Saab Information Display
Encyclopedia
Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab , is a Swedish car manufacturer owned by Dutch automobile manufacturer Swedish Automobile NV, formerly Spyker Cars NV. It is the exclusive automobile Royal Warrant holder as appointed by the King of Sweden...
automobiles beginning in 1994 with the Saab 900 NG.
SIDs typically provide functions useful to the driver such as multiple trip
Trip computer
A trip computer is an onboard computer device fitted to cars which can generally record distance travelled, average speed, average fuel consumption, and display real time fuel consumption information...
odometer
Odometer
An odometer or odograph is an instrument that indicates distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or automobile. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The word derives from the Greek words hodós and métron...
s, fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, which in turn may vary per application, and this spectrum of variance is...
, estimated range ('distance to empty' - DTE), current CD track
Track (CD)
On an optical disc, a track or title is a subdivision of its content. Specifically, it is a consecutive set of sectors on the disc containing a block of data. One session may contain one or more tracks of the same or different types...
or radio station, and also brief description of car system failures. SIDs designed prior to the full General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
takeover of Saab in 2000 were mounted in the center console
Center console (automobile)
The center console in an automobile refers to the control-bearing surfaces in the center of the front of the vehicle interior...
, usually just above the head unit
Head unit
A head unit, sometimes referred to as a "deck", is a component of a stereo system either in a vehicle or home cinema system which provides a unified hardware interface for the various components of an electronic media system. An antiquated name for a head unit is a receiver; this article focuses...
and below climate control vents.
On 2003 - 2005 Saab 9-3
Saab 9-3
The first generation 9-3, a substantially improved 'new-generation' Saab 900 was launched in 1998 for the 1999 model year. Saab claimed that 1,100 changes were made, including a revised suspension in an attempt to tighten up the handling characteristics of its predecessor, the Saab 900...
models, the SID was temporarily moved to the top of the dashboard
Dashboard
A dashboard is a control panel placed in front of the driver of an automobile, housing instrumentation and controls for operation of the vehicle....
just below the windshield
Windshield
The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are glued...
, in an enclosed hump facing the driver.
GM began moving SIDs in all Saabs to the electronic instrument cluster
Electronic instrument cluster
In an automobile, an electronic instrument cluster, digital instrument panel or digital dash for short, is a set of instrumentation, including the speedometer, that is displayed with a digital readout rather than with the traditional analog gauges...
, just above the steering wheel
Steering wheel
A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels ....
, as stock GM navigation and/or audio head units replaced the Saab-designed units in the center console. The 2005 - 2006 Saab 9-2X
Saab 9-2X
The Saab 9-2X is a station wagon automobile that was sold by Saab only in North America as a 2005 and 2006 model year car. It was built in Japan by Fuji Heavy Industries’ Gunma Yajima Plant Ōta, Gunma....
did not feature an authentic SID, having a less feature-rich Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
unit instead.
SID pixel failure
Defective pixel
Defective pixels are pixels on a liquid crystal display that are not performing as expected. The ISO standard ISO 13406-2 distinguishes between three different types of defective pixels, while hardware companies tend to have further distinguishing types. Similar defects can also occur on CCD or...
s, but by some or all of the LCD
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
flexible flat cable (ribbon cable
Ribbon cable
A ribbon cable is a cable with many conducting wires running parallel to each other on the same flat plane. As a result the cable is wide and flat. Its name comes from the resemblance of the cable to a piece of ribbon.Ribbon cables are usually seen for internal peripherals in computers, such as...
) contacts separating from the main logic board
Logic board
A logic board is the Apple equivalent of a motherboard. The term logic board was coined back in the 1980s, when the compact Macs at the time had two separate circuit components. The term "logic board" stuck over the years of Macintosh manufacturing, even in the non-all-in-one Macs...
.
As the 1994-2005 units often cost over US$500 to replace, several third party vendors offer a service to permanently fix broken SIDs, for a fee.
The frequency of the problem strongly suggests a design flaw. To date, however, Saab/GM has never issued a product recall
Product recall
A product recall is a request to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues. The recall is an effort to limit liability for corporate negligence and to improve or avoid damage to publicity...
.
List of Saabs Featuring SIDs
- 1994 - 1998 Saab 900Saab 900The Saab 900 was a car produced by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations. The first generation from 1978 to 1993 is known as the "classic"; the generation from 1994 to 1998 is known as the "new generation" ....
NG - 1994 - 1998 Saab 9000Saab 9000The Saab 9000 is an automobile that was produced by the Swedish company Saab from 1984 to 1997. The 9000 was replaced by the 9-5 in the late 1997....
- 1998 - present Saab 9-3Saab 9-3The first generation 9-3, a substantially improved 'new-generation' Saab 900 was launched in 1998 for the 1999 model year. Saab claimed that 1,100 changes were made, including a revised suspension in an attempt to tighten up the handling characteristics of its predecessor, the Saab 900...
- 1998 - present Saab 9-5Saab 9-5The Saab 9-5 is an executive car produced by the Swedish automobile maker Saab. The first generation was introduced in 1997 as the replacement to the Saab 9000 for the 1998 model year. At the time, the car represented a great leap forward for Saab...
- 2005 - 2009 Saab 9-7XSaab 9-7XThe Saab 9-7X was a Saab-branded mid-size sport utility vehicle based on General Motors' GMT360 platform, which also included the GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Oldsmobile Bravada, Isuzu Ascender, and Chevrolet TrailBlazer The Saab 9-7X was a Saab-branded mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) based on...