Saab 9000 getting hot in traffic

This is a normal condition for this model and many more. There maybe an issue with your engine oil or coolant systems. If you can flush the radiator & coolant system clean on next service & replace with a fresh quality brand of new coolant then you may have solved some of the problem. The other is if your rad fans are kicking in enough or at all. So do a stationary check in your garage. let the engine warm up on idle. Then when it reaches a heat that will kick in the fans check what the Temp-gauge is reading & make a note.
You may have a weak oil pump or water pump. Check the pumps records & see if they are newish or first day. Water circulation is very important in a cars system. So in slow traffic the engine is running at low rev's & gets hot due to slow air speed through the rad. So the water pump is there to keep the pressure up at all times. It could be the No:- problem with your car.
After that get an engine oil pressure test done & compare with the results data spec-sheets from its manual.

If you are asking the normal position of the temperature gauge needle in normal operating mode it will be about half way in the gauge reading( between cold and hot). IT may vary about a needle width regardless of the load on the engine and if it climbs up in traffic then you have a problem with the fan operation

the vibration may be from air in the power steering pump or faulty steering rack controls . Check fluid level in reservoir for starters . The second is a problem with the coolant fan not working properly. If you have a viscous fan hub --replace it as it is not working at idle ( just spinning but not pulling air through the radiator or the temperature sensor for the coolant is inoperative or the fan relay is faulty.

At idling speed an engine does build up a lot of heat and the cooling fan will kick in. In slow moving traffic or traffic jams the temperature gauge can touch the red - particularly on hot days. The reason it cools down when you start moving is because of the air flow through the radiator.

Presumably there are no leaks from the cooling system otherwise you would have mentioned it. In normal circumstances the fan will not be running as you are driving at speed, as the air-flow through the radiator is sufficient to cool things. The fan only kicks in to get rid of excess heat - and this usually occurs at idling speed or after you have parked the car.

If the fan is running all the time as you drive, this points to either a fault in the fan switch, or the car is running too hot. presumably in normal driving the fan isn't running and the temperature gauge reads normal?

It is common - in stationary traffic many cars overheat (particularly big engined models) try to stall and 'cut out'. Restarting can be difficult until the engine cools down.

Is your car overheating in normal driving conditions or just at idle speed? Overheating in normal driving conditions can be caused by things like a failing water pump, blocked radiator, collapsed hose, faulty thermostat or, in the worst case scenario, cylinder head problems.

Overheating at idling speed is 'common'. Check your coolant level. If your car isn't using/losing coolant then there probably is no major problem. You can flush out the cooling system and refill with new coolant - and also check your radiator. Are the cooling fins crumbling with age? Or maybe they're partly clogged with insects and debris from the road? A blast with a hosepipe wil sort that out ..

The question is how much does your car overheat in normal driving? If it doesn't .. it appears as though you have nothing to worry about as such. Most cars have 2 speed fans... the 2nd faster stage kicks in at some point dependant on engine temperature. Perfectly normal.

180 degrees. Usually the middle.

It's probably the sensor. Read your manual to find it. If not it's probably the motors which can be replaced much cheaper than the assembly, however you can sometimes get a complete used assembly off Ebay for cheap.

On my slightly older Saab the radiator fan is electric and only is engaged when the temperature meter reaches 3/4 to the top.

When the car is in motion it will not spin since the air flowing through the radiator from the speed is sufficient to maintain normal engine temp. Only when the car is still it for a few minutes it may start to spin especially during summer, it will sometimes continue to spin even after the engine is turned off. This is normal behavior for this car.

To conclude, if your engine temp only goes up to half the gauge there would be no need for the fan to start spinning. If it doesn't engage during the conditions I described above there would be a problem that needs to be fixed.

sounds more like a weak spring in the thermostat....not keeping the thermostat open fully under high water flow (like in higher rpms)

Check the auxiliary cooling fan for operation. As the engine temp rises, it should kick on to bring the temp down. U may have a bad motor on the fan, or more likely a bad fan switch.

Could be the fan thermoswitch. The thermoswitch, if there is one*, is located on the lower portion of the radiator just in front of the turbo outlet pipe. Here is a picture.
You may also have one of the fan relays failing. (On some cars, there were two relays, one for low speed and one for high). Here is a picture.
For general diagnostics of the cooling system, go here.
2 stage cooling fan wiring diagram here.
This also will tell you where to find other components to check, like the fan speed resistor, and provide other diagnostic checks.