Problems · NHTSA complaints
2008 Saab 9-5 problems
Owners filed 20 complaints about the 2008 Saab 9-5 with NHTSA between Oct 2008 and Jan 2020. The most-cited component is air bags (19).
Complaints
20
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Air bags19
- Electrical system2
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
13
2
0
0
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | 0 |
| 2010 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 0 |
| 2016 | 13 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Air bags
19 reports1 related recall
“I HAD MY AIRBAG REPLACED ON RECALL SEVERAL YEARS AGO. I NOW HAVE AN ERROR ALERT ON MY DASH INDICATING AN AIR BAG PROBLEM. MY SERVICE TECHNICIAN TELLS ME THERE ARE NO PARTS AVAILABLE. WHAT ALTERNATIVES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ME, BESIDES DRIVE AN UNSAFE CAR OR JUNK IT (PROBABLY ILLEGAL TO SELL )”
Electrical system
2 reports
“WHILE TRAVELING ON FREEWAY, IGNITION SUDDENLY SHUT OFF AND CAR LOST ALL POWER. HAD TO STEER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT POWER AND THEN RESTART CAR TO CONTINUE. *TR”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.