2010-2011 Saab 9-5 NG: service, repair, parts and reliability

[Griphix]

Hey,
Just to let people know our experience with our car, we had a front seat heater failure the other month. The part took two and a half weeks from problem identification to delivery from Sweden to Melbourne Australia. The repair is covered under warranty. We have done 30K km so far this year and the car has been a delight to do interstate trips in especially, for the back seat passenger! Such a difference to the trip compare to the previous 9-5 wagon we had. BTW I am noticing that the upper leather on the steering wheel is starting to wear quickly and I think it won't be long before it starts to come off. This is the only interior quibble so far. Has any one else noticed such wear and tear on the steering wheel?
Regards
John

HI John,
I live in Melbourne and have the same Saab 9-5 as you with the same front heater seat problem. I took it to Lance Dixon SAAB in Melbourne and they could not determine which part was faulty to fix the problem. I was interested in which dealer you took it to that fixed it? As I would take mine to them. Like you I love the car.
Thanks,
Anthony

[Jawd62]

Hey Anthony
Originally we had the car serviced at the dealer we bought it from alan mance saab. We now have our car serviced at mentone saab - now mentone motor world. I recommend mentone saab as they are more switch on for this model as their technicians are better trained. Alan mance saab seemed a bit hit and miss as they have several brands and saab is the smallest and the technician didn't seem to know what they were doing.
Regards
john

[Griphix]

Hey Anthony
Originally we had the car serviced at the dealer we bought it from alan mance saab. We now have our car serviced at mentone saab - now mentone motor world. I recommend mentone saab as they are more switch on for this model as their technicians are better trained. Alan mance saab seemed a bit hit and miss as they have several brands and saab is the smallest and the technician didn't seem to know what they were doing.
Regards
john

Thanks for the info John. Which was the deal that fixed your heater seat problem Mentone or Alan mance? As my car had no warranty I originally took it to Wantirna Automotive Saab specialist. They serviced the car but could not fix the seat as they did not know which exact part was fault and they only way to get parts is if you purchase them so you need to know the exact part. I then took it to Lance Dixon and they could not diagnose the exact part problem and in the end it close me $350 but they said they could not fix it which I could not believe. Hence why I wanted to take it do a deal that has fixed this in the past ie your one. By the way my car also had the steering rack leak which I had fixed but the part did take at the time 3 months to get.
Regards,
Anthony

[Jawd62]

Hey Anthony
firstly it can be fixed. I suggest you take the car to mentone saab as they will fix the seat. The part you want is the control module and may be seat heater pads. They will order one or both depending on what the diagnostic tool says. Mentone saab have the proper software diagnostic tools for this model. Other dealers and I imagine wantrina automotive don't. We get our other saabs serviced at Swedish prestige and they don't have the software either for the new 9-5 either and dean the owner told us mentone saab is the only saab dealer who knows what they are doing. Hope this points you in the right direction.
John

[Griphix]

Hey Anthony
firstly it can be fixed. I suggest you take the car to mentone saab as they will fix the seat. The part you want is the control module and may be seat heater pads. They will order one or both depending on what the diagnostic tool says. Mentone saab have the proper software diagnostic tools for this model. Other dealers and I imagine wantrina automotive don't. We get our other saabs serviced at Swedish prestige and they don't have the software either for the new 9-5 either and dean the owner told us mentone saab is the only saab dealer who knows what they are doing. Hope this points you in the right direction.
John

Thanks John. I appreciate your advice.

[JTMav]

35 months of decent reliability, but at 36 all hell broke loose. My NAV system really started to break down. Wrong time, couldn't acquire satellite connection, loss radio presets. Also my windshield cracked and there was no oem replacement available anywhere in the US so I lost the HUD, intermittent wipers and lane departure warning. Battery replacement was $274. Coolant leak needed repair. Passenger window wouldn't stay up. Parts are somewhat available but at a cost. Couldn't see holding onto this with no support system in place. I could see all the GM DNA seeping through and after 5 other Saabs decided it was time to move on.

[cdyoung]

2010 Saab 9-5 Aero- mileage 50 K Kilometers, Just to share while living in Netherlands. U.S. Spec Saab problems:
Turn signal socket two each bad
Driver's seat heater replaced at Saab dealer in Roermond, NL no warranty
No nav as it is mapped to the United States
Radio malfunctions on a regular basis (can be manipulated) clock one hour behind can't fix.
Car clunks when you go from full throttle to slow down mode
Brakes (even with slotted and dimpled rotors) can't stop at very high speeds without shaking badly
Would love the cds for Europe Maps
Paint seems to chip easily
Fel Economy 10.9 ltrs per 100 kilometers mostly city.

[AeroPower]

My nav, bluetooth, compass, voice commands, went out about six months ago. I just hit 30,000 miles a few weeks ago right before my rear LED light bar went out the next day so i finally took it to a dealership to get everything checked and I need a new radio unit. $3100 for a new one or $1690 for a refurbished. And now that I've got it back, the radio resets the time and date back to 12:00am January 1 2006 every time i start the car and the buttons on the touch screen are now Buick blue instead of Saab green. Also, i noticed last night the exterior lights don't turn on when i unlock the doors and the headlights don't stay on to "follow me home" as I have it set for them to stay on for 30 seconds. I'm afraid that if I fix it something else will go wrong and I'll just be putting $1000+ into the car every six months. I'm finding that there's just too much technology in this car to not have a warranty and I think I'm gonna have to let it go. I'm considering trading it in for a 2010 9-3 2.0T XWD or just leaving altogether and getting an A4 2.0T Quattro. =(

[AeroPower]

Replaced the battery last week. Went to see about trading it in on Saturday and was only offered $15,000. Gonna try another ovloV dealer this week; going for an S60 T5 AWD. If they can't get me at least $18,000 I'm gonna have to go Cadillac because I can get additional discounts through my employer on top of the rebates currently out on 2013 models. The 9-5 is amazing but I can no longer justify holding on to it as my daily driver when the only dealership that can service it is 40 miles out of my way and the parts I need would be on back order with no hard estimate of when they'd arrive. It's getting cold here in Chicago so I needed the seat warmer this morning; no heat and the lights on the button went out after a minute. These cars seem to all be on a clock; first the LED bar, then the radio/nav unit, then the seat warmers. What's next? It's truly a shame that they had to use so many GM parts as I've had more problems with this car in 11 months of ownership than I had in the 5 years that I owned my 9-3. If I can't get $18,000 for this car I'm going to keep it and buy a 9-3 as my daily driver and leave this 9-5 parked on my street and hope for storm/hail damage.

[Gepe]

Hi, just catching up with your problems. In 16months and 12,500 miles all that has failed was the boot lid led. Keeps losing my telephone book but can receive calls - just not named! Worked OK with my old HTC but perhaps this is because I have changed to a new Samsung. Just another few months for the new contract phone to arrive. Rather have an older phone than try to find such a good car. Much better than my old 9-3 SW for long journeys and the luggage is always hidden. Overall very happy with the car.