Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 1988 Saab 9000, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Electrical system4
- Fuel system, gasoline3
- Service brakes, hydraulic3
- Seats2
- Equipment1
- Engine and engine cooling1
- Visibility1
- Vehicle speed control1
- Interior lighting1
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
In the United Kingdom
3 cars built in 1988 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 32 more were declared off the road (SORN).
Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0
In Finland
6 of these cars first registered in 1988 were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026, with an average of 267,000 km on the odometer at their last inspection.
Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use · CC BY 4.0
In New Zealand
1 1988 cars are on the New Zealand register; 100% arrived as used imports, 0% were sold new in New Zealand.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0
Recalls in Canada
4 Transport Canada recalls for the 1988 Saab 9000.
| 1990042 6 Mar 1990 | Electrical NOTE: VEHICLES WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION RESIDUE ON THE CIRCUIT CARD MAY CAUSE AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE BACK-UP LAMP CIRCUIT AND EVENTUAL OVERHEATING OF T… |
| 1989159 24 Nov 1989 | Brakes ON VEHICLES WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS) THE THROTTLE/KICK-DOWN CABLE AND GEAR SELECTOR WIRE MAY COME LOOSE AND RUB AGAINST AN… |
| 1988092 5 Jul 1988 | Engine On certain Saab 9000S and 9000 turbo 16 vehicles, the ball chain between the cruise control vacuum regulator and the gas pedal arm may get caught in the upper e… |
| 1988058 19 Apr 1988 | Engine On certain Saab 9000S and 9000 turbo 16, the ball chain between the cruise control vacuum regulator and the accelerator pedal arm may get caught on the vacuum r… |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
ABRASION ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT CARD IN THE COMBINATION NEUTRAL SAFETY/BACKUP LAMP SWITCH OPERATED BY THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION GEAR SELECTOR MAY CAUSE RESIDUE TO COLLECT IN ELECTRICAL AREA ON THE CIRCUIT CARD.
THE ROUTING OF THE THROTTLE KICKDOWN CABLE COULD ALLOW CHAFING TO OCCUR BETWEEN THE CABLE AND ANY ONE OF THREE STEEL BRAKE FLUID LINES NEAR THE VALVE BLOCK OF THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE UNIT.
THE BALL CHAIN BETWEEN THE CRUISE CONTROL VACUUM REGULATOR AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARM MAY CATCH ON THE VACUUM REGULATOR ATTACHMENT CLIP.
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What Saab told its dealers about the 1988 Saab 9000: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 604154 | INFORMATION ON INSTALLING LARGER FUEL SYSTEM NON-RETURN VALVES. *TT |
| 604046 | BACKGROUD INFORMATION IN DIAGNOSING A DRIVEABILITY COMPLAINT OR THE CHECK ENGINE LAMP COMING ON. *YC |
| 52448 | ADJUSTMENT OF BEARING TENSION. *TW |
| 52045 | RECALL 278 - OVERHEATING OF BACK-UP LIGHT SWITCH- SAAB CARS USA, INC HAS NOTIFIED THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA) THAT A DEFECT WHICH RELATES TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY MAY EXIST IN CERTAIN 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 AND EARLY 1990 9000 MODELS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION- APPROXIMATELY 24,000 VEHICLES WERE ORIGINALLY AFFECTED- THE DEFECT CONSISTS OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE COMBINATION NEUTRAL SAFETY/BACK-UP LIGHT SWITCH MAY OVERHEAT FROM THE CURRENT FLOW THROUGH THE BACK-UP LAMP CIRCUIT WHEN THE IGNITION IS SWITCHED ON AND THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SELECTOR LEVER IS I |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)
NHTSA investigations
PASSENGER COMPARTMENT FIRE
PASSENGER COMPARTMENT FIRES
WIRE HARNESS CHAFING
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation