"How reliable is the 1994 Buick Century?"

"Based on 144 NHTSA complaints, the 1994 Buick Century has a median complaint mileage of 88500 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL."

"What are common problems with the 1994 Buick Century?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1994 Buick Century is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL, accounting for a significant portion of the 144 total complaints filed."

1994 Buick Century: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 144 complaints

144

Total Complaints

88,500mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

70,368 25th Percentile

88,500 Median Mileage

93,447 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

SUSPENSION:FRONT

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FRONTAL COLLISION SPEED 15 MPH, IMPACT 12:00 POSITION AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. TT"

"STEERING DEFECT, WHEN MAKING A TURN STEERING WHEEL IS VERY HARD. TT"

"VEHICLE VIBRATION AT CERTAIN SPEEDS. DEALERSHIP CAN NOT DETERMINE WHATS CAUSING THE PROBLEM. TT"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 12 NJ: 11 IL: 11 NY: 10 TX: 9 LA: 9 OH: 9 MI: 8 PA: 6 VA: 6

Who Files Complaints?

27.1%

Original Owners

72.9%

Second+ Owners

Buick Century — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	49	-	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE	1
1991	50	-	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	9
1992	64	95,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	11
1993	71	-	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	22
1995	127	92,500	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	12
1996	110	80,100	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	7
1997	132	100,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN	4
1998	278	54,696	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	13
1999	287	54,189	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	20
2000	249	64,218	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	11
2001	190	55,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	10
2002	204	61,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	10
2003	169	65,546	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	6
2004	51	90,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	4
2005	35	57,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	1

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28