Getting the code for a locked Saab stereo takes two numbers most owners have never heard of: the unit's serial number and its PU number. Send us both and the factory code comes back by email — here is where to find them, and why the PU number matters so much on a Saab.
Saab wired an anti-theft lock into every factory stereo it fitted, from the classic 900 through the 9000 to the 9-3 and 9-5. If the battery is disconnected, or the radio is disconnected for any reason, it plays dead until its four-digit security code is entered — that is the whole design. Typical ways owners meet the lock:
Nothing needs repairing. The unit is simply waiting for its code.
Turn the radio on and a locked Saab unit shows CODE IN. That is your cue: the radio wants its four-digit code. The code is programmed at the factory and never changes, which is why it is worth keeping somewhere safe once you have it — just never with the radio itself.
Here is what makes Saab different from almost every other make we cover. The serial number identifies your unit, and the PU number printed alongside it tells us exactly which version of the radio you have. With both numbers we can issue the code that fits your radio first time.
Both numbers are on a label on the side of the radio chassis. Photograph the whole label once and you have everything the order form asks for.
The label is on the side of the unit, so the radio has to come out of the dash for you to read it. If you are not sure how to get it out on your model, or you cannot make the label out, email us with your model and year and we will walk you through it step by step — we answer every day of the week.
Some Saab stereos also have a detachable section of the panel holding nine buttons, including the quick selection buttons. With that section removed, the radio cannot be used at all, code or no code. To release it, switch the audio system off and slide the rectangular switch above that group of buttons to the right. Make sure the section is in place before you enter your code.
We are here every hour of every day — nights, weekends, holidays. Standard orders are emailed back in 30 minutes to 24 hours. Choose Express on the order form and the code is guaranteed within one hour, around the clock.
Turn the radio on so it shows CODE IN, then enter the four digits on the quick selection buttons — slowly, checking each one against the code in our email. The radio starts as soon as the code is accepted. The full steps are in our free Saab code entry guide.
The code is fixed when the radio is built, and there is no working it out by trial and error. Do not guess — attempts are limited before a lockout. If someone before you has already tried a few numbers, stop there, wait for the correct code from us, and enter it once, carefully.
The code belongs to the radio, not the car — so on a Saab a swapped-in unit is no problem at all. Send the serial and PU number from the label on the unit that is actually in your dash right now, and the code we return will be the right one for it, wherever it started life.
Serial number and PU number in hand? Then you are two minutes from ordering. Pick Express on the order form if you need the code within the hour.
Not sure which code you need? Start here.
Seeing a different message on the screen? Here is what each one means →
