display SAAB 9-5 2003 Owner's Manual
Page 83 of 288
83 Instruments and controls
Starting in cold weather
To start with, the system will automatically select the defroster set-
ting, maximum heat and low fan speed. 
As the engine warms up, air will also be distributed through the floor 
vents and the fan speed will be increased. 
As the temperature inside the car nears the selected value, both the 
fan speed and the heat will be decreased to a level determined by 
the system. 
Starting in hot weather
The system will automatically distribute air through the panel vents 
at high fan speed and will switch on the A/C compressor (unless the 
ECON switch has been pressed). 
If the outdoor temperature is above 86°F (30°C), the system might 
select recirculation after approximately 45 seconds if this is required 
in order to reach the desired temperature.
As the temperature inside the car nears the selected value, the fan 
speed will be decreased to a value determined by the system. 
Programming IManual selections can be programmed into the ACC system so that 
these will take effect when the car is started. Note that the ignition 
must be switched off for at least ten minutes after programming for 
the selections to be saved in the system’s memory. 
1 Make sure the ignition is ON. 
2 Select the desired settings. 
3 Press  and , simultaneously 
(the display will flash to confirm that the settings have been 
recorded). 
Example: If you want air distribution through the panel vents when 
you start the car, press 
 and then save the setting by pressing 
 and  . 
Cancelling the programmed settings (I) To cancel the programmed settings, press   and   
simultaneously (the display will flash to confirm that the settings 
have been cancelled).  Panel (and center rear vent) 
ACC69
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85 Instruments and controls
To program a function or to cancel a programmed function, press 
and hold in the relevant button until the corresponding symbol has 
flashed four times on the display and a chime has sounded. 
Make sure the ignition is ON. 
Example: To have the ACC system switch the heating for the rear 
window and door mirrors ON/OFF automatically, press and hold in 
 until the symbol has flashed four times on the display and a 
chime has sounded.
The display shows:
ACC: AUTO
RDEFR CTRL
Once a function has been recorded under ”Programming II”, it will 
remain in the system until you cancel the program. 
AUTO will still show on the display after a function has been saved 
in ”Programming II”. 
Calibration If the battery has been disconnected or has died, the system will 
need to be recalibrated. 
To start the calibration procedure:
1 Start the engine.
2 Press  and  simultaneously.
Calibration takes about 30 seconds. During this time and for about 
3 seconds after the operation has been completed, the number of 
fault codes (if any) stored in the system will appear in the tempera-
ture display on the left. The fault codes themselves will be shown in 
the temperature display on the right. Useful tips (Before driving the car to an authorized Saab dealer) 
 If AUTO is not shown on the display, see ”Cancelling the pro-
grammed settings (I)” on page 83.
 If you suspect that the ACC system is not functioning properly, 
cancel (delete) all programmed settings and then recalibrate the 
system.
See ”Cancelling the programmed settings (I) and (II)”, pages 83 
and  84, and ”Calibration” above.
Note that AUTO will show on the display even if you have com-
pleted Programming II, but that this does not apply to Program-
ming I.
 If the battery has been disconnected or has died, the ACC system 
will need to be recalibrated. See ”Calibration” above. Function Text displayed on SID 
during programming Text displayed on SID 
when cancelling 
program 
ACC: LO TEMP
A/C CTRLACC: NORMAL
A/C CTRL
ACC: RECIRC
ACC: SPEED CTRLACC: RECIRC
ACC: NORMAL CTRL
ACC: AUTO
RDEFR CTRLACC: MANUAL
RDEFR CTRL
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Page 90 of 288
90 Saab 9-5 Audio SystemTo get the best out of your Saab 9-5 Audio 
System, we recommend that you read 
through this entire section.
The Saab 9-5 Audio System is available in 
two versions: Premium on the 9-5 Linear 
and Prestige on the 9-5 Arc and 9-5 Aero 
(Prestige system is also available as an 
option in the U.S. on the 9-5 Linear model.) 
Both models have been specially matched 
to the Saab 9-5 cabin.
The two systems are comprised of a radio, 
CD player and cassette player.
A six-disc CD changer for installation in the 
luggage compartment is available as a 
dealer-installed accessory/option.
The Premium system has seven speakers: 
three mounted in the fascia (the center 
speaker further enhances the overall sound 
image) and one in each door.
The Prestige system (harman kardon) has 
nine speakers (9-5 Sport Wagon has eight 
speakers): three mounted in the fascia (the 
center speaker further enhances the sound 
image), one in each door and two subwoof-
ers in the rear window shelf (9-5 Sport 
Wagon: one subwoofer in the luggage com-
partment). The subwoofers enhance repro-
duction of the lowest bass notes.The Audio System is connected to the Saab 
Information Display (SID), which is at the 
top of the main instrument panel. Mes-
sages, indicators and the like for the Audio 
System are shown on this display.
Indicator 
AS  Radio is in Autostore mode 
RDM  Random playback of CD 
tracks when CD player 
selected 
(DOLBY B/C) DOLBY B/C noise reduction 
on for cassette player 
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94 Saab 9-5 Audio SystemRadio Press the RADIO/BAND button to switch to 
the radio when another source is active. Preset station buttons (1) Press once (release within a second) to 
select a preset station, e.g. 
The small figure on the far right of the dis-
play is the number of the preset button 
selected. 
Presetting a station 
Press and hold in the desired button (for 
more than a second) to store the currently 
tuned station. During this time, the radio will 
be mute. The sound will return as soon as 
the station has been stored. 
Tuning (2) Automatic seek tuning: 
Press   briefly to search for higher fre-
quencies or   for lower frequencies. 
Manual tuning: 
To switch to the manual-tuning function, 
press   or   and release quickly 
(a chime will sound and the M indicator will 
appear on the display). 
The function will revert to automatic seek 
tuning two seconds after the last manual fre-
quency change has been made. 
Waveband selector (3) Press the RADIO/BAND button repeatedly 
to move through the waveband selections: 
FM1, FM2, and AM. AS, Autostore (4) The autostore mode provides an additional 
preset function that can be used to search 
for and to store stations when you are in an 
area where you are unfamiliar with the sta-
tions and their frequencies. 
Press the AS/SEARCH button to switch the 
Autostore mode ON/OFF. When the 
Autostore mode is ON, the AS indicator will 
show at the bottom of the display. 
IB1088
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95 Saab 9-5 Audio System
Press and hold in the AS/SEARCH button 
for more than a second to initiate a search 
for the six strongest stations. 
Each time the system finds and stores a sta-
tion, the number on the far right of the dis-
play will change. If the system cannot find 
six stations with good reception, the remain-
ing preset buttons will be empty. If one of 
these empty buttons is pressed, U**** (FM) 
or AM**** will appear on the display. 
When the system leaves the AS mode, it 
returns to the station that was selected 
before the AS mode was activated. 
The AS mode can also be used in the AM 
band. 
WB (Weather Band) (5)Press the WB button to select the Weather 
Band mode. The radio will automatically 
search for the strongest national weather 
service station in the area. When a weather 
band station is received, the display indi-
cates ”WB”. The strongest station generally 
provides the most accurate information for 
the area in which you are traveling.
To exit the Weather Band mode, depress 
the WB button again. Weather Band recep-
tion is available in CD, TAPE and RADIO 
mode. If the radio is unable to find a suffi-
ciently strong station to lock onto, the unit 
will continue to search and the display will 
indicate ”NO WB”.
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Page 96 of 288
96 Saab 9-5 Audio SystemCassette player Before playing a tape, make sure that the 
label is secure and that the cassette is not 
warped, otherwise the cassette can 
become jammed in the deck. The cassette 
player automatically senses whether the 
tape is normal or metal (Type I or Type II). TAPE (1) Turn on the cassette player by pressing 
 or by inserting a cassette in the 
deck, with the exposed tape to the right. 
Playback will start with the side that is facing 
up (indicated by A on the display). The dis-
play will now be as follows: Playback direction (2) To play the other side of the tape, 
press . 
The deck will automatically change the play-
back direction when the end of the tape is 
reached, be it during playback, fast 
forward/rewind or music search. 
Dolby
® noise reduction (3) 
Press TAPE/DOLBY to switch on Dolby NR 
B/C. 
Dolby B/C should be on for playback of 
tapes recorded with Dolby B/C, and off for 
those recorded without Dolby B/C. 
Eject button (4) To stop playback of a tape, press the eject 
button   or select another source. 
If you select another source without press-
ing the eject button, the tape will remain in 
the deck but the head and pinch rollers will 
be clear of the tape. The same applies if the 
Audio System is switched off while a tape is 
being played. Tapes can still be ejected 
when the system is turned off. 
IB1090
VOL
TREBAL ON
FA D BAS
PULL PUSH
CDRDM
RADIO  BAND
ASSEARCH
2 13
5 46
DOLBY B NR
 SEEK
3
5
2
4
1
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97 Saab 9-5 Audio System
Music search forward/reverse (5) To search forward for a track, press   
and release quickly (within half a second). 
The following will now appear on the dis-
play: 
To perform a backward search, press 
 instead. 
A forward search will continue until a gap of 
at least 4 seconds is found, or until you 
press   or   (mid-segment). 
Pressing and holding the button during a 
search will initiate the fast-forward function. 
Fast forward/rewind Press and hold   to start fast-
forward to the end of the tape. The following 
will now appear on the display: 
Press   once to cancel fast-forward. 
Press and hold   (mid-segment) 
briefly to switch to music search. 
Fast rewind (<< WIND) is performed in the 
same way as fast forward. 
Auto music search (Blank skip) To switch the Blank-skip function ON/OFF, 
press and hold   (mid-segment). 
When the Blank-skip function is active (dis-
play: BL SKIP ON), unrecorded gaps that 
are longer than 15 seconds will automati-
cally be skipped. 
When auto music search is in progress, the 
following will show on the display: 
If a track has been recorded at an unusually 
low level and is therefore identified incor-
rectly as a gap between tracks, it could ini-
tiate a spurious ”auto music search”. 
To cancel such a search, press and hold 
 (mid-segment) during playback. 
The following will now appear on the dis-
play: 
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98 Saab 9-5 Audio SystemType II (metal) tapes The cassette has an automatic tape-type 
selector. Cleaning-due indicator After 30 hours’ playing time, the following 
message will appear on the display: 
The message will be displayed for ten 
seconds each time the cassette player is 
selected. 
A cleaning tape should be used to clean the 
heads inside the cassette player to maintain 
good reproduction and to prevent unneces-
sary wear. 
To reset the playing-time meter: 
1 Remove the current tape. 
2 Load the cleaning tape and play it for the 
required time. 
3 Remove the cleaning tape and reload 
the other one. 
Tape care Do not expose cassette tapes to direct sun-
light or to extremes of temperature as this 
can damage the cassette and the tape. 
Always keep cassettes in their boxes when 
not in use. 
If a cassette should become jammed in the 
deck, contact an authorized Saab dealer. 
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99 Saab 9-5 Audio System
CD playerTo select the CD mode, load a CD into the 
deck or, if one is already loaded, press the 
CD/RDM button.
Insert the CD, label-side up, and allow the 
mechanism to load it automatically. Play-
back of the first track will start and the follow-
ing message will appear on the display: 
A tiny, amber-colored LED indicator to the 
left of the disc tray is illuminated when a disc 
is loaded. 
When all the tracks have been played, the 
CD player will restart playback from track 1. 
To cancel playback, press the eject, RADIO 
or TAPE button. 
Track search (1) Press   or   repeatedly to move 
to preceding or following tracks. Pressing 
 once will restart playback from the 
beginning of the current track. Thus, to play 
the preceding track, press   twice. 
Rapid play (passage search) When   or   is pressed and 
held, rapid play will be initiated, with the time 
and track showing on the display, e.g.: 
If the button is depressed for more than 
5 seconds, the rapid play will be even faster. 
Rapid play stops when the button is 
released. 
NOTICEDo not use writeable CDs in your Audio 
System. In certain cases, this type of CD 
is only suitable for home use and can 
therefore cause operational problems 
(overheating).
IB1096
VOL
TREBAL ON
FAD BAS
PULL PUSH
CDRDM
RADIO  BAND
ASSEARCH
2 13
5 46
DOLBY B NR
 SEEK
2
1
3
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Page 100 of 288
100 Saab 9-5 Audio SystemFast track search Press   (mid-segment) once to 
switch between the CD-PLAY and 
CD-TRACK modes. 
The CD-PLAY and CD-TRACK modes 
change the function of   and  . 
The selected mode will also be active the 
next time the system is switched on. 
Choose the mode that you find most conve-
nient:  
Random playback (RDM) (2) Press and hold the CD/RDM button to 
select/deselect random playback of the cur-
rent disc. When this function is selected, 
RDM will appear at the bottom of the dis-
play. 
Press   once to move from the current 
track to the next during random playback. 
Press   once to repeat the current 
track during random playback. 
Pressing and holding   or   will 
start Rapid play. SCAN To start the SCAN function, which enables 
you to hear a sample of each track on the 
disc, press and hold   (mid-seg-
ment). The display shows that SCAN is in 
progress and which track is currently being 
sampled. For instance, if you started SCAN 
while playing the first track, the following 
display will appear: 
The sample playback starts 30 seconds 
after the start of the track and lasts for 8 sec-
onds. 
When all the tracks on the disc have been 
scanned, the system will revert to playback 
of the track that was playing when SCAN 
was selected. Press any segment of the SEEK button 
during scanning to play the current track 
from the beginning and simultaneously 
cancel the SCAN function. 
Eject (3) Press   to remove the disc. 
If you press the eject button to open the tray 
but do not remove the disc, the CD player 
will automatically close the tray again after 
10 seconds, without restarting playback. 
CD PLAY  Pressing and holding 
 or   briefly 
starts Rapid play 
CD TRACK  Pressing and holding 
 or   briefly 
starts Fast track search 
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