1999 Saab 9-5

No clear pattern

0.7% of complaints about the 1999 Saab 9-5 arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1999 vehicle, but with only 150 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is electrical system (87 complaints), typically at 6.5 yr or about 73,000 miles.

Complaints: 150
Median age at failure: 6.7 yr
Median mileage: 78,000 n=130
Crash / fire / tow: 4% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

03V006000 2003-01-13

Wheels:hub

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, IF AN OWNER CHANGES THEIR WHEELS/TIRES BETWEEN SUMMER AND WINTER USING A STEEL WHEEL IN THE WINTER AND AN ALLOY WHEEL IN THE SUMMER, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR RUST AND CONTAMINATION TO BUILD UP ON THE WHEEL HUB DURING THE STEEL WHEEL USAGE. IF THIS OCCURS AND THE CONTAMINATION IS NOT REMOVED, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT AFTER THE TIRE CHANGE SERVICE, SOME OF THIS CONTAMINATION COULD FLAKE OR GRIND AWAY RESULTING IN REDUCED CLAMPING FORCE OF THE WHEEL TO THE HUB. OVER SEVERAL SEASONS, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THIS REDUCED FORCE COULD RESULT IN FRACTURES DEVELOPING IN THE WHEEL BOLT

THESE FRACTURES WOULD RESULT IN WHEEL BOLT BREAKAGE, ALLOWING THE WHEEL TO DETACH FROM THE WHEEL HUB, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

98V139000 1998-06-23

Equipment:other:labels

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE AIR BAG ALERT LABEL ON THE DRIVER SIDE VISOR WAS OMITTED. THIS DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 208, "OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION."

THE VEHICLE OCCUPANT MAY NOT PROPERLY UNDERSTAND THE OPERATION OF THE AIR BAG SYSTEM AND THE NEED TO USE SEAT BELTS.

In owners’ own words

Electrical system mileage not reported 2.3 yr in service

BATTERY EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING, WAS IN PARKING LOT AT THE TIME, AND HAD NO PRIOR WARNING. WAS A LOUD BANG AND VEHICLE ROLLED TO A STOP. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. MECHANIC HAD NO INDICATION OF WHAT CAUSED EXPLOSION. *AK

Electrical system mileage not reported 2.9 yr in service

CONSUMER TRIED TO START VEHICLE, BUT IT WOULD NOT START. HE CALLED SAAB ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, WHO ADVISED HIM TO REFILL BATTERY FLUID. HE, THEN JUMP STARTED VEHICLE, THERE WAS A FLASH FROM THE BATTERY AND IT CRACKED. DEALER REPLACED BATTERY, AND STATED THAT BATTERY GOING DRY, AND IT WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM. DASH INDICATOR DID NOT SHOW A PROBLEM WITH BATTERY.*AK

Electrical system 78,000 mi 4.9 yr in service

2ND TIME THE SID DISPLAY HAS FAILED, AFTER RESEARCHING, THIS IS A KNOWN AND WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM WITH SAAB SID DISPLAYS FOR MANY YEARS. HAVE CONTACTED SAAB AND SO FAR WILL NOT REPLACE. CAR IS NOT UNDER WARRENTY, BUT CAN'T GET ANY INFORMATION FROM CAR ABOUT WARNINGS, ERRORS, TIME, DATE, RADIO STATION. *AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 6.3 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, CHECK ENGINE DISPLAY CAME ON, BUT BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD THE CAR COMPLETELY STALLED. CAR TOWED TO DEALERSHIP (VILLAGE SAAB,ACTON, MA), AND TOLD I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE. OIL ALWAYS CHANGED WITHIN SPECIFIED PARAMETERS, W/ 76K MI. SAAB NOTES DEFECT-BUT OFFERS NO HELP. *NM

Other 9-5 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1999 Saab 9-5

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other 9-5 model years

How to read this