2002 Buick Lesabre Engine Problems

Which parts fail

• Engine
  3
• Cooling system
  3
• Exhaust system › Manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
  3
• Engine › Gasoline
  1

Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  313%
• 25k–50k
  729%
• 50k–75k
  28%
• 75k–100k
  417%
• 100k–150k
  313%
• 150k+
  521%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Buick Lesabre owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle smoke was present coming from under the hood and a burning odor was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. Upon inspection it was determined the engine valve cover was faulty and oil had leaked onto the exhaust manifold. The local dealer wallingford Buick located at 1122 old north colony rd, wallingford, ct 06492 and the manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 200,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the vehicle burst into flames without warning. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the intake valve did not close and ignited the fuel going into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,000.

I have had issues with my vehicle's oil leaking then burning/smoking off my car. This issue is on my engine's manifold & hasn't been recalled even though the same engine is recalled on other GM models. The engine on my Lesabre is the same 3.8 liter v6 3800 engine that was recalled twice by GM in the past 6 years. My engine had minimal fire in the incidents I experienced but quite a bit of smoke from the area the oil leaks. Once I kill the engine the smoke stops. GM wants to charge for a diagnostic check & wouldn't recognize the issue on the very same engine, viewing it as just a vehicle not recalled even if it has the same faulty part. It caused my car's catalytic converter to fail as it burned through. A fix is costly, so I went to my own independent mechanic to save myself money since GM does not want to take care of issues that they recalled. …

Beginning about August of 2015 until now, oct 2015, the engine of my Buick le sabre has begun to stop running while driving. When that occurs I lose my power steering and power brakes. Tonight (oct 7, 2015) it happened four times on the way home. I made it home safely fortunately but I will not drive the car again until it is fixed. Last week I had both a mobile mechanic and an auto shop (purcell) look at it and they can not diagnose the problem. They call it an intermittent defect. What I have experienced sounds exactly like the description of the experience of the automobiles that GM has recalled, although my year, make, and model are not on the list that I found on the internet. My experience is so similar that I want my ignition switch replaced by GM before I will drive the car again. Please advise. Thanks.

The 2002 Buick Lesabre has the same engine as the 2000 Pontiac grand prix, which is covered in the recent recall 15V701. This recall covers oil leaking from the manifold onto the rest of the engine, leading to a risk of fire. The 2002 Buick Lesabre is, however, not officially covered in recall 15V701, even though mine definitely shows all the symptoms of the recall. I have already taken it to the shop once to try to correct the problem. I would like to see the 2002 Buick Lesabre covered under this recall. If not, please outline why. Also, what is the exact fix for the other cars that are covered (because I would like to have that information when I take the car to the shop again to try to correct the issue; I again have oil leaking from the top of the engine)?

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that upon initial start-up, the vehicle hesitated and appeared to misfire. The contact then suddenly heard a loud pop followed by a massive amount of black smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the failure and declined to provide a remedy to the contact. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 52,213. Updated 05/28/14 ma updated 6/26/14 updated 7/29/17

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Buick Lesabre. The contact stated that the engine leaked oil and could cause an engine fire. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 15V701000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 108,000. Updated 01/23/2017

My son was driving the 2002 Buick Lesabre from his apartment (less than a mile) and arrived at school (xavier university-cincinnati, oh). He noticed smoke coming from the hood and then smoke started coming in the cabin. He was able to put the vehicle in park and jump out. The fire department had to be called to douse the fire.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Buick Lesabre. While starting the vehicle, a fire occurred in the engine without warning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for repairs. The failure mileage was 80,278 and the current mileage was 148,000.

Drove car 0.2 miles parked car went into walmart car was seen smoking in parking lot engine caught on fire fire dept came talked to auto shop they said it has happened to this year of vehicle many times due to a manufacturer issue

Engine complaints in other Lesabre years