Window regulator or power window failure on the 2002 Buick Lesabre
When window regulator or power window failure gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Buick Lesabre report window regulator or power window failure at a median of 57,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 72,500 miles, from 39 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 137,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 114,000 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
28% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24,000 miles | 34,017 miles | 58,534 miles | 73,500 miles | 138,000 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 2002 has 48. 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.
Dt: the consumer stated that while traveling 20 MPH on the 2002 buick lesabre the window in the back passenger's door shattered. The consumer had the window repaired. Three weeks later the other side broke. The consumer consulted with his dealership, and they said that the cable loosened from the window motor. The consumer called gm. The first window they fixed for free, and they charged the consumer for the next window repair. Both of the windows were operating correctly now. The consumer stated that there was never anyone riding in the back seat that would have caused this to happen. The first window shattered on 9-7-2005, and the second one was on 10-3-2005. There were no injuries reported. *ak (11/08/05) the left rear power window was inoperative. The regulator was replaced. On the second occasion, the passenger rear window fell down due to a loose regulator cable. *sc
Dt*: the contact stated the rear passenger window was opened and would not close. The vehicle was taken to the service dealer who replaced the power window motor regulator. The problem has now occurred on the rear driver side window. The dealer and manufacturer have been alerted of the current problem. Prior to the failure, there was a loud noise before the incident happened. Updated 07/05/06. *jb
#1 drivers side door window will not go down. Replaced drivers side front window regulator. Part 15231241. #2 driver's rear window will not work properly. Window regulator cable broken, replace regulator. Part 15231245.
Also reported on the 2002 Buick Lesabre
Other visibility problem
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Other wheel or tire problem
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 48 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 2002 Buick Lesabre?
Across 39 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 57,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 72,500 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 2002 Buick Lesabre?
48 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 12 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