The driver of the 1999 Saab 9-3 was driving in the left lane on MA rte. 128 South. Her son was in a child carseat tightly belted into the driver's side passenger seat, the seat directly behind the driver. The switch on the belt buckle was set to the "child seat" setting. The driver signaled and began to change lanes to the middle lane which was clear of traffic. As she was shifting lanes, another vehicle, a light-colored sedan, began to move sharply into the middle lane from the right. The driver was forced to swerve to the left to avoid collision with the other vehicle, and her car went out of control. The car went off the road to the left and hit the guardrail in a front-end collision. The driver was thrown forward but was wearing her seatbelt, which held her. Her airbag did not inflate. Her son's car seat did not remain in place, but went forward and tipped over on its side, facing the middle of the car, so that when the driver opened the passenger door to check on her son, at first she couldn't see him, and she had trouble extracting the car seat. An off-duty fireman stopped to help, cut the seat belt and extracted the seat. The driver was taken to the hospital and treated for whiplash; her son does not appear to have sustained injury. The car was declared a total loss by the insurer, and the insurer towed the car and wants to dispose of it. We (the driver and her husband) contacted Saab several times to ask that the vehicle be examined prior to disposal to address concerns about the performance of the rear seat belt and the driver's airbag; Saab was unhelpful.

- Lexington, MA, USA

On the morning of December 6, 2006, my 1999 Saab 9-3 was parked in the driveway of my house when I started the car to warm it up to take my five year old to school. My 5 year old sat in the front passenger seat as the car was warming up. Without notice or provocation the front passenger side airbag deployed in my 5 year olds face. This violent explosion caused a scratch and redness on my daughters face. Upon speaking with Saab I was informed that they have never heard of this happening, and upon their instruction - I took the car the local Saab dealer, who upon examining the car said that the reason for this happening is inconclusive. They also stated that they have never seen this happen before. Saab is giving us the runaround, and we need someone to hold them accountable for this incident. I am hoping that filing this complaint will help.

- Bogota, NJ, USA

On Thursday Jan 26 2006 at aprox 12 pm I parked put car in a parking lot and went into the bank in canton, georga. On returning I got into car, put the key into the ignition, and as I turned the key to start the car the passenger side air bag deployed, destroying the dashboard/damaging the windshield and blowing out the radio and various control knobs.

- Simpsonville, SC, USA

: the contact stated the passenger side air bag deployed without incident. The vehicle was parked with no key in the ignition. When the contact leaned over to the passenger seat, the air bag deployed. The air bag was cut out of the vehicle and the vehicle is drivable.

- Milford, CT, USA

Front passenger airbag deployed while car was parked in home driveway. Driver shut his door normally and airbag deployed, hitting passenger who was still getting adjusted in her seat.

- Swarthmore, PA, USA

On two occassions, it was necessary to bring the Saab to a quick stop on the freeway. On 3/25/00, I needed to make an emergency stop, going 65 mph and the car seemed to almost slide, not gripping the road. I have been driving for 25 years, and had to make emergency stops in the past, and have never had this experience. I believe the Saab 9-3's should be checked for ability to stop in an emergency. Also, my airbags did not deploy in the accident.

- West Hollywood, CA, USA

When vehicle was involved in a front passenger side crash, there was no deployment of passenger's side air bag. Door and glove compartment cannot be opened. The impact blew out the glass on the side door and cracked the windsheld. Damages totalled $8,000 - $10,000. The vehicle is being repaired.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

Consumer hit a terrain on passenger's side, but passenger's side airbag did not deploy which could have caused injuries.

- Newport Beach, CA, USA