Radiator or coolant leak on the 1997 Buick Lesabre
When radiator or coolant leak gets reported
Owners of the 1997 Buick Lesabre report radiator or coolant leak at a median of 90,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 14th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 55,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 105,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 49,192 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54,675 miles | 68,000 miles | 90,963 miles | 90,963 miles | 103,867 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $350–$1,900 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 5 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2001, at a median of 55,000 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 135,000 miles.
By volume the 1998 carries the most reports, with 23; the 1997 has 10. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Upper intake manifold cracked resulting in coolant leak into cylinders. Coolant leak caused motor to hydro-lock making vehicle inoperable. Both upper & lower intake manifolds were replaced.*jb
Engine coolant destroyed engine due to the degradation of upper intake mainifold materials around the EGR stove pipe. Without warning(no warning lights went on) while on the road coolant entered the pistons through the degradated upper intake manifold and caused engine failure. This could have caused a major accident as power was lost and speed dramatically dropped. Seems to be obvious engine design flaw in 3800 v-6 engines produced by gm in buick lasabres, riveras, regals, oldsmobile 98s, 88s. Intrigue, pontiac bonnevilles, grand prix, & chevrolet luminas, monte carlos over a period of years dating from 1995-1998 when they changed the manifold design. A service bulletin by gm #01-06-01-007a in july 18, 2001 indicated the gm is aware of defect and has since produced a different manifold to replace and repair problem but will not stand behind these engines when they fail without warning. Gm has been uncooperative in this matter. All repairs to this car are documented with biliings, etc by certified gm service dept. Including oil changes and preventitive maintenance. This was a well maintained vehicle with a service history that can…
Engine coolant destroyed engine due to the degradation of upper intake mainifold materials around the EGR stove pipe. Without warning(no warning lights went on) while on the road coolant entered the pistons through the degradated upper intake manifold and caused engine failure. This could have caused a major accident as power was lost and speed dramatically dropped. Seems to be obvious engine design flaw in 3800 v-6 engines produced by gm in buick lasabres, riveras, regals, oldsmobile 98s, 88s. Intrigue, pontiac bonnevilles, grand prix, & chevrolet luminas, monte carlos over a period of years dating from 1995-1998 when they changed the manifold design. A service bulletin by gm #01-06-01-007a in july 18, 2001 indicated the gm is aware of defect and has since produced a different manifold to replace and repair problem but will not stand behind these engines when they fail without warning. Gm has been uncooperative in this matter. All repairs to this car are documented with biliings, etc by certified gm service dept. Including oil changes and preventitive maintenance. This was a well maintained vehicle with a service history that can…
Also reported on the 1997 Buick Lesabre
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Other fuel system problem
Other body or interior problem
Seat belt or retractor failure
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does radiator or coolant leak happen on the 1997 Buick Lesabre?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 90,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is radiator or coolant leak on the 1997 Buick Lesabre?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed