The new version retains a programmed 9-3 MIU behind the dashboard, moves mileage handling to the gateway and keeps eSID3 and the original SID functions available alongside the NG9-5 cluster.
When we first covered Henrik Glad’s IPC650GW conversion in March 2024, the product had a clearly defined target: the Saab 9-3 from MY2003 to MY2006. The gateway allowed the original MIU to be replaced by an instrument cluster from the 2010 to 2012 Saab 9-5, translating the signals required by two different Saab electrical architectures. More than two years later, the current IPC650GW manual still draws the same model year boundary. Version 2.2, published in February 2026, explicitly lists the existing gateway as compatible with MY2003 to MY2006 and incompatible with MY2007 to MY2014.
Henrik is now working on the version intended to remove that restriction. He says the MY2007 and newer implementation is changing on an almost daily basis and still needs several weeks of development and verification, so the specification he has published should be treated as the current engineering plan rather than a finished production configuration.
The major difference is that the facelift 9-3 cannot simply lose its original MIU electronics.
Why the MY2007 Cluster Has to Stay in the Car
The existing IPC650GW for MY2003 to MY2006 removes the Saab 9-3 MIU and lets the gateway and NG9-5 IPC assume its required functions. The latest official manual still describes that arrangement and shows why it cannot simply be copied into the later 9-3.
For MY2007 to MY2014, the MIU has responsibilities beyond displaying speed, rpm and fuel level. Henrik explains that it is the master for the IP Switch, including Night Panel, and is also responsible for system sounds such as turn signal clicks and parking assistance tones. Those functions were handled by the ICM on the earlier cars.
The current IPC650GW compatibility table independently shows the same problem from the perspective of the existing gateway. For MY2007 to MY2014 it lists Night Panel and the other IP Switch functions as unavailable, together with the warning sounds. It also identifies missing SID functions and the absence of automatic display illumination.
Henrik’s solution is therefore to retain a 9-3 MIU electronically. A compatible MY2007 or newer MIU is completely disassembled and its PCB is installed behind the dashboard, while the NG9-5 IPC occupies the normal cluster position. That hidden MIU must be programmed to the car using Tech2, but its existing odometer value does not have to match the vehicle.
The Original MIU Can Be Preserved
The new arrangement also avoids a problem that would be particularly unwelcome on cars such as the Turbo X.
Henrik does not require the car’s original MIU to be dismantled and permanently buried inside the dashboard. A second compatible 9-3 cluster can be purchased, disassembled, programmed with Tech2 and used for that purpose. The car’s original MIU only needs to be connected temporarily during the initial setup so that its correct odometer value can be transferred to the IPC650GW.
After synchronization, the original cluster can be stored intact.
Henrik specifically mentions a Turbo X cluster as the sort of original part that would make little sense to destroy simply to obtain the PCB required by the conversion. The distinction is therefore important: the hidden electronics come from a compatible donor 9-3 MIU, while the car’s own MIU provides the correct mileage during initialization and can then be retained with the vehicle.
The NG9-5 cluster has a separate role again. Its own stored mileage is not relevant because the new MY2007 implementation will maintain the vehicle odometer inside the IPC650GW.
The New Gateway Will Not Use the Existing VIN Locking Method
That mileage procedure is one of the clearest differences between the new version and the existing MY2003 to MY2006 gateway.
With the current product, the gateway is configured with information including the VIN, starting odometer value and fuel tank size. The official manual explains that odometer, immobilizer and fuel level functions require the gateway to be configured for the individual vehicle. If the original MIU is later reinstalled, its mileage has not advanced while it was outside the car and may need to be corrected using Tech2.
Henrik says the forthcoming MY2007 version will not be VIN locked in that way. Instead, the gateway will provide a function for synchronizing the mileage directly from the original MIU before that cluster is put into storage.
The mileage already recorded in the donor NG9-5 IPC is likewise unimportant. That is already true with the existing IPC650GW, whose manual states that the odometer value of the donor 9-5 cluster does not determine the mileage displayed after installation.
The specification of the NG9-5 cluster itself still deserves attention. The 9-5 IPC was produced in km/h and mph, gasoline and diesel, and color and monochrome variants. Some display functions also depend on how the cluster was originally programmed. For example, the current gateway cannot make an equipment dependent TPMS or BioPower view appear if that view was not configured in the donor IPC, while an automatic 9-3 requires an NG9-5 cluster programmed appropriately if PRND gear information is to be displayed.
Relocating the SID Is Part of the MY2007 Conversion
Keeping the donor MIU PCB alive solves the IP Switch and sound functions, but hiding the complete instrument unit behind the dashboard would also hide its display.
On the facelift 9-3 that display remains important. It carries the normal SID information used by the car and is also the display through which eSID3 presents its data. Henrik additionally identifies Coolant Level Low and Washer Fluid Low as warnings that still depend on this display.
That matches the limitation already documented in the IPC650GW compatibility table. On an MY2007 to MY2014 car using the existing gateway concept, those warnings and some other SID information would not be available. Vehicle settings are another unresolved area in the current implementation.
The SID relocation kit therefore becomes part of the conversion rather than an optional visual modification. The NG9-5 cluster becomes the main instrument panel, while the relocated original display continues to handle the information that still belongs to the 9-3 system and remains available to eSID3.
For owners already using eSID3, that is the practical difference between retaining the functionality they have now and replacing one useful Saab display with another.
Dashboard Modification Is Still Required
The electronics do not solve the physical installation. The NG9-5 IPC is close enough in size to fit the 9-3 dashboard area, but it is not a direct replacement for the original MIU.
The existing installation manual for MY2003 to MY2006 requires modification of the dashboard bezel, different mounting points for the NG9-5 cluster and trimming around the installation area. The cluster itself may also require removal or trimming of some external plastic sections to sit correctly behind the modified bezel.
Henrik has not yet performed the corresponding dashboard modification himself on an MY2007 or newer car. His current expectation is that the work will be similar to the existing procedure, and he points prospective installers to the present IPC650GW guide as a reference rather than claiming that it is already a finished instruction manual for the facelift dashboard.
That distinction is worth keeping clear. The new gateway does not turn the NG9-5 IPC into a plug in replacement. The conversion still involves dashboard cutting, a donor 9-3 MIU, Tech2 programming, SID relocation and the NG9-5 cluster itself.
Illumination Needs a Different Control Strategy
The hidden MIU creates another problem because the ambient light sensor used by the MY2007 system is located on the old instrument unit. Once the MIU PCB is installed behind the dashboard, that sensor remains in darkness and can no longer provide meaningful ambient light information.
Henrik is therefore adding manual NG9-5 cluster illumination control.
This limitation is already visible in the current version 2.2 compatibility matrix. Automatic illumination is supported on the MY2003 to MY2006 installation, where the relevant light sensing arrangement is different, while the MY2007 to MY2014 column specifies manual illumination only.
The new implementation is addressing that documented limitation rather than trying to reproduce an automatic function from a sensor that has been physically removed from useful light.
The NG9-5 normally uses controls on its turn indicator stalk to navigate the IPC display. The 9-3 does not have those switches, so the existing gateway maps IPC commands onto available steering wheel buttons. The current MY2003 to MY2006 manual already uses this method, with functions such as VIEW, MENU and SET/CLR translated to 9-3 controls.
The facelift version needs a different arrangement because those same buttons may already be used by eSID3. Henrik is therefore developing combinations that allow both systems to operate without taking the same command away from the other.
One example is holding INFO Down while pressing Volume + or Volume −. If no eSID is installed, INFO Up, INFO Down and Hangup can be used directly for IPC650GW control.
The Phone button can also be assigned to change the IPC650GW view or menu. Because the same button may already be required by the radio, navigation system, OnStar or another installation, Henrik has added a ten second long press that enables or disables the IPC650GW use of that button.
1.9TiD Turbo Gauge Support Is Planned Through eSID3
The diesel side of the project also connects directly with work Henrik has already completed for the earlier IPC650GW.
The original 2024 version of the gateway did not support the 1.9TiD, but that information is now outdated. IPC650GW version 2.2 added Z19DT and Z19DTH support in February 2026, beginning with software SP1.0.5. The current manual also states that the NG9-5 turbo gauge works on an MY2003 to MY2006 1.9TiD when the car has the required eSID 03-06 software.
Henrik now wants to provide the equivalent function for MY2007 and newer diesels through an updated eSID3. His plan is for eSID3 to take the boost pressure information and dynamically scale it to the NG9-5 turbo gauge from 0 to 100 percent, using the same principle already implemented with eSID 03-06 Gen3.
The IPC650GW hardware is being prepared for that function now. The necessary eSID3 update is not finished, and Henrik currently describes it as something he hopes to add later in 2026 or in early 2027. It should therefore remain clearly identified as a planned feature rather than part of the first confirmed MY2007 specification.
Pricing Remains at the Existing IPC650GW Level
Henrik currently plans to keep the gateway and harness at the same base price as the MY2003 to MY2006 version: 2,400 SEK including tax inside the EU and 1,920 SEK without tax outside the EU. His latest estimate puts shipping at approximately 170 SEK.
The current version 2.2 manual lists the same 2,400 and 1,920 SEK base prices for the existing gateway, although it still gives the older shipping estimate of approximately 150 SEK.
For the facelift 9-3 owner, the gateway itself is only one part of the conversion. A completed installation also requires an appropriate NG9-5 IPC, a comatible donor 9-3 MIU, Tech2 access, SID relocation and permanent dashboard modification.
Henrik has not announced the MY2007 version as ready for sale yet. He is still testing the final implementation, particularly the functions that prevented the existing IPC650GW from supporting the facelift cars in the first place. The important change is now clearly defined: instead of asking the gateway to replace every MIU function, the new system keeps a programmed 9-3 MIU on the network and lets IPC650GW concentrate on integrating the NG9-5 cluster around it.
That is the architecture Henrik is currently validating, and it is the reason MY2007 to MY2014 can finally move from the “not compatible” column of the existing IPC650GW manual toward an actual installation solution.
