"How reliable is the 1999 Buick Century?"

"Based on 287 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Buick Century has a median complaint mileage of 54189 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Buick Century?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Buick Century is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, accounting for a significant portion of the 287 total complaints filed."

1999 Buick Century: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 287 complaints

287

Total Complaints

54,189mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

38,000 25th Percentile

54,189 Median Mileage

79,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

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

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS ARE YELLOW/AMBER IN COLOR CAUSING CONFUSION WHEN DRIVING."

"WHILE AT A STOP ON A LAND DECLINE VEHICLE WILL ROLL BACK WHEN ACCELERATING WHICH MAY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. DEALER SAID IT THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE. *AK"

"WHEN DRIVING AND TRYING TO USE THE HORN, IT IS HARD TO LOCATE THE SPOT WHERE THE HORN IS, CAUSING THE CONSUMER TO NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE HORN. *AK"

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 17 complaints

25th: 38,000 mi Median: 46,150 mi 75th: 53,555 mi

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS 15 complaints

25th: 50,000 mi Median: 66,000 mi 75th: 87,500 mi

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS 15 complaints

25th: 48,536 mi Median: 68,307 mi 75th: 91,250 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 complaints

25th: 28,539 mi Median: 35,026 mi 75th: 46,635 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

PA: 27 NY: 25 OH: 23 FL: 21 MI: 21 CA: 20 IL: 11 TX: 10 NJ: 10 GA: 9

Who Files Complaints?

32.8%

Original Owners

67.2%

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
1994	144	88,500	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	29
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
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