Approaching 100’000 km’s
January 4, 2013 in Editorial
At the end of February in 2010 I visited the SAAB Factory in Trollhättan to take a look at a very special car, my first brand new car, as it was being built.
When I got there, a bit late, the car was just being completed and being put through its final testing and seeing it for the first time was a remarkable experience. Being one of the biggest financial commitments a person does in a life-time the whole process of buying a car is a nice experience.
Now, almost exactly three years later my 9-5 Griffin is approaching 100’000 km’s. So how has it performed so far?
I’d like to say excellent but that has not been the case, although most items have been minor, three had to go all the way to warranty claims.
1. Rearview mirror on the right hand side not folding out in the correct way when pushing the button, so the mirror was replaced for a new one.
2. Minor oil leak from the return hose. This turned out to be a small seal that had broken down making the lower part of the engine a bit wet but no drops on the ground. This turned out to be a standard fault on all 9-5′s since a long time back and I’ve had the same problem on all 6 9-5′s that I’ve owned.
3. Leather on the drivers seat gets folded. This caused ANA to replace the whole seat after only 3 months.
Other than that the car has worked perfectly and I have to say that I love it just as much now as I did when I first bought it, perhaps even more! =)
So what needs replacement? Well I’ve noticed that the suspension has gotten a bit soft lately and that my brakes are more or less worthless at this point. I’ve contacted Maptun to let them take care of this issue for me and the front brakes are getting a 336 mm upgrade and the suspension will be replaced with Bilstein B8 Sprint shock absorbers.
I’ve done a lot of upgrades to the car over the years. The first thing happened even before I got the car, and that was to put a Hirsch roof spoiler on it. Since then I’ve also added the Hirsch alu-pedals, carbon-leather interior, Hirsch Dual exhaust system and tuned the engine with software from Hirsch.
Last summer after having tuned my other 9-5 Griffin with software from Maptun, I decided to also replace my Hirsch software with an even more powerful one from Maptun. The beauty about Maptuns programming box is that it saves the Hirsch software in it and I can always go back if I want to, so far that has not happened though.
There is an old saying, once you start to upgrade you always want more, and that has certainly been the case for me. A few months ago I mounted the Maptun strut-brace and I have to say that this is the no 1 most important upgrade for a 9-5. I’ve mounted this on 3 cars now and wow, what a change it is… its cheap and the feel of the car makes me wonder why Saab didn’t put this in from the start.
But lately while driving to work I’ve also felt that I want more power, so this year a 300+ hp upgrade of the engine will take place in Örebro, at Maptun and its one I’m really looking forward to!
When I picked up my car from ANA in Trollhättan, I told Maj Karlsson who was the sales-lady that I had bought a number of cars from that this car has gotten its first and last owner. I’m gonna stick to that promise…
My car has served me very well for the last 3 years and I expect at least 3 more trouble-free years from her. Since a year ago I’ve also started to save money in order to buy a new car that I will use for my daily drives to work and I hope to have enough to buy a brand new 9-3 from NEVS next spring! =)
Angelo V. said on January 4, 2013
Minor problems indeed. My 2004 9-5 is stock—-no upgrades. It’s a family hauler. Question though: When a car is under warranty, do any of these upgrades void the factory warranty?
Pacey said on January 5, 2013
Pretty sure most upgrades void the warranty, other than approved ones like Hirsch remaps. But really most Saab’s need and deserve to be modified to their true potential, being often hamstrung by GM in the hp stakes. Get stuck in Angelo!
Anders_Sweden said on January 4, 2013
I think the main quality of Saabs are their longevity. I have a Saab 9-5 from 1998 that has passed 310 000 km (on salty Swedish winter roads) and still feels, works and looks like a relatively new car.
Dannii said on January 4, 2013
I have my MY01 Saab 9-5 Aero (169kW/350Nm) pre-February 2002 and at 235’000 km after having survived a minor accident on 30 May 2007 and various bits and pieces to the engine and complete gearbox overhaul – it is still running as that fateful day I bought her new! And being rarer then chicken teeth in my pond of the world, it still generates curious looks. I have added a new MY11 Volvo S60 T4 manual to curb the mileage on the 9-5 and that has saved her bacon to date.
kochje said on January 4, 2013
My 9-5 NG ( August 2010) has nearly 100.000 KM and it drives just as the first week, or even better, since I got the complete software replaced due to a minor electronic issue (which happened still under warranty).
I look forward to drive this fine car the longest possible time while no replacement is available anymore.
Perian said on January 4, 2013
I passed 35,000 on my 23 month old 2011 Saab 9-5 yesterday.
Knock on wood – not a single problem to report. But what to buy when my lease ends in 9 months? To what manufacturer do ex-Saab drivers head to?
kochje said on January 4, 2013
Buy the car from the lease company and do not go to another brand:)
Rob Sterenborg said on January 4, 2013
one question: i try to get hold of a strut- brace for my 9-5 but all i get is that they are not in stock. Does anyone have a suggestion where i can obrtain one ?
please email to rob@sterenb.org
Tim said on January 4, 2013
From Maptun, they are on their way from the supplier, try contacting info@maptun.com
Bernard said on January 4, 2013
I have the Bilstein dampers on my 9-3, and I’m not sure that they are an improvement. The rear ones are over-dampened compared to stock, to the point where they only work great when the car is loaded (4 adults plus stuff in the boot). The Bilsteins aren’t terrible, but If I had to do it over again, I would go back to original dampers. Just goes to show that Saab knew what they were doing.
Tim said on January 5, 2013
Well that depends a lot on which Bilstein dampers you pick, there is a wide range of them with various features. I replaced the original ones for Bilstein B8 on my 9-5 Sedan Aero and it was a great upgrade compared to original.
harrywho said on January 5, 2013
I put Bilstein b6 all round on my 1988 9000 not a very good ride if I was doing it again I would find something better
Tim said on January 5, 2013
B8 is a big improvement over the B6
Bernard said on January 5, 2013
The B8 and B6 are the same shock, according to Bilstein. The main difference between the two is that B8s have shorter stems that should only be used with lowered suspensions.
Part of the confusion here is that Bilstein offers a “one size fits all” solution, whereas Saab offers a large number of original shocks depending on your car’s specifications. There’s an extra tag on the chassis that you need to provide when ordering dampers from Saab.
You can get lucky if the car that Bilstein used to calibrate their product matches yours, or you could find that the Bilsteins are not as satisfying as the original setup. That being said, the Bilsteins look to be built to a higher standard. They have huge stems that should dissipate more heat and withstand more side loading.
Tim said on January 5, 2013
Bilstein B1-b4 are OEM replacements, The B6 has slightly better performance than standard, but for Aero’s that use High-Performance suspension, the B8 is the way to go.
I tried the B8′s on my 2009 9-5 Aero last year with the original springs and I was very impressed. Remember that the Aero is 10-15 mm lower than a standard 9-5.
You can read about it here http://www.forza.se/sidor/kataloger/BILSTEIN_Huvudkatalog%20-11.pdf
Saabstruk said on January 5, 2013
My 9-5 HOT Aero is coming up to 100,000 miles.It is just over 10 years old, it looks great and it’s performance when accelerating still takes my breath away after nearly a year of ownership. I LOVE it!
Seb said on January 6, 2013
Congrats on this beautiful machine. My 06 9-5 had similar problems including the replacement of the DIC. The interior has not held up so well (plastic IP trim delimaminating), cupholder broken, center console plastic crack, etc.
Had to also replace the PCV as well.
The car has only 60k on the ODO.
04aerocombi said on January 7, 2013
That is a beautiful wagon.
Putte Johansson said on January 8, 2013
Just sold my Saab 9-5 2,3t SE from 2000…after nearly 260.000 km we just said goodbye…but we have a new member in the family, a Saab 9-3 1,8t Sportcombi…