IllustrationMY CAR SEEMS TO JUST DIE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING IT THEM YOU HAVE TO PULL OVER AND WAIT A FEW MINS BEFORE IT WILL START AGAIN AND NO BODY SEEMS TO KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE TO YOU
1998 Buick Lesabre
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Lesabre years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Buick Lesabre are substantially higher than the model-year median of 24.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Lesabre 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
90–25K
2525–50K
6150–75K
4775–100K
25100–150K
6150K+
173 reports with mileage · 227 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 196 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Fuel System, Gasoline. Review the 70 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
15 crash reports42 fire reports7 injury reports
Unknown Or Other complaints
11 reportsMY SON WAS ON HIS WAY TO PICK UP MY DAUGHTER ON THE 16, OF SEPTEMBER, 2011 AND AS HE WAS DRIVING THE CAR SHUT OFF. THANKFULLY HE WAS IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 35 BUT HAD IT BEEN ELSEWHERE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE CAR CUT OFF HE WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR ON AFTER A FEW MINUTES AND MADE IT…
Read full complaint
MY SON WAS ON HIS WAY TO PICK UP MY DAUGHTER ON THE 16, OF SEPTEMBER, 2011 AND AS HE WAS DRIVING THE CAR SHUT OFF. THANKFULLY HE WAS IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 35 BUT HAD IT BEEN ELSEWHERE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE CAR CUT OFF HE WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR ON AFTER A FEW MINUTES AND MADE IT HOME AFTER PICKING UP HIS SISTER. EVER SINCE THEN I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TURN MY CAR ON. I ASKED THE DEALER AND THEY SAID I SHOULD INSERT THE KEY TURN IT ON WAIT A MINUTE AND THEN TURN KEY OFF. WAIT 10 MINUTES AND TRY TO START MY CAR. I DID JUST THAT AND MY CAR IS NOT GOING ON AT ALL. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS IT THAT I SHOULD DO NEXT? VERY FRUSTRATED I NEED MY CAR FOR WORK. *TT
IN NOVEMBER,2002, OUR VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. WE TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL LICENSED MECHANIC AND HE DISCOVERED THE UPPER MANIFOLD AND GASKET WERE DISINTEGRATED. ON FURTHER RESEARCH HE OBTAINED A COPY OF A BULLETIN FROM GENERAL MOTORS THAT STATED IF YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE UPPER MANIFOLD, ALSO REPLACE THE LOWER. OUR MECHANICAL INS…
Read full complaint
IN NOVEMBER,2002, OUR VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. WE TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL LICENSED MECHANIC AND HE DISCOVERED THE UPPER MANIFOLD AND GASKET WERE DISINTEGRATED. ON FURTHER RESEARCH HE OBTAINED A COPY OF A BULLETIN FROM GENERAL MOTORS THAT STATED IF YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE UPPER MANIFOLD, ALSO REPLACE THE LOWER. OUR MECHANICAL INSURANCE PAID FOR THE UPPER BUT NOT THE LOWER. WE WROTE TO GM AND AFTER A FEW E-MAILS, OF COURSE THEY SAID NO WAY. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM. IT COULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. I ASK YOU TO LOOK ON THE INTERNET ADDRESS: HTTP://WWW.PETITIONLINE.COM/MOD_PER/SIGNED.CGI?GMCNSMRS. YOU WILL FIND 3700 + OR - SIGNATURES AND STORIES OF SIMILAR GASKET PROBLEMS. PLEASE SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT THIS. I BELIEVE GM KNOWS THEY HAVE HAD A GASKET PROBLEM.
1998 BUICK LESABRE DESCRIPTION OF COMPLAINT NOT GIVEN. MR. *JB
ENGINE CHECK LIGHT HAS COME ON, AND THE SENSOR IN ENGINE HAS MALFUNCTIONED. CAN POSSIBLY CAUSE A FIRE IN ENGINE. CONTACTED DEALER, AND THE DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AKIT HAS BEEN INDICATED TO CONSUMER IF DEFECT IS NOT FIXED, POSSIBLE FIRE OR STALLING MAY OCCUR. *JG
AFTER FILLING FUEL TANK AND DRIVING FOR APPROXIMATELY 80 TO 100 MILES, GAS GAUGE WILL READ THAT FUEL TANK IS EMPTY, AND A WARNING LIGHT WILL COME ON INSTRUMENT PANEL. DEALERSHIP CANNOT DETERMINE A REASON FOR THIS PROBLEM. *AK CONSUMER STATES THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR THREE YEARS AND IS REQUESTING THAT SOMEONE FIX THE PROBLE…
Read full complaint
AFTER FILLING FUEL TANK AND DRIVING FOR APPROXIMATELY 80 TO 100 MILES, GAS GAUGE WILL READ THAT FUEL TANK IS EMPTY, AND A WARNING LIGHT WILL COME ON INSTRUMENT PANEL. DEALERSHIP CANNOT DETERMINE A REASON FOR THIS PROBLEM. *AK CONSUMER STATES THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR THREE YEARS AND IS REQUESTING THAT SOMEONE FIX THE PROBLEM. *SLC
VEHICLE AT STOP LIGHT WHEN ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AND REMAINED. WAS IDLING ROUGHLY WHEN PULLING INTO PARKING LOT, AND THEN VEHICLE DIED. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP, AND WAS INFORMED THAT UPPER PLENTIUM MANIFOLD HAD CRACKED AND WAS LEAKING FLUID ONTO ENGINE. THIS CAUSED PLUGS TO BE FLOODED. PLUGS WERE PULLED AND CLEANED.…
Read full complaint
VEHICLE AT STOP LIGHT WHEN ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AND REMAINED. WAS IDLING ROUGHLY WHEN PULLING INTO PARKING LOT, AND THEN VEHICLE DIED. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP, AND WAS INFORMED THAT UPPER PLENTIUM MANIFOLD HAD CRACKED AND WAS LEAKING FLUID ONTO ENGINE. THIS CAUSED PLUGS TO BE FLOODED. PLUGS WERE PULLED AND CLEANED. *AK
WHEN GOING DOWN A STEEP HILL AND TRYING TO BRAKE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. ALSO, ENGINECHECK LIGHT CAME ON AS THOUGH VEHICLE HAS OVERHEATED. A BULLETIN WAS GIVEN TO OWNER BY A PARK RANGER AT MT. WASHINGTON. THE BULLETIN WAS ABOUT A PROBLEM WITH THE INERTIA SWITCH. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
INSTRUMENT PANEL GLASS IS CONCAVE INSTEAD OF CONCURVE. HARD TO READ INSTRUMENTS. HAVE A BLIND SPOT ON DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW. CANNOT SEE OTHER VEHICLES WHEN LOOKING OUTSIDE MIRROR. EMERGENCY BUTTON IS NOT VISIBLE TO NAKED EYE. LOCATED UNDER STEERING COLUMN OUT OF SIGHT. *AK
Official recalls
104V090000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery
Feb 24, 2004
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL NEW FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH IMPROVED DIAPHRAGMS. THE RECALL WILL BE CONDUCTED IN PHASED MAILINGS. PHASE 1 BEGAN ON JUNE 30, 2004, AND PHASE 2 BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537, OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
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
2EA02030 · Engine Compartment Fires
Opened Oct 22, 2002 · Closed Mar 9, 2004
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Fuel System, Gasoline; Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery; Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME BACKFIRE EVENTS AND DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH LEAKING DIAPHRAGMS THAT CAN PROVIDE A SOURCE OF FUEL TO PRODUCE A COMBUSTIBLE AIR-FUEL MIXTURE IN THE MANIFOLD.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY ODI THAT NO SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS IN THE VEHICLES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN GM?S RECALLS.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE INCIDENCE OF MANIFOLD RUPTURES AND RELATED FIRES IN OTHER MY 1995-2002 GM PASSENGER CARS EQUIPPED WITH THE SUBJECT INTAKE MANIFOLD.FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.
Additional source detail variants (3)
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME BACKFIRE EVENTS AND DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH LEAKING DIAPHRAGMS THAT CAN PROVIDE A SOURCE OF FUEL TO PRODUCE A COMBUSTIBLE AIR-FUEL MIXTURE IN THE MANIFOLD.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY ODI THAT NO SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS IN THE VEHICLES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN GM?S RECALLS.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE INCIDENCE OF MANIFOLD RUPTURES AND RELATED FIRES IN OTHER MY 1995-2002 GM PASSENGER CARS EQUIPPED WITH THE SUBJECT INTAKE MANIFOLD.FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME BACKFIRE EVENTS AND DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH LEAKING DIAPHRAGMS THAT CAN PROVIDE A SOURCE OF FUEL TO PRODUCE A COMBUSTIBLE AIR-FUEL MIXTURE IN THE MANIFOLD.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY ODI THAT NO SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS IN THE VEHICLES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN GM?S RECALLS.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE INCIDENCE OF MANIFOLD RUPTURES AND RELATED FIRES IN OTHER MY 1995-2002 GM PASSENGER CARS EQUIPPED WITH THE SUBJECT INTAKE MANIFOLD.FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.
Fuel System, Gasoline
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME BACKFIRE EVENTS AND DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH LEAKING DIAPHRAGMS THAT CAN PROVIDE A SOURCE OF FUEL TO PRODUCE A COMBUSTIBLE AIR-FUEL MIXTURE IN THE MANIFOLD.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY ODI THAT NO SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS IN THE VEHICLES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN GM?S RECALLS.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE INCIDENCE OF MANIFOLD RUPTURES AND RELATED FIRES IN OTHER MY 1995-2002 GM PASSENGER CARS EQUIPPED WITH THE SUBJECT INTAKE MANIFOLD.FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.
PE02050 · Engine Compartment Fires
Opened Jun 13, 2002 · Closed Oct 22, 2002
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine And Engine Cooling
No summary supplied.