Important Considerations For Driving - Saab 9-3 M2008 Owner's Manual

93_US_M08.book Page 156 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
156 Starting and driving
Important
considerations for
driving
1 Starting and driving
• Do not use full throttle until the engine
is warm, so as to avoid unnecessary
wear. If the needle of the turbo gauge
repeatedly enters the red zone, the
engine may suddenly lose power, due
to the initiation of a monitoring system
that limits the boost pressure. We
recommend that you contact a Saab
dealer as soon as possible.
• Under certain barometric conditions
(high outside temperature and/or high
altitude) the needle may enter the first
part of the red zone without necessarily
indicating that a fault has arisen.
• A protective function (interruption of the
fuel supply) limits the engine speed.
2 Stopping the engine
• Do not rev the engine immediately
before switching it off - stop the engine
when it is idling.
3 Regulating the boost pressure
• One of the advantages of boost pres-
sure regulation is that the engine can
also be run safely on gasoline with a
lower octane rating, although not lower
than AON 87. However, engine perfor-
mance will fall slightly and heavy load-
ing and laboring should be avoided. For
optimum performance, use the recom-
mended grade of fuel.
• The maximum boost pressure is regu-
lated according to the tendency of the
engine to knock. Short-lived knocking
is perfectly normal. This can occur
when the engine is running at about
3,000 rpm under a heavy load. The
extent of this knocking will depend on
the grade of fuel in the tank.
• Isolated instances of knocking can
occur with low-octane fuel. This
controlled form of knocking, followed by
a reduction in the boost pressure, is a
sign that the control system is working
normally, and is perfectly safe for the
engine.
NOTE
• If the engine sounds strange there is a
malfunction. We recommend that you
contact a Saab dealer immediately.
• The use of fuel with too low an octane
rating can cause serious engine dam-
age.
Limited performance.
The light comes on in the event of an engine
or gearbox fault (cars with automatic gear-
box), which may cause drivability problems
but that does not affect exhaust emission.
The car can still be driven but perhaps with
limited performance.
Contact a dealer whenever an opportunity
occurs. We recommend that you contact a
Saab dealer.