1990 Buick Lesabre problems
Owners have filed 75 complaints with NHTSA about the 1990 Buick Lesabre. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. Next are brakes (11%) and cruise control (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 75 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 186,000 miles 20 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 16 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 20 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 186,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1990 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Buick Lesabre with enough data (25 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving consumer noticed a vehicle on the other side of the street trying to pass the first vehicle. The consumer was hit head-on, causing a crash. Shoulder restraints failed to work ,leading to injuries. Consumer has contacted the manufacturer.
While backing out of a parking space vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control and forced vehicle to hit a phone pole, driver and passenger were injured. Feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.
When involved in a rear-end crash the driver's seat reclined at a 45 degree angle, causing neck and back injuires to the driver. Seat has not been repaired. Vehicle is at repair shop.
The brakes on a 1990 buick lesabre failed in the dealer lot when I went to test drive the car. They assured me they would repair the brakes and call me when the car was ready for sale. After the repair, I purchased the car, but the brakes soon failed again. I then discovered that the brake line repair had been made with compression fittings instead of high-pressure inverted-flare hydraulic fittings. I suspect this was unlawful.
While the engine is running there is a constant sound of air escaping. There is an anticipation of the vehicle back firing at all times. Also, intermittently vehicle will stall, and use twice as much fuel.