Other steering problem on the 1997 Buick Lesabre
Only 6 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When other steering problem gets reported
There are 12 reports of other steering problem on the 1997 Buick Lesabre, 6 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 11th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 131,812 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–$2,400 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 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2002, at a median of 25,000 miles, and latest on the 2001 at 165,000 miles.
By volume the 2000 carries the most reports, with 21; the 1997 has 12. 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.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 buick lesabre. While making a right turn, the contact heard a noise and felt the steering wheel continue to turn in her hand. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and they stated that the vehicle's engine cradle washers rotted; therefore, the vehicle could not be steered. The gm manufacturer was called and they stated that they would make a note and wait for others to call about the failure. The failure mileage was 139,623. Updated 04-17-09 updated 04/20/09.*jb
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 buick lesabre. While traveling 15 MPH the contact noticed a loud thump noise coming from the front end, seconds later the vehicle lost all steering power. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 120000.
Was driving car and it started steering hard drove home approx 35 miles to find the k frame washers had rusted off and the engine was not being support. Has it fixed and same thing happened again going less than 5 MPH and steering went out and on inspection the front and lower frame mounts had fallen and car has been parked every since because I can not find parts that are reasonably priced! I was on the interstate doing 70 MPH 10 mins prior to the last incident could have been a bad result. Have read about these problems in a forum someone started on google, cant believe there was never a recall! *tr
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
This page is kept out of search results because 12 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 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 other steering problem happen on the 1997 Buick Lesabre?
Across 6 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 130,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other steering problem on the 1997 Buick Lesabre?
12 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