Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 46 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1990 Buick Lesabre. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–25 of 46 · page 1 of 2
THE FRONT MOUNTING BRACKET NEAREST TO THE DOOR, FOR THE DRIVERS POWER SEAT FRACTURED AROUND THE MOUNTING BOLT. THIS ALLOWED THE SEAT TO ROTATE BACKWARD. *JB
THIS ALL HAPPENED OVER A PERIOD OF THE PAST 5 YEARS, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS SITE WAS AVAILABLE, SO SUBMITTING NOW. *JB
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.*AK
I HAVE A 1990 BUICK LESABRE THAT IS EQUIPPED WITH TILT WHEEL. ABOUT A MONTH AGO THE STEERING COLUMN BECAME EXTREMELY LOOSE...I HAD NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. ANYWAY, I THOUGHT "WELL, THE CAR IS JUST AGING" AND DIDN'T THINK TO MUCH ABOUT IT UNTIL YESTERDAY. MY SON WAS CLIMBING ACROSS THE DRIVERS SEAT AND ACCIDENTLY HIT THE GEAR SHIFT SELECTOR. WITHOUT THE KEY IN THE IGNITION AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED, THE CAR WENT INTO REVERSE AND PROCEEDED TO ROLL DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. AFTER WE GOT THE CAR STOPPED, I DISCOVERED THAT EVEN WITH THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED, THE CAR CAN BE PLACED IN ANY GEAR WITHOUT ANY RESISTANCE. THIS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE OLD POWERGLIDES THAT WOULD DO THE SAME. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF THIS HAPPENING AGAIN TO SOMEONE ELSE IS VERY LIKELY. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT SUDDENLY STARTED TO DO THIS. THANK YOU.*AK
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. I CONTACTED GENERAL MOTORS, AND THE AGENT I TALKED TO DOESN'T SEEM TO COMPREHEND THAT THE USE OF COMPRESSION FITTINGS IN A BRAKE LINE IS UNLAWFUL, AND TRIVIALIZES MY CONCERNS SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR "AS-IS".*AK
WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. *NLM
VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SUDDEN ACCELERATION, CROSSED A ROADWAY, AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER PARKED VEHICLE. *AK
NO SUMMARY. DT
A COMPLETE AND SUDDEN ELECTRICAL FAILURE WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE BEEN TO A REPAIR SHOP ON TWO OCCASIONS, AND PROBLEM STILL OCCURRING.*AK
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.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH CONSUMER TOOK FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO SLOW DOWN, SUDDENLY VEHICLE STALLED. ALSO, DEALER REPLACED IGNITION COIL.*AK
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE CUTS OFF WHICH CAUSES LOSS OF ALL POWER. ALSO, DASHBOARD LIGHTS UP RED. PROBLEM OCCURRED THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER, DEALER UNABLE TO DETERMINE CAUSE. *AK THE PROBLEM HAPPENED TWICE, AND THE CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE IGNITION COILS. *YH
FIRESTONE FR680 TIRES P205/70R14 EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION WITH LESS THAN 10000 MILES ON THEM, VEHICLE DROVE ROUGH AND DEALER INSPECTED TIRES INNER TREAD WAS SEPARATING FROM SIDEWALL. *SLC
WHEN TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY VEHICLE WILL SHUTDOWN WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. HE HAS TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL IN ORDER TO START VEHICLE. DRIVER'S SIDE SEATBELT DOESN'T WORK, THE RETRACTOR IS NOT OPERABLE. *AK THE RESTRAINT MECHANISM FAILED AND THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE DOES NOT LATCH. *YH
WHEN TRAVELING AT ANY NORMAL SPEED/ LOW SPEED VEHICLE WILL CUT OFF WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. CONSUMER HAS YET TO CONTACT DEALER. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
HAD STARTED VEHICLE & SHIFTED INTO REVERSE TO BACK UP WHEN VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED FORWARD. VEHICLE PROCEEDED TO HIT PART OF GARAGE & KNOCKED THE CHROME OFF VEHICLE. TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. *AK
THE INERTIA SWITCH DOES NOT ENGAGE, CAUSING THE SEAT TO MOVE FORWARD WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
THE ABS POWER BRAKE RELAY FAILED DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION AND I PAID TO REPLACE IT.ZIMBRICK MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL COULD NOT FIND SOURCE OF INTERMITTANT BRAKE PROBLEM UNTIL I BROUGHT THE CAR IN WHILE THE BRAKE RELAY WAS MALFUNCTIONING. IT WAS STUCK AND CONTINUED TO BUZZ EVEN AFTER THE IGNITION HAD BEEN SWITCHED OFF. THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED IN OCTOBER 1997. MY WIFE WAS IN COTTAGE GROVE AND THE CAR HAD NO POWER ASSIST TO THE BRAKES AT STARTUP. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO MADISON AND THE BRAKE RELAY WAS REPLACED AGAIN. IN THE FALL OF 1998, I EXPERIENCED NO POWER ASSIST TO THE BRAKES DURING A DRIVE IN THE POURING RAIN. I HAD ALMOST NO EFFECTIVE BRAKES, BUT DROVE CAREFULLY AND PARKED THE CAR OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT MORNING THE BRAKES OPERATED NORMALLY. I SPENT ABOUT $900 ON BRAKE WORK AT ZIMBRICK'S IN APRIL OF 1999, BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PINPOINT THE SOURCE OF THE BRAKE PROBLEM. THE NEXT FAILURE HAPPENED MAY 28, 1999 WHILE MY WIFE'S DAD WAS DRIVING THE CAR TO EAU CLAIRE, WI. THE CAR HAD NO POWER ASSIST FOR THE BRAKE SYSTEM DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE DRIVE (AFTER STOPPING FOR GAS). THE NEXT MORNING THE BRAKES WERE OPERATING NORMALLY AND HE DROVE THE CAR TO THE CABIN ON LAKE NANCY. ONE DAY, ABOUT A MONTH LATER (THE CAR WAS DRIVEN INFREQUENTLY DURING THE SUMMER - ABOUT TWICE PER WEEK), THE BRAKE PROBLEM REAPPEARED FOR ONE DRIVING EPISODE AND THE NEXT DRIVE THE BRAKES OPERATED NORMALLY. BECAUSE OF THE INTERMITTANT PROBLEM, THE SERVICE PEOPLE AT ZIMBRICK HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO PERMANANTLY FIX THE BRAKE PROBLEM. AND THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC ERROR CODES DO NOT REGISTER ANY INFORMATION.
WHILE DRIVING THEB RAKES INTERMENTLY LOCK UP .THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH THE BRAKES LOCKED UP. *AK
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. *AK
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.
POOR TRACTION OF FIRE HAWK TIRES CAUSED ACCIDENT.
ABS BRAKES FAILED, AND PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR, RESULTING IN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. *AK
WHEN TRYING TO RELEASE THE SEAT BELT FROM THE BELT BUCKLE, THE RED RELEASE BUTTON BROKE. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .