Reliability & cost of ownership
Buick Century Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Buick Century? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Buick Century problems by model year
36 recall entries and 1414 owner complaints on file across 11 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Century | 2 | 19 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2004 Century | 2 | 39 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2003 Century | 2 | 127 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2002 Century | 2 | 155 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2001 Century | 5 | 145 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2000 Century | 7 | 193 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1999 Century | 5 | 235 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1998 Century | 4 | 217 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1997 Century | 4 | 105 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1996 Century | 2 | 80 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1995 Century | 1 | 99 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Buick Century, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- service brakes194 complaints
- engine and engine cooling187 complaints
- exterior lighting165 complaints
- hydraulic164 complaints
- electrical system161 complaints
- visibility144 complaints
- power train132 complaints
- steering110 complaints