Audited US model-year file

1988 SAAB 900

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

2 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1988 SAAB 900. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1988-09-07

SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM

Campaign 88V149000
Summary

BOLTS USED IN THE ATTACHMENTS OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION SYSTEM CONTROL ARMS MAY BE DEFECTIVE.

Consequence

IF MORE THAN ONE OF THE THREE BOLTS SHOULD FAIL, LOWERFRONT CONTROL ARM COULD COME LOOSE LEADING TO LOSS OF DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF AFRONT WHEEL.

Remedy

REPLACE BOLTS WITH PROPER SPECIFICATION BOLTS.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1988-11-01

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH

Campaign 88V173000
Summary

WIRING HARNESS MAY CHAFE AGAINST SHARP EDGES UNDER THE DASHBOARD AND AGAINST A SUPPORT UNDER THE REAR SEAT (1988 MODELS ONLY).

Consequence

THIS COULD CAUSE A SHORT CIRCUIT; THE RESULTING HEATBUILDUP COULD CAUSE SMOKE OR A FIRE IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT.

Remedy

INSTALL RUBBER PROTECTIVE STRIPS TO SHARP EDGES AND COMPLETELY ENCASE WIRE HARNESS IN A PROTECTIVE PLASTIC TUBE.

02 · Owner allegations

13 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
1
Fire mentions
1
Injuries reported
1
Most-reported component labels
POWER TRAIN3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING2
PARKING BRAKE2
SEAT BELTS2
HYDRAULIC1
Complaints across nearby Saab 900 model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 91986
  2. 41987
  3. 131988
  4. 221989
  5. 191990
  6. 131991

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all 900 years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

2 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

PE93102
Closed 1994-04-21 · opened 1993-12-08

SEAT BACK RECLINER FAILURE

NHTSA source ↗

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

PE89008
Closed 1989-01-26 · opened 1988-10-21

BATTERY CABLE GROUNDING

NHTSA source ↗

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
13
Combined economy
18–21 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
15–19 / 20–26 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
2 L
Cylinders
4
Fuel type
Premium · Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Compact Cars · Large Cars · Subcompact Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$3100–3800

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

2 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

13 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

2 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/1988/saab/900
NHTSA make ID
572
NHTSA model ID
10049
Match key
1988 · SAAB · 900 · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.