IllustrationWHILE DRIVING 55 MPH CONSUMER TOOK FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO SLOW DOWN, SUDDENLY VEHICLE STALLED. ALSO, DEALER REPLACED IGNITION COIL.*AK
1990 Buick Lesabre
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1990 Buick Lesabre do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 24.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Lesabre years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 5 of 46 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
7 crash reports0 fire reports5 injury reports
What owners actually said
46 reportsWHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE CUTS OFF WHICH CAUSES LOSS OF ALL POWER. ALSO, DASHBOARD LIGHTS UP RED. PROBLEM OCCURRED THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER, DEALER UNABLE TO DETERMINE CAUSE. *AK THE PROBLEM HAPPENED TWICE, AND THE CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE IGNITION COILS. *Y…
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WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE CUTS OFF WHICH CAUSES LOSS OF ALL POWER. ALSO, DASHBOARD LIGHTS UP RED. PROBLEM OCCURRED THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER, DEALER UNABLE TO DETERMINE CAUSE. *AK THE PROBLEM HAPPENED TWICE, AND THE CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE IGNITION COILS. *YH
FIRESTONE FR680 TIRES P205/70R14 EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION WITH LESS THAN 10000 MILES ON THEM, VEHICLE DROVE ROUGH AND DEALER INSPECTED TIRES INNER TREAD WAS SEPARATING FROM SIDEWALL. *SLC
WHEN TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY VEHICLE WILL SHUTDOWN WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. HE HAS TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL IN ORDER TO START VEHICLE. DRIVER'S SIDE SEATBELT DOESN'T WORK, THE RETRACTOR IS NOT OPERABLE. *AK THE RESTRAINT MECHANISM FAILED AND THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE DOES NOT LATCH. *YH
WHEN TRAVELING AT ANY NORMAL SPEED/ LOW SPEED VEHICLE WILL CUT OFF WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. CONSUMER HAS YET TO CONTACT DEALER. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
HAD STARTED VEHICLE & SHIFTED INTO REVERSE TO BACK UP WHEN VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED FORWARD. VEHICLE PROCEEDED TO HIT PART OF GARAGE & KNOCKED THE CHROME OFF VEHICLE. TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. *AK
THE INERTIA SWITCH DOES NOT ENGAGE, CAUSING THE SEAT TO MOVE FORWARD WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
THE ABS POWER BRAKE RELAY FAILED DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION AND I PAID TO REPLACE IT.ZIMBRICK MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL COULD NOT FIND SOURCE OF INTERMITTANT BRAKE PROBLEM UNTIL I BROUGHT THE CAR IN WHILE THE BRAKE RELAY WAS MALFUNCTIONING. IT WAS STUCK AND CONTINUED TO BUZZ EVEN AFTER THE IGNITION HAD BEEN SWITCHED OFF. …
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THE ABS POWER BRAKE RELAY FAILED DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION AND I PAID TO REPLACE IT.ZIMBRICK MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL COULD NOT FIND SOURCE OF INTERMITTANT BRAKE PROBLEM UNTIL I BROUGHT THE CAR IN WHILE THE BRAKE RELAY WAS MALFUNCTIONING. IT WAS STUCK AND CONTINUED TO BUZZ EVEN AFTER THE IGNITION HAD BEEN SWITCHED OFF. THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED IN OCTOBER 1997. MY WIFE WAS IN COTTAGE GROVE AND THE CAR HAD NO POWER ASSIST TO THE BRAKES AT STARTUP. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO MADISON AND THE BRAKE RELAY WAS REPLACED AGAIN. IN THE FALL OF 1998, I EXPERIENCED NO POWER ASSIST TO THE BRAKES DURING A DRIVE IN THE POURING RAIN. I HAD ALMOST NO EFFECTIVE BRAKES, BUT DROVE CAREFULLY AND PARKED THE CAR OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT MORNING THE BRAKES OPERATED NORMALLY. I SPENT ABOUT $900 ON BRAKE WORK AT ZIMBRICK'S IN APRIL OF 1999, BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PINPOINT THE SOURCE OF THE BRAKE PROBLEM. THE NEXT FAILURE HAPPENED MAY 28, 1999 WHILE MY WIFE'S DAD WAS DRIVING THE CAR TO EAU CLAIRE, WI. THE CAR HAD NO POWER ASSIST FOR THE BRAKE SYSTEM DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE DRIVE (AFTER STOPPING FOR GAS). THE NEXT MORNING THE BRAKES WERE OPERATING NORMALLY AND HE DROVE THE CAR TO THE CABIN ON LAKE NANCY. ONE DAY, ABOUT A MONTH LATER (THE CAR WAS DRIVEN INFREQUENTLY DURING THE SUMMER - ABOUT TWICE PER WEEK), THE BRAKE PROBLEM REAPPEARED FOR ONE DRIVING EPISODE AND THE NEXT DRIVE THE BRAKES OPERATED NORMALLY. BECAUSE OF THE INTERMITTANT PROBLEM, THE SERVICE PEOPLE AT ZIMBRICK HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO PERMANANTLY FIX THE BRAKE PROBLEM. AND THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC ERROR CODES DO NOT REGISTER ANY INFORMATION.
WHILE DRIVING THEB RAKES INTERMENTLY LOCK UP .THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH THE BRAKES LOCKED UP. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1PE92039 · Brake Caliper Corrosion
Opened Apr 15, 1992 · Closed Aug 14, 1992
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
There is no summary currently available