1. Home
  2. SAAB Cars Forum
  3. 2003 9-3 Vector: DTE problem

2003 9-3 Vector: DTE problem

Hi

I bought a UK-spec 1.8t 9-3 Vector a couple of months ago. Everything's been fine, except for one annoying problem that's just appeared in the last couple of weeks.

The SID has a "DTE" (Distance To Empty) function, which displays the range of the car based on the amount of fuel left in the tank and the average fuel consumption.

Initially this gave accurate readings; however recently it seems to be reading about 25% of what it should be - e.g. with a full tank and normal driving, it's saying DTE is 120 miles when it should be more like 500 miles.

The average fuel consumption figure is around 35 mpg, which seems right, and the fuel gague seems accurate. It's just the DTE that's somehow messed up.

Any suggestions?

Glenn.

Reply to
Glenn Proctor
Loading thread data ...

I just traded in my 9-5 Wagon for a 2003 9-3 Arc (US). During the walk around 'training session', the salesperson told me that I should make certain that the gas cap be tightened after fueling or I may get some errors or the 'check engine' light may come on. I thought it was an odd comment, but there may be something to it.

My $.02 worth.

Reply to
Tucker Muck

Interesting. As it happens I fixed the problem last night - holding down (for about 5s) the Clear button when DTE was displayed resulted in a beep and a "Trip computer reset" message, then all was back to normal - DTE was reading about 400 miles on a 90% full tank.

Anyway I hope this post helps if anyone else is having a similar problem. It does say in the manual how to reset the "trip computer", but makes no mention, AIR, of it affecting DTE.

Glenn.

Reply to
Glenn Proctor

Tucker, the "bayonet mount" gas cap is a strange one. If you overtighten it (beyond four clicks in my case), it comes right back off again. If you aren't aware that it's not securely installed, there will be insufficient fuel pressure in the engine due to the lack of a tight seal. If the cap works fully loose, a warning light on the dash will inform you, but the cap can be loose enough to affect engine performance (even to the point of stalling, I learned firsthand) without triggering the warning light.

To be sure the cap's on securely, give it a slight twist clockwise after replacing it. If it doesn't pull right out, you're ok. My dealer had mentioned this to me in advance, but because I was short on time, I did not have him demonstrate the proper technique...my bad.

Reply to
Brad Grabow -- bsgrabow at insightbb dot com

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.