Sweden · NHTSA recalls & complaints
Saab VIN decoder
Saab Automobile was a Swedish carmaker based in Trollhättan, best known for the 900, 9-3 and 9-5. General Motors bought half of it in 1989 and the rest in 2000, sold it to Spyker in 2010, and the company went bankrupt on 19 December 2011. National Electric Vehicle Sweden bought the main assets in 2012 but later lost the right to use the Saab name, so no Saab cars are built today.
Enter all 17 characters to see the build details NHTSA holds and the recalls for that model year.
- 8 model pages
- 44 recall campaigns
- 2,508 owner complaints
- model years 1995–2012
- 6 WMI codes in vPIC
- origin: Sweden
| Country of origin | Sweden |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| NHTSA recall and complaint data | Yes, model years 1995–2012 |
| WMI codes in NHTSA vPIC | 6 |
| Model pages | 8 |
| Other model names in NHTSA data | 2 |
| Vehicle recall campaigns | 44 |
| Owner complaints | 2,508 |
| Complaints reporting a crash | 83 (3.3%) |
| Complaints reporting a fire | 66 (2.6%) |
| Complaints reporting an injury | 83 (3.3%) |
| Complaints reporting a death | 2 (0.1%) |
| Data updated | September 25, 2026 |
Most Saabs were built in Trollhättan. Valmet in Uusikaupunki, Finland, built Saabs from 1969 to 2003, and Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, built convertibles from 2003 to 2010. Under GM, two Saab models were built by other companies: the 9-7X SUV by General Motors in the U.S. and the 9-2X by Subaru's then-parent. NHTSA recall filings reflect this: campaigns for the 9-2X were filed by Subaru of America, and those for the 9-7X by General Motors.
Saab sold cars in the United States for decades until the company collapsed; in January 2012, dealers filed to push Saab Cars North America into bankruptcy. NHTSA still holds recall campaigns and owner complaints for U.S.-market Saabs, and this page summarises them. The notes below explain why a Saab VIN can start with Swedish, Finnish, Japanese, U.S. or Mexican codes.
NHTSA’s files hold 44 vehicle recall campaigns and 2,508 owner complaints for Saab vehicles from model years 1995 to 2012, summarised here on 8 model pages. Saab 9-3 has the most complaints (1,345), followed by Saab 9-5 (557) and Saab 900 (196). Of those complaints, 83 report a crash, 66 a fire, 83 at least one injury and 2 at least one death; the figures count complaints, not people.
The World Manufacturer Identifier is the first three characters of the VIN. NHTSA’s vPIC database decodes 6 WMIs to Saab; this is the complete list, with the manufacturer name, country and vehicle type vPIC records for each.
| WMI | Manufacturer (vPIC) | Country | Vehicle type | Also decoded as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3G0 | GENERAL MOTORS LLC | Mexico | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) | – |
| 3GD | GENERAL MOTORS LLC | Mexico | Incomplete Vehicle | GMC |
| 5S3 | GENERAL MOTORS LLC | United States | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) | – |
| JF4 | FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES U.S.A., INC. (C/O SUBARU OF AMERICA) | Japan | Passenger Car | – |
| YK1 | OY SAAB VALMET AB | Finland | Passenger Car | – |
| YS3 | SAAB CARS NORTH AMERICA, INC. | Sweden | Passenger Car | – |
Some codes are shared across a manufacturer’s brands; the last column names the other brands in our catalog that vPIC links to the same code. See the WMI code guide for how the codes are assigned.
Each model page lists NHTSA’s recall campaigns and owner complaints for that model name, by model year and component. Models are sorted by complaints; the data covers model years 1995–2012.
– means NHTSA has no records of that kind under the model name.
Other Saab models in NHTSA data
NHTSA also lists these Saab model names, but with no recall campaign and fewer than 25 complaints each, so they have no page of their own: 952, Aero.
Which WMI codes appear on Saab VINs?
Most Saab cars carry YS3, the Swedish WMI that NHTSA's vPIC database lists under Saab Cars North America, Inc. But the late GM-era Saabs were built by other companies, and vPIC records the Saab make under their codes too. That makes Saab one of the few brands where the first three characters can point to Sweden, Finland, Japan, the U.S. or Mexico.
| WMI | Manufacturer (NHTSA vPIC) | Country | Vehicle type |
|---|---|---|---|
| YS3 | Saab Cars North America, Inc. | Sweden | Passenger car |
| YK1 | Oy Saab Valmet AB | Finland | Passenger car |
| JF4 | Fuji Heavy Industries U.S.A., Inc. (c/o Subaru of America) | Japan | Passenger car |
| 5S3 | General Motors LLC | United States | MPV (SUV class) |
| 3G0 | General Motors LLC | Mexico | MPV (makes: Holden, Saab) |
Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) lists YS3 under both Saab-Scania AB and Saab Automobile AB of Trollhättan, reflecting the company's history. The WMI code guide explains how country prefixes work.
What should you know when decoding a Saab today?
Saab Automobile went bankrupt in December 2011 and no Saab cars are built today, so any Saab you decode is more than a decade old. U.S.-market Saabs follow 49 CFR Part 565, with a check digit in position 9 and a model-year code in position 10. Saabs built for Europe came under rules that mirrored ISO 3779, which leaves positions 4 to 9 to the manufacturer and makes both the check digit and the year code optional; the EU only made check digits mandatory for new vehicle types in 2022, long after Saab production ended. A European Saab VIN may therefore fail the U.S. check-digit formula without being altered.
A JF4, 5S3 or 3G0 VIN on a Saab is not a mismatch: those codes reflect Saab-badged vehicles built by Subaru's then-parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, and by General Motors. For European Saabs, the European VIN decoding guide explains what can still be read from the VIN.
Why does my Saab's VIN start with JF4?
NHTSA's vPIC database lists JF4 under Fuji Heavy Industries U.S.A., the U.S. arm of the company that owned Subaru at the time, with the make Saab. The J prefix places the manufacturer in Japan. It is a genuine identifier for a Saab-badged car built by that company.
Can I still get recall information for a Saab?
Yes. NHTSA keeps recall campaigns and owner complaints for Saab models sold in the U.S., and this page lists them by model and model year. Because Saab no longer exists as a carmaker, check an individual car's status by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Will a European Saab decode fully here?
Often only partly. Our decoder uses NHTSA's vPIC data, which is most complete for vehicles built for North America. The WMI will identify Saab, but model and engine details for a European-market car may be missing.
Does a Saab VIN show the car's ownership history?
No. A decode shows manufacturing information only. Ownership, title and accident records come from licensed history providers and are not part of this site.
Other European brands, each with its own VIN notes and WMI list.
- Alfa Romeo (6) Italy · 34 recall campaigns
- Aston Martin (21) United Kingdom · 35 recall campaigns
- Audi (66) Germany · 214 recall campaigns
- Bentley (29) United Kingdom · 55 recall campaigns
- BMW (333) Germany · 487 recall campaigns
- Citroën (no NHTSA model pages) France
Data: NHTSA recalls and complaints flat files and NHTSA vPIC, updated September 25, 2026.