i recently purchased a 2004 saab 9-3 with 85k miles. the car ran perfect until earlier today it started jerking on the highway. at first i felt like the transmission was slipping b/c as i was giving it gas it would start like vibrating (felt like i was going over rumble strips). it started off as a little slip i guess, then eventually got worse to the point where if i continued to give it throttle as it downshifted, it would cause this vibration. i got worried, and took a local road rest of the way home. i was testing it out and it only seemed to vibrate/jerk like this wen the turbo gauge would get really close to the red strips. if the turbo gauge was halfway then the car ran and shifted fine...
so i started leaning towards a turbo b/c i know there is a slight whistle coming from it, and i figured it just went on me; but at full throttle the power seemed to be there; i am very stumped by this problem; also the check engine light would flash and go away; it stayed on once and displayed misfire on cylinder 1, which i later reset with my scan tool; but it never came back on.
please if anyone has any thoughts on this, let me know asap
thanks

 

It's possible that you're running lean and/or have fouled plugs. I'd start with fuel filter and plugs. Than it's fuel pump or the DIC. Need more info to tell for sure. You're experiencing boost cut most liekly.

 

well i checked the plugs, they look fine, (i did replace em like 2 months ago). like the car runs perfect wen throttle is halfway or lower, as soon as i give it maybe 3/4 throttle and the turbo gauge goes up to almost the red lines, then it starts to jerk like this. i took it for a quick drive this morning and check engine light came on and stayed on, so i checked it out and it gave me a p301 code (cylinder 1 misfire). so im thinking ignition coil??? or no??

 

very possible that the cassette is on the way out. Is there anyone with a similar car around you that you could swap with to test your theory? It's right around the milage when that part can start going bad.

 

I agree ^^^

 

Did anyone find out what was wrong with the above mentioned problem? I'm currently in the same predicament as Mikeandike88. Any feedback or direction as to a thread that might be helpful is appreciated.

 

Yea it was my ignition coils. Check rockauto.com. I believe they were in the neighborhood of $90

 

Do you still have your Saab? If so, have you had any problem with the direct ignition coil purchased from rockauto.com? I have an '02 9-5 aero with a P1334 code. After much reading on this forum (thank you for everyone's insight) and other sites, I was under the assumption to only go OEM on the DIC (Direct Ignition COil). Maybe I'm wrong. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

Yea I still have the Saab, and since replacing all 4 ignition coils I had no problems what so ever. Hope that helps

 

Thanks, mikeandike88.