Catastrophic failure of upper idler pulley on '99 2.3liter low pressure turbo enginee on Saab 95se. The pulley disintegrated on startup of the vehicle. Caused piecees of plastic outher ring material to be scattered around the engine compartmetn and outside of the vehicle. Sepentine belt slipped down onto the hub and caused failure of accessories such as: Power steerign pump, leternator etc. Had this occured durign drivign on the highwya, the imediate loss of power and accessories woudl have generated major problem and might have caused an accident. The car is 1999 model year, with ~ 50,200 miles duing incident. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any further questions at 512-301-7425. I hav efollowe dup on web based owner and enthusiast networks. It apperas that this failur eis becomign an common courence on 99 & 2000 saabs95 operated in southern usa. Please check or search at www.saabnet.com : www.saabnet.com/tsn/bb/9-5/search.html?query=idler+pulley this search indicates 256 messages related ot the problem most of them over the last six months. I had the pulley replaced at the local dealership under extended third party warranty, however I belive that this is a case of bad selection of materials for this application. The pulley body was made out of plastic, that is crackign and failuring due to heat exposure. I have pieces of pulley available fo ryour inspection if needed. Jerzy

- Austin, TX, USA