Faulty and poorly engineered parts (I am an engineer so I have some professinal opinion) keeps the coffers of gm executives well lined. buick has been riding on a good reputation from the past for far too long. I will never own a gm product or buick again.

Very very poor engineering. I expected much more from buick.

This is my 4th buick since 1989 (all bought new) and my last. With less than 50Kmiles this car has been the most troublesome. I have had to replace a ABS sensor ($600) because the connection cord came loose and was long enough to wrap around the front axel. I have had to replace the drivers door window motor assy. ($500) . I have had to replace the drivers side back window motor assy. when it busted upon use ($600). Local buick dealership quoted me the cost to repair without even opening the car. They said it was a VERY COMMON PROBLEM and knew without looking. Now, yesterday just driving down the road the passenger side rear motor assy. broke. I was not even using the window. I am 60 years old and this is the first car I have EVER had to replace a window motor assembly. buick and general motors are toast for me. Never again. Ford, Acura, Mercury, anything but buick.

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4th, and last, new buck since 1989. I am forced to rate this piece of junk at least one star. It should be zero stars, or even better yet MINUS 5 stars for value and overall.

This thing is slightly smaller than an aircraft carrier. Nie smooth ride on long highway drives.

plastic plenum, brakes (3 sets in 66k) tires.

I inherited this car from my father, who recently purchased a 2004 LeSabre. I have 66,000 miles on it and suddenly (2 days ago) the Temp light comes on. I was scheduled for an oil change, so I went through with that, then stopped at Auto Zone to pick up coolant. The coolant resevoir was bone dry. The mechanic (read as 17 yrs old kid) didn't look at the oil, so I will never know how much antifreeze was in it, but rest assured there must have been some. My gasket is blown, and it looks like the upper plenum burnt out. I can't delieve GM would intentionally risk the lives of millions of people by designing an engine to FAIL! But is appears that this is exactly what they did. My previous car was a 94 Cutlass with the same series 3.8L engine, and guess what happened to it - you're right, blown head gasket. Same engine - 2 different cars - both GM's. Its hard to believe there hasn't been a recall.

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Toyota Camry, Ford Mustang, Oldsmobile Cutlass

Except for rust problem, had been pleased until this latest manifold fiasco.

PLASTIC UPPER PLENUM, RUST, & bad electric windows. Buick changes models about every five years. This is my 3rd Buick and I intentionally got the last year of model series thinking bugs would have been worked out over four years. But my previous Buicks did not have a PLASTIC upper plenum. I'm convinced this problem is result of manufacturer's defect. Based on this experience (& rust problem), could be my last Buick. Especially when they won't admit it's a manufacturer's defect. As my mechanic stated, they're building them now as disposable. Want you to buy a new one. I might as well have bought a cheaper car. Shouldn't get PLASTIC engine parts when paying $34,000. And this the higher-end model, to boot. Bad decision, GM. Yo've probably lost ANOTHER faithful Buick customer. Would appreciate any tips on how to get GM to admit is manufacturer's defect & issue recall. Must be some strength in numbers...

BAD INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET/PLASTIC UPPER PLENUM, LEAKS COOLANT INTO OIL, CAN BLOW ENGINE. WATCH COOLANT FOR PROBLEMS. HOW TO GET GM TO ADMIT MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT? At 52,000 miles Pennzoil guy commented had to replace inordinate amount of coolant so I took to favorite mechanic (not dealer). Mechanic pressure tested. Where there was supposed to be seam there was a space from which coolant leaking into oil. Cost me $600+ and $200+ for car rental to remove & replace intake manifold gasket. But had I continued to drive would have blown engine. Luckily, I immediately took to mechanic. KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR THIS PROBLEM. WATCH YOUR COOLANT CLOSELY. Mechanic insists is a manufacturer's defect. He called GM who, of course, denied. Reading these pages see are others who have had this same problem. I also had power window problems in past. Am also upset because paid $500 for rust proofing from dealer (who now closed). Have rust on bottom of driver's side panel (& under grill was full of rust which I fixed at own expense to prevent from growing). Since original dealer closed, took to another dealer who wouldn't honor rust proofing. All kinds of rust bubbles but dealer says won't do anything until there's a "hole." Guess dealer hoping rust warranty will run out before there's a hole. My initial car receipt even shows the $500 for rustproofing. Know now should never have bought, but they should honor. $500 for NOTHING.

Nice ride, responsive engine, decent acoustics, seems like a safe car. Good paint job, and styling.

Poor quality materials used in the construction of important parts. Lack of trained service technicians to deal with important aspects of repair, or the allowing of quality repairs to be done while in warranty.

In October of 2001 I had the Pres Kool Service Center check out my car because of a antifreeze leak. They said they repaired the leak, and the car was as good as new. It was under warranty, an extended warranty I purchased from GM. It is now December of 2003 and the car has 76,637 miles on it and there has been a burn through of the plastic on the intake manifold, causing leakage into the engine. The car is no longer under warranty and I will have a large out of pocket expense. GM contends the burn through occurred between 56000 miles and the current 76000 miles. It is hard for me to believe that. Everything service center employee except the manager has told me these are becoming more frequent, and it is because of faulty design, and vendor supplier quality that this is occurring. It seems that a GM certified dealer would have repaired the car correctly at 56000 miles, instead of just throwing the old part on, and leaving it to fate if it was going to work or not. I am very disappointed in the workmanship of that service center, and General Motors for being so short sighted about their commitment to my families transportation needs. I have been a GM customer for years, and would like to remain one, but the lack of dedication to their product line seems to be too strong to overcome. If they do not believe in their product, and will not learn from their mistakes, how can I place my trust in them. I am not sure if this is the same as their planned obsolesence a few decades ago, but it appears they are willing to allow design flaws and material deficiencies to speak to their commitment to the transportation needs of my family. All I expect from GM would be to pay for the part, I would be willing to pay for the labor. The part has been redesigned, and made of a different material, and this was not done overnight. They have known about the problem for awhile, but would not inform the public until almost all cars would be out of warranty. In the long run this attitude will cost them, and not just from me. Like the old saying goes "customers are like teeth, ignore them they'll go away" Let's see how many of us they ignore over this design, and material flaw?

Wonderful ride when the car runs.

Getting stranded by the side of the road.

This is the second LeSabre we have owned, and the second one to have the intake manifold break and flood the engine. The first repair cost $1800 and this second car's repair cost $1300. This followed a transmission replacement costing us $1350. All of this $4500 in repairs happened within 60 days. There must be a design defect in the manifold used on the LeSabre. The repair costs on these LeSabres are killing us. We aren't rich, and had to take a second mortage to cover the costs.

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Chrysler New Yorker

I would have to think real hard to comeup with one at this time.

The car is not reliable. See the review above for the reasons why.

I am very disapplinted in this car. I have had numerous problems with it from a defective factory battery (side post fell out at 6000 miles) to a failure of the intake plenum and the waterpump at less thsn 46000 miles. The factory tires were a joke. They had to be replaced at less than 10000 miles. The paint is failing even though the car is garaged 90% of the time. There have been many nuisance problems with interior fittings. The divider/armrest box between the seats failed. We could not open it. It was replaced at about 10000 miles. The paint on the trim around the window and seat controls is peeling off in sheets. The lug nut covers are loose and I have lost one. The intake plenum is the most serious problem so far. The plenum is plastic. Mine was obviously a defective casting. A hole came in an interior water passageway near where the throttle body bolts on. This failure allowed water to enter the engine in such a volume that it locked down and would not turn over. A water pump failure ocurred at the same time. I know there have been reported failures of various engine parts due to the Dec-cool coolant that GM uses, so I suspect that this was a part of that problem. My local GM dealer turned me down flat when I asked him for help on the plenum and waterpump bill. So did the area/zone managers. Their excuse (cop-out) was that I had not had the work on the plenum and waterpump done at a GM dealership. This is my wifes car. She drives it 90% of the time. We are both teachers, so we do not abuse the things we have because we do not make enough money to replace them very often. In fact, this is the first brand new car we have ever bought in 40 years of married life. We bought this car for her retirement vehicle and to have something reliable for to drive. Now, we are afraid to go out of town in it!

I would have to think real hard to comeup with one at this time.

The car is not reliable. See the review above for the reasons why.

I am very disapplinted in this car. I have had numerous problems with it from a defective factory battery (side post fell out at 6000 miles) to a failure of the intake plenum and the waterpump at less thsn 46000 miles. The factory tires were a joke. They had to be replaced at less than 10000 miles. The paint is failing even though the car is garaged 90% of the time. There have been many nuisance problems with interior fittings. The divider/armrest box between the seats failed. We could not open it. It was replaced at about 10000 miles. The paint on the trim around the window and seat controls is peeling off in sheets. The lug nut covers are loose and I have lost one. The intake plenum is the most serious problem so far. The plenum is plastic. Mine was obviously a defective casting. A hole came in an interior water passageway near where the throttle body bolts on. This failure allowed water to enter the engine in such a volume that it locked down and would not turn over. A water pump failure ocurred at the same time. I know there have been reported failures of various engine parts due to the Dec-cool coolant that GM uses, so I suspect that this was a part of that problem. My local GM dealer turned me down flat when I asked him for help on the plenum and waterpump bill. So did the area/zone managers. Their excuse (cop-out) was that I had not had the work on the plenum and waterpump done at a GM dealership. This is my wifes car. She drives it 90% of the time. We are both teachers, so we do not abuse the things we have because we do not make enough money to replace them very often. In fact, this is the first brand new car we have ever bought in 40 years of married life. We bought this car for her retirement vehicle and to have something reliable for to drive. Now, we are afraid to go out of town in it!

Good looking.

Tires are sub-standard

Vibrates at 55 MPH, had in to dealership on 5 different occasions, finally replaced one rear tire. Informed by local independent tire dealer that the tires, General tire, are sub standard. Suggested they be replaced for smoother ride and eliminate vibration. Tried to get GM to listen to my complaint, not satisfied to date, won't return my call or e-mail. Poor customer relations., Dealer service manager informs me to lower tire pressure to 30 pounds, did this but mileage dropped almost 1 1/2 miles per gallon. Also local tire dealer said tires would wear out faster. Third GMC product purchased in last 8 years; never again.

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None

This car has a lot of automatic features most of which have worked well. It is a great long distance cruiser, quiet and gets good gas mileage.

Leaking plastic intake manifold as described in the summary. Anyone owning one of these Series 11 3.8L engines should check for coolant loss on a weekly basis to head off potential serious trouble. This problem does not occur on the supercharged version of this engine because it still has the aluminum upper intake manifold. Also I have had to have 2 of the electrical secondary network modules replaced when some of the automatic stuff started doing strange things.

Primary reason for buying this vehicle was the 3.8L engine which I had in my previous car, a 90 Pontiac Bonneville. Never had any major problems with this vehicle in 11 years and 130K miles. I decided to get a new vehicle for my retirement years. Little did I know that this newer Series 11 engine had been "cost improved" by GM and was not the reliable workhorse that was in my Pontiac. When the car was 18 months old and had 18K miles I noticed the coolant level was down in the recovery tank. Furthur checking I found a slow coolant leak at the front of the engine near the intake manifold. Went to the dealer and they replaced the upper composite intake manifold and gasket under the warranty. I then went on the Internet and looked at various car repair/complaint sites and found that this leaking intake manifold problem has occurred to a lot of people since GM came out with this Series 11 in 1995. One of the changes made to the engine was to replace the aluminum upper intake manifold with a much cheaper plastic composite version. Now this new version is being degraded by exhaust gas heat and coolant leaks develop. If the leak is internal, serious engine damage can occur. Also outside the warrenty period it costs about $800 to replace the manifold and probably $1000s to repair/replace a damaged engine. GM has taken an item that used to last the life of the car and made it a maintenance item. The whole GM organization seems to be pretending that this problem does not exist for obvious reasons. I will probably get rid of this vehicle after the warrenty period and try to find something more reliable.

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1990 Pontiac with the 3.8L engine

Nice looking exterior and plush interior.

Engine reliability problems. Improper intake manifold design. Poorly design engine layout and controls.

Bought this Lesabre (used) last year, because I had excellent experiences with the very reliable 3.8 I engine in my 1993 Bonneville. Big mistake! The 3.8 II engine of the Lesabre has more power than the original 3.8 (205 HP vs. 170HP) but was nowhere as reliable. Last week, at 94000 miles, the plastic intake manifold and fuel pressure regulator had to be replaced for $1550. Previous Engine warning light problem $500. (Previous owner might have had replaced these items a couple of times previously). Poor Design: I can replace the serpentine drive belt in my 3.8 I Bonneville in 5 minutes. The belt on the 3.8 II engine of the Lesabre requires removal of the engine mount to replace. Talking about brainless design improvement! The power steering reservoir is located deep down and barely visible, let alone checking and filling. Voltage guage is such that the needle is always in the RED zone. Poorly designed AC controls, etc. etc.

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1993 Pontiac Bonneville, Toyota Camry, Chrysler.