Buick Lesabre overheating problems

Filed Jul 28, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TN · fire

The plastic pice holding the throttle lines snapped off and my cable went under my bracket and it took off I destroyed the Transmission putting it in neutral to stop the vehicle after I had gotten it stoped the fire from the engine was small I will recommend this car and yes I do want another one but it is a common issue I will recomed this car because the body is made out of steel and they are basicly tanks with the 3800 Series II and it was easy for me to spot what was happening and get ahead of it before it got worse I drove 5 miles with this happening before the engine overheated and caught fire

Filed Jul 26, 2017 · Engine · 103,000 miles · IL

We were driving and heard it missing and it started overheating, so we put more water in and decided to come home. So when we turned around it died 2x then the cylinders locked up and it wouldnt start. When we got home my husband found water in the intake and the oil. So we replaced the intake gasket and put it back together and it did it again, but then it made a loud noise and we found that the bar connection the piston to the crank shaft busted. The car only has 103,k miles on it.. Dont understand how its even possible. The only other person that owned it was an old guy. We only put 300miles on it when this happened.

Filed Jun 16, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 95,718 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 buick lesabre. While driving at 25 MPH, the engine overheated. The contact also stated that the vehicle fuel gauge fluctuated from empty to full, but never fully displayed the correct amount of fuel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the intake gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,718. Updated 8/10/15*cn the fuel sending unit was replaced twice. Updated 10/29/15.*jb updated 03/29/16.*jb the consumer stated the fuel gauge would always indicate it was full. However, the low fuel light would illuminate. Updated 05/17/16.

Filed Dec 10, 2014 · Engine · 80,000 miles · WI

My car is a 1999 buick la sabre with a 3.8l engine. July/20/2012 my car had 80,000 miles on it when my engine started to miss. When I got it looked at by my friend I was told there was coolant in the cylinders. The engine had problems with the intake plenum leaking coolant, because of the egr system. He then fixed the car. On november 20, 2014 my engine had 138,000 miles when it overheated on the highway. I found no coolant in the reservoir with coolant in the oil. When my friend looked at my car he said it was the plenum again, but this time the coolant in the oil may have wiped the main bearings. The overheating may have also warped the cylinder heads. He told me at the least there was damage done to the bearings. Being upset I looked online for information to find that this problem is common with that engine. Also that gm didn't acknowledge the problem. Has gm finally admitted to faulty manufacturing? Even if my car is fixed I no longer feel safe driving it. It may leave me on the road in winter someday with my young son. Or worse, stalling on the highway with loss of power steering. Can someone please help? I am a single mother going to college and money is tight.

Filed Jul 3, 2014 · Brakes, Engine · 240,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 1992 buick lesabre. The contact noticed coolant leaking from under the vehicle. While the parking brake was engaged, the contact had to depress the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from rolling down an incline. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 96v015000 (power train) and 91v167000 (parking brake) however, the contact's VIN was excluded. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 240,000.

Filed Jun 11, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 76,000 miles · VA

Intake manifold gaskets (both lower and upper) have failed resulting in coolant loss. Poorly designed plastic gaskets are no longer used but this should be a recall as it results in safety issue if coolant is completely depleted on the highway resulting in failure of vehicle to drive due to engine failure.

Filed Oct 9, 2012 · Engine · 86,240 miles · AR

The vehicle acted like it had a miss, the service engine light came on, flashing, then stopped flashing but remained on. I drove vehicle home, and the next morning it would not start. I had it towed to a shop and the mechanic said that it had hydro locked due to coolant dripping on the piston from a coolant leak at the intake manifold. This is not a cheap repair.

Filed Jul 10, 2012 · Electrical · 123,000 miles · KY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 buick lesabre. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, smoke was emitting from under the rear seat. The contact was able to pull over to further assess the failure. The contact diagnosed that the electrical chords were overheated and the medal had become unbearably hot. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The failure and the current mileage was 123,000.

Filed Jan 23, 2012 · Electrical · IL

I first noticed the problem with the speedometer a couple of years ago, in 2009. The weather was cold, and I attributed it's disfunction to the cold. Then the other gauges started to show malfunction. When it got to the point that none of the gauges were correct, I went to two gm dealers and received no concern from either of them. They did not even acknowledge that they knew of a problem. I had to pay $400 to replace the dash cluster. About this time I received a letter from chevrolet regarding the relay resistor or wiring connector on my silverado, saying they could overheat and the HVAC blower might not function. I was given 10 years from date of purchase or 150,000 miles, whichever occurred first, to have this corrected if necessary. I called gm and asked why they would extend the warranty on the truck but would not even acknowledge the problem with the buick. Again, no concern was shown. The person I spoke to was in the philippines! Why would she care? We're askedto buy american, but we have to talk to someone in the philippines when there's a problem! Also, I've had nothing but problems with the lights, all of them, inside and out. Couldn't tell you how many I've had to change! At the present time, we have no radio and heater lights. Goodbye gm, hello honda!

Filed Jun 1, 2011 · Engine · 46,333 miles · MN

2003 buick lesabre. Consumer states problem with intake manifold gasket failure *tgw the consumer stated the intake gasket developed a leak, which allowed coolant to get into the oil. The consumer had to replace the upper intake manifold gasket at 46,333 miles and the lower intake manifold gasket at 71,193 miles. The cause of the problem was alleged to be an incompatibility between the gm dex-cool coolant which was introduced in 1995 and the intake manifold gasket material which could cause the engine to overheat and/or seize while driving on the highway.