Seat Belt complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Dt: consumer states the driver and passenger seat belts ride up high; half is on the collar bone, and the other half rests on the soft part of consumers neck. The consumer is 5 feet 11 inches tall. His wife hasn't driven the car yet. The dealer says there is nothing they can do. The consumer called GM and they said they could do nothing.
For the past 6 months, after starting, then attempting to put on seat belt, the belt often locks up and I cannot pull it out to hook it up. After several tries, it finally unlocks so I can put it on. This happens approx. 1-4 times per week (I usually drive daily). Sometimes only the first time in a day when I start the car. It is frustrating, and causes me to worry that sometime it May not unlock and I will be forced to drive without the belt only.
Shimmy in steering column. Recommended tires be rotated and balanced. Did not correct problem. Appox. 6 months after purchase,noticed electrical odor when heat button on seat was turned on. Now seat belt on driver's side sticks when it recoils. Noise under hood. Unable to determine cause. Cluster went out and none of the gauges work except the odometer. This is a 2004 Lesabre with 57,000 miles.
Tl* - the contact owns a 2001 Buick Lesabre. While driving the vehicle at 25 MPH the seat belt buckle which was made of plastic split in half when he turned his body around to view traffic. The vehicle has not been examined by a dealer/mechanic. The failure mileage was 17,000.
I have an intermittent problem with my driver side seatbelt. The belt keeps getting caught in the floor retractor. When I try to pull the belt up to use, it gets stuck and has to be tugged on 5-6 times to get it to release. Orange Buick first looked at it on 4/25/02 and claimed, "belt out of place causing lock to engage r&r and reposition left front seat belt retractor." that did not fix it and I brought it back again on 7/1/02. They said they would have to order a new belt and replace it. Supposedly, Buick realized that they had a problem and had redesigned their belts. The replacement belt was installed on 7/16/02, and worked okay for about 2 weeks, and has started the same problem all over again. Because it is an intermittent problem, they can't seem to reproduce the problem, but I keep getting caught with it. …
While driving this vehicle the bolts on my rear brake pad broke in half and the car was unable to move forward, had to drive my car backwards home luckily I was only a block away from home. The 2 front windows will not roll up or down, keep having to replace the hose that leads to my radiator, when I make right turns the car vibrates, two front seat belts have stop locking all together and this vehicle has never been in any sort of crash or accident, front dash is starting to lift considerably. I adore my vehicle and I'm not looking forward to getting rid of it, but there are too many problems to deal with on this car.
I was involved in a chain reaction accident. I was the 3rd car and barely hit the car in front of me. I was going so slowly that there was no impact damage at all, not even the smallest dent of the bumper. The air bags deployed, however, and caused $3,800 damage to my car interior. The dash buckled and put a hole in my windshield. The reporting policeman said the air bags should not have deployed.. The
Vehicle experienced a problem with the safety belt. The plastic that goes outside the belt to guide the belt when being used sharpened and tore the seat belt each time it was being used. This made the seat belt use very difficult. The seat belt often got stuck in position because of the groves that were worn into the belt during each use. Owner took the vehicle to the dealer, and was advised that the seat belt assembly would have to be replaced at the expense of the owner. Also, they told the owner that this experience was normal wear and tear.
Related recalls (1)
Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
These vehicles were assembled with one or more incorrect safety belt and/or safety belt buckle ends. This does not conform with the requirements of FMVSS no. 209, "seat belt assemblies."
Remedy: Dealers will inspect all front and rear safety belt latch ends and safety belt buckles for correct parts and replace any incorrect parts.
Frequently asked questions
Which Buick Lesabre years have seat belt problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 1997 (22), 1995 (9), 2000 (8) and 1998 (5) model years. Seat Belt complaints make up 6% of all complaints for the 1997.
Is there a recall for Buick Lesabre seat belt problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 96V-044 (buckle assembly, Mar 5, 1996). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Buick Lesabre seat belt problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 77,000 miles; 53% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front › buckle assembly (16 mentions), followed by the front › anchorage (15).
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.