I've been having a somewhat intermittent hesitation problem ever since I took possession of my 2007 2.0T Combi a month and a half ago (5yr powertrain warranty expires April 3rd). Spent $300 so far on dealer diagnostic time only to be told (after the third visit) to come back when a CEL showed up as they don't have access to a Saab troubleshooting engineer anymore (because bankruptcy) to help them when TECH2 stays silent. For reference purposes, symptoms had been more evident when the engine was cold, hesitation was slight to moderate and most obvious from 1500 to 3500 rpm, pulled plugs were covered in carbon deposit (soot, got new plugs) and the month-old oil is already looking dark/almost black. I guess it's been running rich for awhile for whatever reason (please note I'm mechanically inept).
I thought I'd start by running fuel injector cleaner (had a four or five year-old bottle of Redline SI-1 which I dumped at my last fillup about a week ago), give it a bit of the Italian tuneup treatment, then perhaps Seafoam through a vaccum into the intake and hope for improvement (haven't got around to the Seafoam yet). Quite the opposite, seems to me the hesitation has become more apparent and is now more obvious higher in the rpm range (peak at about 3500-4000).
Check engine light came on yesterday (with what I think is Limp Home mode, ie. no power in first and second gears below about 30-40 km/h but normal above that), bought a $25 code reader (P1681), downloaded WIS for the verdict : No pulses generated to the control module input of throttle position sensor 2. Dealer service guy first told me over the phone it was Throttle Body Assembly and covered under powertrain (although backordered -- the sensors are not available independently), but then called back later after talking to one of the techs and they now think it's ECU (Trionic 8 Control Module) and not warrantied.
I know I should probably check the electrical connections between TB and ECU but we're in a snowstorm right now and I don't have a garage, so that will have to wait for a bit (besides I'm not really sure how to do that without getting fried or breaking anything). I'm writing all this to see if anybody has had this problem before or has any suggestions for me before I go plunking cash I don't have on a "perhaps fix" expensive ECM (couldn't find any 2007+ used ECU online, part #55565504). I'm starting to miss my T5 9-3... Any help is appreciated, thanks.
I thought I'd start by running fuel injector cleaner (had a four or five year-old bottle of Redline SI-1 which I dumped at my last fillup about a week ago), give it a bit of the Italian tuneup treatment, then perhaps Seafoam through a vaccum into the intake and hope for improvement (haven't got around to the Seafoam yet). Quite the opposite, seems to me the hesitation has become more apparent and is now more obvious higher in the rpm range (peak at about 3500-4000).
Check engine light came on yesterday (with what I think is Limp Home mode, ie. no power in first and second gears below about 30-40 km/h but normal above that), bought a $25 code reader (P1681), downloaded WIS for the verdict : No pulses generated to the control module input of throttle position sensor 2. Dealer service guy first told me over the phone it was Throttle Body Assembly and covered under powertrain (although backordered -- the sensors are not available independently), but then called back later after talking to one of the techs and they now think it's ECU (Trionic 8 Control Module) and not warrantied.
I know I should probably check the electrical connections between TB and ECU but we're in a snowstorm right now and I don't have a garage, so that will have to wait for a bit (besides I'm not really sure how to do that without getting fried or breaking anything). I'm writing all this to see if anybody has had this problem before or has any suggestions for me before I go plunking cash I don't have on a "perhaps fix" expensive ECM (couldn't find any 2007+ used ECU online, part #55565504). I'm starting to miss my T5 9-3... Any help is appreciated, thanks.