2001 SAAB 5-Sep

Our Saab 9-5 went in for its regular servicing we were told by Saab repair shop car was all set picked it up paid for servicing and less than 3 weeks later car engine blew up in the middle of a major highway with no indication and my family in the car. Had car towed back to Saab dealer was told it was caused by sludge build up in the engine which is a common problem in this particular car. Spoke with Saab-USA on numerous occasions and they refuse to fix the car but do acknowledge that this was the result of a problem with thi9s particular engine. I am thankful none of my family were seriously injured in this sequence of events. If I had been informed of this major safety problem with this vehicle I would not have endangered the lives of my children or myself. And now were are being forced to continue to make our car payments without a vehicle that will even start up for us to trade in.

Failure of fuel pump and throttle body as well as air flow meter and D.I.S. cassette at 53K miles. Then, complete engine failure due to oil sludge (likely) and pressure problems at 61K miles.

Engine had to be rebuilt due to oil pick up tube being clogged. Now at 12000 miles later I have again experienced engine noise similar to the first.

Engine fail due to oil sludge. Saab claims I failed to get regular oil changes, which is not true, and denied my claim. A few days after my engine seized, it released a statement that the company was extending the warranty from 4 years to 8 years, admitting the oil sludge issue. The warranty applies only for those owners who can demonstrate that they brought their car to the dealer for regular oil changes. But the reported reasons for the extended warranty (New York Times) was that the Swedish insurance industry refused to pay out on warranty claims because so many owners who demonstrated regular maintenance nonetheless had a total engine failure.

Blown turbo due to oil sludge problems