2000 saab 9-3 convertible 5th bow cylinders

I have an 95 900 SE. It gave me the same message and quite a bit of grief to have sorted out. My car, although the same generation, has electric motors raising the top, not hydraulics.

After working with the dealer, and spending a fair amount of time, we found that there was two problems. I'm not sure what you are trying to discribe in regards to the plastic piece that fell off. Is it the piece of trim that fills the roof fram slot in the tonneau when the roof is down?

Fisrt was a microwitch inside the tonneau cover. The left catch (under the back window) activates this switch. You'll probably find no such switch on the right side.

Secondly, the potentiometer on the tonneau cover motor (in the trunck, near the gas filler on the right side) was faulty. The dealer could not get the value of the setting for this portion of the top action to saty set. It would give a variety of readings every time the car was shut off & restarted. If they are getting strange readings for the tonneau cover motor settings, I'd start with the potentiometer. The dealer's scan tool is required for this operation, test and adjstment. The microswitch in the tonneau cover it easy to test & replace although adjusting it is a little tricky. Good luck. It's a fun car!

Sounds like something that should have lasted a lot longer. I would call sabb directly they have a 800 no in the back of your book this might be under warranty. Saab is very easy to deal with if they find the problem is a defect or something that should have lasted longer. good luck papa

I have a 1992 saab conv 130k never had a problem with the bow cylinder. papa

cylinder.

I called saab and they said the warranty had expired. :( What do you think put used parts from Junk yard? They are much cheaper than buying new, but I am not sure about how long they will last.

I think you can do as well on price if you go online to the discount parts. To name some I deal with are saabsite.com , boozak.com, or authhausaz.com. good luck papa

or eeuroparts.com If they have it, they are cheap and fast.

Personally, I would think the junk part would be fine. I've never heard of anyone having this problem so I think you'd be safe. It might be worth paying for another hour at another dealer before you spend big money on this. Some dealers have convertible "experts" on staff who are very good with soft tops - some don't.

Bob