1998 Buick LeSabre problems
Owners have filed 518 complaints about the 1998 Buick LeSabre with NHTSA. Engine and engine cooling accounts for 42.5% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of fuel system, gasoline at 13.9%.
Complaints518
Crashes20
Fires64
Injuries11
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine and engine cooling 42.5% · 220
Fuel system, gasoline 13.9% · 72
Electrical system 10.6% · 55
Service brakes, hydraulic 4.8% · 25
Power train 4.2% · 22
Suspension 3.1% · 16
Steering 3.1% · 16
Visibility 2.3% · 12
Severity
Of those complaints, 20 describe a crash, 64 describe a fire and 11 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 13 model years of the Buick LeSabre in this data, 1998 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 2000 draws the most.
Filing volume has held steady, 7 in the last three years against 8 in the three before.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 70,731 miles.
In owners' own words
Car refuses to crank sometimes, wait 45 min-1 hour, then it will crank. Also, slowing down to stop and car just dies, refuses to crank, again wait 45 minutes - 1 hour and it will crank. This is happening every 2 weeks-1 month. I was told it was not firing, but could it be something to do with fuel system? Dealer kept for 2 days and could find nothing wrong. Buick said they had not heard of this problem. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 51,000 miles
Problem 1....Pressure regulator in the oil pump locked ,causing the engine to blow. This recently happened to a friend of mine at around the same mileage. Problem 2....Car has started to stall for no reason. Usually when I'm slowing down fopr a red lite or to turn.Problem 3..... While drivind at around 65-70 the car has surged for an instant(sort of like when you hit the gas pedal suddenly for a second). Engine and engine cooling
My intake manifold gasket was made of plastic and my engine locked up, I was informed from my mechanic that gm was aware of this problem and came out with a better one made of metal. This a costly mistake leading to 850 dollars of repair, that could have been prevented if gm would have stepped up with this in the first place and been fixed with the new gasket instead of causing more damage then needed. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 150,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…