Problems · by component
2002 Buick Lesabre electrical system problems
26 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2002 Buick Lesabre cite electrical system, 8% of all 322 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
26
8% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED - WARMING UP AT IDLE - IN 4 DEGREE F OUTSIDE AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE - HAVING BEEN IN HIGH WIND CONTAINING SANDY DIRT PARTICLES OVERNIGHT - VEHICLE UNOCCUPIED - STATIONARY IN RESIDENCE DRIVEWAY. *TR”
“I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH MY VEHICLE'S OIL LEAKING THEN BURNING/SMOKING OFF MY CAR. THIS ISSUE IS ON MY ENGINE'S MANIFOLD & HASN'T BEEN RECALLED EVEN THOUGH THE SAME ENGINE IS RECALLED ON OTHER GM MODELS. THE ENGINE ON MY LESABRE IS THE SAME 3.8 LITER V6 3800 ENGINE THAT WAS RECALLED TWICE BY GM IN THE PAST 6 YEARS. MY ENGINE HAD MINIMAL FIRE IN THE INCIDENTS I EXPERIENCED BUT QUITE A BIT OF SMOKE FROM THE AREA THE OIL LEAKS. ONCE I KILL THE ENGINE THE SMOKE STOPS. GM WANTS TO CHARGE FOR A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK & WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE THE ISSUE ON THE VERY SAME ENGINE, VIEWING IT AS JUST A VEHICLE NOT RECALLED EVEN IF IT HAS THE SAME FAULTY PART. IT CAUSED MY CAR'S CATALYTIC CONVERTER TO FAIL AS IT BURNED THROUGH. A FIX IS COSTLY, SO I WENT TO MY OWN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO SAVE MYSELF MONEY SINCE GM DOES NOT WANT TO TAKE CARE OF ISSUES THAT THEY RECALLED. BELOW ARE THE 2 RECALLS THAT SHOULD APPLY TO MY CAR & ALSO THE PONTIAC BONNEVILLE AS WELL SINCE THEY ARE BOTH BUILT ON THE SAME CHASSIS, PREMISE, & ENGINE AS THE OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE. BOTH LESABRES & BONNEVILLES HAVE THE 3.8 V6 NATURALLY ASPIRATED 3800 ENGINE THAT RUNS IN THE RECALLED INTRIGUE. ENGINE OIL DRIPPING ON…”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 BUICK LESABRE. WHILE CHECKING THE WINDOW MOTOR, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE WIRING INSIDE THE DOOR WAS POORLY ASSEMBLED. EVERY TIME IT RAINED, THE WINDOW REGULATORS HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 24,000. UPDATED 7/21/15*CN UPDATED 9/23/15 *JS”
“THIS I HAVE FOUND OUT ONLINE IS A COMMON PROBLEM, WHEN I PURCHASED MY CAR I HAD A FEW WINDOWS SUDDENLY DROP ON ME & I FIGURED OUT THE WINDOW MOTORS IN 2 WERE BROKEN, HOWEVER WHEN THEY DROPPED I ALSO FOUND OUT ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS IN MY DOOR WERE DAMAGED FROM THE WINDOW MOTOR FAILURE, SO NOW ON MY DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR I HAVE NO MIRROR ADJUSTMENT, NO UNLOCK/LOCK BUTTON FOR SAFETY IN DANGEROUS AREAS I DRIVE, SOME WINDOWS (HAD ALL 4 MOTORS REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME) WORK & SOME DON'T FROM CERTAIN AREAS, I EVEN FOUND AFTER I USED MY RIGHT REAR WINDOW MOTOR, THE TRUNK POPPED OPEN! SO TO FIX THE PROBLEM I PERSONALLY HAD TO DISCONNECT THE NEW WINDOW MOTOR AS WELL AS THE TRUNK. ALSO FOR COMFORT IN HEAT MY HEATED SEAT DOESN'T WORK FROM MY DRIVER DOOR. MY CAR RUNS PERFECT BUT THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR OWNERS LONG AGO FOR 2000-2005 BUICK LESABRES. *TR”
“THIS IS REGARDING RECENT REPLACEMENT OF BOTH REAR WINDOW REGULATORS. RESEARCH HAS PROVEN THAT MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED OVER THE YEARS WITH NO RECALL. I WOULD HOPE FOR FINANCIAL HELP, $1000 TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRS, AS THE MINIMUM RESPONSE; AND ALSO, I HOPE FOR A RECALL TO HELP THE MANY OTHERS WHO HAVE SUFFERED GREAT FINANCIAL COSTS AND SAFETY. I HAVE BEEN DIRECTED BY MY FATHER, [XXX], ORIGINAL AND PRESENT OWNER OF THIS 2002 BUICK, TO HELP HIM BE A RESPONSIBLE CONSUMER/CUSTOMER. MY FATHER OF 88 YEARS STILL BELIEVES IN AMERICAN MADE CARS, ESPECIALLY IN GM. HE HAS BEEN WATCHING, LIKE MANY AMERICANS, FOR A "COME BACK" IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY THE CORRECTION OF PROBLEMS THAT CLEARLY HAS A LARGE DOCUMENTATION OF COMPLAINTS AS THIS ONE. I HOPE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HONOR HIS FAITHFULNESS IN PERHAPS A SMALL FINANCIAL WAY, AND PERHAPS EVEN IN A GREATER WAY THROUGH A RECALL. [XXX] *TR”
“I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY A FEW DAYS BEFORE DECEMBER 3, 2011, AND I HEARD A LOUD "POP" SOUND FROM THE BACK SEAT OF MY CAR. ON THE 3RD, I WAS DRIVING ALONG AND STARTED HEARING THE SOUND OF AN OPEN WINDOW IN THE BACK SEAT. I TRIED TO CLOSE THE BACK-RIGHT WINDOW WITH THE POWER WINDOW CONTROL ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR, BUT IT DIDN'T MOVE THE WINDOW (I HEARD THE MOTOR RUNNING, THOUGH). I THEN PARKED THE CAR AND GOT OUT TO TRY TO PULL/PUSH THE WINDOW SHUT, BUT IT WOULD NOT STAY ALL THE WAY UP. IT HAD STARTED WITH JUST AN INCH OR SO BEING OPEN, BUT EVENTUALLY IT SLID DOWN SO IT WAS ONLY ABOUT HALFWAY UP. FROM WHAT I'VE READ ONLINE ( HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/BUICK/LESABRE/2002/WINDOWS_WINDSHIELD/WINDOW_REGULATOR_BROKE.SHTML ), THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL OF CAR, BUT BUICK IS SAYING THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH REPORTS OF THIS ISSUE TO DECLARE A RECALL NOTICE FOR THE WINDOW REGULATOR. I DISAGREE. FROM WHAT I'VE READ, REPAIRING A SINGLE WINDOW WITH THIS PROBLEM CAN COST UP TO $300 PLUS LABOR, AND USUALLY WHEN ONE WINDOW GOES BAD, THE OTHERS ARE SOON TO FOLLOW. I DON'T REALLY FEEL LIKE PAYING $1200 FOR WINDOWS IN A CAR I ONLY PAID $5000 FOR USED... *TR”
Showing 6 of 26 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.