2002 BUICK LESABRE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 303 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: VISIBILITY (107 complaints · 35.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 14
  • Fires 12
  • Injuries 17
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2001 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 VISIBILITY appears in 107 of 303 owner complaints (35.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. VISIBILITY: 107 complaints, 35.3% of reports VISIBILITY 107 · 35.3% STRUCTURE: 42 complaints, 13.9% of reports STRUCTURE 42 · 13.9% ENGINE: 30 complaints, 9.9% of reports ENGINE 30 · 9.9% · 7 fire reports AIR BAGS: 24 complaints, 7.9% of reports AIR BAGS 24 · 7.9% · 10 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 18 complaints, 5.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 18 · 5.9% SERVICE BRAKES: 13 complaints, 4.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 13 · 4.3% · 2 crash reports STEERING: 11 complaints, 3.6% of reports STEERING 11 · 3.6% POWER TRAIN: 9 complaints, 3.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 9 · 3.0% FUEL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 2.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 7 · 2.3% · 3 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 178 complaints, 58.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 178 · 58.8% · 7 crash reports 2 fire reports 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)
VISIBILITY 107 35.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 42 13.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 30 9.9% 0 crashes · 7 fires
AIR BAGS 24 7.9% 10 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 18 5.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 13 4.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 11 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 9 3.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 7 2.3% 0 crashes · 3 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 178 58.8% 7 crashes · 2 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 Oct 2001; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2002. 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2003-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2006-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2007-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2007-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2008-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2009-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2010-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2010-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2012-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2001 Jan 2021 Recall campaign 02V067000 ◆ Recall campaign 02V067000 Recall campaign 02V222000 ◆ Recall campaign 02V222000 Investigation EA02030 ● Investigation EA02030
  • Campaign 02V222000 was reported 163 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 4
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 5
2003-Q1 Owner reports 12
2003-Q2 Owner reports 8
2003-Q3 Owner reports 9
2003-Q4 Owner reports 7
2004-Q1 Owner reports 4
2004-Q2 Owner reports 4
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 4
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q3 Owner reports 13
2006-Q4 Owner reports 14
2007-Q1 Owner reports 9
2007-Q2 Owner reports 3
2007-Q3 Owner reports 6
2007-Q4 Owner reports 10
2008-Q1 Owner reports 4
2008-Q2 Owner reports 6
2008-Q3 Owner reports 8
2008-Q4 Owner reports 11
2009-Q1 Owner reports 2
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 8
2009-Q4 Owner reports 4
2010-Q1 Owner reports 4
2010-Q2 Owner reports 6
2010-Q3 Owner reports 8
2010-Q4 Owner reports 7
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 7
2011-Q3 Owner reports 7
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 13
2012-Q4 Owner reports 3
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 4
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 4
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q4 Owner reports 5
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 5
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 02V067000
Recall campaign 1 02V222000
Defect investigation 1 EA02030
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 02V067000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    IF THE LEFT BOLT IS MISSING AND THE RIGHT MOUNTING STRAP FAILS, STEERING CONTROL IS LOST AND A VEHICLE CRASH COULD RESULT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLES FOR PRESENCE AND PROPER TORQUE OF BOTH STEERING GEAR BOLTS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN APRIL 5, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-800-521-7300 OR CADILLAC AT 1-800-458-8006.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 02V222000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    PIECES OF THE INFLATOR COULD STRIKE AND INJURE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS AND THE AIR BAG CUSHION WOULD NOT INFLATE FULLY, REDUCING THE CAPABILITY OF THE BAG TO PROTECT THE DRIVER.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT, AND REPLACE, IF NECESSARY, THE AIR BAG MODULE ASSEMBLY ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 15, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-800-521-7300, CADILLAC AT 1-800-458-8006, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-222-1020, GMC AT 1-800-462-8782, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-442-6537, OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-762-2737.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 303 complaints · page 1 of 13

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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 2026-08-21 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: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources