Model year report

2004 Buick Lesabre: what breaks, and at what mileage

What breaks on the 2004 Buick Lesabre

On the 2004 Buick Lesabre, the failure owners report most often is other electrical problem, and the reports cluster around 62,500 miles. The earliest to appear is other body or interior problem, reported by a median of 55,000 miles. Overall it scores 60 out of 100, high risk for a 2004.

High risk for a 2004 — 282nd riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. 212 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model.

What breaks on the 2004 Buick Lesabre

Owners have reported 36 named failure modes on the 2004 Buick Lesabre, and the three most-reported carry 36% of everything filed.

Other electrical problem leads with 27 reports, about 0.8 per 1,000 vehicles and with the middle half of reports between 33k to 92,500 miles.

Other body or interior problem follows with 25 reports, usually reported between 39k to 75,000 miles. 1 of those report mention a fire.

Instrument cluster or gauge failure follows with 24 reports, usually reported between 49k to 90,000 miles.

By system, the reports fall mostly into electrical (27), body (26) and infotainment (25).

The mileage the reports cluster at

167 of the reports on the 2004 Buick Lesabre came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 62,000 miles.

Cumulatively, 35% by 50,000 miles, 83% by 100,000 miles and 96% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed, with 2 filed above the top of the chart.

The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 16% of the dated reports.

28% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.

In the order they tend to show up: other body or interior problem around 55k, fuel gauge or level sensor failure around 57k, other electrical problem around 62k and instrument cluster or gauge failure around 74k.

Median

Other electrical problem

62k
Other body or interior problem

55k
Instrument cluster or gauge failure

74k
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure

57k
Other engine problem

104k
Other powertrain problem

100k
Other wheel or tire problem

3k
No-start or intermittent start failure

12k
Other fuel system problem

65k
Overheating

96k
Other steering problem

27k
Airbag inflator rupture

15

Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens

Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 36. The full list is in the table below.

How reports accumulate

Share of reports filed by each mileage

half by 62k

Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A further 2 reports came in above that, which is why the line stops short of the top. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.

Line share of reports filed by that mileage
Dashed the median reported mileage

Severity, and what it costs

Across the named modes, 3 mention a crash, 6 a fire and 8 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.

The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.67, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.

What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other electrical problem at $250–$2,000, other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, instrument cluster or gauge failure at $350–$1,400 and fuel gauge or level sensor failure at $300–$1,200. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.

17% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.

Every reported failure mode

Mileage figures are percentiles of owner-reported readings. Click a column to sort.
Failure mode	System	Reports	With reading	25th	Median	75th	Per 1,000	Typical repair	Severity
Other electrical problem	electrical	27	27	33k	62k	93k	0.8	$250–$2,000	Moderate
Other body or interior problem	body	25	20	39k	55k	75k	0.7	$200–$2,000	Moderate
Instrument cluster or gauge failure	infotainment	24	18	49k	74k	91k	0.7	$350–$1,400	Moderate
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure	fuel	16	16	51k	57k	76k	0.5	$300–$1,200	Moderate
Other engine problem	engine	10	6	—	104k	—	0.3	$300–$4,000	High
Other powertrain problem	transmission	8	6	—	100k	—	0.2	$400–$4,500	High
Other wheel or tire problem	wheels	8	5	—	3k	—	0.2	$200–$1,500	High
No-start or intermittent start failure	engine	6	6	—	12k	—	0.2	$200–$1,800	Moderate
Other fuel system problem	fuel	6	5	—	65k	—	0.2	$300–$2,200	High
Overheating	cooling	5	4	—	96k	—	0.1	$400–$3,500	High
Other steering problem	steering	5	4	—	27k	—	0.1	$350–$2,400	High
Airbag inflator rupture	airbag	4	3	—	15	—	0.1	$0–$0	Critical
Other suspension problem	suspension	4	3	—	194	—	0.1	$350–$2,000	Moderate
Other lighting problem	lighting	4	3	—	98k	—	0.1	$120–$1,200	Moderate
Other visibility problem	glass	4	4	—	53k	—	0.1	$150–$1,400	Moderate
Harsh or jerky shifting	transmission	3	0	—	—	—	0.1	$600–$4,000	Moderate
Airbag failed to deploy in a crash	airbag	3	2	—	90k	—	0.1	$1,000–$5,000	Critical
Seat belt or retractor failure	airbag	3	1	—	129k	—	0.1	$200–$900	High
Tail light, brake light or signal failure	lighting	3	0	—	—	—	0.1	$100–$900	Moderate
Other brake problem	brakes	3	3	—	90k	—	0.1	$300–$1,800	High
Other speed control problem	adas	3	3	—	75k	—	0.1	$250–$2,000	Critical
Engine bay fire	engine	2	2	—	20k	—	0.1	$4,000–$20,000	Critical
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure	fuel	2	2	—	50k	—	0.1	$250–$1,800	Moderate
ABS module or sensor failure	brakes	2	2	—	60k	—	0.1	$500–$2,400	High
Premature brake pad or rotor wear	brakes	2	2	—	19k	—	0.1	$300–$1,400	Moderate
Steering column or shaft failure	steering	2	1	—	115k	—	0.1	$600–$2,500	Critical
Headlight failure or clouding	lighting	2	2	—	117k	—	0.1	$150–$1,800	Moderate
Wiper or washer failure	glass	2	2	—	2k	—	0.1	$120–$800	Moderate
Lifter, cam or cylinder-deactivation failure	engine	1	1	—	62k	—	0.0	$1,800–$7,000	High
Fuel pump failure	fuel	1	1	—	80k	—	0.0	$600–$2,600	High
Backup camera failure	infotainment	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	$250–$1,200	Moderate
Loss of braking	brakes	1	1	—	33k	—	0.0	$400–$3,000	Critical
Brake line, hose or caliper failure	brakes	1	1	—	240k	—	0.0	$250–$1,600	Critical
Tire blowout or tread separation	wheels	1	1	—	86k	—	0.0	$200–$1,500	Critical
Rust or structural corrosion	body	1	1	—	60k	—	0.0	$500–$6,000	High
Other seat belt problem	airbag	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	$200–$900	High
Unclassified problem	other	16	9	55k	82k	98k	0.5	—	Moderate

This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.

How often, against how many were built

Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2004 Buick Lesabre draws about 6.1 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 82nd percentile of complaint rates among 2004 vehicles we can rate.

That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model.

The working figure is 34,476 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2004 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.

What owners wrote

Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.

Instrument cluster or gauge failure

The speedometer and tachometer on my 2004 buick lesabre failed to register at all on one occasion, and the tachometer registered erroneously high readings on another occasion. The instrument cluster was replaced at the dealer; since the warranty had expired some two months earlier, it cost me $330 for the replacement. The old part was not made available to me at all. Since I saw a television news report just today of other speedometer failures in gm cars and trucks, and since the report suggested submitting a report, I decided to do so even though my make and model of car was not mentioned. *jb

31,240 miles NHTSA complaint 618861 filed 2007-04-01

Speedometer failed, dash indicator not working. Dealer, desert buick in las vegas, refused to cover cost of replacement (est. $600-$800) yet 3 western states have sued gm over this failure, certainly a safety issue. Gm has a "campaign" to fix vehicles with less than 70,000 miles but desert buick will not fix my vehicle. *tr

59,824 miles NHTSA complaint 663613 filed 2008-03-30

How it ranks in the 2004 field

The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.

Risk score against the rest of the 2004 field

Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.

Left fewer and less serious reports
Right more, or worse
Marker this vehicle

Where 2004 sits in the model line

High risk for a 2004 — 282nd riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.

Across the 10 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1996 comes out best at 59 and 2003 worst at 68, with 2004 itself at 60.

No other year of this model scores meaningfully better than 2004, so if this generation is what you want, the year is not the lever.

Within the 2004–2006 generation specifically, 2004 is the strongest year at 60 and 2005 the weakest at 61.

Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.

Risk score by model year, out of 100

Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.

Within the 2004-2006 generation, 2004 Buick Lesabre scores best at 60 and 2005 Buick Lesabre worst at 61.

What the numbers say to check

The mileages below are where the first quarter of reports for each mode had already been filed, which makes them the point at which a fault is worth looking for rather than the point at which it happens: other electrical problem from about 33k, other body or interior problem from about 39k, instrument cluster or gauge failure from about 49k and fuel gauge or level sensor failure from about 51k.

On a 2004 Buick Lesabre with more miles than that on it, the useful question to put to a seller or a mechanic is whether other electrical problem has been dealt with, and if so with what parts and at whose expense. A car that has already had the repair is in a different position from one that has not.

None of this is a diagnosis. It is a list of what other owners of the same model year reported, ordered by when they reported it, which is a good place to point an inspection and a poor place to stop.

What this page cannot tell you

212 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.

Of those 212 reports, 167 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 79% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".

Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.

And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.

Questions this page answers

What are the most common problems with the 2004 Buick Lesabre?

The most-reported failures are other electrical problem (27 reports, median 62,500 miles), other body or interior problem (25 reports, median 55,000 miles) and instrument cluster or gauge failure (24 reports, median 75,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.

At what mileage do 2004 Buick Lesabre problems start?

Other body or interior problem is the earliest failure mode to show up, with a median reported mileage of 55,000 miles and a quarter of reports before 40,000 miles. Across all failure modes on this year, the median report sits at 62,000 miles.

Is the 2004 Buick Lesabre reliable?

It scores 60 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 282nd riskiest of the 329 2004 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2004 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.

Which year of the Buick Lesabre is best?

Within the 2004–2006 generation, 2004 scores best at 60 out of 100 and 2005 worst at 61. Same body, same engines, different luck.

Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.

What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car

Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt 20 August 2026 Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed