1998 Buick Lesabre: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 518 complaints
518
Total Complaints
70,731mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
Top Issue
20
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

52,245 25th Percentile
70,731 Median Mileage
92,880 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
54
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
51
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
40
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
32
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY
26
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
22
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
21
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
15
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
14
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
11

Severity Assessment

20
Crashes
64
Fires
11
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE SPEEDOMETER NUMBERS AND GRADUATIONS FOR MPH DO NOT MATCH CORRECTLY. (MISALIGNED)."
"WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT ANY SPEED THE ENGINE DIES. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES FOR THIS PROLBEM. THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND A SERVICE BULLETIN HAS BEEN ISSUED. *AK"
"ENGINE FAILED CAUSING STALLING IN TRAFFIC, NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE WHY INCIDENT OCCURRED."

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

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