stop start SAAB 9-5 2003 Owners Manual
Page 56 of 288
56 Instruments and controls
Indicator and warning 
lights A number of indicator and warning lights will 
come on when the ignition is switched on 
prior to starting. Under normal conditions, 
these should go out a few seconds after the 
engine has started (see page 62). 
Warning, oil pressure 
(engine oil) 
This light will come on together with   if 
the engine oil pressure is dangerously low. 
If the light flashes or comes on while you are 
driving, stop the car, switch off the engine 
and check the engine oil level (see page 
203). NOTICEUnder no circumstances must the car be 
driven when this warning light is on. Low 
oil pressure can result in serious engine 
damage. 
Main instrument panel 1 Tachometer
2 Indicator and warning lights 
3 Speedometer 
4 Indicator and warning lights 
5 Pressure gauge6 Fuel gauge 
7 Engine temperature gauge 
8 Trip meter reset button 
9 Odometer and trip meter 
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Page 58 of 288
58 Instruments and controls
 
Anti-lock brake warning 
This light will come on if a fault has occurred 
in the ABS system.
On certain variants   and   as well 
as   can light up to indicate a fault in the 
electronic brake force distribution system 
(distribution of the brake pressure between 
the front and rear wheels). 
Conventional braking without the ABS func-
tion will still be available.
For safety reasons, stop the car and check 
the level of the brake fluid (see page 207).If the level is normal, depress the brake 
pedal firmly two or three times. Now check 
the level again. If the level is still normal, you 
may drive the car, with considerable cau-
tion, to the nearest authorized Saab dealer 
to have the brake system checked.
 
 
Airbag warning light 
This light together with   will come on if 
a potentially serious fault has occurred in 
the airbag system.
 The light will come on for about three sec-
onds when the ignition switch is turned to 
the Start or Drive position. It should go out 
after the engine has started. 
WARNING
 If the ABS is inoperative, there is a 
danger of the rear wheels locking up 
on hard braking.
 If the level of brake fluid in the reser-
voir is below the MIN mark, the car 
should be towed to an authorized 
Saab dealer.
WARNING
 If the airbag readiness light stays on 
after you start your vehicle, it means 
the airbag system may not be working 
properly. One or more of the following 
conditions may occur:
- Non-deployment of the airbags in the 
event of a crash.
- Deployment of the airbags without a 
crash.
- Deployment of the airbags in 
crashes less severe than intended.
 To help avoid injury to yourself or 
others, have your vehicle serviced 
right away if the airbag readiness light 
stays on after you start your vehicle.
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Page 67 of 288
67 Instruments and controls
Turning the Alarm and Speed 
warning on or off 1 Select the Alarm or Speed-warning 
function. 
2 Press SET to turn on the function.
Press CLEAR to turn off the function. 
When either function is on, ALARM/SPD W 
respectively will be visible on the display. An 
asterisk 
* will be visible on the far right of the 
display when either function is selected.
The Alarm and Speed-warning settings will 
not be cancelled when the engine is 
switched off. 
When the Alarm has been set to come on at 
a specified time, it will only be activated 
once – it will not come on at the same time 
every day. Press SET to turn it on again. 
The Alarm will continue to beep for one 
minute if not switched off. 
Calculation of arrival time and 
average speed The settings must be made before the jour-
ney is started. 
Calculation of arrival time: 
1 Select DIST using the   button. 
2 Set the destination distance. 
3 Press SET. 
When ARRIV is selected during the journey, 
the arrival time based on the average speed 
over the past 20 minutes will be displayed. 
The trip computer will include any stops in 
the calculation of the estimated time of 
arrival.
Press DIST and the distance remaining to 
the destination will be displayed in the same 
way. 
After the distance to destination has 
decreased to zero, the DIST will function as 
a trip meter (see ”Using DIST as a trip 
meter”). The starting value for the trip meter 
will be the last distance set in the DIST 
function. 
Example: The DIST setting was 100 miles. 
Once 100 miles (160 km) has been cov-
ered, the DIST will start to function as a trip 
meter, the initial reading of which will be 
100 miles (160 km). 
Using DIST as a trip meter If no value has been set for the DIST func-
tion, DIST will now function as a trip meter 
(indicated by an arrow on the far right of the 
display). 
Press CLEAR to reset the trip meter.
Under 1000 miles the distance will be 
shown in increments of 0.1 miles, 
there-after, the reading will change in incre-
ments of 1.0 mile.
Metric units: for just under a kilometer, the 
distance will be shown in increments of 
10 meters, there-after, the reading will 
change in increments of 100 meters.
When DIST is functioning as a trip meter, 
the ARRIV function will display the current 
time. 
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Page 87 of 288
87 Instruments and controls
Afterheater, V6-engine 
carsThe afterheater enables a comfortable tem-
perature to be maintained inside the car 
even after the engine has been switched off. 
The heater can be activated up to 10 min-
utes after the engine has stopped, although 
the coolant temperature must be at least 
104°F (40°C) for the heater to operate. 
To start the heater: 
1 The ignition should be OFF. 
2 Press and hold the AUTO button on the 
ACC panel for about a second, until a 
chime is sounded and the following 
appears on the SID: 
”SPARE HEATER
ACTIVATED”. 
After five seconds, the SID will indicate how 
much heat is available (0–100 %). 
To switch off the heater: 
1 Press the OFF button on the ACC panel. 
The heater will also be switched off if the 
ignition is turned ON. The following settings will be used when the 
heater is running: 
 Air distribution in AUTO mode.
 Recirculation not active but can be 
selected manually.
 Fan speed is automatic and cannot be 
changed.
 Only the fan speed is shown on the dis-
play. If AUTO is pressed, the system 
selections will be indicated. 
The following controls do not operate while 
the afterheater is on: 
 Rear-window heating.
 ECON.
 User presets.
Some of the functions can be repro-
grammed. For further information, please 
consult your Saab dealer (see page  271). 
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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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Page 99 of 288
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 103 of 288
103 Saab 9-5 Audio System
If for some reason the CD selected by the 
preset button cannot be played, playback of 
the current CD will continue. Track search (2) 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 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. 
Fast track search Press SEEK (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 
convenient:  
CD PLAY  Pressing and holding 
 or   briefly 
starts Rapid play 
CD TRACK  Pressing and holding 
 or   briefly 
starts Fast track search 
IB1104
VOL
TREBAL ON
FA D BAS
PULL PUSH
CDRDM
RADIO  BAND
ASSEARCH
2 13
5 46
DOLBY B NR
 SEEK
3
1
2
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Page 104 of 288
104 Saab 9-5 Audio SystemSCAN Scanning the current CD: 
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 track one, the following dis-
play 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. Scanning the entire magazine: 
Press and hold   (mid-segment - 
two chimes) to start a scan of the entire 
magazine. A message similar to the follow-
ing will appear on the display: 
The sample playback starts 30 seconds 
after the beginning of the first track on each 
CD and lasts for 8 seconds. 
After the first track of each CD has been 
sampled, the CD changer will revert to play-
back 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. 
Random playback (RDM) (3) Press and hold the CD/RDM button to 
select/deselect random playback of the 
CDs in the magazine. When this function is 
selected, RDM will appear at the bottom of 
the display. 
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. 
To stop playback from the CD changer, 
simply select once to move from the current 
track to the next during random playback 
(RADIO/TAPE/ CD). The CD changer will 
now enter stand-by mode. 
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Page 153 of 288
153 Starting and driving
      
If the car does not startIf the text ”KEY NOT ACCEPTED” is shown 
on the SID, after a failed start attempt, the 
cause could be a fault in the transmitter in 
the key, or in the receiver in the ignition lock. 
The following should be done:
 Turn the key back to the LOCK position.
 Turn the key to ON.
 Press one of the buttons on the remote 
control (the LED stops blinking).
 Start the engine.
Try another key. If this works, then the fault 
is in the first key.
Contact an authorized Saab dealer for 
checking and rectification.
Note:
Certain electronic items, such as cellular 
phones, may affect the starting produce-
dure. Be sure that all devices are clear of the 
key/ignition switch area.
Starting the engine 
NOTICETake care not to spill drinks or to drop 
crumbs over the ignition switch. If dirt or 
liquid gets into it, the switch may not 
operate properly. 
WARNING
 Always remove the key before leaving 
the car. 
 Always apply the parking brake before 
removing the ignition key. 
WARNING
 When starting the engine:
- Sit down in the driver’s seat.
- Depress the clutch pedal fully. If the 
gear lever is not in the neutral posi-
tion, the clutch pedal must be fully 
depressed or the car will jump for-
wards or backwards, which may 
cause a crash.
- Never start the car from outside the 
vehicle, e.g. through a wound down 
window. This could lead to serious 
personal injury.
 Engage reverse (R) (position P for 
automatic transmission) to remove the 
ignition key. The key can only be 
removed in this gear position.
 Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, 
odorless, poisonous gas. Be alert to 
the danger of CO – always open the 
garage doors before starting the 
engine in the garage. 
 There is also a danger of CO poison-
ing if the exhaust system is leaking. 
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Page 155 of 288
155 Starting and driving
Limp-home modeThe car’s engine-management system 
includes a diagnostic function that checks 
numerous internal functions after the 
engine has been shut off. If a fault is 
detected in the throttle system, the 
engine-management system puts the throt-
tle system into the limp-home mode. This 
limits idling control, disables the cruise-con-
trol system and limits the capacity of the A/C 
compressor. 
If the limp-home mode is in operation 
(”Engine malfunction (CHECK ENGINE)” 
light on, see below) and the outside temper-
ature is close to or below freezing, you may 
need to use some throttle on starting (some 
pressure on the accelerator).
If the diagnostic system has detected a fault 
in the engine-management system, the 
”Engine malfunction (CHECK ENGINE)” 
light   on the main instrument panel will 
come on (see page 59), indicating that you 
should have the car checked as soon as 
possible by an authorized Saab dealer.
Important 
considerations for 
drivingThe engine-management system in the 
Saab 9-5 is called Saab Trionic T7. The 
system manages the ignition, fuel injection 
and turbo boost pressure. 
The Trionic T7 system developed by Saab 
is an intelligent engine-management 
system designed to achieve optimum driv-
ability under differing driving conditions. 
The system makes adjustments automati-
cally, for instance, if the car is being driven 
at altitude (oxygen-deficient air), for differ-
ent grades of fuel (AON 87–93) and for dif-
ferent load conditions. 
1 Starting and driving 
 Refrain from using full throttle before 
the engine has warmed up (before 
needle in mid-range on temperature 
gauge). 
 A safety function prevents the engine 
from revving faster than 6,000 rpm by 
limiting the induction air. 
2 Stopping the engine 
 Do not rev the engine immediately 
before switching it off – stop the engine 
when it is idling. 
3 Regulating the boost pressure 
 The system is optimized for fuel with an 
octane rating of AON 90. The 2.3 T 
(Aero) and 3.0t V6 are optimized for 
NOTICEIf the CHECK ENGINE warning light   
starts to flash, ease off the accelerator 
slightly. If the light does not cease to flash 
within 5 seconds, stop the car in a suit-
able place as soon as possible and turn 
off the engine. The car must be towed to 
an authorized Saab dealer.
If the CHECK ENGINE warning light 
flashes, it indicates that the engine is mis-
firing which can result in damage to the 
catalytic converter.
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