Auto trans on '93 9000CDE a ticking timb bomb?

Need your help on this one, because it's the difference between keeping my

1993 9000CDE with 41K miles on it or selling it. According to this:
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, the automatic transmission onthe 9000's are doomed to an early and expensive failure. Upon reading it,my reaction was to get out of this car and buy something else beforedisaster hits. Any opinions on this? This is what the warning is: The automatic transmission has to be the most vexing, heartbreaking, wallet-busting component of a Saab 9000. If you must have an automatic transmission, you might do well to look at some other car. At least one owner reports wonderful success with Saab automatic transmissions, but he clearly stated that he never pushed his cars very hard. He also honestly stated that he changed his transmission fluid "when he thinks about it". Other owners have treated their auto transmissions to all manner of specialty fluids and changed fluid and filter regularly and often, only to have the transmission fail. The consensus seems to be that you can expect 80 to 100 thousand miles; some will fail earlier, some later. Some will beat all the odds.

Many automatic owners feel that the Saab is the best automatic transmission they've ever driven, as far as performance is concerned. So if you must have an automatic, it's a good one; just be prepared to replace it at some point. And it is pretty expensive. No, honestly, it typically is damned expensive.

The moral of the story appears to be this: The Saab automatic transmission will benefit from being driven gently, and maintenance probably won't make up for driving abuse. Even if you maintain it religiously and drive it gently, the outcome is uncertain. If you want to drive a Saab the way it begs to be driven (turbo, anyway), then buy a

5-speed. Symptoms: Erratic behavior of any and all kinds - won't go into gear; hard shifts; erratic, jerky shifts; shifting too soon; shifting too late. Has been known to fail completely with no warning whatsoever.

Preventive maintenance: Buy a 5-speed. If you do buy the auto trans, change the fluid and filter at least every 24000 miles.

Reply to
ngwcaa
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Quasi is right, they are bad.

Reply to
Grunff

"ngwcaa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...

Don't agree at all. My 9000 automatic is now on 240000 km with no problems at all. It shifts smoothly and perfectly. I followed the recommended oil shift intervals.

The automatic on the 9-5 (not the new one with steering wheel botton shifting) on the other hand seems to be a worse chapter. Initially it was a real pleasure but after 60000 km mine started to shift much harder and you also notice the downshifting quite significantly. The Saab dealer says it behaves nominally.

Anyone having had the same experience?

Reply to
th

He is being a bit of an alarmist. Yes, all auto transmissions are expoensive to repair, and yes, all auto transmissions will fail eventually, but the 9000's auto in your '93 is not a "ticking time bomb." If you really have such low mileage on it, just have the fluid exchanged regularly and keep on driving the car. My daughter's 93 9000 CSE Automatic runs flawlessly and now has 130k miles.

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

Yes automatics fail early on the 9000 series. I had mine rebuilt at about

90,000 miles. Still going at 202000 miles. At 41k the car isn't even broken in! Murray
Reply to
Murray Pastko

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