NHTSA — Power Train Problems

2.9

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Buick LeSabre drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2004 Buick LeSabre Owner Comments

problem #7

Apr 122022

LeSabre

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car has hard shift's that get worse when the car is up to temperature. Fuel gauge show's false reading. Two window regulators failed.

- Selma , OR, USA

problem #6

Oct 212021

LeSabre

  • miles
Drove to the store, transmission was hard shifting and then wouldn't hardly move at all. Almost got hit three x!! Very tramatized. How is it that on just one of many web pages 400 people had this problem 140 complained about it! that's just one website! how has this problem not been fixed and recalled?

- Wilmington , OH, USA

problem #5

Feb 222021

LeSabre

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled with several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was restarted however, the failure recurred intermittently. The contact believed that the failure was related to the power train. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

- Maysville, KY, USA

problem #4

Dec 092019

LeSabre

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I continue smelling an oil-burning smell and my right turn signal continue to go out and I have replaced to blub over and over

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #3

Jan 132016

LeSabre

  • 75,000 miles
Within the passed 2 months I have been experiencing "hard shifts". very pronounced jolt/jerk when accelerating after a full stop or decelerating to come to a stop. Just researched on this site and found many other consumers with 2004 Lesabre's experiencing same situation. Has to do with inferior pressure control solenoid and/or shift solenoids. Apparently GM has refused to recall and replace due to the cost. Can cause premature failure of transmission and they say they are under no obligation to make it right!!! also have had problems with speedometer and tachcometer. My tach is frozen at 2 and speedometer started giving false readings about 3 yrs. Ago. Did not address because my mechanic told me its very costly. I have to use my garmin to tell me how fast I am going. Happened first time in extreme heat traveling on highway. Then again when it w as raining. Very unsafe situation and again a very costly fix that GM will not address.

- Clifton, NJ, USA

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problem #2

Mar 072015

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 131,000 miles
My 2004 Buick Lesabre keeps losing power while I am driving. This is the 4th incident in 2 months! the vehicle dies and the power steering locks. This is a dangerous situation as I was on hwy 190 and there is major work being done. I was driving over a bridge and their are barriers on both sides of the highway. Each time the incident occurs I get a crank but no start. My vehicle is then towed to a mechanic and I've been told that the crank shaft sensor and ignition module are bad. The sensor has been replaced twice within a weeks time and not three weeks after the module was replaced it is back at the shop today. I have no leverage under Texas lemon laws because it is used vehicle and unfortunately I have to put my job before my safety because I have responsibilities. I am in a dangerous situation right now!

- Killeen , TX, USA

problem #1

Mar 272014

LeSabre

  • 130,000 miles
Very common know problem of the 4T65E transmission equipped in these cars is a pressure control solenoid and/or the shift solenoids fail prematurely due to a poorly constructed parts. A service bulletin has been issued by manufacturer warning of the problem and to use a much more superior part to replace the bad ones. This happens across a number of vehicles and GM refuses to recall said part even after knowing it is a failed part. The problem it causes is the transmission goes into high pressure mode and causes hard up shifts. There is a unofficial work around that involves installing after market parts to stop the hard shifts.GM has been made aware of the problem and has personally told me they will not issue a recall due to cost of recalling and repairing. Especially in cars that this has caused premature failure of the transmission. And they say they are under no obligation to do so. The sad thing is I just asked for the updated part so I could personally install it because I do better work than their garages and wouldn't trust them to change a tire let alone touch a transmission. I am capable of installing the parts I just want the updated one for free since it is a problem that should have been corrected on their part to begin with. This problem is much like the coolant problem GM claims didn't exist until they were sued for it.

- Rome, NY, USA

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