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7X platform

2009 Saab 9

Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 2009 9.

Body PASSENGER CAR

The 2009 Saab 9 emerges as a refined passenger car built on GM’s global 7X platform, blending Scandinavian design with a robust underpinning that prioritized both ride comfort and structural integrity. Under the hood, its powertrain—paired with a 6.0-quart oil capacity and a recommended 5W-30 API viscosity—reflected a balance of efficiency and durability for its era. While its reliability record remains relatively modest, with just 43 owner complaints on file, the concentration of issues around airbag systems and three official recalls underscore the importance of verifying service history. This model year occupies a cautious middle ground in the 9’s lineage, offering a snapshot of Saab’s engineering before later reliability concerns became more pronounced.

Model year2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005

Quick specs

Fluid capacities, tune-up values and fuel economy at a glance.

Engine oil capacity6.0 qtOEM · verified

Engine oil type5W-30 APIOEM · verified

Lug nut torque100 ft-lbsOEM · verified

Fitment & sizes

Replacement part sizes and factory part numbers — battery, bulbs, filters and belts.

From the factory this vehicle uses a BCI 78 · 600 CCA battery, OE oil filter 19210285. Each part links to every other vehicle that shares it, so a part you already stock may fit more of your fleet than you'd expect.

Battery groupBCI 78 · 600 CCAOEM · verified

Tire sizeP255-55R18OEM · verified

OE service part numbers OEM · verified

Engine oil filter	19210285 alt 12690386
Engine air filter	15036141
Spark plug	12598004 alt 12571164
Front wiper blades	25788477
Serpentine belt	12576446 alt 12626222
Thermostat	89018168 alt 12587397

Full specifications

Engine, drivetrain, dimensions and economy.

Dimensions & weight NHTSA vPIC

Overall length	182.7 in
Overall width	69.3 in
Overall height	56.3 in
Wheelbase	105.5 in
Curb weight	3479 lb
Track (front / rear)	59.4 / 59.1 in
Weight distribution (front / rear)	60/40

Service quick specs OEM factory data

Capacities, torques and tune-up values from the factory service manual.

This engine holds 6.0 qt of 5W-30 API engine oil, SYNTHETIC · 75W-90 · GL-5 in the differential. Torque lug nuts to 100 ft-lbs, the oil drain plug to 18.0 ft-lbs. The firing order is 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3. Note the cylinder-head bolts finish on a torque angle (torque-to-yield) — they stretch permanently and should be replaced, not reused, during any head service.

Lubricants & capacities

Automatic Transmission Fluid	ATF
Automatic Transmission Fluid Capacity	5
Differential Gear Oil	SYNTHETIC · 75W-90 · GL-5
Differential Gear Oil Capacity	3.6 Pints
Differential Gear Oil	SYNTHETIC · 75W-90 · GL-5
Differential Gear Oil Capacity	4.3 Pints
Differential Gear Oil	SYNTHETIC · 75W-90 · GL-5
Differential Gear Oil Capacity	5.5 Pints

Engine torques

Camshaft Bearing/Carrier Cap Bolts or Studs	9 ft-lbs
Engine Oil Pan Drain Plug	18.0 ft-lbs
Oil Pump to Cylinder BLock Bolts/Studs	7.4 ft-lbs
Oil Pump to Cylinder BLock Bolts/Studs	7.4 ft-lbs

Chassis torques

Lug Nuts	100 ft-lbs
Transfer Case Fill Plug	20.0 ft-lbs
Transfer Case Drain Plug	20.0 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub	103 ft-lbs

Ignition

Cylinder Firing Order	1-5-3-6-2-4
Cylinder Firing Order	1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3
Spark Plug Manufacturer	AC Delco
Spark Plug Gap	0.040 in
Spark Plug Torque	11.0 ft-lbs

Battery & A/C

Refrigerant	R134a
Refrigerant Capacity	1.90 lbs
Oil Group	PAG
Oil Type	46
Oil Capacity	First design compressor, 8.00; second design compressor, 6.00. oz
Standard BCI Group Number	78
Standard BCI Cranking Performance	600 cca
Standard BCI Group Number	78

Service checks

Thermostat Opening Temperature	188-206 °F
Key ON Engine OFF (KOEO)	50-57
Key ON Engine OFF (KOEO)	50-60
RPM	43-45 @ Idle rpm

Brakes

Torque Caliper to Bracket	23 ft-lbs / 31 ft-lbs
Torque to Knuckle	148 ft-lbs / 118 ft-lbs
Minimum Pad Thickness	Front: 0.030; Rear: 0.030 in
Rotor Max Parallel Variation	0.001 in
Rotor Runout Limit	0.002 in
Rotor Minimum Machining	1.14 in / 0.787 in
Rotor Finish	1.08 μin / 0.728 μin

Multi-step torque procedures OEM · verified

Camshaft Bearing/Carrier Cap Bolts or Studs — tightening sequence 1 stages

15 ft. lbs., Step 2: 75

15 ft. lbs

Connecting Rod (Large End) Bearings — tightening sequence 1 stages

18 ft. lbs., Step 2: 110

18 ft. lbs

Connecting Rod (Large End) Bearings — tightening sequence 1 stages

15 ft. lbs., Step 2: 85

15 ft. lbs

Cylinder Head — tightening sequence 2 stages

Prep Bolts 1-14:

1	22 ft. lbs.	22 ft. lbs
2	155 degrees.; Bolts 15:	155 degrees
1	5.2 ft. lbs.	5.2 ft. lbs
2	120 degrees.; Bolts 16-17:	120 degrees
1	5.2 ft. lbs.	5.2 ft. lbs
2	60 degrees.	60 degrees

Cylinder Head — tightening sequence 3 stages

Prep M11 Bolts 1-10:

1	22 ft. lbs.	22 ft. lbs
2	90 degrees.	90 degrees
3	70 degrees.; M8 Bolts 11-15:	70 degrees
1	22 ft. lbs.	22 ft. lbs
2	22

Cylinder Head — tightening sequence 3 stages

Prep M11 Bolts 1-10:

1	22 ft. lbs.	22 ft. lbs
2	90 degrees.	90 degrees
3	70 degrees.; M8 Bolts 11-15:	70 degrees
1	22 ft. lbs.	22 ft. lbs
2	22

Engine Flywheel Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

18 ft. lbs., Step 2: 50

18 ft. lbs

Engine Flywheel Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

15 ft. lbs., Step 2: 37 ft. lbs., Step 3: 74

15 ft. lbs

Intake Manifold to Engine Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

3.7 ft. lbs., step 2: 7.4

3.7 ft. lbs

Exhaust Manifold to Cylinder Head Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

11 ft. lbs., step 2: 18

11 ft. lbs

Intake Manifold to Engine Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

3.7 ft. lbs., step 2: 7.4

3.7 ft. lbs

Exhaust Manifold to Cylinder Head Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

11 ft. lbs., step 2: 15

11 ft. lbs

Intake Manifold to Engine Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

3.7 ft. lbs., step 2: 7.4

3.7 ft. lbs

Exhaust Manifold to Cylinder Head Bolts — tightening sequence 1 stages

11 ft. lbs., step 2: 15

11 ft. lbs

Main Bearings — tightening sequence 1 stages

18 ft. lbs. Step 2: 90 degrees, Step 3: 90

18 ft. lbs

Factory maintenance schedule OEM · verified

Normal service, condensed from the factory interval matrix.

Under the factory schedule, replace the spark plugs every 100,000 mi; coolant at 150,000 mi. The big-interval services (at 150,000 mi for coolant, and the transmission fluid) are the ones owners most often skip — on a lower-mileage example, assume the original fluids are still in it and check them first.

Every 25,000 mi	Exhaust System (Complete) (inspect) · Fuel System (inspect)
Every 50,000 mi	Transfer Case Assembly (drain & refill)
Every 100,000 mi	Spark Plug Wires (inspect) · Spark Plugs (replace) · Transmission Fluid & Filter (replace)
At 150,000 mi	Accessory Drive Belt (inspect) · Engine Coolant System (drain, flush & refill)

Reliability & federal safety record

Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.

Owner complaints about the 2009 Saab 9 dominate in one area — the air bags, 17 of 43 reports (40%), well ahead of the next concern. That matters, because the air bags are also the target of recall 16V-063 on this vehicle — so the single most useful check before buying or servicing one is confirming it was actually performed. 1 of the reports describe a crash and 0 a fire — a small share of the total, but worth weighing against the air bags pattern above. These are tallies of what owners actually reported to the federal government, not an editorial score — and higher-selling models naturally rack up more reports.

Open recalls

NHTSA campaigns

449

Service bulletins

Manufacturer communications

ODI investigations

Office of Defects Investigation

Owner complaints

1 involved a crash · 0 a fire

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, by component

All 43 complaints on record, top 8 components.

Air Bags17

Engine11

Fuel/Propulsion System3

Seat Belts2

Service Brakes2

Engine,Fuel/Propulsion System1

Electrical System,Tires,Wheels1

Steering1

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.

Recalls NHTSA · verified

Showing 2 of 3 campaigns on record for this vehicle.

16V063000Air Bags:Frontal:Driver Side:Inflator ModuleReported 03/02/2016

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Saab 9-3 vehicles manufactured May 31, 2002, to February 15, 2011, 2006-2009 Saab 9-5 vehicles manufactured June 7, 2005, to May 28, 2009, and 2008-2009… Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator on Saab 9-3 and 9-5 vehicles and will replace the driver's frontal airbag module on Saturn…

14V318000Seat Belts:Front:RetractorReported 12/06/2014

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2011 Saab 9-3 Convertible vehicles manufactured July 30, 2003, to February 15, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the driver's side front seat belt retractor may… Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt retractor, free of charge. The recall began on October 6, 2015. Owners may contact Saab customer service at…

Technical service bulletins NHTSA · verified

Showing 5 of 449 bulletins on record with NHTSA.

Bulletin	Date	Component	Summary
13598	2025-09-09	Unknown Or Other	New Vehicle Monitoring Programs Section in IVH
PIC5650M	2025-08-06	Unknown Or Other	This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about…
PIP5601C	2025-07-18	Unknown Or Other	This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic…
PIT5074R	2025-05-30	Unknown Or Other	This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about…
PIT5074R	2025-05-30	Unknown Or Other	This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about…

Common OBD-II trouble codes

The most common OBD-II codes for this vehicle's emissions system. These are standardized SAE J2012 definitions, not vehicle-specific fault reports.

P0420

Catalyst system efficiency below threshold — Bank 1

P0300

Random / multiple cylinder misfire detected

P0171

System too lean — Bank 1

P0455

Evaporative emission system leak detected — large leak

P0128

Coolant thermostat below regulating temperature

P0442

Evaporative emission system leak detected — small leak

VIN tools

Decode factory build data for a specific vehicle by VIN.

VIN

Decode a VIN to confirm the transmission and build data for a specific 9. OEM

Build data

Plant, GVWR class, engine and body data for any 17-character VIN.

Recalls

Check open recall campaigns against a specific vehicle by VIN.

Vehicles with shared specs

Find every vehicle that shares this one's battery, bulbs, oil capacity, platform or parts.

Group 78 battery Vehicles taking 6.0 qt 7X-platform vehicles Engine oil filter 19210285 Engine air filter 15036141 Spark plug 12598004 Front wiper blades 25788477

Reference guides

Cross-vehicle references for the kinds of data on this page.

Vehicle recalls & TSBs OBD-II trouble codes Torque specifications Maintenance schedules Fluid capacities & specs

Frequently asked

How much oil does the 2009 9 take?

6.0 qt of 5W-30 API, per the factory manual.

Does the 2009 9 have open recalls?

NHTSA lists 3 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.

2009 Saab 9

Quick specs

Fitment & sizes

OE service part numbers OEM · verified

Full specifications

Dimensions & weight NHTSA vPIC

Service quick specs OEM factory data

Lubricants & capacities

Engine torques

Chassis torques

Ignition

Battery & A/C

Service checks

Brakes

Multi-step torque procedures OEM · verified

Factory maintenance schedule OEM · verified

Reliability & federal safety record

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, by component

Recalls NHTSA · verified

Technical service bulletins NHTSA · verified

Common OBD-II trouble codes

VIN tools

Vehicles with shared specs

Reference guides

Related vehicles

Other years

Frequently asked