MOT History from tests of diesel SAAB 9-3s year 2003

Review the list of common SAAB 9-3 failures below or to perform a specific mot history check on your SAAB then use our popular KnowYourCar service

mot history

Pass percent:72.27%

(The average a diesel SAAB 9-3 year 2003 passes without issue)

Based on:29,996 MOT Tests

Most common failures	No# failures
Headlamp aim out of alignment	1004
Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively	672
Registration plate lamp issues	552
Offside Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	447
Nearside Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	422
Registration plate issues	419
Parking brake: efficiency below requirements \|3.7.B.7\|	401
Rear brake binding	370
Offside Front coil spring incomplete \|2.4.C.1a\|	297
Offside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	271
Nearside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	261
Offside Front coil spring fractured \|2.4.C.1a\|	235
Rear parking brake recording little or no effort	229
Nearside Front coil spring incomplete \|2.4.C.1a\|	223
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	218
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	213
Offside Front coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	203
Brakes imbalanced across an axle	202
Nearside Front coil spring fractured \|2.4.C.1a\|	198
Offside Front Seat belt retracting mechanism defective \|5.2.5b\|	196
Nearside Front coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	180
Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	179
Offside Front Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	139
Offside Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	132
Nearside Front Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	129
Nearside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	118
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	109
Offside Rear Direction indicator incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	108
Nearside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	106
Parking brake lever has no reserve travel \|3.1.6b\|	106
Offside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	105
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	105
Offside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	103
Windscreen has damage	103
Offside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak \|2.7.3\|	103
Rear brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened	103
Exhaust emits an excessive level of metered smoke for a turbo charged engine \|7.4.B.3b\|	102
Nearside Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	97
Nearside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	95
Nearside Rear Direction indicator incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	91
Offside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	90
Supplementary Restraint System warning lamp indicates a fault \|5.4.2\|	85
Nearside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	77
Nearside Front Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	75
Nearside Headlamp excessively deteriorated so that the light output is severely reduced \|1.7.5a\|	71
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	71
Rear brake application uneven	68
Offside Front Anti-roll bar has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	67
Brake hose excessively deteriorated	66
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	65
Offside Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	65
Offside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	64
Front Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases \|7.1.2\|	62
Offside Headlamp excessively deteriorated so that the light output is severely reduced \|1.7.5a\|	61
Driver`s seat fore and aft adjustment mechanism not functioning as intended. \|6.2.A.3\|	57
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	54
Offside Front Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	53
Nearside Rear Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	53
Windscreen has a sticker or other obstruction encroaching into the swept area by more than 40mm outside zone `A` \|8.3.1e\|	52
Offside Rear fog lamp not working \|1.3.2b\|	51
Fuel cap/sealing device does not fasten securely maintaining the sealing arrangement \|7.2.4b\|	51
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	50
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	49
Front brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened	49
Nearside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	49
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	48
Brake pipe excessively corroded	45
Horn not working \|1.6.2a\|	44
Nearside Front Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	44
Nearside Rear position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	42
Offside Rear Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	42
Nearside Front Seat belt retracting mechanism defective \|5.2.5b\|	41
Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases \|7.1.2\|	40
Battery insecure \|1.9.1\|	40
Offside Rear coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	40
Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	39
Nearside Rear Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	39
Offside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	39
Front brake application uneven	39
Rear Mechanical brake component has restricted free movement	38
Nearside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bearing \|2.4.G.2\|	38
Offside Rear Upper Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement \|2.4.G.2\|	36
Offside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bearing \|2.4.G.2\|	36
Service brake: efficiency below requirements \|3.7.B.7\|	36
Parking brake lever defective so that it cannot be satisfactorily operated \|3.1.3c\|	35
Offside Front Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	35
Offside Rear Seat belt damaged sufficient to significantly weakened the webbing \|5.2.2a\|	33
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	33
Offside Rear Seat belt damaged sufficient to obstruct correct operation of the belt \|5.2.2a\|	32
Offside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	32
Offside Front coil spring cracked \|2.4.C.1a\|	30
Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	30
Offside Rear position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	30
Nearside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	30
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	30
Nearside Rear coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	29
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	29
Offside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	29
Offside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	29
Windscreen wiper blade insecure	29
Offside Rear Direction indicators incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	29
Nearside Rear Direction indicators incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	28
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	28
Offside Rear Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	28
Offside Rear Braking system leaking \|3.6.A.1\|	28
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))	27
Nearside Front suspension has excessive play in a lower suspension ball joint \|2.5.B.1a\|	26
Offside Outer Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	25
Nearside Rear Upper Radius arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	25

We get to these numbers by trawling through over 1 billion MOT test results since 2004 and crunched the numbers. We remove anything to do with Tyres, as they are model independent and group together common non-model specific issues. We are trying to get to a picture of what models have what issues.

Please note: We take the data from the DVSA. This data is raw and can contain typos and spelling mistakes that garages may have entered while recording a MOT result. Specifically miss-match on names of models and makes. We are constantly cleaning the data so bear with the odd issue.

Got suggestions? We’re improving this section all the time. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

MOT History from tests of diesel SAAB 9-3s year 2003

Find us on Facebook