (4)
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. The recall began on June 13, 2007.
Service brakes, hydraulic › Power assist › Vacuum › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
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.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new redesigned check valve. The recall began on March 17, 2006. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Engine and engine cooling
On certain passenger vehicles, the engine management system software May cause engine hesitation or stalling.
Remedy: Dealers will update the engine management system. Owners May contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
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.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat belt retractor assemblies. The recall began on January 24, 2005. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
2002 Saab 9-3 recalls (4)
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. The recall began on June 13, 2007.
Electrical system › Ignition › Module
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.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect to see what version idm is in the vehicle and replace the idm if it is a version built prior to the introduction of qp3.
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. The recall began on March 14, 2005. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Steering › Linkages › Tie rod assembly
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The tie rod end retaining nuts May not have been properly tightened at the factory.
Remedy: All vehicles will be inspected and corrected prior to customer delivery. No owner notification will be required.
2001 Saab 9-3 recalls (4)
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. The recall began on May 12, 2006. Owners May contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Electrical system › Ignition › Module
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.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect to see what version idm is in the vehicle and replace the idm if it is a version built prior to the introduction of qp3.
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. The recall began on March 14, 2005. Owners should contact Saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Air bags
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.
Remedy: Dealers will clean the sunvisor surface and apply a new air bag alert label on both sunvisors. Owner notification began July 30, 2001.
2000 Saab 9-3 recalls (3)
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will develop a securing bracket that will secure the fuel lines to the fuel pump even if the plastic retaining tabs should break. The recall began on June 13, 2007.
Electrical system › Ignition › Module
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.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect to see what version idm is in the vehicle and replace the idm if it is a version built prior to the introduction of qp3.
Air bags
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.
Remedy: Dealers will clean the sunvisor surface and apply a new air bag alert label on both sunvisors. Owner notification began July 30, 2001.
1999 Saab 9-3 recalls (3)
Equipment › Other › Labels
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."
Remedy: Owners will be mailed labels and installation instructions.
Seats
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.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new cable and spring assembly.
Equipment › Other › Labels
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."
Remedy: Owners will be provided with an alert label to be installed on the visible side of the driver's sun visor. If an owner so desires, their dealer can install the label for them.
Frequently asked questions
How many recalls does the Saab 9-3 have?
NHTSA lists 17 recalls for the Saab 9-3 across 13 model years.
How do I know if my Saab 9-3 has an open recall?
Enter your 17-character VIN in our VIN decoder & recall check or on nhtsa.gov/recalls. Dealers fix recalls for free, even if you are not the original owner.
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.