r/saab

Just picked up this beauty and drowe him home to the west cost of sweden where he belongs.

About a year ago I made a post here asking about tuning my dad’s 2010 Saab 9-5 Aero. The car was already tuned when we bought it from the previous owner. A lot of people warned me that ~360hp was already pushing the limits for a mostly stock setup, especially the transmission.

Sadly, they were probably right.

About a month ago, the engine catastrophically failed.
The car suddenly lost power while driving, so we carefully pulled over to the side of the road. A huge amount of oil had leaked out, and shortly after that the engine completely died.

At that point we didn’t even try restarting it because there was oil everywhere and we didn’t want to risk even more damage.

Turns out, one of the connecting rod went straight through the block. We pulled the engine apart and found the rod completely broken.

My dad and our mechanic both believe there’s a very high chance the tune was the cause. Either too aggressive, poorly made, or simply done by someone who didn’t really know what they were doing.
Of course, there’s always a possibility of a random mechanical defect, but considering the circumstances, the tune is the main suspect.

So this is mostly a warning post for anyone thinking about tuning these cars:

Don’t trust just anyone with your software. A bad tune can destroy an engine way faster than you think.
We ended up replacing the whole engine.

I’ll attach some photos of the block and the broken rod because the damage was honestly heartbreaking 💔

Tell me if you see the 9-5 wagon

A lovely rally Saab 99 I saw in the Manx Rally service area on Saturday evening.

I shouldn’t drive this, right? Heh.
Also, is the 2.0T with the big turbo the aero trim for this model year? Or just highest trim 4 cyl?
How much is a subframe and can I buy off those eBay Chinese sellers

I have two Saab 9-4x now! #37 is a Moreland Metallic Premium FWD and #434 is a Premium XWD.

As much as I’d love to have an Aero, these will be more reliable until I find a low mile Aero.

These two plus my VinFast VF 9 makes me probably have the strangest 3 crossover garage out there lol.

Anyone else here have a 9-4x?

Has 250 000 kms but looks and drives like a new car. Absolutely zero rust on it and as a bonus both headlight wipers spray and work

Stealing this idea from u/Afraid-Shower9105, because Saab owners in 2026 are a rare breed and it's fun to get together!

1. What 9-5 are you driving, how many miles ya got?

2. Why a Saab?

3. Does this camera angle make my butt look big?

This is my new to me 2003 9-5 Aero wagon, 133k on the clock and it feels brand new still, I grin every time it makes those fun HOT turbo turbo HOT noises.

Had the opportunity to buy this 2000 saab 9-3 from an family friend. This being my second car and also first saab im very excited.

It has 178k kilometers on it and is in almost prestine condition i paid 1500€ for it and i already love it. Cheers!

This time in somewhat better light! Sunny/cloudy.

Also the spare engine, that I'm renovating, I have removed the exterior parts today, I'm going to pick up a timing locking tool so that I may remove the head for a full look at how it is.

Sooo, today on a drive my muffler(I think) decided it was all done being attached to my car, and fell off.. considering where it fell off, it can’t be that bad to keep driving for about a week righttt 😅🥲 also- really can’t be that tough of a repair… righttttt? 🫠 is that pipe just gunna hit the ground now too?? It doesn’t really look like anything holds that up 😅
Thanks in advance for any words of advice 🙏

I now have a trunk muffler.

Little 92 out for a sunny afternoon cruise!