Saab Oil Sludge Problems

[decker]

99 9-3 SE at 130K+ the "little red bugger" came on my wifes car. It's convienently funny though how Saab never happened to send "WARNING" letters to owners of certain years about potential problems. We had just had the car in for service for the DIC and the tech retorqued the cylinder head bolts that "magically" loosen up by themselves. Two days later the oil light is on. Technician said he noticed some sludge in the valve cover and we drop the oil pan. Sure enough... SLUDGOLA!!! I have worked in automotive service for over 22 years mostly in GM dealerships and changed oil every 3K on her car. Why the hell some moronic "kolledge edumacated" engineer put the catalytic converter UNDERNEATH the oil pan on these cars is beyond me let alone with no heat shield even. I called Saab... bitched, complained, talked nice and got nowhere... I wasn't surprised. It shouldn't matter to the degree that Saab makes it out to be that your oil is synthetic, or that you change it every 3, 5 or 10 thousand miles, if it's done at a Saab dealer or in your driveway because it's the converter that COOKS the oil that is the issue... plain and simple. There are a few p.c.v. updates that can be done to help s-l-o-w the formation of sludge but the converter is still under the oil pan cooking your oil like a crock pot. Cars are mechanical marvels that require maintenence and t.l.c. from their owners... the problem with these particular Saab's is a design flaw of epic proportions and the burden of blame for this sludge issue that costs owners of these cars literally THOUSANDS of dollars falls back in the lap of Saab/GM... plain and simple. Other than this MAJOR problem and some typical eurotrash car electrical gremlins... I like the quirky little thing. BUYERS BEWARE!!! Will Saab/GM go good on their sludge problem like Toyota quietly did??? Time and lawyers will only tell.

rant ohh-vah.

[Shim]

I have well serviced Saab 2000 9-5 3.0 V6 with 131K mostly highway. I started having the occassional puff of smoke both at start up and now and then at a stop light. I had it looked at by a Saab specialist around here and he came back with a $2400 estimate for new Turbo and new Convertor. I thought that was excessive so I turned him down. It causes the Check Engine light to stay on and gives a code that says,(Convertor is not heating up enough.) I changed the PCV valve (it was broken) but the problem still exists. Can anyone give me advise?([e-mail]).

[John - Huntsville ON]

My wife has a 2001 Saab Hatchback turbo. Recently the oil light starting going on intermittently when driving on the highway. We took it to a local mechanic who has been doing our servicing since there is no Saab dealer in town. He drives Saab's (actually owns about 5) so knows them very well. The problem, of course, was sludge. The estimated repair is a little over $ 3,000, and no guarantees that the engine is still okay. If there is any class action, I AM IN!

[Karen - Marietta Georgia]

WOW - my 2000 SAAB 9.3 with only 91,000 miles has been sitting at the dealership now for a month. I knew there had to be a reason why this happened so suddenly. I have maintained it religiously since the letter came out in June of 2005 regarding the sludge problem. Now 39 days after the extended GM has warranty expired the engine blows up on me. Has anyone had any resolution???? I cant seem to find anyone who has been able to have the warranty honored nor had any luck taking any other steps against GM....

[Sandy K]

I too fell victim to the sludge..while on xmas vacation many miles away from home. I was the second owner of a 2000 9-5 that had a clean CARFAX report and purchased from a reputable dealer. First the turbo went, was replaced, and then the engine died, all within 100 miles. Thanks to a very helpful mechanic at the Saab dealership in Georgia and a few "found" oil change receipts, Saab replaced the engine. It took a month and many, many calls to the dealership that sold the car, the previous owner and all the oil change places that the car had been to. This is a definite problem that has not been addressed by Saab and the customer service is sorely lacking. Even though I really like the car, I'm going back to VW. I had 2 previous Jettas that lasted well past the 250k mark.

[Ross]

Thanks for posting all you comments on here, I was just looking to buy a saab 9-3 2.0t (01-02) in the market and been checking review sites, but after reading through these, it is now firmly off the list. Good luck with your motors.

[Elizabeth]

My 2001 Saab 9-3 engine blew at 80k miles a little over 2 yrs ago. The dealership kept saying that it wasn't a sludge problem yet it had all of the symptoms. We became the squeaky wheel and Saab ended up paying for the replacement engine and for the car rental while my car was being worked on. BUT, I had more problems after the replacement and the dealership said it had nothing to do with the previous problem. Bull. Then my turbo blew at 90k miles. I had to pay for that one. I am done with Saab after this car completely dies. In the meanwhile, I am driving this puppy until death do we part for all of the money I've put into it over the years.

[lisa]

HI,

Our engine went at 80K, we put a used engine in for $4000. W/O the engine the Saab dealer was offering $3000 in trade. With engine about $7,000. We have a 2001 93SE, the turbo went 2 yrs ago but we had bought a warrantee. We only owed 2k on the car so it was worth fixing.

Good luck

tjk wrote:

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?

[lisa]

My Saab did the same thing, Saab won't acknowledge issue so I joined class action suit. You can find it usually at the bottom of the screen withn this blog site. Good luck

John - Huntsville ON wrote:

My wife has a 2001 Saab Hatchback turbo. Recently the oil light starting going on intermittently when driving on the highway. We took it to a local mechanic who has been doing our servicing since there is no Saab dealer in town. He drives Saab's (actually owns about 5) so knows them very well. The problem, of course, was sludge. The estimated repair is a little over $ 3,000, and no guarantees that the engine is still okay. If there is any class action, I AM IN!

[John]

Just bought a 01 Saab 9-3 vert with 48k on the clock. Great car but I drive with this ever present sense that something could go wrong at anytime...Any opinions on purchasing a exclusionary(bumper to bumper) warranty or just powertrain to ease my anxiety?..Ive had the car for under a month and already fuel pump has gone...It looks like bumper to bumper warranty would cost me about 2500bucks for 40,000mi of coverage while powertrain would only run about 1200...From my research I gather that the only warranty worth its weight is the full exclusionary policy but you have to pay up..Im just looking to protect myself as best I can from sludge issue and resultant engine/turbo failure which I couldnt afford to replace.

[neil]

i own a 1999 saab 9-5 3.0 turbo worst car i have ever come across firstly parts are more expensive than all other cars at the dealer and problems after problems car has 60,000 miles on the engine i had to replace the throttle body after that i did the o2 sensors then came the oil cooler for the turbo then came the radiator and lucky me here comes the oil light the only reason i have not gotten rid of this car is because i had performed all related labor myself i also heve a toyota camry 1999 best car no problems since the day i bought it and a 1998 mitsubishi galant but saab worst if u can get rid of your before the problems start do it

[Donna]

Bought a 2001 saab 93 turbo 11/06 the car had only 19,500 miles on it. 2/07 oil was leaking and smoking on start up. pcv valve was replaced, 7/07 turbo blew replaced turbo, 2/08 engine blew due to oil sludge with only 27,000 miles on it. I change the oil 3 times in the last 7,000 miles since I owned the car. Have all my records but I am the second owner and the orginal owner did not keep any records Saab will do nothing for us all second owner of used saab are screwed we recieved a recall on fuel pump in 12/07 but no heads up on a potential sludge problem we has no idea we could of taken prevetable measure and change to fullysynthetic oil. Now we are forced to put a used engine with 87,000 miles on it