IllustrationTHE COOLANT LIGHT NEVER ILLUMINATED WARNING THE CONSUMER OF A PROBLEM, SUBSEQUENTLY THE WATER PUMP IN THE CONSUMER'S 2002 BUICK CENTURY FAILED. *NM FOR THE SECOND TIME THE COOLANT SENSOR IS NOT WORKING. *JB
2002 Buick Century
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Century years
Owner complaints for the 2002 Buick Century are substantially higher than the model-year median of 28.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Century years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
140–25K
2925–50K
1850–75K
1775–100K
17100–150K
6150K+
101 reports with mileage · 53 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
9 crash reports4 fire reports7 injury reports
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
25 reportsMANIFOLD INTAKE GASKET FAILURE (LEAKING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF COOLANT/WATER INTO CRANKCASE) WITH ONLY 60,000 MILES ON THE ENGINE!*AK
I BROUGHT MY CAR TO MY BUICK DEALER FOR SERVICE AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE COOLANT HAD BECOME SLUDGY. THEY TOLD ME THAT THE SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE DRAINED, CLEANED AND REFILLED AND WOULD COST ME $129.00. I WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE THIS, AND THE REPRESENTATIVE COULDN'T TELL ME WHY, BUT THAT THEY CAUGHT IT EA…
Read full complaint
I BROUGHT MY CAR TO MY BUICK DEALER FOR SERVICE AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE COOLANT HAD BECOME SLUDGY. THEY TOLD ME THAT THE SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE DRAINED, CLEANED AND REFILLED AND WOULD COST ME $129.00. I WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE THIS, AND THE REPRESENTATIVE COULDN'T TELL ME WHY, BUT THAT THEY CAUGHT IT EARLY AND WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM. I THEN TOOK A LOOK ON THE INTERNET FOR INFORMATION ON THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND OUT ABOUT THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS AGAINST GM FOR THEIR DEXCOOL COOLANT PROBLEMS IN THEIR CARS, ESPECIALLY THE V6'S. I CALLED THE DEALER TO TELL THEM THAT I HAD A PROBLEM WITH HAVING TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR AND THAT I WAS ALSO CONCERNED WITH POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO MY SYSTEM, INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET PROBLEMS AND THE EFFECT THAT WOULD HAVE IN THE FUTURE. THEY TOLD ME THEY WOULD CALL ME BACK. THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY AN OUTSIDE AGENCY BECAUSE GM IS NOT STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE TO HANDLE IT. WHILE NOT CAUSING AN IMMEDIATE PHYSICAL DANGER, IT DOES CERTAINLY CAUSE A SECONDARY DANGER TO MOTORISTS WHO BREAK DOWN ON THE ROAD AND THE OTHER MOTORISTS AROUND THEM. PLEASE STEP IN AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. THANK YOU.*AK
CONTINUE TO HAVE A ROUGH IDLING ENGINE. *AK
VEHICLE SHAKES VERY VIOLENTLY. CONSUMER BELIEVES ITS AN ENGINE PROBLEM. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.