Your vehicle report
2003 Buick Lesabre
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 164
- Received Apr 2003 to May 2025
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Dashboard cracks near passenger airbag19 complaints · 12% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Dashboard melts, becomes sticky and glares11 complaints · 6.7% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Glass shatters or cracks without impact10 complaints · 6.1% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #02V222000Certain passenger, mini vans, and sport utility vehicles have an air bag inflator on the driver's side that could fracture at a weld during a deployment.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 9 crashes, 4 fires, 9 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 18 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
- Plastic intake manifold cracks and leaks coolant
- Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips
- Head gasket leaks coolant into engine
1 more problem
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 12 |
| 2004 | 18 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2006 | 9 |
| 2007 | 12 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 | 13 |
| 2011 | 17 |
| 2012 | 13 |
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 26 |
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 164 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard cracks near passenger airbag | 19 | 12% | – | |
| Dashboard melts, becomes sticky and glares | 11 | 6.7% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 10 | 6.1% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 7 | 4.3% | – | |
| Power window regulator fails and window drops | 6 | 3.7% | – | |
| Headlights dim or fail at night | 6 | 3.7% | – | |
| Plastic intake manifold cracks and leaks coolant | 6 | 3.7% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 5 | 3.0% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 5 | 3.0% | – | |
| Airbag warning light stays on | 4 | 2.4% | – | |
| Steering wheel shakes violently at highway speed | 4 | 2.4% | – | |
| Head gasket leaks coolant into engine | 4 | 2.4% | – | |
| Transmission fails or loses power while driving | 4 | 2.4% | – | |
| Frame rusts and corrodes through | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Front brake rotors warp and wear early | 3 | 1.8% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #02V222000August 9, 2002133,221 vehicles affected
air bags: frontal
Certain passenger, mini vans, and sport utility vehicles have an air bag inflator on the driver's side that could fracture at a weld during a deployment.
Pieces of the inflator could strike and injure vehicle occupants and the air bag cushion would not inflate fully, reducing the capability of the bag to protect the driver.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect, and replace, if necessary, the air bag module assembly on the driver's side. Owner notification began august 15, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Buick at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, Gmc at 1-800-462-8782, Oldsmobile at 1-800-442-6537, or Pontiac at 1-800-762-2737.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2003 Buick Lesabre.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN