Owners have filed 257 complaints on the Saab 900, covering 1982–1998. The system named most often is Power Train (38 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1994, 1996; cleanest: 1982, 1984, 1987. 17 reports describe a crash, 12 a fire. On average the car was 5.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Saab 900
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 257 900 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 38 Read
NHTSA id#: 95V068000 recall issued 3/20/95 for manufacturing dates aug 1993 - sep 1994 was determined not to be applicable for my car, [xxx] but it should have applicable because the result of the defect is exactly what happened to my car. Additionally, NHTSA id#: 95vo68000 should have been applicable because NHTSA…
The contact owns a 1995 saab 900. The contact stated that the vehicle would roll backwards and forwards numerous times unless the parking brake was applied. While in a parking lot, the vehicle rolled backwards into an intersection and struck a stop sign. She has taken the vehicle to the dealer approximately six times,…
There is no interlock on manual transmission to prevent the car starting in gear. Dealer cannot duplicate the problem
Engine And Engine Cooling 34 Read
After a 30 minutes of driving vehicle was parked in a parking lot. Smoke was noticed coming from underneath the hood area before a fire started. Fire department was on site to put out fire. Saab has been contacted.*ak vehicle traveling, check the engine light appeared and stayed on the cause was determined to be a…
While driving, consumer commented that the digital indicator panel felt hot, consumer parked vehicle while at dinner, then returned, the power assist brakes failed and then the coolant low light, headlamp out and washer low indicators illuminated, the next morning consumer raised the hood and discovered a fire had…
Bought car with undisclosed problems. Trying to resolve this with seller without success
Electrical System 31 Read
On april 27, 2003, my saab 900 se had an electrical failure while driving within a minute had completely destroyed the car. The "check battery" light came on along with the hazard light. My wife was driving the car in heavy traffic and just escaped the vehicle when it was engulfed in flames. The police had to call me…
Started automobile and went 2 car lengths and saw smoke coming from under hood. Shut engine down and opened hood. Cause of smoke was a cable that was on fire. Not hugh, but like bic lighter flames. About 3 to 5. Blew out fire. Went into office got some bottled water. Came back. Restarted auto. Got out and looked at…
A fire started in the passenger side dash of the car, in a rapid sequence of events the windshield cracked, the passenger air bag deployed and thick smoke engulfed the interior of the vehicle, as the driver exited the vehicle the drivers side air bag deployed adding to the flames, the vehicle was totaled. Nlm
Air Bags 30 Read
Consumer was driving 25 mph when another vehicle making a left turn hit the consumer on her left front side, causing the air bag to deploy, and consumer's shirt caught on fire. The consumer was able to put out the fire, but consumer sustained second degree burns. The fire department came out, and they felt the fire…
Driving at approximately 66 mph coming to a toll booth had to slam brakes. Rearended vehicle in front. 6,000 dollars worth of damage in front. Had to replace bumper/raditor/headlight. Seat belts were worn at the time, air bag did not deploy. Mechanic does not why. This defect can result in injuries in case of an…
ABS brakes didn't respond properly with delay in reaction, vehicle plowed into truck. No air bag deployment, but extensive front damage. Tt
Service Brakes 23 Read
While driving, experienced power brake failure, when pedal becomes spongy then goes too far down and continues to roll forward, brake action seems ineffective
Axle bearing house cracked, causing rear noise
After protracted periods of driving without using brake, a short delay occurs when first using brake
Suspension 14 Read
Att: NHTSA I have a 90 turbo conv and while driving my lower a-arm broke where the weld is. I have heard this to be a problem with 900's that have over 100,000 miles on them but have found no recalls. I was doing 65 mph at the time it broke but if this had been someone else or if I had been going faster you could have…
Consumer had to replace rims five times. When driving vehicle goes to the right and to the left. Dealer can't determine the problem
Car making unusual vibrating noise while clutching. Orignal transmission was replaced with a rebuilt one but the problem continued
Seat Belts 13 Read
I went to put my seat belt on and it caught on something and wouldn't let me extract the belt from the retractor. This vehicle registration is not-operative
The complaint here is that a provided safety device, the seat belts, have inadequate webbing length to accomodate larger occupants. I have contacted saab's customer service center and was advised that while seat belt extenders were available for this model, the cost would be $250 each. We consider that…
Driver's seat belt locks up/catches when trying to turn or move, preventing easy movement when driving
Vehicle Speed Control 12 Read
While the car is in the gear position on level ground the car will start to roll. ,as a result, the car rolled into another vehicle. The emergency brake was engaged as well
On july 22, 2005 I was driving my '95 saab on the a1 motorway in united kingdom. I was using the cruise control at 70 mph (posted speed limit) I had never used the cruise control in this vehicle before. (manual transmission) the incident happened during rush hour heading toward london. As I had to slow down, I had…
Sudden acceleration, causing accident/injury
900 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | — | 2 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 1991 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1990 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting | 1 | 1 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1987 | Electrical System,equipment | — | 1 | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1982 | Air Bags | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 220 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.9 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 4. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 900?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1994, 1996 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 900 years are the cleanest?
1982, 1984, 1987 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Saab 900 have?
257 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–1998. Of those, 17 describe a crash and 12 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.