NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2004 Buick LeSabre (Page 1 of 2)

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
61,748 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Buick LeSabre Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #35

Jun 132024

LeSabre

  • miles

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

The backup camera will stay in 'night' brightness mode for 15 seconds while backing out of the garage into daylight. This makes the video screen usless until the 15 second delay is over. I have asked several times at the dealership since I purchased this vehicle new, and they say nothing can be done. Not only is this a huge safety issue but it also is an enviromental issue as may times I must wait in the driveway with the car needlessly idling until the 15 seconds is up. This is seems to be a simple software update to remove the delay when the car is in reverse.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #34

Jul 082018

LeSabre

  • 15 miles
Takata recall wire harness and back seat belt not working, locking in motion

- South Euclid, OH, USA

problem #33

May 012014

LeSabre

  • 62,000 miles
The gauges in the instrument panel stop working. The speedometer has stopped working I am driving a vehicle and not know how fast I am driving. The gas gauge has stop working I don't know how much gas is in my car I have to fill the tank and check it every two weeks so I will not run out of gas.

- Ft Walton Bch, FL, USA

problem #32

Apr 112014

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 98,139 miles

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

J & K mitchell casey, il.62420 purchased on 4/11/2014, 98,104 mileage. Headlamps go off at nite driving, very unnerving, fuel gage, haywire from the start, while driving, engine would accelerate when turning right. Swaying/suspension, when turning, driving down the road, reported this many times and taken into dealer..however, never taken care of. Only thing fixed was solenoid.

- Altamont, IL, USA

problem #31

Nov 012016

LeSabre

  • 67,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. While driving various speeds, the vehicle suddenly shut off. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #30

Feb 162015

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
Driving home from work during my 20 minute commute during the winter, I had the seat heater on in the drivers seat. It felt unusually warm but I was extremely cold and left it on. As I was getting out of the car my husband asked "what's that smell"? he looked at the seat and there was a quarter size singe hole where the heater coil burned through the leather, he then turned me around and looked at the back of my wool coat- there was a corresponding hole in the new wool coat that I had just bought. I am asking for the replacement for the coat- $180.

- Livonia , MI, USA

problem #29

Jan 062015

LeSabre

  • 155,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that the key could be removed from the ignition at all positions. When the key was removed from the ignition, the engine continued to operate. When the key was removed from the accessory position, it caused the battery to fail. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.

- Merriam , KS, USA

problem #28

May 212015

LeSabre

  • 75,146 miles
While driving home my fuel gauge stopped working. When I got home I turned the car off and then back on and the fuel gauge was now in the 6 position on a clock. Now I have no idea if there is any fuel in the car or not. Luckily I reset the trip meter with every fuel up so I know I can go approximately 300 miles. Although in the winter when we have to idle our car so the fuel mileage goes down and I do not get as many miles on a tank. Hope I don't run out of fuel during the winter. In reading online reviews about this issue it turns out it can get worse and cause the speedometer to stop working. Then I may be speeding and not even know it. I did try and have it fixed but the guy charged me $207 and it did not fix the problem. At the local GM dealership they said they would repair it for $350.

- Merrill, WI, USA

problem #27

Jul 012014

LeSabre

  • 68,000 miles
At 68,000 miles and in the month of July 2014 my Buick Lesabre speedometer and tachometer stopped working....the hands do not move at all.....I do not know how fast I am driving which is dangerous and can cause death....this is a number one complaint of this car and it should be recalled before im dead! I cannot afford the repairs because I am on disability....this is an urgent matter that need to be taken care of immediately!

- Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA

problem #26

Jun 142012

LeSabre

  • 90,000 miles
At approximately 80,000 miles my fuel gauge stopped working. It will either say full or empty no inbetween. It is not accurate nor is the low fuel light. To get it fixed I had it estimated at around $600..... just another reason not to buy a american made vehicle.

- Morenci, MI, USA

problem #25

May 122014

LeSabre

  • 96,687 miles

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

While driving approximately 45 mph, speedometer would increase to as high as 90 mph with no increase from driver. This has been repeated several times over last year of operation. Also gas gauge info has maxed or bottomed out. I can fix this problem by removing and reinstalling the instrument panel fuse under the back seat. When this is done you can hear something under the instrument panel reset. Depending on the local temperature I might be able to go up to 3 months before having to repeat this sequence. Now the A/C is putting out cool air on the passenger side vents only.

- Crestview, FL, USA

problem #24

Apr 072014

LeSabre

  • 87,300 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the the entire instrument panel became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a an independent mechanic who stated that the stepper motors needed to be replaced to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 87,300.

- Toledo, OH, USA

problem #23

May 012013

LeSabre

  • 23,744 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled numerous times while turning or when a road bump was driven over. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure where a diagnostic was performed. The dealer advised that the anti-theft system was causing the failure. The dealer replaced the anti-theft module and the key was reprogrammed however, the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number:14V047000 (air bags, electrical system). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 23,744 and the approximate current mileage was 25,000.

- Mobile, AL, USA

problem #22

Jun 052013

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 145,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that the instrument panel malfunctioned, which prevented her from seeing any of the gauges. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 145,000. The current mileage was 150,000.

- North Hampton , PA, USA

problem #21

Mar 012011

LeSabre

  • 34,000 miles
I purchased my 2004 Lesabre in 2005. Approximately 3 years ago, the speedometer would register 120 when I was moving or when the car was stopped or parked. I spoke to my mechanic and he told me that it was an expensive repair. I am a very conservative driver but am very concerned about the speedometer and the gas gauge not functioning. I have a debilitating disease and cannot even pump my own gas. What would happen if I had to try and walk to a gas station. I do not understand why this is not a recall!! how many complaints does it take?? I love my car but may have to spend a lot of money to fix a problem that is GM's responsibility. I am shocked at the amount of complaints about this very problem. I am also sure that there are many more not reported. Please do something!!

- Hempstead, NY, USA

problem #20

Oct 092013

LeSabre

  • 55,500 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the speedometer and fuel gauge displayed inaccurate readings. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 55,500.

- Westland, MI, USA

problem #19

Mar 132010

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 46,000 miles
As we were traveling down a back road at about 35mph, I noticed that my dash speedometer was reading 85mph. It seemed like the gauge would go up, but would not come back down. Luckily, I have a heads-up display that has always shown the correct speed. Later, most of the rest of my dash gauges began randomly doing the same thing -- they'd go up, but not come back down. The only gauge that seemed unaffected was my fuel gauge -- until last week. It, too, is doing the same thing. I'm seeing lots of web ads to fix this problem, which means that many people are having this same problem. This can be dangerous, since, if I run out of gas on a major road during icy weather (which we have much of the year here in Wisconsin), it could cause a major accident. If that many people are having the same problem, it's not a random chance failure -- it's a defect in design, materials or "workmanship" (which includes automated processes). Please address this problem!

- Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA

problem #18

May 302009

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 42,000 miles
The lights on my heater console began to go out, one by one over a one week period. Obviously all these bulbs were manufactured at the same tine to the very same specs! after finding out from Y service shop that I would have to replace the whole unit (at a cost of over $600 just for the part), I found some bulbs from radio shack that I soldered in myself (through fixya.com - so many people had the same problem). Shortly thereafter, more bulbs on other switches (window controls, steering wheel controls, radio) also went out. This could be a very dangerous situation if you have drivers hunting in the dark for controls as they are driving. Texting is bad enough, but fumbling in the dark for your own car's controls and trying to correct a button you pushed inadvertently can cause a major accident.

- Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA

problem #17

May 122010

LeSabre

  • 75,000 miles
I bought this car May 2010 from gregory automotive group in new castle de. I immediately had a propblem with the speedometer the day I bought it, took it back to the dealership and was told that it wasnt a big deal, this problem was covered by by warranty and I would just need to pay a $100 deductible. I took it to my local Buick dealership and they told me that it isn't covered under the warranty I bought from the dealer and I would have to pay out of pocket for the repairs. My next issue is the gas gauge started to mess up; wrong readings and gas levels left me out of gas and very upset. I will be taking this back to Buick to see if I am at all eligible to recieve recall benefits or something because the amount to fix these issues are greater than I can afford within the year and some change of owning the veh. And I also want to say I did research and do a carfax on the car and it came back with accurate mileage, one owner and no accidents and I jumped on it, only to have a nice car without a working speedometer and gas gauge. I thought Buick were good solid cars......

- Wilmington , DE, USA

problem #16

Jan 052011

LeSabre 6-cyl

  • 23,565 miles
My 2004 Buick Lesabre started having speedometer trouble in Jan. 2011. It started showing the car going slower then it actually is. It doesn't do it right away but after awhile on a long drive. It gets worse the longer you drive it. It can show it going up to 30 mph slower then it is. Also the gas gauge started fluctuating and being erratic and now also the engine temperature gauge also shows running hot when it is not. The car presently has less then 25,000 miles since new. How safe can this be when you can't trust the speedometer. Going too fast or too slow" always unsure, always looking at the gauges" second guessing your driving decisions! the gas gauge and temperature gauge give a different reading each time you drive it. Nothing has been done as of yet. I will be stopping at the racine, wi. Buick dealer where it was purchased new to see if they will warranty the problem this coming week 6/22/2011.

- Racine, WI, USA

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