2003 Buick Lesabre problems
Owners have filed 209 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Buick Lesabre. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 27% of complaints. Next are air bags (10%) and brakes (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 209 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 150 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 | 34 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 24 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 26 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 150 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 50,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 60,000 miles (46 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Buick Lesabre with enough data (88 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.
I was hit head on. My vehicle a buick lesabre 2003 and the vehicle which hit me, a 2000 chevrolet malibu was totaled. The airbag on my buick lesabre did not deploy, thus causing me physical injuries.
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 buick lesabre. After crashing into a tree stump, the contact attempted to reverse and move the vehicle forward when it suddenly accelerated independently, causing the contact to crash into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a concussion, foot, chest, neck, back and knee injuries which required medical attention. The middle rear passenger sustained brain and knee injuries which required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed.
Consumer stated while driving an avis rental another vehicle traveling at high speeds hit the drivers side of consumer's vehicle. Upon impact, airbags did not deploy. Consumer sustained head and chest injuries.
At a little over 40,000 miles, I notice a hump in the dash cover in front of the steering wheel. The separation and lifting has now stretched to near center dash. If it continues, I'm afraid it may possibly effect air bag operation or passenger safety.
Dashboard has warped and separated from under the windshield. According to experienced auto mechanics, deployment of the air bag system will most likely be compromised. It also affects visibility for the driver. This is a serious safety issue affecting hundreds, if not thousands of these buicks! When are you going to do something about this? Check this website and you'll see how prolific a problem this is! [link removed] not to mention the money lost because of the inability to sell these cars.