AI Damage2000 Buick Century: common problems
Owners of the 2000 Buick Century filed 193 complaints with NHTSA, most often about powertrain and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 193
- involving a crash
- 11
What fails most often
- 1 Powertrain 25% of all complaints
- 2 Service brakes 16% of all complaints
- 3 Visibility 12% of all complaints
- 4 Engine and cooling 11% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 10% of all complaints
- 6 Exterior lighting 7% of all complaints
- 7 Steering 6% of all complaints
- 8 Air bags 5% of all complaints
- Powertrain: 48 complaints (25% of all).
- Service brakes: 31 complaints (16% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Visibility: 23 complaints (12% of all).
- Engine and cooling: 21 complaints (11% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 20 complaints (10% of all).
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 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 193 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 31 | 3 | 0 |
| Visibility | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Suspension | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 4 | 2 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
My car started vibrating and shaking so bad I was afraid to drive it. While driving at night on the interstate the vibration got so bad, my back two tires blew out, I lost control of my car and my car ended up in a field of mud with no one in miles of me.
Was involved in an accident in which his driver side air bag didn't deploy. Not sure whom the manufacture of the air bag is . According to the police report my dad was at fault. See pictures he basically pulled out on a 4- lane road and was hit by a vehicle traveling the opposite direction.
While driving 40 mph the contact applied the brakes and heard a grinding metal sound coming from the brakes. The brakes failed to engage properly causing the contact to crash into a vehicle. There were no injuries. A police report was written for the incident.
The contact was wearing a seat belt, but minor injuries were sustained. Minor damage was sustained to the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who determined the brake lines were corroded. The vehicle was exposed to extreme winter weather and road salts. The manufacturer was not notified.
The steel bar in the door probably saved my life but the side air bag did not deploy which could have prevented my head from hitting the bar between the two doors and I gashed my head besides all the other problems with being hit like that. I notified the browns buick people when I returned from s.c.
Vehicle was involved in a head on collision in which driver's seat belt failed to lock up during impact, dealer and manufacturer have not been notified. Feel free to provide any further information.
While traveling 30mph consumer was involved in a front end collision in which driver's side and passenger's side airbags failed to deploy. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details.
Whenever starting vehicle and shifting into gear vehicle would jerk forward or backwards suddenly, even with foot on brake. Due to this sudden acceleration, vehicle was involved in an accident. One person was injured.
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 2,107 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 6% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Century has 70 complaints (26 years in the data). This year has 193, above average.
What to check before buying
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
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 1999235 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 2000 Buick Century?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: powertrain, service brakes, visibility. Total complaints: 193. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: windows, sunroof (12%), knocking, grinding or other noise (7%), jerking, harsh shifts (7%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2000 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 2000 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 2000 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.