1994 Buick Century Brakes Problems

ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASSIONS THAT RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT, TWICE WITH ME AND ONCE WITH MY WIFE, THE BRAKES HAVE FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THEIR HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS OTHER OCCASIONS WHERE THE BRAKES HAVE FAILED TO STOP THE THE VEHICLE IN A PANIC OR NEAR PANIC SITUATION. THE ANTI-LOCK WORKS FINE, THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE BRAKES WILL NOT BRING THE CAR TO A COMPLETE STOP. IT KEEPS ROLLING MANY FEET FARTHER THAN IS SAFE. THE THREE ACCIDENTS OCURRED AT LES THAN 5 MPH. YOU HIT THE BRAKES AND THE VEHICLE NOT ONLY WON'T LOCK THE BRAKES IT WON'T STOP THE VEHICLE. I HAVE INSTALLED SEMI-METALLIC AND STANDARD BRAKE PADS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT. THE ROTORS ARE FINE AND THE PADS HAVE NEVER BEEN ALLOWED TO WEAR DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY. I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS VEHICLES AND ALSO RACED CARS AND THEY ALL STOP IMMEDIATELY FROM 5 - 10 MPH. THIS VEHICLE WILL USUALLY REQUIRE 30 - 40 FEET TO STOP FROM THE TIME THE PEDAL IS PUSHED. I HAVE NOTED THE PROBLEM TO THE DEALER IN THE PAST WITH NO RESULTS. MY WIFE AND I HAVE BOTH RELAYED THE SITUATION TO OTHERS IN THE PAST AND ON SEVERAL OCCASSIONS THE OTHER PARTY HAS SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF "OH, I GUESS YOU HAVE A BUICK". SO, THIS PROBLEM IS OBVIOUSLY NOT ISOLATED TO MY VEHICLE. EVEN AT HIGH SPPED THE BRAKES WORK EXCEPTIONALLY WELL TILL THE LAST FEW FEET WHERE THE BRAKES WILL NOT BRING THE VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP IN A SATISFACTORY DISTANCE. I HAVE DRIVEN MANY OTHER VEHICLES WITH AND WITHOUT ANTI-LOCK BRAKES. I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT THE OPERATOR APPLIES BRAKES DIFFERENTLY WITH ANTI-LOCK BRAKES. I HAPPENED TO GET INTO THIS WEB-SITE TODAY INQUIRING ABOUT ANY POSSIBLE RECALLS ON MY OTHER VEHICLE (2000 VOYAGER) AND FIGURED I WOULD NOTE THIS PROBLEM WHILE I WAS HERE. *AK

NHTSA ID

748588

BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS FAILED. YH

NHTSA ID

549657

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WOULD START TO SLOW DOWN. ABS BRAKES FELT LIKE A SHORT DELAY BEFORE KICKING IN STO STOP. ABS BRAKES ALSO FELT LIKE THEY WERE SLIPPING. HAVE TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER'S MECHANIC & A PRIVATE MECHANIC TO CHECK OUT ABS BRAKES. IN BOTH INSTANCES, NOTHING WAS FOUND WRONG. *AK

NHTSA ID

851745

Incident

Oct 8, 1997

WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES VEHICLE PULSATES, BUT NO CHANGE IN THE BRAKE PERFORMANCE. ALSO, THE ABS WARNING LIGHT COMES ON WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED ON. DEALER HAS NOT SEEN VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

851632

THE ABS BRAKES QUIT WORKING. THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON & STAYED ON. HAD APPLIED THE ABS BRAKES & THE SYSTEM DIED OUT. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER & WAS INFORMED BY THE MECHANIC ENTIRE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM NEEDED REPLACING. *AK

NHTSA ID

848583

Incident

Jun 24, 1995

ABS LIGHT WOULD STAY ON & THEN WOULD GO OUT AFTER AWHILE. CAN HEAR A CLICK SOUND WHEN ABS BRAKES ARE APPLIED. WOULD SLOW DOWN, BUT DOES NOT STOP RIGHT AWAY. PEDAL GOES TO FLOOR WHEN ABS BRAKES MAKE CLICKING SOUND. PEDAL WOULD POP UP & WOULD HAVE BRAKING ABILITY AGAIN. HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY. WILL BE TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALER.*AK

NHTSA ID

846458

Incident

Oct 1, 1998

ANTI LOCK BRAKES HAVE BEEN REPAIRED ON FIVE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, SEVERAL COMPONENTS REPLACED, HOWEVER CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE VIBRATION/GRINDING. MJS

NHTSA ID

548043

Incident

Jul 11, 1995

WHILE DRIVING AND APPLYING BRAKES THERE IS A CLICKING SOUND BEFORE THE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR, AND THEN THEY BRAKES MAKE A GRINDING SOUND. EVENTUALY BRAKES COME BACK UP AND CONTINUE NORMAL OPERATIOS. *AK

NHTSA ID

845199

ENGINE PULLEY/ EXHAUST SYSTEM/ABS BRAKES AND CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTIONED. UNDER 34,000 MILES. *AK

NHTSA ID

838219

Incident

Jan 1, 1997

ABS LIGHT COMES ON, IT BEGAN WHEN IT RAINED AND NOW AT VARIOUS TIMES. THE SENSOR HAS BEEN WORKED ON BY A DEALER 6 TIMES, IT HAS BEEN CLEANED, CHECKED, REPLACED, REPOSITIONED,TEST DRIVEN, ETC. AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS AT THIS DATE.6/3/99.*AK

NHTSA ID

707203

Incident

Jan 6, 1996

WHEN CAR STARTS AND DOES ABS CHECK AND LIGHT TURNS OFF, THE CAR INTERMITTENTLY APPLIES ABS WHEN STOPPING AT A SPEED OF 5-8 MPH. *YD

NHTSA ID

825717

ABS BRAKE CONTROLLER UNIT FAILED WHILE DRIVING. WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, BUT THERE WAS STILL POWER BRAKES. CAUSE OF FAILURE UNKNOWN. ALSO, AT REPAIR WORK IT WAS DETERMINED THAT ONE WHEEL SENSOR HAD ALSO FAILED. *AK

NHTSA ID

824109

Incident

May 17, 1998

BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES.

NHTSA ID

536488

CONSUMER STATES THAT THE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM FAILED. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK

NHTSA ID

816710

BRAKES REPLACED.

NHTSA ID

511832

FRONT BRAKES COMPLETELY REPLACED. *DH

NHTSA ID

505911

Incident

Mar 26, 1996

DRUMS WARP AND PADS WEAR OUT TOO QUICKLY, REAR BRAKES MISADJUSTED, ALSO CAR CAN'T BE STOPPED QUICKLY AND VEHICLE JERKS UNTIL STOPPED.

NHTSA ID

504631

Incident

May 14, 1996

TOTAL LOSS OF ABS SYSTEM FAILURE, DEALER REPLACED ABS MODULE BECAUSE IT WAS CONTAMINTED. TT

NHTSA ID

977902

Incident

Dec 14, 1995

BRAKES NOISY. *DSH

NHTSA ID

501554

Incident

Jan 24, 1995

FRONT BRAKE PADS/ROTORS FAILED, CAUSING LOSS OF BRAKING ABILITY. *AK

NHTSA ID

964633

Incident

May 2, 1995