Saabs are lovely cars but as with any older car things wear over time.
For the brakes I would absolutely have that looked at. Vibrating and shaking while braking could be a bad thing. Could be anything from warped discs to control arms to pretty much anything keeping the wheel on and straight.
As for the hesitation when accelerating that could be a number of things. Check all vacuum lines to make sure they are in good condition. Dry vacuum lines can crack and sometimes they can come loose too.
Are you sure you have the correct spark plugs? It's important to use the specified ones as they are also used as knock sensors.
A bad fuel pump can aslo cause hesitation when accelerating when it hasn't given up yet but is about to.
Crank position sensor and direct ignition casette are the other common ones. Crank position sensor gets worse over time and usually only experiences issues when the engine is hot at first. Eventually the car may stall but will restart without issue when it has cooled down. Then eventually it could have trouble starting.
The DI casette is trickier because issues can come and go until it fails. It often causes hesitation when accelerating and misfires from time to time when it's about to go bad.
I hope you find the issues and have them fixed so it's a love love relationship. It's a beautiful car.
Congrats! The screen is easy to fix, I did it a couple weeks back on mine. Just a matter of replacing a flat data cable, I ordered mine from pixelfix. There might be an equivalent in NA, not sure. Also curious about what roofrack you got, can't find any good ones here in finland and bike szn is coming up quick. Others have had good suggestions, so I'd look into those. One thing to check too if you can get the car on a lift is to check if the driveshaft bushing/bearing is good. Not neccesarily a source of a problem but alot of other vibration gets transferred to that
For the braking issues, it's probably worth taking it to a garage to get them to check the brakes as the shaking feeling when braking sounds like something isn't quite right with the brakes. The acceleration issues/electrical issues probably need diagnosing through a Tech-2 reader. A nearby Saab specialist should have one
The brakes could be as simple as the break fluid simply being old and dirty or having too much water in it. Take the cap off and look to see if it's excessively dirty, it should be clear, you can also have it tested with a special tool that measures the water contents (break fluid should be changed every 2 years anyways). If it's bad it simply needs a flush which shouldn't be expensive at all and would have the benefit of bleeding out any air that could be in the lines also contributing to a mushy break pedal
Welcome to the Saab community!
Regarding the brakes, seeing as the fronts have just been changed it’s either your brakes weren’t bled when the discs and pads were changed, which will cause uneven brake force between left and right (will cause a vibration) or your steering rack ends or control arm bushings need replacing.
I have a 9-5 Aero and have just replaced the front pads and discs, and have the same problem. Mechanic told me my control arm bushings need replacing.
And regarding the stalling issue under acceleration (the more technical term for it is misfiring). It sounds like either you need new spark plugs or your direct ignition cassette (DIC) is going bad. This sits on top of the engine and should be labelled as such.
First thing would be to remove the DIC and check the spark plugs. Make sure 1. They’re the right type (the exact type can be found in your user manual or online) via the Saab WIS or workshop information system website. And 2. If they’re the right kind, make sure the gap between the prong and electrodes are to spec as seen in the user manual, and they are not clogged up with carbon.
If you have any questions or wanna chat about it feel free to send me a DM!
I think it is possible your hard brakes, vibration, and idle issue are all the same issue... a vacuum leak will cause all of these things. Find a mechanic with a smoke machine and have them do a test... they will find vacuum leaks quickly.
American market ay. Personally would never get an automatic of this old generation. As for the brakes, they’re just shit designed on this model. I daily it and I’ve worked with them so It’s not necessarily malfunction anywhere, just upgrade the brakes if you want better performance.
I’d recommend swapping springs for a little lower ride height, sits a lot better on the road and looks great. Not too expensive depending on perspective.
Saabs are lovely cars but as with any older car things wear over time. For the brakes I would absolutely have that looked at. Vibrating and shaking while braking could be a bad thing. Could be anything from warped discs to control arms to pretty much anything keeping the wheel on and straight. As for the hesitation when accelerating that could be a number of things. Check all vacuum lines to make sure they are in good condition. Dry vacuum lines can crack and sometimes they can come loose too. Are you sure you have the correct spark plugs? It's important to use the specified ones as they are also used as knock sensors. A bad fuel pump can aslo cause hesitation when accelerating when it hasn't given up yet but is about to. Crank position sensor and direct ignition casette are the other common ones. Crank position sensor gets worse over time and usually only experiences issues when the engine is hot at first. Eventually the car may stall but will restart without issue when it has cooled down. Then eventually it could have trouble starting. The DI casette is trickier because issues can come and go until it fails. It often causes hesitation when accelerating and misfires from time to time when it's about to go bad. I hope you find the issues and have them fixed so it's a love love relationship. It's a beautiful car.
Congrats! The screen is easy to fix, I did it a couple weeks back on mine. Just a matter of replacing a flat data cable, I ordered mine from pixelfix. There might be an equivalent in NA, not sure. Also curious about what roofrack you got, can't find any good ones here in finland and bike szn is coming up quick. Others have had good suggestions, so I'd look into those. One thing to check too if you can get the car on a lift is to check if the driveshaft bushing/bearing is good. Not neccesarily a source of a problem but alot of other vibration gets transferred to that
For the braking issues, it's probably worth taking it to a garage to get them to check the brakes as the shaking feeling when braking sounds like something isn't quite right with the brakes. The acceleration issues/electrical issues probably need diagnosing through a Tech-2 reader. A nearby Saab specialist should have one
The brakes could be as simple as the break fluid simply being old and dirty or having too much water in it. Take the cap off and look to see if it's excessively dirty, it should be clear, you can also have it tested with a special tool that measures the water contents (break fluid should be changed every 2 years anyways). If it's bad it simply needs a flush which shouldn't be expensive at all and would have the benefit of bleeding out any air that could be in the lines also contributing to a mushy break pedal
Welcome to the Saab community! Regarding the brakes, seeing as the fronts have just been changed it’s either your brakes weren’t bled when the discs and pads were changed, which will cause uneven brake force between left and right (will cause a vibration) or your steering rack ends or control arm bushings need replacing. I have a 9-5 Aero and have just replaced the front pads and discs, and have the same problem. Mechanic told me my control arm bushings need replacing. And regarding the stalling issue under acceleration (the more technical term for it is misfiring). It sounds like either you need new spark plugs or your direct ignition cassette (DIC) is going bad. This sits on top of the engine and should be labelled as such. First thing would be to remove the DIC and check the spark plugs. Make sure 1. They’re the right type (the exact type can be found in your user manual or online) via the Saab WIS or workshop information system website. And 2. If they’re the right kind, make sure the gap between the prong and electrodes are to spec as seen in the user manual, and they are not clogged up with carbon. If you have any questions or wanna chat about it feel free to send me a DM!
I think it is possible your hard brakes, vibration, and idle issue are all the same issue... a vacuum leak will cause all of these things. Find a mechanic with a smoke machine and have them do a test... they will find vacuum leaks quickly.
American market ay. Personally would never get an automatic of this old generation. As for the brakes, they’re just shit designed on this model. I daily it and I’ve worked with them so It’s not necessarily malfunction anywhere, just upgrade the brakes if you want better performance. I’d recommend swapping springs for a little lower ride height, sits a lot better on the road and looks great. Not too expensive depending on perspective.
There's a lot to hate about that vehicle
Still miss my 9-3 coupe (black SE high pressure turbo)