1999 Buick Lesabre

Typical pattern

10.6% of complaints about the 1999 Buick Lesabre came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 1999 vehicle — around the middle of the 201 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.7 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine cooling (68 complaints), typically at 4.1 yr or about 78,676 miles.

Complaints: 218
Median age at failure: 4.7 yr
Median mileage: 80,000 n=91
Crash / fire / tow: 24.8% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

04V090000 2004-02-24

Fuel system, gasoline:delivery

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3800 V6 (L36) ENGINES AND CERTAIN DELPHI FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS, THE REGULATORS HAVE A MUCH HIGHER THAN USUAL RATE OF FUEL LEAKS. A LEAK CAN ALLOW FUEL TO ENTER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD THROUGH A VACUUM LINE. IF THE ENGINE DOES NOT START WHEN CRANKED, THE FUEL FROM THE LEAKING REGULATOR AND A MISTIMED SPARK CAN CAUSE A BACKFIRE.

THE BACKFIRE CAN RUPTURE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE RUPTURE OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD CAN DISPLACE A FUEL LINE, PULLING AN INJECTOR OUT OF PLACE, AND CAUSING A FUEL LEAK AND POSSIBLE FIRE.

99V089000 1999-04-26

Power train:automatic transmission

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4T65E AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE." A RETAINING CLIP, WHICH SECURES THE MANUAL VALVE TO THE LINKAGE OF THE TRANSMISSION DETENT LEVER, CAN BECOME LOOSE UNDER A COMBINATION OF POSSIBLE DRIVER SHIFTING MANEUVERS AND ALLOW THE LINK TO BECOME DISCONNECTED FROM THE MANUAL VALVE.

IF THE LINK DISCONNECTS, THE DRIVER'S INDICATED PRNDL STATE MAY DIFFER FROM THE HYDRAULIC STATE OF THE TRANSMISSION. IF THE DRIVER SELECTS 'DRIVE' AND THE TRANSMISSION IS ACTUALLY IN 'REVERSE', A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR.

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 6 mo in service

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 45 MPH ENGINE STOPPED WORKING WITHOUT A WARNING, AND LEFT VEHICLE WITHOUT POWER. *AK *ML

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1 mo in service

ONGOING / INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH ENGINE STALLING WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN / OUT OF DEALER SHOP ON THREE OCCASIONS, AND STALLING STILL OCCURS. SEEKING HELP OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM NHTSA IN THIS MATTER. *AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1.4 yr in service

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE ROAD AT 40 MPH VEHICLE LOST COMPLETE POWER. DEALER NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT NOTHING COULD BE FOUND. *AK

Electrical system mileage not reported 1.3 yr in service

POSSIBLE COMPUTER PROBLEMS CAUSED OIL PRESSURE GAUGE LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, LOSS OF POWER AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO STALL. *NLM

Other Lesabre model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1999 Buick Lesabre

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Lesabre model years

How to read this