Window regulator or power window failure on the 2001 Buick Lesabre
When window regulator or power window failure gets reported
Owners of the 2001 Buick Lesabre report window regulator or power window failure at a median of 55,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles, from 19 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 85,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 51,669 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
16% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,880 miles | 46,000 miles | 57,345 miles | 70,946 miles | 82,549 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 $250–$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 4 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2000, at a median of 45,000 miles, and latest on the 2002 at 57,500 miles.
By volume the 2000 carries the most reports, with 57; the 2001 has 22. 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.
The window regulator broke while attempting to roll the rear right window down. The regulator broke because the plastic spool that the steel cable goes around wears after a period of time. This could be avoided if the spool was made of metal. The consumer stated that the power window regulator on his vehicle was improperly designed causing early failure. *tc
2001 buick lesabre, window regulator on front passenger and rear drivers side broke, causing window glass to drop rapidly. On inspection same piece broke on both, the top plastic guide for the regulator motor cable. Installed an aftermarket part after finding out buick replaces regulator with identical faulty components. Aftermarket has beefed up guide on regulator. Both failures were caused by normal use. Window glass cannot be secured after regulator failure without replacement. Parts were exchanged during purchase of replacement. *jb
2001 buick lesabre (42k miles) the rear driver side window regulator and motor failed with the window in the down position. The dealership wanted to charge $330 for the part. I decided to fix on my own by ordering the part online for $100. I inspected the original and noted the use of plastic to drive the cable in the motor housing. This is obviously a serious design flaw - there is no way this will hold up to time and use. Unless this is reviewed and addressed by this commission I will have to keep replacing with the same problematic parts. Given the large number of complaints I believe this warrants a review. Thanks. *jb
Also reported on the 2001 Buick Lesabre
Other visibility problem
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Alternator or charging system failure
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 22 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 window regulator or power window failure happen on the 2001 Buick Lesabre?
Across 19 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 55,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is window regulator or power window failure on the 2001 Buick Lesabre?
22 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.6 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