My mother-in-law has a 2008 (I believe) Saab 9-5 that has had a major hard start issue for 2 years now but she insists it’s fine. Basically if it’s cold out, it takes about 10-15 minutes… and up to 2 hours for it to finally start. It will crank and crank and crank, maybe get a couple little putts, but takes forever to start. It is fuel injected, but if you hold the gas pedal down, it seems to actually help it start (which makes zero sense on a F.I. car) and you can smell the fuel. I am at a complete loss on this and she insists on trying to find band-aid solutions (bought a magnetic stick on engine block heater and is now thinking of spending $400 on an ‘engine blanket’). I have told her numerous times to go and see Daryl but for whatever reason she keeps refusing. I just want to try to get this thing running better so I don’t have to keep dealing with it…:banghead.
Any ideas? She was putting 87 octane gas in it for the longest time but I finally talked her into putting 93 in it like the owners manual calls out. The car was originally from Florida and it runs fine when it’s warm out and once it’s warmed up… it only has issues when it’s cold. And the colder it is, the worse it is.
Those had a issue with throttle body’s ! So holding it down puts car into clear flood mode . That’s y it starts as the car is flooding itself until ya floor it and it clears out . Take a look at coolant temp and see what it says the temp is . I have also seen those have a issue with the tps sensor saying the throttle is open when it’s not and flooding engine till it’s floored and put into clear flood mode . Has car been tuned up at all ? Wasted plugs would do this as well
You mean coolant temp when it’s running? Temp before it will start isn’t even going to show up on the gauge… lol. I thought about plugs but I’ve never seen plugs only act up when it’s cold. That does make sense about holding the throttle in though… and makes me think plugs.
ahhh gotcha. Will a code reader (with live data) typically read coolant temp? And what should it roughly be at? I’m going to change the plugs tomorrow and look at it the best I can.
-CPS is usually the first place to start, get OEM $40
-Fuel Pump is another spot (they are only good for about 100k miles), FCPEuro sells a Walbro (which is who made the OEM) $210
-Check the fuel filter - if it is rusting out, replace.
-Another weak spot at the fuel is the check valves, they are a bitch to replace because they took hard plastic lines and molded it to the check valve pieces (EeuroParts has them, use OEM)
-Spark Plugs if they are the original and your over 75k miles…replace (get the resistor ones, $10-12 a pop)
DIC’s usually won’t cause hard starts, they will just misfire like a bitch…or just not let the car start at all. Eeuroparts sells the OEM for ~$325 and ProParts is $210 (I would go OEM, though I’ve seen OEMs fail right out of the box)
Throttle bodies are another issue, but those don’t usually effect starting, but they do like to be clean.
OEM parts are key with these cars as far as the engine bay area is concerned…ask me how I know.
The common joke with Saabs: Why do they always have a spare DIC, CPS and Fuel Pump in the trunk? because it’s a Saab…but I still love mine anyways.
Is there anywhere local to get the OEM CPS? From what I can find it looks like it is in the coil??? So I might as well replace it along with the plugs tomorrow if I can get an OEM locally. Also, where is the fuel filter on these?
Don’t know where you can get the BOSCH one local, I keep meaning to buy another one (I just replaced mine) but I do have my original (at 120k miles on it, it was still working, but I wouldn’t trust it) Advance has the Beck/Arnley for $76. Use it to test and see if it improves the starting, but do get in an OEM one at some point.
You should be able to find the plugs locally, part number is NGK PFR6H-10 (they are the OEM brand), there was a great debate some time back about how all Saab’s regardless of Base or Aero, as these cars love the Platinum plugs, they should all get platinums. Make sure the gap is spot on 1.0-1.1. DO NOT flip the DIC over upside down or lay it on the side as this will damage it, unplug it and keep it right side up (the way it comes off the engine is the way it needs to stay)
Bosch made the OEM fuel filter, but any decent brand filter should work (Mann, napa gold or Bosch)
I did have a spare DIC, but I chucked it when I tested it this last year and it had failed on me.
Strange suggestion, but my Saab hates when they change blends at the pump, for a week I will have hard start issues when they are transitioning between blends. So I disconnect my battery for a minute or two and it stops hard starting right away. Just a thought.
I don’t think it’s the blend… it’s been doing this for 2 years now but she has refused to fix it because “it runs fine when it’s warm so there isn’t anything wrong with it”… yea. I’ll try the plugs first and see what happens.
Ok, so let’s start this all over again. I just got the car in my garage and it’s a 2008 Saab 9-3. I just pulled the plugs and they are in pretty rough shape so I’m going to change them anyways, but I need to try to find the gap for the plugs now.
Replaced the plugs and no difference. However a compression test netted very bad results; From left to right: 1) 90psi cold, 2) <20psi cold, 3) 30psi cold, 4) 70psi cold. I think it’s safe to say the intake valves are worn (as per the TSB). Thanks for the help guys.
Not suprized ! But is the cyl loaded up with fuel ? Dribble a bit of oil each cyl and see if comp goes up ! If so cyl is washed or rings shot if not valves are jacked