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99 9-3 "Time for Service" went away by itself?

Recently bought a 99 9-3 5 door auto trans 71,000 mi. Monday morning the sid read "Time for Service" I consulted the owners manual and figured it couldn't be anything major and could wait (the nearest saab shop is 2 hours away). Friday morning the sid no longer says time for service after the cars ritual checking upon startup.

The car is due for an oil change in 2 weeks and i'll replace the air filter as well. Does it gripe at you for an oil change, the manual doesn't seem to mention anything like this

Being a new car onwner a few questions... The car runs great and everything works except the washer sprayer for the hackback window. Suggestions? When I turn the AC a rather nasty smell starts to come out the vents, is there a filter that should be changed? The car came with 2 standard keys and a programmed key w/ build in keyless entry from a 01 Saab, it doesn't have to seem much range, is this normal or does it need a battery replacement?

Thanks, Mitch in Kentucky

Reply to
Mitch Knight
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Strange. It shouldn't go away by itself. Are you sure you didn't accidentally reset it whilst trying to clear the message?

No. It doesn't sense anything other than time and mileage.

Can you hear the pump running?

There is a pollen filter, but the mildew is more likely on the evaporator. You can get stuff to spray in to freshen it up.

You should get a message on the SID when a key battery starts to run low.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Stamp

Thanks Collin.

No i did not reset the sid, however I think that i refueled the car right before it went away. The Nashville dealership said that it would say time for service if it a sensor told it that it was extremely low on fuel. Problem being when i was a teenager was on a road trip and got stranded in the middle of nowhere and ended up paying a tow truck a hefty fee for bring me gas. Since then ive never let a car get below a quarter tank before refueling.

Yes i can hear the pump running, and ive checked to see if the sprayer is clogged. I figure theres air in the line or something.

What octane rating do you fuel you car with? I've been fueling it with whatever is 2.00 pg or less. With fluctuating fuel prices sometimes that highest grade, sometimes middle and sometimes even lowest. The manual reccomended a minimum octane rating of 87

Reply to
Mitch Knight

On my 2000 9-3 the "Time For Service" indicator did clear itself after about a week. If you are sure the maintenance is taken care of it should be no problem.

Wayne

Mitch Knight wrote:

Reply to
WhyAsk

FWIW I've observed 'time for service' go away of its own accord, once when the dealer forgot to reset it and once when for some reason it wasn't time for service.

I've regularly run mine down to 10% of the tank (capacity is 68 litres and I've put 60+ litres in on quite a few occasions), and only ever seen 'time for service' when it's - err... - time for service (ie the car hasn't been serviced for a year).

This probably comes down to having run out of fuel on a motorway years ago and been rescued at no cost - except for buying enough fuel to get me to the next service area - by the AA man:-)

Your question about the key: the range for mine seems to be around

40-50 feet. As others have said you should get a message on the dash when the battery gets low.

Martin

Reply to
Martin Rich

Apologies. I've just read the service manual, and you're right The message can clear itself - apparently it's only displayed 20 times before automatically being reset.

It really is nothing more than a time and distance counter though - nothing to do with fuel or anything else. There's a separate SID message for very low fuel.

Air shouldn't cause a problem. I'd guess at a blockage somewhere in the system, or a pipe disconnected. Does the car make any puddles from unusual places when you try to wash the back window? There's a connector in the hose behind the C pillar trim next to the left-hand rear speaker. It might be worth digging that out, disconnecting it and checking for flow there. That would eliminate roughly half of the system.

I normally use the "premium" fuel here in the UK. 95 RON I think, though our units might be different to yours. You might find the engine can make more peak torque on higher octanes. One day, I'll get round to actually measuring the difference.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Stamp

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