Saab Oil Sludge Problems

[Deborah Beaulac]

I have been having problems recently with my 01 93 which has 113,000 miles on it. I have done all frequent oil changes etc. I wish I had my old 900 turbo it is still on the road with over 250,000 miles and it is a 91. I hope I don't end up with the same sludge problem but I am going to get it checked now. thanks

[jeff]

Jim wrote:

Just so you know, I did receive a new engine; it is possible. Good luck.

please let me know what year your saab was and how manny miles you had on it?? How to get a new engine compared to a used engine..please email back to [e-mail]

[Jim]

jeff wrote:

<quoted text> please let me know what year your saab was and how manny miles you had on it?? How to get a new engine compared to a used engine..please email back to [e-mail]

I have a 2001 9-3SE that had about 64,000 miles at the time of the engine problem.

A NEW UPDATE: Saab has denied my request for reimbursement for the original diagnosis of the problem at an independent mechanic.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A mere 2000 miles on my new engine, and my AC compressor siezed up, snapping the idler pulley and belt (on my way to JFK with the family for a flight to Europe)...another $1400 down the tubes.

This car is dead to me.

[Kathy]

Jim,
Funny, my AC compressor blew about 18 months ago to the tune of $1100. I also have a 2001 9-3SE, my engine went this past summer and they just replaced the engine a few weeks ago. It seems the same things fail on these cars over and over.

[Joseph Mullin]

Patrick wrote:

Check with dealer first, but adding "miracle oil" to my engine oil at every oil change prevents "buildup",cleans valves(prevents "blowby of carbons") and restores gaskets. My saab is going on 400k miles and still going strong.

My miracle oil is Marvel Mystery oil along with Mobil 1 changed every 5000 miles This combo give nothing but miles of smiles.

[Joseph Mullin]

Keeping a qt of MMO in your crankcase along with Mobil ! 5w30 will keep that Saab from becoming a Saab story!!!! I change it every five grand.

[tjk]

My engine went yesterday in my 2001 S-E - dealer said piston failed or ring failed and I need a new engine- they want oil change data- I have some but not all- Car has 88K I owe 5700 on it so I'm not replacing the ehtire engine!! Turbo blew too!! I never will depend on a Saab again- First and last time I bought a car other than a Toyota- I am sunk cause I know I won't have every single oil receipt from three years- I just always an good about the oil- I think they will not help me so I just want to trade it in as is and take the loss- I do not think these engines are as great as they say-- I took it elsewhere for oil too because he dealers are so expensive- Any ideas how much a 2001 w 88K no engine is worth?

[Dave]

I have a 2000 9-5. The engine failed at 59,000 miles. This occured in June of 2002. Saab said since the car was out of warranty (over 50k miles) there was no coverage. The short of it was that Saab and the dealer agreed to pay 2/3rds of the cost of a new engine, I paid $1800. My third was hard earned cash...anyway, when Saab sent me a letter about the extended warranty, I sent in my records, ut they denied my claim...even though they honored 2/3rds of it in the beginning. Go figure...do you think I can still go back and argue this??

[decker]

sludge, caught it before it really got bad but we are still looking at a $2600 bill and that is at wholesale prices on the parts and a discounted labor rate... ditto, ditto, ditto... SAAB doesn't want to do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Big surprise. Where is the class action suit? And more importantly... what is the home address of the moronic engineer that said "Hey... let's put the catalytic converter under the oil pan".

[sgt]

'99, 9-5. 120k miles. Engine just failed. Sludge. Bought used at 40k miles; good service history through Car FAX. I have great service records. Cannot believe that engine could blow. My indy mechanic just saw it last in September '07. Called Saab USA despite being more than eight years since put into service. After listening to their spiel, I told them apparently it was Saab's position that any engine past eight years old should be "put down" like a dog as it can only last so long. And yes. Where is the class action suit? My research reveals a design flaw.

[Mike]

I have a 1999 Saab 9-5 with the 3.0 liter turbo engine. Car has just over 150K miles on it, serviced every 5000 miles (all records retained) including Oil/filter changed at every service. I have had no problems, but a mechanic who corrected another defective problem (unrelated to engine) in the Saab, just sent me an alert regarding this oil sludge problem. The alert refers only to 2.0L or 2.3L engines. Is there some chance the 3.0 L doesn;t have this problem? couldn't see any posts of that engine type, and would be interested to know if anyone has that engine and that problem. thanks.

[Tom Anderson]

Sludge seems to be the problem I am having. In Nov of 03', I purchased a 2000 Saab 93 Turbo SE w/ 20k miles on it. It now has 71k miles. 3 days ago the "low oil pressure" light came on and it is now sitting at an auto garage where I am getting an estimate of $3000 to fix. I need Timing Chain, rails, gears etc...Sounds like a "sludge" problem, or at least similar to what I have been reading about. If you have any ideas/suggestions for me; i will welcome them! Thanks!

[Tom C]

I had my turbo replaced under warranty at 30k due to blue smoke on startup. I now have 121k on my 2001 2.3 linear and now I'm told I need another turbo due to blue smoke on startup and oil usage of one quart every 4000 miles. I have used Mobil One since day one and never had a problem with any other car I've had(Have used it for 30 years.)I understand Saab has had a problem with this turbo due to carbon/sludge buildup causing oil to leak past the seals. Saab's failure to rectify this design defect has cost them another customer in Syracuse, NY.

[Todd L]

I just purchased a 2003 9-3 with the 2 litre and w/103k on the clock. The dealer inspected it and gave it a clean bill of health. Is there a way to tell if you have a sludge problem even if the car is running fine? Or maybe a way to clean or flush the engine to prevent it from going up in smoke?

[Mike G]

Todd L wrote:

I just purchased a 2003 9-3 with the 2 litre and w/103k on the clock. The dealer inspected it and gave it a clean bill of health. Is there a way to tell if you have a sludge problem even if the car is running fine? Or maybe a way to clean or flush the engine to prevent it from going up in smoke?

Todd--I have a 2000 9-3 convertible with 80k on the engine. I purchased with 70k on the engine. Last Thanksgiving I was driving across the state and my oil light came on. Sure enough sludge in the engine. I took the car to a noted Saab shop in our area. They cleaned it up and were able to save the engine. What they suggest is to screen the oil when changed. This would show chunks of sludge as the oil drains. They also recommend scrapping the oil pick-up screen with a coat hanger. THe pickup screen is just inside the oil drain plug. The other options would be to drop the oil pan, but as I understand this is much more expensive. Moving forward they recommended only synthetic oil and changing my oil every 5k. I would say that it is extremely important to check your engine for sludge. Had I done it I would have saved about $1,500 in costs. Good luck.

[tod]

i just purchased a saab 9-3 convertable with 61,000 miles. after reading all of the stories about sludge in the engine, can anyone tell me if this happens to all of the vehicles made in these years?

[Frank Coster]

Thank God I own a Saab 9-5 V6 turbo; NO PROBLEMS !

[andre]

my '98 saab 9-5 engine failed after only 20,000 km. i change the oil regularly at the dealer but do not keep all the receipts. this is the second engine that fails because of sludge. the first engine failed with the original owner who spent $7,000 to have it replaced. i bought the car soonafter thinking that i have a new engine. when i bought the car i had little oil in it and the red light was on continuously. i panicked and changed the oil and the car was fine during five years. so it is not the oil or lack of that destroys the engine but the bad material quality used to make these. this is proof that Saab made up this oil change pretext to avoid reimbursing customers: so much for customer loyalty and trust.

[Lisa]

Hi Kathy,

Saab is giving me the run around since I bought the car at 45K and I can't get the original owner service records.

What did you do to get them to agree? I have our service records.

Thanks any help is appreciated

Kathy wrote:

My 2001 SAAB 9-3 convertible died on 87 north of Albany with no warning last week. The engine oil light came on and immediately the engine made a rattling sound and stalled out in the middle of the highway. I had to have the car towed to Glen Mills, NY for $215!!! The SAAB service/dealer there said it was a blown engine and would cost at least $5800 to replace! I ended up selling the car to my home mechanic for $1000 and he'll probably part it out. Then I found out today about this extended coverage through SAAB, I'm going to put in a claim. I've had the regular service done since I bought the car at 42,000 miles. I don't think I'll be able to provide proof that the previous owner did the service, though. It doesn't look like too many people have had their claims honored by SAAB. I'll let the forum know what happens, but if there is a class action suit, I may be joining in!

[Lisa]

My 2001 9-3 has 80k on it, regular service etc.. it died on New Years Day 2008.

I bought it at 45K and Saab is saying since I can't prove the maintenance before I bought it that they probably won't cover the new engine.
Any suggetions on what else I can do?

Help

Lisa