2003 Saab 9-5: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2003 Saab 9-5. The newest campaign is 08V160000. NHTSA received the report on 9 Apr 2008. The NHTSA record gives the component Seats / Front Assembly / Head Restraint. NHTSA has 34 complaints on file for 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, 08V160000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will install a-pillar trim with improved energy-absorbing capability free of charge. The recall began on november 25, 2008. 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. 227,570 units in total.

08V1600009 Apr 2008Seats / Front Assembly / Head Restraint
07V0870007 Mar 2007Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
06V41000026 Oct 2006Electrical System / Ignition / Module
03V00600013 Jan 2003Wheels / Hub

08V160000Received 9 Apr 2008. 57,389 units.
Seats / Front Assembly / Head Restraint
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Saab is recalling 57,389 my 2002-2008 9-5 series vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 201, "occupant protection in interior impact." during compliance testing, one of the upper interior occupant protection test points exceeded the standard's requirements.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a vehicle crash, personal injury to occupants may occur.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a-pillar trim with improved energy-absorbing capability free of charge. The recall began on november 25, 2008. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number E080101/15204. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 25 Nov 2008.
07V087000Received 7 Mar 2007. 94,377 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 june 13, 2007. This is an expansion of previous recall campaigns - see 04v557 and 06v126. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 07052. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 13 Jun 2007.
06V410000Received 26 Oct 2006. 5,078 units.
Electrical System / Ignition / Module
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with 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 january 2003. The recall is expected to begin during december 2005. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007. Note: this recall is an expansion of a previous campaign (please see 05v399).
Report filed by SAAB CARS USA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 05087/15021B.
03V006000Received 13 Jan 2003. 70,726 units.
Wheels / Hub
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles, if an owner changes their wheels/tires between summer and winter using a steel wheel in the winter and an alloy wheel in the summer, it is possible for rust and contamination to build up on the wheel hub during the steel wheel usage. If this occurs and the contamination is not removed, it is possible that after the tire change service, some of this contamination could flake or grind away resulting in reduced clamping force of the wheel to the hub. Over several seasons, it is possible that this reduced force could result in fractures developing in the wheel bolts due to wheel to hub movement.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
These fractures would result in wheel bolt breakage, allowing the wheel to detach from the wheel hub, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Owners will be contacted by mail and asked whether they change between steel and alloy wheels. If they do engage in this practice, they will be instructed to bring their cars to an authorized dealer. The dealer will remove the wheels, clean any contamination from the wheel and wheel hub, and replace the wheels using new improved bolts with attached washers. Owner notification began march 31, 2003. 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.. Manufacturer campaign number 15013. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 31 Mar 2003.

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

34 complaints, 47 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

2003 Saab 9-5: component mentions in complaints
Component		Mentions
Electrical System		18
Engine and Engine Cooling		7
Suspension		5
Tires		4
Fuel System, Gasoline		4
Structure		2
Unknown or Other		2
Equipment		2
Air Bags		1
Vehicle Speed Control		1

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 11.

Complaints that report a crash: 1
Complaints that report a fire: 0
Injuries in the complaints: 3
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 28 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 2003 Saab 9-5, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2009, with 8 complaints.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

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.

Follow by RSS:Vehicle recalls

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 2003 Saab 9-5The recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2003 Saab 9-5: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/saab/9-5/2003/. 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 2003 Saab 9-5?: 227,570 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 9-5 have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 9 recall campaigns for the Saab 9-5, model years 1998 to 2009. 4 of them name the 2003 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2003 Saab 9-5 name most often?: Electrical System: 18 of 47 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2003 Saab 9-5 open?: The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.