What breaks most · 2001 to 2007 model years
Buick Rendezvous problems by year
Owners have filed 1,241 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Buick Rendezvous across model years 2001 to 2007. Three years stand out: 2002 for engine and cooling complaints, 2003 for engine and cooling complaints and 2004 for electrical system complaints. The quietest years are 2001 and 2005.
- Years to check closely: 2002, 2003, 2004
- Fewest complaints: 2001, 2005
- Complaints on file
- 12412001 to 2007, all trims
- Worst year
- 2002486 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 6825 fires · 75 injuries · 3 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 70kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 18Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 0 | Electrical system (1) | |
| 486 | 18 | 3 | Engine and cooling (115) | |
| 281 | 12 | 7 | Engine and cooling (53) | |
| 200 | 14 | 5 | Electrical system (76) | |
| 138 | 10 | 2 | Electrical system (38) | |
| 89 | 9 | 1 | Electrical system (21) | |
| 43 | 4 | 0 | Electrical system (11) |
What fails on the 2002 Buick Rendezvous
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 24% |
115 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 21% |
103 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 13% |
65 | 1 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 9% |
45 | 2 | Shop suspension parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 8% |
41 | 0 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
| Equipment and infotainment | 8% |
40 | 0 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 8% |
40 | 2 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 7% |
33 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous |
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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I have replaced the air conditioning motor multiple times and no matter what i do it continues to blow and fall off. This means there is some type of malfunction with this vehicle. I've seen multiple other complaints online from others with the same issue.
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Engine completely dies making it impossible to steer. It willl turn on right away, go a few miles and then dies again. It has been serviced, the trottle has been clean, fuel filter replaced, spark plug wires and spark plugs have been replaced to no avail. We've even changed tramission fluid and filtered.
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Electrical problems,manifold gone, ants under my battery the whole vehicle was infected with them, battery wouldn't unbolt tailgate wouldn't open, it overheated
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 Rendezvous years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2002, 2003, 2004 carry the most filings on the Buick Rendezvous. The 2002 alone has 486 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Buick Rendezvous problem?
On the 2002 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 115 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Buick Rendezvous problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Buick Rendezvous complaints that include mileage is about 70,000 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.