2005 Saab 9-3 Owner's Manual - Page 169

Starting and driving WARNING • It is prudent to try your brakes from time to time, especially when driving in heavy rain, through water collected on the road, in snow, on a wet road surface or in salty slush. In such conditions, the brakes may take longer than normal to take effect. To rectify this, touch the brake pedal periodically to dry the brakes out. • The same applies after the car has been washed or when the weather is very humid. • Avoid parking the car with wet brakes. Before parking, and if the traffic conditions allow, brake quite heavily so that the brake discs and pads warm up and dry. • The brakes are power assisted and it should be kept in mind that the servo unit only provides the power assistance when the engine is running. • The brake pressure required when the engine is off, (e.g. when the car is being towed) is roughly four times the normal pedal force required. The pedal also feels hard and unresponsive. • Overheating can cause the brakes to fade! 167 ABS brakes WARNING • The additional safety afforded by the ABS system is not designed to allow drivers to drive faster but to make normal driving safer. • To stop as quickly as possible, without loss of directional stability, whether the road surface is dry, wet or slippery, press the brake pedal down hard without letting up (do not pump the pedal), declutching simultaneously, and steer the car to safety. The Antilock Braking System (ABS) modulates the brake pressure to each wheel. The pressure is automatically reduced just before the wheel locks up and then increases again to the point at which the wheel is just about to lock. The wheel sensors send information to the brake system's electronic control module for every 4 or so inches (decimetre) that the car rolls. This information is processed continuously to ensure that the adjustment of the brake pressure will be as exact as possible. Adjustment takes place up to 12 times per second. The brake system provides Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). This distributes the brake pressure between the front and rear wheels, in such a way as to achieve optimum braking performance irrespective of the car's speed or load. The ABS has a built-in diagnostics function which will switch on the ABS warning light if a fault is detected in the system (see page 78). The following message will appear on the SID (and corresponding symbol on main instrument unit) if a fault is detected: Antilock brake malfunction. Contact Saab dealer.