IllustrationWHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. ALSO. THE CONSUMER CONTACTED DEALER ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS, BUT PROBLEM STILL OCCURS. *AK *LA
2003 Buick Lesabre
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Lesabre years
Owner complaints for the 2003 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
270–25K
3125–50K
2550–75K
1775–100K
13100–150K
6150K+
119 reports with mileage · 45 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.
- Structure. Review the 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 18 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
What owners actually said
164 reportsWHILE DRIVING, THE CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. THIS CAUSED LOST OF BRAKING POWER. THE CONSUMER PLACED BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP. CONSEQUENTLY THE VEHICLE COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, BOTH AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE C…
Read full complaint
WHILE DRIVING, THE CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. THIS CAUSED LOST OF BRAKING POWER. THE CONSUMER PLACED BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP. CONSEQUENTLY THE VEHICLE COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, BOTH AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC ADVISED THE CONSUMER THAT A REPRESENTATIVE WOULD COME DOWN TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK
SINCE DATE OF PURCHASE MOTION OF LHF SEAT, L & R, OCCURS ON TURNS. ANOISE CAN ALSO BE HEARD. THE CONDITION APPEARS TO BE GETTING WORSE, BOTH THE DETECTED MOTION AND NOISE HAVE INCREASED.*AK
VEHICLE ENGINE COOLANT LEAK. *MR THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN CORRECTED. *SC *JB
THE FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM INDICATOR ALWAYS READ FULL TANK EVEN WHEN THE TANK WAS EMPTY. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK *NM
WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PULL OUT OF DRIVEWAY CONSUMER'S WIFE HEARD A LOUD NOISE. SHE THOUGHT THAT CONSUMER RAN OVER SOMETHING, BUT INSTEAD IT WAS A TIRE. CONSUMER TOOK THE TIRE TO A TIRE REPAIR SHOP, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE TIRE BLEWOUT FROM THE INSIDE SIDEWALL AND COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. CONSUMER THOUGHT THAT THE DEFECTIVE TIRE …
Read full complaint
WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PULL OUT OF DRIVEWAY CONSUMER'S WIFE HEARD A LOUD NOISE. SHE THOUGHT THAT CONSUMER RAN OVER SOMETHING, BUT INSTEAD IT WAS A TIRE. CONSUMER TOOK THE TIRE TO A TIRE REPAIR SHOP, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE TIRE BLEWOUT FROM THE INSIDE SIDEWALL AND COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. CONSUMER THOUGHT THAT THE DEFECTIVE TIRE WAS A RECALLED TIRE. *AK *NM
THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE DASHBOARD COMPONETS IN THE SUNLIGHT. *JB
(1) BAD CV JOINT/HALF SHAVES UPON DELIVERY OF VEHICLE (2) FAILURE WILL CAUSE LOSS OF POWER AND FRONT WHEEL LOCKUP WHILE OPERATING VEHICLE. 3) NOTHING WAS DONE. G M REP. STATED VEHICLE IS WITHIN CORPORATE SPECIFICATIONS.*AK
WHILE PULLING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD POPPING SOUND. CONSUMER LEFT THE VEHICLE, AND FOUND THAT THE TIRE BLEW OUT AT THE SIDEWALL. *AK
BOTH FRONT SEATS HAVE GOTTEN WRINKLES IN THE LEATHER, THE DEALER SAID THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO ABOUT THE WRINKLES. I BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN AND I WILL NOT EXCEPT THAT NOTHING CAN BE DONE. *JB UPDATED 07/26/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Official recalls
102V222000 · Air Bags:frontal
Aug 9, 2002
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
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.