24th Feb 2011, 11:28
24th Feb 2011, 11:11AM.
1997 Buick LeSabre sub frame mount failure.
On Monday, January 3, 2011 I was coming back from running an errand and I heard a loud noise, then the engine increased in noise level, but with a low pitch instantly. As this all happened, I felt something pushing back on the accelerator, and the steering felt as if it was not in control of the wheels. I carefully maneuvered it home and checked it out. I could not believe what I found. The frame had broken lose from the mounts and dropped. It also appears that the engine had dropped. Heart failure immediately. I have driven Buick's for over 25 years and nothing has ever happened like this before. Perfect timing to lose my only transportation. Out of work and certainly cannot afford to replace this car. To think what would have happened the day before on the Interstate! It appears that I was minutes from being in a life threatening situation. Something told me to get online and check out to see if there have been any past problems with this kind of issue, because I have not been able to get this damage off my mind. Come on Buick Division, it's time to take a stand and deal with this serious situation for your customers.
24th Feb 2011, 16:10
Did you report this to 1-800-4ABuick? They need to know about these incidents in order to ever have a chance for a recall.
3rd Mar 2011, 11:36
My 1995 LeSabre has over 270000 kms on it and is still running great.
But, last year as I was doing the brakes, I noticed one of the frame washers was slightly out of position. When I touched it, it dropped into my hand! I checked the other washers and sure enough two were missing completely.
I went to the dealer and they only had two in stock so I made two myself. All four rears have now been replaced. I too am wondering why there was never a recall? At least I was lucky and found the problem before the cradle dropped!
Al from Ontario, Canada.
14th Apr 2011, 19:48
I have a 1995 Buick LeSabre with 250,000 miles.
Just found the two bolts that hold the rack and pinion steering to the frame broken, and missing the rubber and steel bushings. I'll have them check the subframe bolts and washers, but I suspect that they will be OK as I live in a warm climate and there is no rust on the body or underside of the frame.
I have driven this car for 5 years, and only noticed that the steering wheel was not staying in the center; sometimes it was 1/2 turn to the right and then 1/2 turn to the left, and almost any position (less than 1/2) at times. The bolts were broken and rusted; there are no rubber bushings between the bolts and the rack mount. Also looking under the car, I found that someone has tried to drill out one of the broken bolts; seems like someone doesn't care if someone gets killed; this is the type of thing that should be checked whenever a car is sold. I know I never hit anything, but someone must have. I will check the subframe bolts and washers; easy to do, and could prevent a very serious accident.
11th Jul 2011, 19:18
July 9 on my birthday, my wife and I noticed our 1996 Buick was making strange grinding noises. We were in Toledo, Ohio looking for the Toledo Mudhens baseball game. I told my wife we need to get home or we may have to be towed. We live in Adrian, MI. On the way home, while making a right turn, a terrible noise was heard. My wife thought we hit something, but I told her there was something wrong with the steering.
We were about 5 miles from home, and I did drive the car home. When we got home, I looked under the car and under the hood and the crossmember/subframe was hanging down. All 4 washers were gone. If this had happened on the freeway, I believe we would be with the LORD today.
If you have any of these cars in question, you need to make sure yours is not one with this problem.
10th Aug 2011, 15:36
We purchased a 1994 LeSabre from our neighbors about a year and a half ago. The car was given to them by his parents. Both housed the car in their garages.
My 19 year old drives this car, and we just had it in 3 weeks ago and had one of the transmission mounts replaced. We took it in yesterday to have the brakes looked at, and when the repair man called, he said we needed to come look at the car so he could show us that 4 of the bushings are in bad shape, and that this car is not safe to drive. He said he did not notice this 3 weeks ago. Luckily it didn't completely fail while my daughter was driving it. We will probably fix it, since my neighbors really like my daughter and sold the car to us for $100. Until now it has been a great running car. We have had to do normal things like tires, muffler and oil changes. The repair is still cheaper than buying another car.
24th Aug 2011, 16:04
My daughter's 1997 Buick LeSabre has the same problem. Luckily I noticed it during an oil change, the driver's side has one mount broken, the other almost. I also noticed uneven wear with the left front tire. The car from new has been undercoated every year, so the mounts must hold salty water inside to rot them out. THIS SHOULD BE A GM RECALL and fixed for FREE! What chance is there of this?
25th Aug 2011, 21:37
How big of a job was it to replace all of the bolts? I noticed the front driver side bolt has rusted, and the washer fell off!
16th Sep 2011, 11:39
I had a 1997 Buick LeSabre. Something made my son, who is 16, lose steering and crash into some trees, totaling the car. It could have killed my son and his friend, but it didn't thank god. My son has 8 stitches in his forehead, his friend has a bad case of whiplash. My son just got his license 2 hours before he crashed. The police did not give him any tickets; thank you mister police officer, because it was not his fault.
After the accident, the tow truck driver told me that something had rusted and fell out to make him lose steering, and the engine fell and tilted. I didn't know what he was talking about till now; I'm just so happy that the boys are OK.
16th Sep 2011, 13:29
Please report the incident to safercar.gov.
There is a similar situation with Ford Windstars. There are now 2 recalls on Windstar minivans because of corrosion.
It takes a lot of recorded complaints to make this happen.
6th Jan 2011, 13:35
Coming off a red light last night, we made a left hand turn and the rear bolts pulled straight through the k-frame/sub-frame. We lost steering and veered off the road into a parking lot. Our 96 LeSabre Custom has 160k and is running strong, but is most likely headed for the crusher now. Can't justify dumping the money into this in hopes it won't break down again.