VehicleVerdict

2002 Buick Century engine problems

The 2002 Buick Century has 37 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 18% of the year's total, and roughly flat versus the prior model year.

37

Engine complaints

18%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Century engine complaints by model year64 complaints1984: 2 complaints1985: 3 complaints1986: 12 complaints1987: 3 complaints1989: 5 complaints1990: 7 complaints1991: 6 complaints1992: 5 complaints1993: 10 complaints1994: 16 complaints1995: 12 complaints1996: 9 complaints1997: 8 complaints1998: 23 complaints1999: 64 complaints2000: 27 complaints2001: 33 complaints2002: 37 complaints2003: 15 complaints2004: 4 complaints2005: 3 complaints
Century engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“I CURRENTLY HAVE A 2002 BUICK CENTURY CUSTOM WITH 107000 MILES ON IT. I HAD A STARTER CATCH FIRE CAUSE OF A LARGE BUILDUP OF OIL COMING FROM EITHER THE HEAD GASKET OR THE MANIFOLD GASKET. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. DRIVING AT HIGH ENGINE TEMPERATURE WITH CAUSE A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE FOR ANYONE…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · December 31, 2009 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2002 Buick Century have?

NHTSA has 37 complaints about the 2002 Buick Century engine — 18% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.