1997 Buick Lesabre Body and structure Problems

“While accelerating up to speed from a stop, all of a sudden there was a noticeable thump, the steering was erratic, the car vibrated and shook. The power steering was inoperable. We slowly drove the car home (2 miles) and upon examination, we discovered the engine cradle frame was hanging down, only a few inches from the ground. The engine cradle mounting washers (2 on each side) had rusted thru, allowing the rear of the cradle to drop. I also noticed the right side sway bar was broken off at the mount on the lower control arm. …”

“September 15th driving my 1997 Buick Lesabre heard and felt a loud banging noise. Lost all steering. Car taken to garage where it was discovered that all four rear subframe cradle mount retainers had failed. Entire engine and cradle fell disengaging the steering completely. I have since learned that there are thousands of Lesabre owners who have had this same thing occur. Gm did a recall on the regals for the same problem. Was there ever a recall on the lesabres and if not...why not. This is an obviously very serious design failure which is potentially fatal. …”

“Sever inner rust/rotted area in the rear passenger side trunk back seat, wheel housing. Not visible rust to the naked eye, or no surface rust. Caused water to leak in and cause extensive damage to seat, carpet, padding. Leaked to under front passenger seat,shorting out sensor and deployed air bag without impact. G.m. Is unhelpful. They responded with even if it was a factory defect I had exceeded my 6 year/100,000 mile warranty. I cannot see how this could fall to the consumers responsibility! I am hopeful that you may have an answer that could be of some help. …”

“The contact owns a 1997 Buick Lesabre. While reversing the vehicle at approximately 10 MPH into the driveway, the contact noticed an abnormal cracking noise coming from the front end of the vehicle. The contact stopped and looked underneath the vehicle. He noticed that the a-frame on the passenger side was hanging down without warning and the front subframe bushing was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.”

“The contact owns a 1997 Buick Lesabre. While making a right turn, the contact heard a noise and felt the steering wheel continue to turn in her hand. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and they stated that the vehicle's engine cradle washers rotted; therefore, the vehicle could not be steered. The GM manufacturer was called and they stated that they would make a note and wait for others to call about the failure. The failure mileage was 139,623. Updated 04-17-09 updated 04/20/09.”