1997 BUICK LESABRE — Complaint #346515
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM filed April 26, 2002
NHTSA complaint #346515 (ODI reference 6900831) concerns a 1997 BUICK LESABRE and was filed on April 26, 2002. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 8, 2000. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as fuel system, gasoline:carburetor system, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same BUICK LESABRE cohort independently describe similar fuel system, gasoline:carburetor system failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 1997 BUICK LESABRE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
CONSUMER HAD PARKED VEHICLE AND IT EXPLODED AS CONSUMER WAS EXITING VEHICLE , ADJUSTER STATED POSSIBLE INTERNAL ENGINE INTAKE MANIFOLD TO BE CAUSE, CLAIM 05-4442-741. *SLC
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 346515 |
| ODI Number | 6900831 |
| Date Filed | April 26, 2002 |
| Failure Date | January 8, 2000 |
| VIN | 1G4HP52K5VH |
Similar FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM Complaints for 1997 BUICK LESABRE
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC DETERMINED THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THERE IS A
THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD WARPED RESULTING IN A COOLANT LEAK, ALSO RESULTING IN A REPAIR COSTING $655.00. THE CONSUMER STATES THAT GM WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT N
CONSUMER HAD PARKED VEHICLE AND IT EXPLODED AS CONSUMER WAS EXITING VEHICLE , ADJUSTER STATED POSSIBLE INTERNAL ENGINE INTAKE MANIFOLD TO BE CAUSE, CLAIM 05-4442-741. *SLC
UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE IT BACKFIRED AND BROKE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD INTO SEVERAL PIECES. I FOUND A RECALL INDICATING WHAT HAD HAPPENED DUE TO THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE. I GAVE THIS INFO TO THE DE
WHILE DRIVING ENGINE CHECK LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. THIS HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND HAD VEHICLE REPAIRED, BUT PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK OXYGEN SENSOR FAILED DUE TO ANTIFREEZE I
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.