Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (headlights, tail lights, turn signals, interior lights).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Buick Century owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Turn brights on and radio/clock light goes off. No headlights on during day driving, radio/clock light randomly goes on and back off. Head lights briefly gone off during night driving 3 different times only for maybe 5 seconds, but it only takes a second for a deer or object to appear at night or a car ahead braking suddenly. Speedometer back light does not illuminate for night driving. Trac off and anti lock warning lights continuously stay on, I have had my brakes replaced throughout the years of owning the car since October 2007 and the warning lights do not reset themselves as they should, they continuously stay on since 2009. I am tired of dealing with all of these electrical and lightening issues with this car. I have tried to find GM recall for these problems. Please tell me where and how I can have these defects fixed.
Purchased on 2004, used, the 2003 vehicle has consistently had the head lamps go out when in highbeams are activated. The dealer said this is a short and said it would cost me to fix them and this happens to many of these vehicles. Major safety issue when you are driving at night and the lights go out. Clicking the low beams on turn the lights back on. Since this seems to be a known issue, why is there. To a recall on this? This happens while the vehicle is in motion at all speeds. (only in the dark, since this is when the high bea,s are used!)
When driving at night head lights just shut off briefly. It seems to do this on dims or brights. I see a lot of similar complaints and I don't see any recalls. They come back on, but I can't seem to determine if they come back on from messing with the switch or if they just come back on by themselves. I'm not sure if the taillights go out as well but if they do that's a hazard for those coming up behind on highway at 65 MPH. This is clearly a safety hazard that needs to be addressed!
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Buick Century. While driving various speeds, the plastic headlight covers caused a haze over the headlights, which prevented them from illuminating correctly at night. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed by the technician to clean or replace the plastic headlight covers. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 185,000. The VIN was not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Buick Century. While driving 55 MPH, the headlights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who suggested that replacing the demo switch from the column May remedy the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact also stated that the turn signal failed to signal. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 152,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Buick Century. While driving various speeds, the headlights suddenly shut off. The contact indicated that the failure mainly occurred while switching from low to high beam and vice versa. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 98,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Buick Century. While driving 55 MPH, the low beam head lamps were activated, but failed to illuminate. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Buick Century. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the headlights suddenly failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Buick Century. While driving 35 MPH, the headlights failed to respond. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 132,704.
Bright lights won't stay on and sometimes if you can get them to come on they will go out while driving. Was on a city street and turned right , they went off. Since then you can hold the bright light switch, but when you turn loose they goes off.
Headlight complaints in other Century years
Frequently asked questions
How common are headlight problems on the 2003 Buick Century?
NHTSA has 49 complaints about the lights of the 2003 Buick Century, 39% of the model year's 127 complaints. The component named most often is headlights › high/low beam dimmer switch (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Buick Century headlight problems?
No. NHTSA lists no lights recall for the 2003 Buick Century. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Buick Century headlight problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 80,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.