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Engine & cooling

2003 Buick Century Engine problems

Owners have filed 17 complaints about the 2003 Buick Century's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 13% of all its complaints, most recently on September 3, 2015. They describe 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
17
Recalls
0
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

Engine & cooling

Vechicle shuts off when at a stop light/sign after taking it 3 times to multiple mechanics including the dealer- king pontiac, md, no one is able to identify and fix the problem, I am told that they can't identify duplicate the problem and identify the code to fix the car

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10761410
Engine & coolingFuel system

Every buick owner, I have talked to at about 80,000 to 100,000 miles has to replace intake manifold and bolts. This is about a $1200.00 Job, gaskets and bolts should last a lot longer. *Tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 10678391
Electrical systemLightsDriver assistanceEngine & cooling

When using turn signals car dies, all the dash lights flash and click. If I pull over and put the car in park it restarts and drives fine until I try the turn signal again then the same thing happens. I also had to disconnect the emergency brake sensor or else the same thing happens. Flashing, clicking and car dies. Now, whenever car is in gear, constant dinging and it will drive fine but I cannot use the turn signals. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · Exterior lighting · Electronic stability control (ESC) · EngineNHTSA 10625827
SteeringEngine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 buick century. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who informed the contact that the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.

Filed Incident Steering · Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10617359
Engine & coolingElectrical system

Instrument cluster on 2003 buick century doesn't work , I understand this is common on this car and very expensive to fix. I feel gm should be accountable. Also, the head gasket is blown I was told by a garage that it was the type of coolant they used and also very common on these cars. These are clearly defects in their product and they should be recalled. I have bought american cars all my life but i,m done with them ,they don't stand behind their product. *Tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · Electrical systemNHTSA 10369014
Engine & cooling

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 buick century. Whenever the contact examined the engine she noticed that the oil level would continually drop after having an oil change. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the engine manifold was leaking. The current and failure mileages were 46000.

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10303187
Engine & cooling

2003 Buick century 4dr - I have had for almost six years and this happened only one time. Thank god. I left walmart on side street, slowed for stop sign ahead, the engine went completely dead, lights and instruments out, I came to sudden stop. Could not restart car, doorlocks had automatically clicked, locking us inside, we could not release or open doors. We were locked inside our car. Luckily I wore cellphone. About ten minutes later, out of the blue, the power came back on all at once, lights came on. I was able to restart engine and unlock the doors. It was a rather scary situation for a few moments. I thought, "what if there had been a fire in the engine compartment?" *Tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10278396
Engine & cooling

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 buick century. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for repair and they discovered an engine coolant leak. The dealer suggested that the head gasket be replaced. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 30,800.

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10268529
Engine & coolingFire

Tl*the contact owned a 2003 buick century. An hour and fifteen minutes after parking the vehicle at his residence, the contact was informed that it was on fire. He noticed flames coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called and a report was filed. The fire quickly spread throughout the contact's home before the fire department could arrive. It took approximately one and a half hours to extinguish the fire. The home and carport were severely damaged. The vehicle was destroyed and the...

Read the full complaint

home was condemned due to the fire. There were no injuries. The fire department stated that the origin of the fire was the engine compartment. The failure and current mileages were 48,000. Updated 01/08/09 *bf

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10251831
Engine & cooling

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 buick century. The contact took her vehicle to the dealer for regularly scheduled maintenance. She was informed that the maintenance could not be performed due to a faulty manifold gasket that was leaking oil into the antifreeze. The dealer replaced the head gasket at the cost of $900. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 78,162 and failure mileage was 78,130.

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10224900
Engine & cooling

On 21 august 2007 my 2003 buck rendezvous cxl awd with app 60,050 miles suffered a complete engine failure due to what my mechanic believes is a failure of the wrist pin in the left most front cylinder. The car was well maintained for receiving regularly spaced oil changes. Per my mechanic's opinion failure of this part is not an indication of excessive wear or tear or lack of vehicle care. The consequence of the failure of this wrist pin is the destruction of the entire engine. Per my mechanic's opinion there is no way to salvage an engine that has suffered this type of incident. The correction of this incident will involve the replacement of the entire engine. *Tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10200700
Engine & cooling

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 buick century. The contact took the vehicle to the repair shop for routine maintenance. The mechanic discovered that the manifold was leaking and made the repair. The contact noticed the number of complaints that were filed for this failure and believes it to be a manufacturer defect. The vin was unknown. The current mileage is 47,900 and failure mileage was 47,600. The consumer provided the repair invoice for the vehicle. Updated 09/05/07 *tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10197233
Engine & cooling

Was told by dealer that the normal oil consumption of 1 quart in 2000 miles was normal according to the manufacturer for a buick lesabre '03 v6 engine. I thought it was ridiculous for a brand new car! I'd appreciate any info on this. *Nm

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10106267
BrakesEngine & coolingBody, doors & structure

Consumer complained about doors locking and unlocking while driving. The dealer inspected the vehicle several times but could not duplicate or correct the problems. The dashboard was also falling apart. *Ak *nm the trunk popped open, the brakes were inopeative, there was a fume smell coming from the vehicle. Updated 12/13/05. *Jb

Filed Incident Service brakes, hydraulic · Engine and engine cooling · Structure · Latches / locks / linkagesNHTSA 10071749
Engine & cooling

While driving,vehicle stalled. Consumer restarted vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic informed consumer that the vehicle was placed on diagnostic machine, and no problem was recalled from the machine. Then, mechanic took the vehicle on a test drive . Vehicle duplicated the problem. But mechanic insisted that no solution was available at this time. *Ak

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10083241
Engine & cooling

My 2003 buick century started running bad so I took it to a dealer and they found that the bolts holding down the rocker arms had stripped out of the head. The vehicle was 2000 miles out of warranty and gm would only agree to pay for parts, I had to pay $1276.46 For labor. To me this is a manufacturing defect in the parts and I should not have had to pay for anything.

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10072393
BrakesEngine & cooling

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 gas was depressed to accelerate there was no problem. (Idle was rough) the brakes squeaked and made noise when when applied in the morning. *Scc *jb

Filed Service brakes, hydraulic · Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10033683

Buick Century engine complaints by year

Century engine problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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