2001 Saab 9-3: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2001 Saab 9-3. The newest campaign is 06V126000. NHTSA received the report on 20 Apr 2006. The NHTSA record gives the component Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings. NHTSA has 47 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 06V126000, in the NHTSA record

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.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 29 Mar 2018. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 175,555 units in total.

06V12600020 Apr 2006Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
05V39900014 Sep 2005Electrical System / Ignition / Module
04V55700019 Nov 2004Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
01V16800018 May 2001Air Bags

06V126000Received 20 Apr 2006. 11,886 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Over time, this could cause the fuel lines to loosen from the pump resulting in fuel leakage. If an ignition source were present, the fuel may ignite resulting in a vehicle fire.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 06033. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 May 2006.
05V399000Received 14 Sep 2005. 103,202 units.
Electrical System / Ignition / Module
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Overheating of the igbt occurs most often at engine start-up, but it may also occur while the engine is running. Engine stalling may occur, which could result in a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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. An interim letter will be mailed to owners in october 2005, informing them of the condition. Parts are now available and owners will be notified to bring their vehicles in to the dealers to have the idm replaced by letter dated march 13, 2006. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 15021. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 13 Mar 2006.
04V557000Received 19 Nov 2004. 17,394 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump retaining tabs holding the fuel lines were damaged during production.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Over time, this could cause the fuel lines to loosen from the pump resulting in fuel leakage. If an ignition source were present, the fuel may ignite resulting in a vehicle fire.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 15018. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 14 Mar 2005.
01V168000Received 18 May 2001. 43,073 units.
Air Bags
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
These vehicles do not comply with the requirements.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will clean the sunvisor surface and apply a new air bag alert label on both sunvisors. Owner notification began july 30, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 30 Jul 2001.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

47 complaints, 55 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2001 Saab 9-3
All 2001 vehicles

2001 Saab 9-3: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2001 9-3	All 2001 vehicles	9-3, all years	Mentions
Electrical System	400	95.2	198.4	22
Engine and Engine Cooling	254.5	139.2	131.8	14
Fuel System, Gasoline	218.2	36.7	50.3	12
Suspension	18.2	77.7	148.1	1
Tires	18.2	39.4	21.7	1
Fuel System, Other	18.2	7.9	6.8	1
Seats	18.2	14.7	21.7	1
Latches/Locks/Linkages	18.2	13.1	5.4	1
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	18.2	102	80.2	1
Power Train	18.2	97.8	65.2	1

Complaints that report a crash: 0
Complaints that report a fire: 1
Injuries in the complaints: 0
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 18 Sep 2010

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2001 Saab 9-3, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2005, with 17 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2001 Saab 9-3
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
RQ05003	Recall query	FUEL LINE LEAKAGE	Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings	20 Dec 2005	28 Apr 2006	06V126000
PE05017	Preliminary evaluation	ENGINE STALL/ ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES	Electrical System / Ignition / Module	7 Apr 2005	23 Sep 2005	05V399000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2001 Saab 9-3The recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2001 Saab 9-3: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/saab/9-3/2001/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: SAAB CARS USA, INC.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2001 Saab 9-3?: 175,555 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Saab 9-3 have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 17 recall campaigns for the Saab 9-3, model years 1994 to 2011. 4 of them name the 2001 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2001 Saab 9-3 name most often?: Electrical System: 22 of 55 component mentions, or 400 per 1,000. For all 2001 vehicles the figure is 95.2 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2001 Saab 9-3 open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.