Anyone own a 9-3 TDi?
Discussion
Had the saloon version for two weeks while someone borrowed my estate. Reasonably quick for a diesel but felt unrefined and the chrome trim on the top of the dash leaves a silver reflection line in the windscreen day and night.. Isn't it the Vauxhaul engine? Glad to see the back of it.
I've got a 2005 saloon.
It's dull, does 54mpg if driven sensibly and about 47 if pushed hard. Mostly I'm getting 45.
I've owned mine for a little over a year, mostly when I was living abroad and the car was in the UK. so I've only put on about 20k miles. It's comfortable on a long run, the sound system works ok and there's only eleventy million buttins on the dashboard to get used to, however I understand that later versions have been improved.
If only it weren't as dull to drive, but then they wouldn't be as cheap if they were as much fun as a mondeo.
It's dull, does 54mpg if driven sensibly and about 47 if pushed hard. Mostly I'm getting 45.
I've owned mine for a little over a year, mostly when I was living abroad and the car was in the UK. so I've only put on about 20k miles. It's comfortable on a long run, the sound system works ok and there's only eleventy million buttins on the dashboard to get used to, however I understand that later versions have been improved.
If only it weren't as dull to drive, but then they wouldn't be as cheap if they were as much fun as a mondeo.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
And despite all that, I've put many tens of thousands of miles on my common rail deisels over the years with not too much trouble. Given that I generally buy cars at three to four years old with about 100k on them that's quite remarkable. Sure there's been a few major bills, but far less than depreciation on running newer cars, or the extra fuel cost of a petrol equivalent.Probably the biggest issue is the lack of most garages, including main dealers, to accurately fault find on them, especially considering the cost of a fuel pump or set of injectors.
Flipatron said:
So how do the 120 and 150bhp differ, thought they were the same fiat/vauxhall/alfa lump?
I believe the 120bhp is an 8v, and the 150bhp a 16v.More info here.
We had an Alfa GT with the same engine for a few years. It's not a bad engine, will return 45mpg in mixed driving, and is reasonably powerful if a bit laggy in the delivery (but maybe the map is different on a Saab). They are prone to EGR valve issues, but they can be cleaned for a couple of hours of your time, or replaced for £100 and a couple of hours of your time.
Mazdarese said:
I believe the 120bhp is an 8v, and the 150bhp a 16v.
More info here.
We had an Alfa GT with the same engine for a few years. It's not a bad engine, will return 45mpg in mixed driving, and is reasonably powerful if a bit laggy in the delivery (but maybe the map is different on a Saab). They are prone to EGR valve issues, but they can be cleaned for a couple of hours of your time, or replaced for £100 and a couple of hours of your time.
It only takes a few minutes to the get the EGR valve off and on again. Very simple job, even a mechanical simpleton like myself can do it. More info here.
We had an Alfa GT with the same engine for a few years. It's not a bad engine, will return 45mpg in mixed driving, and is reasonably powerful if a bit laggy in the delivery (but maybe the map is different on a Saab). They are prone to EGR valve issues, but they can be cleaned for a couple of hours of your time, or replaced for £100 and a couple of hours of your time.
I thought the Alfa had the Fiat engine but anyway, the Saab diesels usually have swirl valve problems, they are in the inlet manifold and don't do too much but the ECU knows if they are faulty. A replacement one costs approx £550 +vat to trade. They also have EGR problems which are easy to remove but they sometimes need replacing, this is all before you arrive at DPF. You will need Solus (or equivalent) if you start to have problems. Some parts can be bought from suppliers as Vectra parts but others, the ECU won't allow you to use them even if they are the same. We had my friends 93 D in for repairs to do with EGR and Swirl Valve and we were well into £1k. Phew The reason they are so cheap is because they cost so much to fix.
Mazdarese said:
POORCARDEALER said:
Avoid the 150 bhp diesel. Troublesome.
Don't listen to this.And yes, I'm purposefully being as vague as you PCD
EGR Valves
Worn bores at 70/80K miles ++
Any many other running faults that nobody, not even Saab could pinpoint
I have owned dozens of them over the years,far too many problems, so dont buy them now
POORCARDEALER said:
Turbos
EGR Valves
Worn bores at 70/80K miles ++
Any many other running faults that nobody, not even Saab could pinpoint
I have owned dozens of them over the years,far too many problems, so dont buy them now
And the swirl valves, lol. I agree totally, ust look at Vectra forums to find out about them. Saab owners tend to just pay the bills. OuchEGR Valves
Worn bores at 70/80K miles ++
Any many other running faults that nobody, not even Saab could pinpoint
I have owned dozens of them over the years,far too many problems, so dont buy them now
There is plenty on Honest John re problems with the diesels.
A few yrs back I was looking at the vectras with the same engines, the 120 8v is meant to be a lot more reliable than the 150. It put me off buying one all together.
The 9-3 in petrol guise is nice. I run one now and really like it.
A few yrs back I was looking at the vectras with the same engines, the 120 8v is meant to be a lot more reliable than the 150. It put me off buying one all together.
The 9-3 in petrol guise is nice. I run one now and really like it.
The engine is made by FIAT and appears in Alfas, Vauxhalls & Opels. The 150bhp is 16v, the 120bhp is 8v. Never had any real problems with any of mine, although not really high mileages. The only problem seems to SAAB general build quality, jump in a high mileage one and they really do feel very loose and tired.
Not as good on fuel due to only a 5spd box, the 9-5 is a real nice motor to drive, and with a sport pack handles really well!
Not as good on fuel due to only a 5spd box, the 9-5 is a real nice motor to drive, and with a sport pack handles really well!
stuwalsh said:
The engine is made by FIAT and appears in Alfas, Vauxhalls & Opels. The 150bhp is 16v, the 120bhp is 8v. Never had any real problems with any of mine, although not really high mileages. The only problem seems to SAAB general build quality, jump in a high mileage one and they really do feel very loose and tired.
Not as good on fuel due to only a 5spd box, the 9-5 is a real nice motor to drive, and with a sport pack handles really well!
Would make sense really, Fiat Grande Punto and the Vaux Corsa are the same car in disguise. The 1.3 Diesel in the Combo van is fiat and it's rubbish. Turbos are worked too hard to last. I thought the 1.7 D vaux motor is fiat too, they ain't good either and the gearboxes are notorious for losing gears. Not as good on fuel due to only a 5spd box, the 9-5 is a real nice motor to drive, and with a sport pack handles really well!
Dale Bland said:
I thought the Alfa had the Fiat engine but anyway, the Saab diesels usually have swirl valve problems, they are in the inlet manifold and don't do too much but the ECU knows if they are faulty. A replacement one costs approx £550 +vat to trade. They also have EGR problems which are easy to remove but they sometimes need replacing, this is all before you arrive at DPF. You will need Solus (or equivalent) if you start to have problems. Some parts can be bought from suppliers as Vectra parts but others, the ECU won't allow you to use them even if they are the same. We had my friends 93 D in for repairs to do with EGR and Swirl Valve and we were well into £1k. Phew The reason they are so cheap is because they cost so much to fix.
Not all of them had DPF's though, but I'm not sure when they started using them.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff