"How reliable is the 2003 Buick Century?"

"Based on 169 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Buick Century has a median complaint mileage of 65546 miles. The most common issue is EXTERIOR LIGHTING."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Buick Century?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Buick Century is EXTERIOR LIGHTING, accounting for a significant portion of the 169 total complaints filed."

2003 Buick Century: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 169 complaints

169

Total Complaints

65,546mi

Median Mileage

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

38,654 25th Percentile

65,546 Median Mileage

98,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

STEERING

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

STRUCTURE

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

STRUCTURE:BODY

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN THE RAIN WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD WORK INTERMITTENTLY. DEALER NOTIFIED IS A DEFECTIVE VISIBILITY AND GMC SAID IT WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. *AK *CB"

"THE CONTROLS FOR THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS ARE HARD TO OPERATE WHILE DRIVING. *AK"

"THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES GRABBING. VEHICLE HAD BEEN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES. THE CONSUMER FELT THE BRAKES WERE STILL UNSAFE. *AK THE PROBLEM CONTINUED TO BACK. THERE WAS A WHINE COMING FROM THE ENGINE UPON DEACCELERATION SITTING AND STOPPING AND THEN WENT AWAY AS SOON AS THE ..."

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