AI Damage1999 Buick Century: common problems
Owners of the 1999 Buick Century filed 235 complaints with NHTSA, most often about engine and cooling and visibility. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 235
- involving a crash
- 18
What fails most often
- 1 Engine and cooling 23% of all complaints
- 2 Visibility 13% of all complaints
- 3 Service brakes 12% of all complaints
- 4 Exterior lighting 10% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 6% of all complaints
- 6 Electrical system 6% of all complaints
- 7 Vehicle speed control 6% of all complaints
- 8 Steering 6% of all complaints
- Engine and cooling: 55 complaints (23% of all).
- Visibility: 30 complaints (13% of all).
- Service brakes: 29 complaints (12% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Exterior lighting: 24 complaints (10% of all).
- Air bags: 15 complaints (6% of all), 10 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 3.1 L · petrol · 6 cylnamed in 2 complaints
- automatic, 4-speed
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 235 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and cooling | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 29 | 3 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 15 | 10 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| Steering | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Suspension | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 6 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained a head injury that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact's wife was applying the brakes while pulling into the driveway when the vehicle surged forward into the garage. There were no injuries and no police report was taken. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealership and had not spoken with the manufacturer to-date.
Corrosion (rust through/failure) of front/right metal brake line in 1999 buick century (9 yr old car, 96k miles). The brake pedal became very mushy and went to the floor and there was an obvious leak of brake fluid onto the ground. The repair shop says it was caused by corrosion/rust through.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving at night the vehicle struck a deer at 60 mph and the airbags did not deploy. Although the contact and passenger were wearing t seat belts, the contact's husband sustained minor injuries from the seat belt straps. There was no pre braking involved.
The vehicle hit a tree yet the front air bags did not deploy. The driver's head hit the windshield and the windshield shattered. The vehicle was towed and the vehicle was assessed by the insurance company. It was determined that the air bag sensors were impacted and that the air bags should have deployed.
I pulled into a parking space on a slight incline and was just releasing the brake pedal to move forward when the car lunged violently forward as if the gas pedal was to the floor. There was not enough time to do any thing expect a reflex to turn the wheel to avoid hitting the building head-on.
1) need headlight adjustment instructions for a known recall. 2) every door window motor in the buick failed on each window preventing the windows from lowering if in the up position or prevented the windows from raising if in a lowered position.
This morning I started my car to head to work, there was a whining noise and very hard to turn my steering wheel. As I backed up I noticed a leak onto the pavement. I purchased a bottle of power steering fluid with stop leak and put it in hoping that's what it needed. I continued my drive to work with hesitation.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 1,724 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 5% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Century has 70 complaints (26 years in the data). This year has 235, above average.
What to check before buying
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Exterior lighting. Headlamps, leveling, sensors and mounts after a frontal hit.
Other years of this model
- Century 19823 sources
- Century 19848 sources
- Century 19857 sources
- Century 198622 sources
- Century 198728 sources
- Century 198816 sources
- Century 198940 sources
- Century 199033 sources
- Century 199138 sources
- Century 199245 sources
- Century 199354 sources
- Century 1994106 sources
- Century 199599 sources
- Century 199680 sources
- Century 1997106 sources
- Century 1998218 sources
- Century 2000193 sources
- Century 2001145 sources
- Century 2002154 sources
- Century 2003127 sources
- Century 200439 sources
- Century 200519 sources
- Century 99993 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1999 Buick Century?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: engine and cooling, visibility, service brakes. Total complaints: 235. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: windows, sunroof (10%), headlights and tail lights (7%), overheating, coolant loss (6%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1999 Buick Century?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1999 Buick Century from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1999 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.