1988 BUICK CENTURY — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 16 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (6 complaints · 37.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1987 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 6 of 16 owner complaints (37.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 6 complaints, 37.5% of reports STEERING 6 · 37.5% SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 18.8% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 18.8% STRUCTURE: 2 complaints, 12.5% of reports STRUCTURE 2 · 12.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 6.3% PARKING BRAKE: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports PARKING BRAKE 1 · 6.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 13 complaints, 81.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 · 81.3% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 6 37.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 18.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 2 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
PARKING BRAKE 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 81.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 1988. 1995-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1988 May 2006 Recall campaign 88V007000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V007000 Recall campaign 88V048000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V048000 Recall campaign 88V164000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V164000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation EA89010 ● Investigation EA89010 Investigation PE89035 ● Investigation PE89035 Investigation EA92024 ● Investigation EA92024
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 2
1995-Q2 Owner reports 2
1995-Q3 Owner reports 3
1995-Q4 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 88V007000
Recall campaign 1 88V048000
Recall campaign 1 88V164000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 EA89010
Defect investigation 1 PE89035
Defect investigation 1 EA92024
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V007000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    VEHICLES DO NOT CONFORM TO FMVSS 210.
    Remedy:
    FURNISH OWNERS WITH UPDATED OWNERS MANUALS THAT CONTAIN THE OMITTED INSTRUCTIONS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V048000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    THESE CRACKS MAY RESULT IN DISENGAGEMENT OF THE LOWERCONTROL ARM. IF THIS OCCURS WHILE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, IT COULD RESULT INLOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    INSPECT ALL VEHICLES AND REPLACE ENGINE CRADLE ASSEMBLY ON ALL SUSPECT VEHICLES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V164000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD RESULT INAN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE THAT COULD SPREAD TO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL NEW FUEL FEED HOSE ASSEMBLY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 16 complaints · page 1 of 1

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources