Buick Century Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 140 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the Buick Century across 10 model years. The 2000 model year has the most (48). The words owners use most often: “automatic transmission” (7% of reports).
- 140power train complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 1mention a crash
- 1mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $2,900typical repair cost reported by owners
- 14%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Automatic transmission: mentioned in 10 of 140 complaints (7%)
- Pressure control solenoid: mentioned in 7 of 140 complaints (5%)
- Gear shift: mentioned in 7 of 140 complaints (5%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical power train repair on the Buick Century at $2,900, and half of them between $1,250 and $3,950.
Based on 8 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (1999–2009), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 64 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 140 complaints, 1 mention a crash, 1 an injury.
Buick Century power train complaints by model year
| Model year | Power Train complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Century | 1 | 5% | 57,000 |
| 2003 Century | 6 | 5% | 88,650 |
| 2002 Century | 7 | 5% | 40,000 |
| 2001 Century | 21 | 14% | 68,221 |
| 2000 Century | 48 | 25% | 59,985 |
| 1999 Century | 11 | 5% | 50,248 |
| 1998 Century | 26 | 12% | 48,148 |
| 1997 Century | 2 | 2% | — |
| 1996 Century | 7 | 9% | 99,917 |
| 1995 Century | 11 | 11% | 110,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists power train for the Buick Century. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Service engine light and gas light came on. Code read at autozone indicated po135- oxygen sensor. Two days later, both check engine lights came on, security, battery and gas lights. Even revved up and had other issues with fuel economy and compressor kicking on and failing to start. Other issues…
Defective odometer readings, gear indicators disappeared. The odometer reading disappeared, and the gear indicator disappeared on instrument cluster. I have no way to read my odometer, nor do i know what gear i am in, prnd21. Now i can accidently be in reverse and not even know it. This is an…
Engine stalls at a stop- when engine is warm- engine leaking oil- fuel gage-
Automatic transmission has very harsh shift between 1st and 2nd gears and also between 2nd and 3rd. Seems to happen after warmed up and on highway for awhile.
WE PURCHASED THIS CAR (AS IS) FOR OUR GRANDSON. ON OUR WAY HOME FROM THE DEALER, AS SOON AS THE TRANSMISSION WARMED UP (4-5 MILES), THE SHIFTING WAS HARD AND JERKING WITH A WHINE COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. TOOK THE CAR TO A GARAGE WHICH FOUND THE COMPUTER CODE OF P1811 AND WERE TOLD A COMPLETE…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Buick Centurys have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 140 owner complaints about power train for the Buick Century. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Buick Century power train?
No recall currently lists power train for this vehicle.
How much does it cost to fix power train problems on the Buick Century?
Owners report a typical cost of $2,900 (half paid between $1,250 and $3,950), from 8 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about power train problems on the Buick Century?
The most frequent phrase is “automatic transmission”, in 10 of 140 complaints, followed by “pressure control solenoid” (7).
Other Buick Century problems
See all Buick Century problems.