I have had my 03 reg Saab 9-3 TiD for about 6 months now. After 2 months the engine management system warning light came on. Saab Assistance (aka the AA) plugged in the diagnostic set and came up with a Glow Plug circuit problem. Saab dealers said it wasn't a serious problem and the car was driveable (apparently the glow plugs are only needed if the temperature is below 5°C) but it should be checked out sooner rather than later. 2 weeks later I finally managed to get the car to a dealer, who confirmed a faulty glow plug relay and ordered up the part.
This was eventually fitted at the beginning of June (don't ask about the delay - vandalism and incorrect parts delivered to the body shop kept the car off the road for 5 weeks!). So far so good, for about a week, when the warning light came back on again.
My next visit to the dealer confirmed the same error message, but this time the "technician" said it could be caused by one of two problems - either the wiring of the glow plug circuit was faulty or the diesel pump was about to pack up. The latter is apparently a megabucks job, so not surprisingly the car is booked in for a wiring loom check next week.
I am also worried that the fuel economy of the car is nowhere near the manufacturer's quoted figures and dropping. I'm only getting 35 - 38 mpg brim to brim on mainly motorway driving, compared to the quoted figure of 42 for combined cycle.
I guess this 2.2 TiD engine is not exclusive to Saab but is also in other GM stable makes. Has anyone else experienced this problem and is it really serious? I am concerned about driving the car with a warning light on permanently - it might actually mean something serious is wrong and I'm ignoring it.
Many thanks for any tips.
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It would seem very strange that a monitoring system for an electrical circuit could pick up up a mechanical pump problem, or even share the same error message!
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Sorry to hear about your problems, I have an 03 93SS TiD and apart from a few rattles its been okay.
Its just a pity that thathis 2.2 engine is so rough at low speeds.
I get 45-46 mpg at a steady 80-85mph in the recent warm weather.
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I never managed to achieve more than 40 mpg even on a long run, again at a steady 80-85 mph. However, the rest of the performance - acceleration, handling etc, seems fine.
Just don't like driving with a warning light on permanently!
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Can't help with the glowplug problem, but have some experiences with fuel economy.
I had a 1999 model with the 115bhp engine. I had the car for two and a half years. It took a good 10-15000 miles before I was getting the economy I expected. I was seeing lows of 42mpg and occasionally achieved nearly 50 - but certainly motorway thrashing isn't the route to economy on a diesel, as I understand it they get less economical on wide throttle openings. A steady 70-80mph should give you some reasonable figures, certainly over 40. If you haven't reached the 20,000 mile mark yet, then I wouldn't worry too much about your consumption but see how it goes. I remember almost panicking when I got 30mpg out of the very first tankful!!
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Hi,
Sorry to hear about your problems.
To add to the debate, my model is (Feb) 01 9.3 TiD and have never experienced any problem with glo plugs (touch wood) but then the winter temp around these parts rarely goes below freezing. I think that the glow plug warning light on the dash has only ever lit up on about 3 occasions in the 14 months that I've owned the car.
Careful driving in winter provides circa 45 MPG whilst in the summer increases to average 47 MPG. (After a 20 mile round trip to Caernarfon this aftrenoon, the read out was showing 51.2 MPG)
This, by and large, tallies with the on-board MPG consumption read out but then I'm one of those who records mileage and fuel consumed manually also.
I Know, I Know !
Ian
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I just had to bring this post back to the top of the list as this problem seems to have no end in sight.
A quick recap ? engine management warning light comes on in March, fault codes indicate problems with glow plug circuit, but dealer can?t find fault. Advises that car can still be driven despite poor fuel consumption and they?ll look at it at service time.
So I?ve driven the car with an intermittent engine management warning light displayed, despite several visits to Saab for investigation.
After service at beginning of August, light off and fuel economy looking sensible at last (45 mpg for a couple of tanks). Then, light reappears a week before my holiday in France and economy drops off to 40 mpg. So, I hot foot to Saab, who had the car for a day and finally say they?ve cracked the problem because they found a broken wire in the glow plug circuit. They also order new glow plugs to be fitted on my return from holiday.
So off I set to Diver on Friday night, heading for an early morning Chunnel crossing. First fill near Paris was fine ? 46 mpg and clear autoroute cruising at 85 mph. Then, when we stopped for the night at Clermont and refilled, the warning light came back on and the mileage had dropped to 41 mpg.
I took the car to Saab Perpignan, who found the same fault codes but couldn?t find the fault and charged me ?170 for the privilege. So the rest of my holiday was clouded by the recurring car problem and poor fuel economy (averaging around 38 mpg for the best part of 2000 miles).
On my return to the UK, I went back to the dealer, who said it wasn?t worth doing any more diagnostics until the glow plugs have been changed. They weren?t in stock, but are on back order with no delivery date confirmed.
It seems clear to me that the circuit must be fooling the engine into thinking that it is cold and delivering more fuel than necessary, hence the poor mpg. I am concerned that this will do the engine no good, irrespective of the poor economy (probably equivalent to 50 gallons of fuel since I bought the car). Saab just don?t seem to know, or care. I really feel like dumping the car on their forecourt, telling them to sell it for whatever they can get and cut my losses and buy a Vectra.
If anyone can help to track down the problem, or point me towards a good independent Saab specialist in Cheshire who could help, I?d be grateful. Sorry about the rant, but I can?t see the end of this and it really frustrates me as it is otherwise a lovely car to drive
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All this stuff must certainly be a pain, did you get the money back from SAAB for the work in France as surely this would have been a warranty job ?
Also, if the car is overfueling, all it should cause is black smoke, it shouldnt realy harm the engine in the way that having the choke on in a petrol engine would.
I find with my Saab 93SS 2.2 TiD, I get fairly consistent 45-46 mpg at a steady 80 on the French motorways, however I have noticed that my car not only doesnt use any oil, but seems to top-up the oil itself !
Preseumeably this is diesel blow-by, and I would say in your case this could be the worst effect on any over-fuelling.
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No black smoke. The car seems to drive fine, with no hesitation or loss in performance. It's just so frustrating to have that light staring at you from the dashboard all the time.
As far as the cost is concerned, the dealer says it will pass the receipt on to Saab GB for a refund but it may take a few weeks! They said the standard European warranty is only 12 months which is why the French weren't prepared to accept the UK warranty.
Is the 2.2 TiD engine common across all GM models or is it a Saab special? I almost feel like taking it to my local Vauxhall dealer, who is really good and has looked after my Cavalier, Carlton and Vectras as well as my wife's Astra, for the last 12 years or so.
Anyway, the complaint letter to Saab GB is hot off the press and will be in the post tonight.
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You could try Higher Oak Garage, Oak Road, Wrexham Industrial Estate, Tel: 01978 661709. Be warned though that many independent specialists are not touching the new GM saabs with a barge pole due to their dubious build quality.
I'm afraid the attitude of the dealer is now common amongst Saab's network and really does reflect poorly on them. A consequence of the buy out by GM has been a move away from small family dealerships and hence the customer service has suffered.
The 2.2 litre engine is common to the entire GM range. Visiting your Vauxhall dealer may be a good idea as the car is little more than a badge engineered Vectra.
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One other thing, a lot of the early cars have horrendous software bugs that cause all sorts of weird problems. Upgrades are available for some models, but you have to hassle the dealer to do them. Might be worth investigating.
Try www.saabcentral.com for help.
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