1998 Buick Lesabre problems
Owners have filed 518 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Buick Lesabre. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 38% of complaints. Next are fuel system (15%) and exhaust system (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 518 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 20 and 64
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 206 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 | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 19 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 45 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 54 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 40 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 26 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 206 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 71,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 70,000 miles (96 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 20 complaints mention a crash; 64 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Buick Lesabre with enough data (282 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
My 1998 buick lesabre had a ruptured manifold in june 2003, causing engine to cease and smoke and minor fire. The smoke made myself and my infant son very ill. This was reported to buick but they refused to reimburse for repair since vehicle was just out of warranty. They told me that the following recall was not in effect: NHTSA recall no. 03v473/gm recall no. 03054 and that my vehicle had no recall.
Dt: consumer was driving between 60-75 MPH on the highway when both air bags deployed for no apparent reason. There were no potholes or bumps in the road that would have caused the air bags to engage. After the air bags deployed the car was filled with brown smoke and fire was coming out of both air bags. After the vehicle was stopped the driver put out the passenger side air bag flame. The driver side flame went out by itself. There were only one injury.
My 1998 buick lesabre backfired, then started on fire, after the top of the motor{intake and fuel injectors etc.} were blown off during the explosion. The whole top of the motor was destroyed. Notified GM, and they said they would not help because of a statute of limitations. They know there is a problem!!!
Vehicle failed to start when the key was turned in the ignition. Vehicle was towed to a mechanic. Mechanic indicated that the intake manifold degraded around the erg distribution nipple and the fuel pressure regulator diaphram ruptured leaking fuel into the engine through the vacuum hose. This was the same defect as described in the fuel pressure regulator recall 03v473000, but this vehicle's model was not included in the recall although it had the same type of engine.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 60MPH, the vehicle stalled and the heat indicator gauge dropped to zero. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop for inspection. The mechanic determined the plastic intake manifold needed to be replaced.