[SAABturboDRIVR]

(first, not a SAAB bashing post, just a post expressing my disappointment, I'm still a SAAB fan)

...quick background info:
-Car : 1999 SAAB 9-3 Base
-Car has had the vent selector knob/shaft break 7 times since new (I'm orig owner). 4 times under warranty, now for the 3rd time after warranty. The 4 warranty fixes and 2 'goodwill' fixes were band aid fixes. Never got a new heater box.

Been in touch with SAAB USA on this. Call my local dealer, tell them I have a case open, and I want them to repair it, and that SAAB may cover it. They flat out refuse to even look at the car, because other dealers have touched it!!! Woman at SAABUSA couldn't believe it, and even after she spoke to them, they refused. This is Arnold SAAB, on Long Island.

Then I call North Shore SAAB, who "fixed" my knob 3 times out of the 7. They want me to come in for a diagnosis, saying they don't all need new heaterboxes. After 7 failed attempts at fixing it with bandaid fixes, I think you should just know it needs a new heaterbox, DUH. I'm not going to pay for a diagnosis, onyl for them to tell me a new shaft and lube will fix it. I heard North Shore was good, but I'm not impressed, and when they did do work on my car, the workmanship was a little sloppy.

Smithtown SAAB worked on the knob a few times too, again doing band aid fixes, but their work was kind of sloppy, and when I called them, the service manager said that there was no permanent fix for the knob problem, and that a new box won't fix anything.


Anyway, just a vent. Looks like I'm going to have to fix this myself. I am a little disappointed in SAAB for producing the defective box, but, at least SAABUSA has tried to help me.....its actually the Long Island dealers who are extremely sub par.

Anyone have any advice? I'm tired of this, and don't have the energy to persue any legal action, honestly.

thanks guys,
Alex

 

[stromer]

I've heard a lot of the cars have this problem, and a lot are just fine. It seems to just be a 99 think, and just on the S model, since the SE has ACC. My knob has been replaced twice under warranty. The dealer lubed the vents the second time. It doesn't go extremely hard. You just have to be careful. Yes, it isn't perfect. But I don't push it and its fine. I've found that it will go 90 degrees either way pretty freely. It is when you try to go more than 90 that it goes real hard. So for winter, I keep it on the upper 90 for floor and defrost. And then in the summer the bottom 90, for floor and panel. I usually spend a week or so in the spring easing it around carefully. In some weather it goes easier than others. I'm fine as long as its not summer and I need defrost. That is when I broke the knob the last two times.

 

[my99saab]

happened to me twice, my heater box is really stiff, after the second time i just stuck it on defrost and left it. i have a 99 s

 

[Melovesha]

Service in LI is spotty at times... my best experiences have been at North Shore. Bayside was nice and quick for a warranty issue I had with my old '00 93.

Then again, my best service experiences with the '01 Saab have been at the dealer I bought it at in Kingston, NY.

Sorry, and good luck.

 

[earthworm]

There is definitely a problem here - probably excessive misalignment.

The manufacturer charges what, $30K for this car !! At first event(the original failure), they should have replaced/repaired exactly what was wrong , even if this means replacing the entire car !!!
I do become a bit radical on this problem, do I not???


A lack of quality kills sales, and the story of tales of poor quality gets around very quickly - thanks to the INTERNET.

Many blame the dealer for these problems, but this is unfair !The manufacturer must bear some responsibility, after all, they are ones who designed and built the vehicle.
And having works at Saab, Honda, VW dealers, and defense plants, I have seen this poor design created problems more than once and firsthand...
Any heater control knob assembly that lasts but one year is obviously either defective itself or part of a defective component..

But sometimes it may take a design engineer to detect this, not just an average mechanic - and this is where the car-maker must act - either directly or by issuing precision parameters...
The "band-aid or cover-up" approach of the past must come to an end !

 

[ragtopcav]

I've given this a bit of thought, the dealership work done little more than fix the symtom and done nothing for the cause, something is amiss with the control mechanism [as mentioned mis-aligned perhaps or trapped even] whether from the factory or from some warranty/recall work at the dealers or perhaps by a clumsy phone/radio installer, you're going to have to delve inside to see if something is fouling or merely needs lubricating. My '93 900 has the factory rotary controls, very smooth, quiet and elegant in use, yours should be the same.

 

[mrt_mcfly]

i've had the same problem:

i bought a 2000 93s. when i bought the thing, the salesman said to me "keep an eye on this knob. if it becomes stiff, even a little bit, bring it back in. it's under warranty." 3 months later, the knob became stiff and the control knob breaks. I take it into the dealership, and they fix it under warranty. no charge to me, and make a note on my invoice..."excessive play on drum. lubed. if fails again, replace heater box." 8 months later, while under warranty, it breaks again. i take it in and they replace the control knob, even though i was told they would replace the heater box. 8 days after my warranty expires, the knob breaks again, and i take it in to get fixed. they charge me $52.50 (canadian) to look at it, and tell me it will cost $1500 to replace the heater box, which i am responsible for. i argued with the service technician, and he calls the warranty provider and they tell me that we can split the cost... we each pay 1/3 the cost -- dealer, warranty company, and me. i argue that they knew they had to replace it, and decided not to, and therefore i will not pay anything. they gave me my car back without even changing the control knob.

fastforward 6 months, i call the dealership every week or so, and am told they are waiting to hear from the manufacturer -- i've literally called at least 100 times. since then, i replaced the knob myself, since it was stuck blowing on my feet, and i needed the defroster due to the trechearous canadian winter. maybe one day they will fix it, but for now, i just call everyonce in a while just to bother them.

(the worst thing is i've recommended 2 people to that dealership, each of whom purchased cars from them. me and my big mouth, eh?).

to that affect, i cannot recommend SATURN, SAAB, ISUZU OF THORNHILL, 7200 Yonge Street, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada.

thanks.
-- my story, my rant.

 

[rotate]

to that affect, i cannot recommend SATURN, SAAB, ISUZU OF THORNHILL, 7200 Yonge Street, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada.

Let me add to the rant. I can tell you that the following dealerships provide equally unimpressive service.

- Brampton Saturn Saab (replaced unnecessary parts)
- Queensway Saturn Saab (can't fix the problem)
- Budd's Saturn Saab (fix one thing and break another)

I was going to try Thornhill next but you saved me the trip. This just about exhausts all dealership within 100km driving distance.

Saab dealerships has to improve their customer service if they want repeat customers. Unfrotunately, I won't be one of them.

 

[sherwood507]

I have a '99 9-3 and the shaft broke about 2 weeks ago. It's the 3rd time in just over a year and a half. And my previous '99 9-3 (may she rest in peace) broke twice in a year. I'm thinking about going to a hardware store and trying to make my own out of u-joints and an extender from a rachet set. But until I get around to it, I'm stuck with the air blowing on my feet.

 

[mrt_mcfly]

mid-town saab (eglington and leslie) have been helpful...at least their parts department. not sure about their service.

 

[earthworm]

Note that all these bad dealers are not the old time true Saab dealers but "dualers or triplers"...

They, and GM could care less about Saab.
I always thought the dealer had a legal obligation to the customer to make good - maybe this is not true in Canada..

GM seems to be hell-bent to self destruct - I hate to see this..

 

[RRebelo]

That just reminds me of my experience at Saab Thornhill.(not impressed either)

Got my 94 900 s a few months ago and took it ther for an oil/filter change.
When I got home I notice a scratch (dent) across the two right side doors, I know it was not there before because I had just purchased the car and had checked it completly (also washed it ). I didn't even bother calling the dealer becuse I know they would just denny it.

 

[kaltorak]

Latest in Knob fiasco

How about trying Beacon Motors off the Queensway.

 

[jordan]

I bought my 2000 9-3 about a year and a half ago from an individual, I love the car but I have noticed that somethings in the interior are a little "unrefined" fit and finish is lacking, but I can deal with it. Ever since I had the car I never really liked how the vent selector felt, it was kind of stiff moving, well tonight coming home from work (-19ºf) it broke I assume and the switch rotates as I think it should feel though none the less broken, my windshield is frosty, and my feet are really warm. What should I do? what part is broken? Where do I get this part?

 

[Kolhoznik]

I bought my 2000 9-3 about a year and a half ago from an individual, I love the car but I have noticed that somethings in the interior are a little "unrefined" fit and finish is lacking, but I can deal with it. Ever since I had the car I never really liked how the vent selector felt, it was kind of stiff moving, well tonight coming home from work (-19ºf) it broke I assume and the switch rotates as I think it should feel though none the less broken, my windshield is frosty, and my feet are really warm. What should I do? what part is broken? Where do I get this part?

http://www.eeuroparts.com/productdetail.aspx?searchResults=1&code=4809 Here you go, also known as a toilet paper holder on this site:-D Now I wouldn't replace it just yet, use it to turn your heater on to the windshield and leave it at that. I'm fixing the actual cause of this right now and will have pics/write-up up within two weeks.

 

[jordan]

Now what exactly is so special about this plastic piece? It looks as it may have a small ball or universal joint, or am I not seeing it well?

 

[Kolhoznik]

the piece is crap. It brakes when there's unwanted tension in the system. If you take out your glovebox and the pass side kick panel you'll see it right there.

 

[SterlingSaab]

I may be reading this wrong, but that part discussed above controls the direction of the air flow, correct? It's the shaft that is attached to the knob where you change the flow to feet, face vent, or defog?

My knob that controls the actual temperature (blue cold --> red hot) rotates freely - no gear teeth seem to be catching... it's stuck on HOT and turning the knob counter clockwise to cold does nothing. Fortunately it's winter, but I'd like to fix it. Can I assume it's the same part (the shaft)? As soon as it warms up a bit, I'm going to pull the dash apart to see.

 

[JMarkert]

I may be reading this wrong, but that part discussed above controls the direction of the air flow, correct? It's the shaft that is attached to the knob where you change the flow to feet, face vent, or defog?

My knob that controls the actual temperature (blue cold --> red hot) rotates freely - no gear teeth seem to be catching... it's stuck on HOT and turning the knob counter clockwise to cold does nothing. Fortunately it's winter, but I'd like to fix it. Can I assume it's the same part (the shaft)? As soon as it warms up a bit, I'm going to pull the dash apart to see.

I don't think it's the same, the temp knob is somehow connected to a cable that moves the air doors. I'm not sure what's on the left (knob) side, but if you remove the glove compartment and kick panel on the right you can see the cable moving the door. It's possible the cable has just become disconnected, if so it would be easy to see.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Yet another example of the virtues of DIY. To anyone out of warranty, just find a good indie. Dealerships with decent service depts are few and far between. Shame the refuse to fix it under warranty though. Hey, you could just buy a BMW. Their dealership's approach to diagnostics is to replace everything in sight until the problem is solved. That's great when you're under warranty, not so much when you're paying $110/hr + parts.