What breaks most · 1990 to 2003 model years
Buick Buick problems by year
Owners have filed 75 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Buick Buick across model years 1990 to 2003. Three years stand out: 2000 for visibility complaints, 2002 for visibility complaints and 1998 for engine and cooling complaints. The quietest years are 1992, 1993 and 1990.
- Years to check closely: 2000, 2002, 1998
- Fewest complaints: 1992, 1993, 1990
- Complaints on file
- 751990 to 2003, all trims
- Worst year
- 200012 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 11 fires · 8 injuries · 1 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 64kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 0Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | Steering (1) | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Speed control and throttle (1) | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | Air bags (3) | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (1) | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | Steering (2) | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (3) | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | Unknown or other (1) | |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (8) | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (4) | |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (3) | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (2) |
What fails on the 2000 Buick Buick
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 67% |
8 | 0 | Shop all visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 8% |
1 | 0 | Shop all steering parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 8% |
1 | 0 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 8% |
1 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 8% |
1 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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2000 buick lesabre rear window failure and window will not stay in the up position, which is the location of our child's child seat at the rear seat area. This is indeed a safety issue and there are thousands of failures related to this problem; as indicated by various internet sites.
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36,200 miles steering noise. Both front wheel bearings had to be replaced. Also has a problem with a rear pump that has not been repaired. 36,400 miles a/c quit and was repaired under extended warranty purchased through outside company. Also found both cv boots leaking which aren't covered.
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Faulty design of intake manifold on GM 3.8l engine used in 1998 thru 2004 engine. Plastic housing melts enough after 80,000 to allow engine coolant into the combustion chamber causing engine to hydrolock without warning. Car becomes immediately undrivable. *jb
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Buick Buick years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2000, 2002, 1998 carry the most filings on the Buick Buick. The 2000 alone has 12 complaints, led by visibility.
What is the most common Buick Buick problem?
On the 2000 model year, the most-reported component is visibility with 8 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Buick Buick problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Buick Buick complaints that include mileage is about 64,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.