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Broken Jack - warranty issue?

8K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  wegs 
#1 ·
I got a flat on my 93 sometime Friday night, but wasnt noticed until Saturday afternoon when the tire had gone completely flat.

This was not a suprise as time has come to get the PZeros replaced. I must have hit something that didnt cause a blow out, but a slow leak over night.

I have changed plenty of flat tires in my day, but this being the 1st time in the 93 I made sure to follow directions as stated in the manual.

Placed the jack exactly where I needed to under indicator arrows and respective flat spot area, I untightened the lug nuts and proceeded to jack the car up. When I got the car almost high enough off the ground I heard a loud CRUNCH - the car slipped off the jack because the jack itself busted.

As a result, there is some damage to the side skirt as well as a hole punched under the car where the jack saddle was supposed to rest. And obviously the jack is destroyed.

2nd look at this jack, and the saddle of the jack is PLASTIC. Jeez - no wonder the sucker broke on its 1st try! One of the two steel prongs that support the saddle had pushed up into the bottom of the car. I needed to use 2 ton floor jack to lift the car and then forcefully tug the broken jack out from the under carrage

I would like for the body damage to the car to be repaired, and the jack kit replaced via warranty. I imagine this is a warranty claim due to damage caused from factory equiped jack?


I have learned to visit this site 1st before visiting dealers because I would like some kind of resource that would support this being a legitimate warranty claim before arguing with dealers who dont seem to want to put forth much effort when it comes to post-sales issues.


(Side note - will be replacing the PZeros with Falken Azenis ST115, cant wait!)
 
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#2 ·
My jack broke as well, I was lucky and it buckled to the side. Sorry to hear about your body damage, I was lucky and somehow avoided it.

My dealer replaced the broken jack with a new one of a different more sturdy design. I would absolutely pursue this as a warranty issue and if your dealer isn't responsive take to Saab USA and reference this forum, they wouldn't have changed the jack design coincidentally.

If you need support, I’d be happy to back up your claim of a faulty design. It scared the crap out of me when my car fell!! :evil:
 
#3 ·
my jack collapsed also!! There was no damage to the underside of the car or the skirt, but I was afraid because the tire was off and the exposed area did hit the driveway, but there was no damage. I was so pissed off, but never got to the dealer out of sheer disgust. Its lucky you weren't clipped yourself... i barely got my foot out of the way when it happened to me!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Here's a theoretical question.

I assume if you have a faulty jack, and do sustain damage to the car, the damage will be fixed under warranty.
If you are out of warranty, and the same thing happens, are you SOL? If that's the case, everyone should use their jack once before going out of warranty, take the hit, get repaired & a new redesigned jack, no?

I think I have like 5K miles left til warranty is out, so all of a sudden this becomes important to me. :cheesy:

Imagine if the wheel had been all the way off when the jack busted. I wonder what havoc that would have wreaked.
 
#6 ·
Back on track...

More info. BTW, this kinda upsets me, seeing as how someone could get really, really hurt. This is a known issue for Saab. They changed designs, and where's the recall? Or even a TSB?

I looked for a part number on my jack, and could not find one. After talking to a dealer, I found out that the old one is 12794626, and the new one is 13162852.

There is one part number on my jack 12791408, but that's for the label. Speaking of which, it states a max load of 900kg.

Max gross weight as specified on saabusa's website is 4450 lbs, or 2018 kg.
Weight distribution front & rear is 60% & 40% respectively.
So weight in the front is 1211kg, and the rear is 807kg. Take worst case front. Since there are 2 front tires, load must be cut in half (606kg).

So a 900kg jack should be able to handle 606kg, right? I guess not.

C'mon Saab. That would just be too much if after all of this great press about being one of the safest cars in the world, the 6:00 news reports the death of someone who ended up having a car fall on their foot only to be found 3 days later.
 
#8 ·
Update

Cant believe it has been almost 6 weeks, but after some scheduling conflicts and loaner availablity I finally dropped the car off to the dealer this morning.

The dealer had ordered a new jack kit and will replace the damaged color matched side skirt - covered under warranty. I would advise owners of 2003's to check thier jacks and ensure the jack-saddles are made of steel and not plastic. I dont know if there is a TSB, but the dealer I visited had no reservation in replacing it.


While the car is in the shop I decided to have a couple door dings and a scratch touched up and finally got around to the window tint. Surprisingly reasonably priced (for a dealership) window tint was $240 including felt, and the cosmetic touch-ups $150. This being the dealer who quoted me nearly $400 for tint in the past, I am glad they are using a new tinting contractor!
 
#11 ·
Mead said:
Thanks for your post Energy AZ. I've just been out to look at my jack since I've got an 03 model and it has got the plastic saddle top. I'll certainly be following that up with my dealer.
I'm interested to know if they are willing to just swap them out if there has been no sign of it being broken.
 
#13 ·
when you guys are talking about the plastic saddle top, what exactly are you referring to?...the plate on the jack that actually contacts the underside of the car? if this is the case, that square/rectangle plate is actually plastic?!?! i guess i never noticed it on my '03, but i know my '04 has a metal contact plate...so does this mean i'm ok??? i have no reservations about pitching a fit for something like this because i'll be dammed if i'm crawling under my car with a jack that might collapse.
 
#14 ·
Cojoroh said:
when you guys are talking about the plastic saddle top, what exactly are you referring to?...the plate on the jack that actually contacts the underside of the car? if this is the case, that square/rectangle plate is actually plastic?!?!

That would be the case, but it would appear to be limited to some of the earlier build 93ss. The plastic is a strong plastic like in football helmets, but obviously not strong enough to bear the weight of an automobile.

If you have a metal saddle on your jack you should be good to go
 
#16 ·
Why would you crawl under your car with just a litte jack holding it up anyway :roll:

On a related note, how would you go about lifting the car with a "real" jack, without damaging the side skirts? It would be easier to just get one of those for changing winter / summer tires.
 
#17 ·
dz said:
Why would you crawl under your car with just a litte jack holding it up anyway :roll:

On a related note, how would you go about lifting the car with a "real" jack, without damaging the side skirts? It would be easier to just get one of those for changing winter / summer tires.
I have had no problem lifting the car with 2 ton floor jack. I would just place the floor jack under the car as close to the jack placement indicator arrows as I could - no problems
 
#18 ·
Glad to hear the dealer resolved your problem (see we arent all bad are we) :)

Just for information....
Its always best when something like this happens, to talk to someone at the dealer in a nice way and see if they are able to help you out..I dont have the Warranty policy and procedure book in front of me now, but I am pretty sure that Saab Cars USA didnt HAVE to cover this. They did it as a goodwill gesture, and possibly they have heard of jack problems of other cars (I have never heard of this before myself).
If you go in all huffy and puffy and making threats and all they are more likely to tell you to "pound sand".

Cheers,
 
#19 · (Edited)
scottgf said:
Glad to hear the dealer resolved your problem (see we arent all bad are we) :)

Just for information....
Its always best when something like this happens, to talk to someone at the dealer in a nice way and see if they are able to help you out..I dont have the Warranty policy and procedure book in front of me now, but I am pretty sure that Saab Cars USA didnt HAVE to cover this. They did it as a goodwill gesture, and possibly they have heard of jack problems of other cars (I have never heard of this before myself).
If you go in all huffy and puffy and making threats and all they are more likely to tell you to "pound sand".

Cheers,
Obviously one should approach any problems with any company in a professional and courteous manner. But that wont change my desire to consult on this site before approaching my local dealers with a service question/issue.

Honestly - the members of this message board in majority of cases have a better, more in-depth understanding of the cars than the dealers I have visited do.

In my area, Saab almost appears as an afterthought to Caddy and Hummer sales. I am frequently suprised at the lack of knowledge about the products they are selling. Lack of knowledge about available features, specifications, service intervals, etc

Members of this site are Saab enthusiasts - and apparently the dealers in my area are not. :confused:

Until that changes - I will always come here for a quick chat before approaching a dealer with a service issue. This does not reflect negatively on the customer service I may receive - but a credit to the people who hang out at this site.
 
#20 ·
Energy_AZ said:
Obviously one should approach any problems with any company in a professional and courteous manner. But that wont change my desire to consult on this site before approaching my local dealers with a service question/issue.

Honestly - the members of this message board in majority of cases have a better, more in-depth understanding of the cars than the dealers I have visited do.

In my area, Saab almost appears as an afterthought to Caddy and Hummer sales. I am frequently suprised at the lack of knowledge about the products they are selling. Lack of knowledge about available features, specifications, service intervals, etc

Members of this site are Saab enthusiasts - and apparently the dealers in my area are not. :confused:

Until that changes - I will always come here for a quick chat before approaching a dealer with a service issue. This does not reflect negatively on the customer service I may receive - but a credit to the people who hang out at this site.
Very well said.

I feel you are right on regarding many Saab dealers with your remark about being an afterthought.
Even at the dealer I work at (Familly owned Cadillac dealer for over 50 years, Saab dealer for 4 years) most of the people here know much more about Caddys than Saabs....We do have a few Saab people scattered through the dealership, but its hard to find good Saab people (there just arent that many to go around) and if you have been selling and servicing Caddys since the 50's you tend to know more about them.
Even I use this website for information, since I have only owned 2 Saabs
(87 SPG, 05 9-2x aero) ...(ok 1 and a half :lol: )
The people on this site combined have more knowledge about Saabs than any dealer ever will...
Cheers,
 
#21 ·
Viscouse said:
I'm interested to know if they are willing to just swap them out if there has been no sign of it being broken.
Well, I answered my own question. This may have been a first for my dealer. I asked him if I may have a new jack as several friends of mine have had theirs break (I went into more detail though). He said there isn't a new one. I politely told him yes there was would he like the part number? He said he'll look into it.

End result: they replaced it under warranty. I've never used the jack, but feel relieved that if I have to change my tire in downtown Detroit, a broken jack is not one thing I will have to worry about. My respect for Saab in recognizing the issue & fixing it, and my respect for the dealer for replacing it no questions asked, both went up a notch.

And to address the other couple of comments, it pays to be nice, have facts, and talk to your dealer instead of being demanding.
 
#22 ·
Just joined your forum after a few weeks of browsing, and decided to start contributing . . .

I just found my vehicle with a flat tire this morning; after a brief, careful investigation I found a small 1/2" long screw lodged in the inner tread of my right front tire. (Almost impossible for this to be deliberate/foul play.) Being somewhat of a DIYer I have started getting out the flat tire kit. I examined the jack provided with my vehicle, and it was labelled "Jack part No. 12765778" along with "From model year 2006 Cadillac BLS, Opel Signum, Opel Vectra, Saab 9-3" and depictions of proper jack placement (just behind the front wheels or just forward of the rear wheels). In addition, a sticker on one of the other arms of the jack rates the jack for a safe working load of 1100kg (a shade over 2400lbs! I suspect a math error). However, this unit seems to be made completely of steel, as all pieces tested positive with a kitchen magnet.

(As an aside, I vaguely remember my dealer warning me about the plastic jack part, though he may not have been familiar with this apparently new/updated part that arrived with MY2006.)

So, I'm going to walk to my neighborhood Autozone, pick up some wheel chocks (among other things) and proceed to put on the spare myself and drive it to my dealer tomorrow morning. Hopefully they should be able to repair the tire, along with the other things I was already planning to visit them for.
 
#24 ·
stupid jack

Hey all!

I have a 2004 93 after reading this forum I decided to look at my jack to make sure it is ok....... as luck would have it, it has the plastic part... I do not have warranty left what should I jack the car up with my foot under it so it will break and I can win millions.....kidding but seriously think I have a case? anyways on a more serious note, I am prone to flat tires I have had many in my days and I'm only 22 the thought of being out in the middle of nowhere with no cell receptions and the jack breaking does not sound so appealing... Any suggestions on what I sould do... other then run flats apparenly the only thing my car doesn't have is tpms and heated seats... they can give you automatic wipers but not tpms... anyways any ideas would be great... thanks in advance!
 
#25 ·
Ridenbaugh said:
Hey all!

I have a 2004 93 after reading this forum I decided to look at my jack to make sure it is ok....... as luck would have it, it has the plastic part... I do not have warranty left what should I jack the car up with my foot under it so it will break and I can win millions.....kidding but seriously think I have a case? anyways on a more serious note, I am prone to flat tires I have had many in my days and I'm only 22 the thought of being out in the middle of nowhere with no cell receptions and the jack breaking does not sound so appealing... Any suggestions on what I sould do... other then run flats apparenly the only thing my car doesn't have is tpms and heated seats... they can give you automatic wipers but not tpms... anyways any ideas would be great... thanks in advance!

You can get a 2 ton floor jack for a low price. They are frequently on sale at Sears or national auto parts chains for less than $25. Just carry one in your trunk for the peace of mind of not being stuck somewhere with a broken plastic factory jack

Plus, every garage should have at least 1 floor jack - handy things to have
 
#26 ·
broken jack

I had an occaision to use my jack the other night and chocked the wheels accordingly I managed to get the wheel off and put the spare on and just as i was hand tightening the last bolt the jack broke at the top where this plastic section was and the jack just keeled over dropping the wheel to the ground luckily the wheel was secure enough to hold and i was not under any part of the car. I emailed SAAB and their customer services called me back to say that there was nothing they could do as car was out of warranty.They said this had been taken to the highest level for consultation.
Having read comments on this site and other site this appears to be a common fault and could be very dangerous and the fact that SAAB has changed the design of the jack to all metal indicates they are aware of the problem but there has been no recall for the jack which obvioulsy is unsuitable for the car. I shall be taking this matter up with SAAB uk at a higher level as i believe it is design fault and they are liable. Watch this space :x
 
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