Owner-reported complaints naming the transmission system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1998 Buick Lesabre submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 14 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
AFTER TAKING THE VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR A RECALL REPAIRS, VEHICLE WAS CUTTING OFF, AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. VEHICLE IDLED ROUGHLY. CONSUMER TOLD MECHANIC THAT THIS PROBLEM DID NOT EXIST PRIOR TO BRINGING IT IN FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS, AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD GO AWAY ON ITS OWN. *AK THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION FAILED . *NM
VEHICLE WAS LEAKING ANTIFREEZE. INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS REPLACED TO STOP THE LEAK AS WELL AS THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED. DEALER, ON A PREVIOUS OCCASIONS, REPAIRED A HOLE IN THE RADIATOR. *AK *MR
WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE WILL STALL WITHOUT WARNING. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND DEALER COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSE OF PROBLEM. *AK THERE IS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TSB #87-65-14 TO FLASH PCM WITH UPDATED CALIBRATION AS A RESULT OF AN INTERMITTENT STALL. *TT
VEHICLE JUMPS AND VIBRATES WHEN DRIVING. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC, AND HE INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS SHOT.*AK *YH
AFTER OWNING THE CAR FOR APPROXIMATELY 3 WEEKS I WAS COMUTING TO NY FROM MY RESIDENCE IN NH. THE CARS TRANSMISSION WAS NOT RESPONDING WELL. I ARRIVED NEAR FINCHBURG MASSACHUSETTES WHEN I DECIDED TO TURN BACK HOME. POWER AND RESPONSE WERE VERY INADEQUATE.MY WIFE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I DROPPED OFF THE CAR IN EXETER NH (NOT THE SELLING DEALER..BUT A BUICK/GM DEALERSHIP THAT THEY RECOMMENDED TO HAVE CHECK IT OUT SINCE IT WAS STILL UNDER THE MANUFACTURER WARRANTY. AFTER INSPECTION AND A FULL DIAGNOSIS BY THE CERTIFIED GM MECHANIC, HE INFORMED ME THAT THE "TRANSMISSION WAS TOAST". THEY MADE A FULL REPAIR BY REPLACING THE EXISTING TRANSMISSION. THEY BELIEVED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO REBUILD CONSIDERING THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM. FURTHER, MY WIFE DID A THROUGH CHECK PRIOR TO MAKING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE THE VEHICLE. WE KNEW THAT THIS MODEL VEHICLE HAS A HISTORY OF TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. HOWEVER SERVERAL BUICK /GM CERTIFIED SHOPS INDICATED THAT VERY FEW OF THESE NEWER VEHICLE HAVE TRANSMISSION FAILUE. IT WOULD BE LIKE A 1 AND 4MILLION CHANCE...WELL THAT IS OUR LUCK. IT HAPPENED TO US. *AK
CAR SHIFTS FROM DRIVE TO OVERDRIVE WITH LOT OF NOISE, AND WILL CHATTER A LITTLE. FROM A COLD START. IT WON'T MOVE JUST VIBRATE AND SHATTER. TOOK TO DEALER, AND THEY SAID IT WAS VALVE BODY THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.*AK
THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED SERIOUS ELECTRICAL FAILURE WHILE DRIVING WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN ACCIDENT. *MJS
VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE ELECTRICAL FAILURE WHILE DRIVING. NLM
VEHICLE SHUDDERS WHEN ACCELERATING
TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *SLC
WHEN MOVING TRANSMISSION PAWL TO REVERSE THEN TO DRIVE VEHICLE WILL VIBRATE. *AK
WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL THE WHEEL APPEARS TO CLICK OR KNOCK. THIS BEGAM SHORTLY AFTER I HAD THE VEHICLE IN TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION REPAIRED AS IT WAS SHUDDERING AFTER STOPPING AND STARTING. I CONTACTED THE SERVICE PEOPLE AT THE BOISE LARRY MILLER BUICK PLACE, WHERE I HAD TRANSMISSION FIXED. I WAS TOLD IT WAS NOT SERIOUS AND THEY WOULD CHECK IT WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN FOR SERVICE. BUT IT CONCERNS ME, AND I NEED TO KNOW IF IT IS SERIOUS. *AK
TRANSMISSION REPLACED DUE TO HESITATION,STALLING AND SURGING, REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION PERFORMS THE SAME, SEVERAL REPAIR ATTEMPTS WITH NO REMEDY. MJS
TRANSMISSION FAILED. YH
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
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