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2004 Buick Lesabre

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Lesabre years

Owner complaints for the 2004 Buick Lesabre are substantially higher than the model-year median of 24.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

126 reports with mileage · 36 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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 66 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Structure. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports5 fire reports8 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

66 reports
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50,000 miles · Jan 3, 2010
Electrical System

SPEEDOMETER STOPS WORKING ON MY 2004 BUICK. IT CAN STOP AT ANY GIVEN TIME AN CAN CAUSE SPEEDING BY NOT KNOWING HOW FAST I AM RUNNING. ALSO SPEEDING IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATHS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10297907

150,000 miles · Dec 21, 2009
Electrical SystemFire

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE HE HEARD A NOISE. AFTER HE OPENED THE HOOD AND SAW SMOKE, BUT WITHIN MINUTES THE VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT NUMBER WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FIRE DEPT STATED THAT THE FIRE WAS INITIATED BY ELECTRICAL FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER TOOK …

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE HE HEARD A NOISE. AFTER HE OPENED THE HOOD AND SAW SMOKE, BUT WITHIN MINUTES THE VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT NUMBER WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FIRE DEPT STATED THAT THE FIRE WAS INITIATED BY ELECTRICAL FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER TOOK A REPORT NUMBER 71-787679701. THE MANUFACTURE STATED THE VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE OPEN RECALLS AND HE WILL RECEIVED A CALL BACK. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 150,000.

NHTSA ODI #10296543

78,000 miles · Dec 9, 2009
Electrical System

I NOTICED MY CAR SEEMED TO BE TRAVELING SLOWER THAN MOST TRAFFIC WHEN TRAVELING AT POSTED SPEED LIMITS. EVENTUALLY WHILE DRIVING AT A REASONABLE SPEED NOTICED SPEEDOMETER READ 95MPH, NEEDLE STARTED JUMPING AHEAD TO HIGHER SPEEDS WHILE MAINTAINING NORMAL SPEED. ONCE I STOPPED THE CAR THE NEEDLE DIDN'T RETURN TO THE ZERO POSITION,…

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I NOTICED MY CAR SEEMED TO BE TRAVELING SLOWER THAN MOST TRAFFIC WHEN TRAVELING AT POSTED SPEED LIMITS. EVENTUALLY WHILE DRIVING AT A REASONABLE SPEED NOTICED SPEEDOMETER READ 95MPH, NEEDLE STARTED JUMPING AHEAD TO HIGHER SPEEDS WHILE MAINTAINING NORMAL SPEED. ONCE I STOPPED THE CAR THE NEEDLE DIDN'T RETURN TO THE ZERO POSITION, BUT STAYED A 80MPH. STARTING THE CAR WOULD RESET THE NEEDLE BACKWARD 10MPH BUT IT WOULDN'T RETURN TO ZERO. I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM AND DISCOVERED THE SAME PROBLEM WAS OCCURRING IN SIMILAR MODEL YEAR GM PICK-UPS RESULTING IN A CLASS ACTION SUIT. SHORTLY AFTER SPEEDOMETER FAILURE THE FUEL GAUGE FAILED JUMPING FORWARD AND BACKWARD. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE THE CAR WAS APPROACHING 80,000 MILES WHICH WAS THE LIMIT FOR COVERAGE IN THE FULL SIZE TRUCK CLASS ACTION SUIT. THE DEALER REPLACED THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AT A COST OF AROUND $400, IT TOOK ABOUT A WEEK FOR THE DEALER TO OBTAIN THE PART. I SENT GM THE FORM FOR INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILURE CLASS ACTION SUIT AND WAS CALLED BY GM AND SENT A LETTER TELLING ME THAT THE BUICK LESABRE IS NOT COVERED UNDER THIS PROGRAM. I HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED MY MOTHERS 2004 BUICK LESABRE WITH SIMILAR MILEAGE HAS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10295153

90,000 miles · Oct 11, 2009
Electrical System

INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER COMPONENTS (SPEEDOMETER AND FUEL GAGE) ARE INOPERATIVE. SPEEDOMETER SOMETIMES WORKS, AND SOMETIME SHOWS VERY HIGH SPEEDS. MOST OF THE TIME IT SITS ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT (ON ZERO) OR ALL THE WAY ON THE RIGHT (PAST 120). MOST OF THE TIME I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I AM GOING. THE FUEL GAGE IS COMPLETELY …

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INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER COMPONENTS (SPEEDOMETER AND FUEL GAGE) ARE INOPERATIVE. SPEEDOMETER SOMETIMES WORKS, AND SOMETIME SHOWS VERY HIGH SPEEDS. MOST OF THE TIME IT SITS ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT (ON ZERO) OR ALL THE WAY ON THE RIGHT (PAST 120). MOST OF THE TIME I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I AM GOING. THE FUEL GAGE IS COMPLETELY INOPERATIVE. I USE THE DIGITAL INFO DISPLAY TO THE LEFT TO SHOW HOW MANY MILES I HAVE BEFORE I RUN OUT OF FUEL TO TELL ME IF I NEED GAS. SO FAR I HAVE NOT RUN OUT OF GAS. TACHOMETER AND WATER TEMP GAUGES WORK FINE. THIS HAS GONE ON FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10287030

32,000 miles · Apr 15, 2009
Electrical SystemFuel System, Gasoline

SPEEDOMETER AND GAS GAUGE STOPPED WORKING AT 32,000. SPEEDOMETER WORKS SOMETIMES. GAS GAUGE REGISTERS PASSED FULL , AND IN THE 7 O'CLOCK POSITION. I NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF MY MILEAGE PER TANK FULL AT - TO NOT GO BEYOND 300 MILE RANGE BEFORE I NEED TO FILL UP THE TANK. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10265513

25,000 miles · Apr 3, 2009
Electrical System

CLUSTER INOPERATIVE. NO SPEEDOMETER AND OTHER GAUGES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10264034

25,000 miles · Mar 31, 2009
Electrical System

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED AND THE SPEEDOMETER DIAL DID NOT MOVE AT ALL. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD INDICATE HIGHER SPEEDS THAN WHAT WERE ACTUALLY BEING DRIVEN. THE ODOMETER WAS THE ONLY GAUGE THAT OPERATED PROPERLY. HE TOOK HIS VEHICLE TO TH…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED AND THE SPEEDOMETER DIAL DID NOT MOVE AT ALL. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD INDICATE HIGHER SPEEDS THAN WHAT WERE ACTUALLY BEING DRIVEN. THE ODOMETER WAS THE ONLY GAUGE THAT OPERATED PROPERLY. HE TOOK HIS VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, BUT WAS TURNED AWAY BECAUSE THE WARRANTY DID NOT COVER HIS MODEL VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WENT TO TWO OTHER DEALERS AND THEY AGREED THAT THEY COULD NOT REPAIR THE FAILURE UNDER WARRANTY. HE DISCOVERED THAT OTHER MODELS WITH THE SAME INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WERE INCLUDED IN A RECALL, EXCEPT FOR HIS VEHICLE. HE SPOKE WITH THE MANUFACTURER, BUT THEY COULD NOT ASSIST. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 30,610 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 25,000.

NHTSA ODI #10263797

44,000 miles · Mar 20, 2009
Electrical System

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING AND TAIL LIGHTS FAIL CONSTANTLY. AS A RESULT, VISIBILITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. THE DEALER STATED THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AT THE COST OF $369. AS OF MARCH 20, 2009, THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING AND TAIL LIGHTS FAIL CONSTANTLY. AS A RESULT, VISIBILITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. THE DEALER STATED THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AT THE COST OF $369. AS OF MARCH 20, 2009, THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 44,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 51,000. UPDATED 12/8/09 *CN UPDATED 12/09/09

NHTSA ODI #10262559

30,000 miles · Jan 26, 2009
Electrical System

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER WAS INOPERATIVE. SHE WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE EXACT SPEED THAT SHE WAS TRAVELING. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF $500. THE VEHI…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER WAS INOPERATIVE. SHE WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE EXACT SPEED THAT SHE WAS TRAVELING. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF $500. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 30,000.

NHTSA ODI #10256334

42,000 miles · Jan 6, 2009
Electrical System

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE AND TACHOMETER DIAL STOPPED WORKING. THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE COULD STILL BE DRIVEN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IT WAS A SAFETY HAZARD NOT KNOWING HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE VEHICLE …

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE AND TACHOMETER DIAL STOPPED WORKING. THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE COULD STILL BE DRIVEN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IT WAS A SAFETY HAZARD NOT KNOWING HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 42,000. UPDATED 02/05/09 *BF UPDATED 02/09/09. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10253978

Official recalls

0

No 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.