Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
12/10/201254000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2003 buick century. the contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the headlight dimmer switch failed and the headlights became inoperative. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 54,000. kmj
12/10/201254000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2003 buick century. the contact stated while driving 45 mph the head light dimmer switch fail causing the headlights to also fail. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 54,000. mw
02/15/2011196000
 While driving at night my headlights stopped working and then turned back on, this morning as i left for work the headlights did not come on at all, the brights only worked if i held the bar back as it would not stay on by clicking it. after reading all of the problems with this there needs to be a recall on this serious problem. what can be done to make sure this gets taken care of?
12/01/201070000
 While driving at night, my headlights just go out! this has happened often in the last month and a half. i commute an hour to work and it happens at least once a day. it does not matter if they are on manually or automatically, it does not matter if they are on low or high beam. i discovered that the lights come back on if i hit the dimmer switch. this is a dangerous situation and i believe that it is worthy of investigation and a recall being issued. i have seen many complaints online about this situation. what will it take for a recall? will it take someone getting killed in a head on crash?
01/06/2011162700
 Third incident where 2003 buick century headlights (low beam) turned off while driving at night; no controls or buttons touched. first incident at 155,000 miles, second incident at 160,000, and now third incident at 162,500 miles. situation lasts 10 seconds and then headlights return. turning dimmer switch makes no difference and nor does high beam control. no diagnostic code appears. extremely dangerous situation and no recall or technical bulletin issued.
12/25/201080000
 03 buick century headlamps go out while driving seems to be occurring with high beams 'still early in diag have not repaired yet { great christmas gift }
12/31/200767000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2003 buick century. the contact was driving various speeds at night with the headlights in activation. suddenly, the headlights became inoperative. the contact pulled over to the side of the road with caution and after several attempts the headlights began to operate. the failure occurred intermittent. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they informed that the headlight switch would need to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 67,000. the vin was unavailable. js
10/20/2010156000
 Driving in the dark with high beams on, the headlights went out completely, had to activate low beams to get lights back on. this is happening frequently.
08/19/2003120000
 Tl-the contact own a 2003 buick century. while driving 35 mph the headlights on the vehicle goes out especially during the night. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they needed to replace the dimmer switch at a cost of $200. there was no recall or warranty on the vehicle. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 120,000....mw
06/25/200860000
 Whenever i have attempted to use my high beams, i lose all lights, which is extremely dangerous, especially since i live in a mostly unlighted rural area with many curvy roads. i haven't replaced any parts since i've heard estimates are in the $700+ range, and i cannot afford the expense...i just do not use the high beams at all for fear i'll lose all lights. i still don't feel safe that the lights won't just cut off anyway. i inherited the car in 2008 and noticed the problem right away. this problem occurs every single time i try to use the high beams. i've research the internet and realize there is plenty of documentation that many others have the same problem. this is obviously a manufacturer defect and should be a recall item before a death occurs. trust me...if i filed a lawsuit, there is plenty of evidence that this is a manufacturer problem and that they are aware of this potentially fatal problem, especially for those who buy the vehicle used and are not aware of the problem.
12/15/2009113591
 Almost every time the headlights are changed from high to low beams the lights will shut off compleatly and i will have no headligts at all, i have gone out and purchased a new turnsignal switch and plan to put it in as soon as posible and i will have the old part still. the front drive assembely will grind any time a tire loses traction and spins in either the rain or snow on pavement or off the road in a driveway so my car has been driving in one wheel drive instead of two wheel drive, i have not had the chance to go and buy a new drive axel assembely to correct the problem.
01/18/2009800001
 My lights go out when i try to switch from dim to bright. i feel that this could be a big safety issue while driving at night, so i don't switch to bright lights in fear that my lights wont come back on. *tr
01/14/2010725001
 The dimmer switch for the headlights. when i was using it last week, it momentarily turned off the exterior lights completely. very dangerous. *tr
11/26/20091204001
 1) while driving on a narrow, curvy, hilly two lane road in the dark i attempted to turn on my high beam headlights as i was having trouble seeing which way the road ways turning. when i click the high beam switch my headlights went out totally and i could not see the road at all. the high beam switch on this car is the general motors multifunction switch mounted on the steering column. i went off the road narrowly missing a large boulder and tree. 2) i had trouble getting the headlights to come back on. my car now only has low beam. the multifunction switch must be fiddled with and operated many time to try to gets the headlight to come back on. if i try to get the high beam headlights to come on the headlights go out and i must play with the switch to have the lights come back on. this is a dangerous situation when you need to travel narrow hilly roads in rural areas without any road lights. when the headlights go out you become surprised and need a second to understand what has happened. in that second you become a little dis-oriented as you are trying to get the lights to come back on and trying to stop. the failure is still there as i am trying to get it in for repair. 3) i will have the car in for repair in the next few day and will ask for the faulty switch back. i have a friend with chevrolet impala who told me he had the sand problem with this general motors multi-function switch. it is the same switch in his car as mine. *tr
10/29/2009710001
 While driving home one night, my headlights just went out! this has happened often enough we now do not drive our car at night if at all possible. through research online and testing it ourselves, we determined that the lights come back on if we flick the dimmer switch. this is a very dangerous situation, and after reading other's similar experiences at aboutautomobile.com (15 different entries), we believe that this is worthy of investigation and a recall being issued. we did take the car to a mechanic who was not sure what might be the cause. now that we have some idea, we will return to him and get an estimate for repairs. from the online research, we can expect it to cost approximately $600 or more. thank you for your time. *tr
05/10/20091
 I have a 2003 buick century v6 while driving at night my lights go out it is very scary and dangerous i would like to no the problem as i have read that there has been others with the same problem also if i hit the dimmer switch they will come back on but then go back off. *tr
01/07/2009361751
 I was driving on the interstate to visit friends at about dusk. i always drive with the headlight switch in the auto position, but because of weather conditions i switched to the manual on position. i continued to drive for another hour and when i got to within 10 minutes of my destination, the interior dash lights and radio started flashing. my headlights were also going off and i could hear the relay on the computer (passenger side) clicking. i stopped and inspected for a shorted wire but found none. i switched to the auto position and was able to complete the drive and return back home without recurrence. testing it again at home the headlights would go on and off in the manual on position. after exercising the headlight switch through all the positions numerous times, i could not reproduce the problem.. i believe that the problem was caused by a unused contact on the headlight switch that became oxidized and the low voltage caused the loss of headlights and reaction with the computer controlling them. this is a very dangerous design to be driving at interstate speeds and loose your headlights. *tr
11/22/2008650921
 Was driving after dark on country road. switched on bright lights after a few seconds headlights went out. pulled over to side of road. pulled light switch on and off several times and lights came back on. was afraid to use bright lights again. is very dangerous as was i was on straight away and little traffic at the moment. could have been on a curve and could have resulted in crash and or loss of life or at least injuries. will go to mechanic monday and hopefully can get repaired. was looking for safety bulletin and or recall or advisory. *tr
10/21/200857000111/01/2002
 Tl*the contact owns a 2003 buick century. while driving various speeds at night, the headlights dim. when the high beams are activated, the headlights illuminate again. the contact has seen identical failures like this on the internet. the failure and current mileages were 57,000. updated 12-01-08 *bf the dealer stated the vehicle needed a new multi-function switch. updated 12/02/08. *jb
01/01/20041
 One of the taillight bulbs in my fiance's car needs to be replaced more frequently than it should be. i thought the issue might be particular to the car, but i have noticed while driving that other late-model buick century's have the same non-functioning tail-light, so i believe this must be a mfr. defect. *tr
07/01/2004104/22/2003
 When the vehicle was shut off, the daytime running lights failed to shut off. this caused the vehicle to remain unlocked for a long period of time. both the manufacturer and the dealer were contacted. *ak *sc *jb
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS
10/07/200674900508/18/2004
 Headlights went out approx. 4 times over a 30 min period. this is the second time this has happened. the first time they went out once for about 15 seconds. this time they were out long enough for me to have to pull off the road. *nm
12/22/2004442212
 While driving, the headlights would shut off without warning intermittently. the dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. the cause was not determined. *nm the dealership replaced the mulitfunction switch. they did not find the problem, however they replaced the switch as a possible cause of the problem. *bf *nm
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH
11/18/2008980001
 2003 buick century headlights go out while driving. the lights would come back on by flicking the dimmer switch. extremely dangerous. i was informed it could possibly be the body control module or dimmer switch. *tr
12/16/2007121000207/29/2003
 While driving home from work one evening recently, i attempted to dim my lights for an oncoming vehicle and was shocked to find i had no low beams. i only had highbeams. had to replace the dimmer switch, which of course operates everything else. about a month ago, my lights went out for about 30 seconds, then no problems until i lost my low beams. *tr
11/22/20071011/19/2003
 At times when use the dimmer switch on my 2003 buick century, the head lights go our completely. when i reflick the dimmer switch, the lights will come back on, this proposes a dangerous situation, esp. if one doesn't know that reflicking the switch will solve the problem. the situation is even more dangerous in the late twilight, which is what happened w/ my wife. she drove several miles before arriving home, completely unaware that she was driving w/o headlight. i just retrieved my buick from the repair shop, where they installed an entire unit for me at a cost of 500.00. more than likely this problem has occurred with other century owners. the repair cost was bad enough, but the situation could have been deadly, if i had not detected the problem and had it repaired. *tr
05/10/2007103/06/2003
 While operating vehicle at night i went to use my high beams, low beams operated fine. however, when i activated high beams, all headlights went off, causing me to rapidly slow down and pull to side of road. as pulling to side of road i turned off the high beams, and low beams came back on. this happened several times. this obviously very dangerous. i took car to a car repair shop, and they advised me to check for any vehicle/equipment recalls. i tried looking for recalls ,but could not find any. repair shop was insistent that we checked with you before they do any work because it might be covered if a recall was issued. *ak the consumer stated wants to know the status of his complaint. *tr
12/04/200649950407/28/2003
 Headlight high beams would randomly turn off leaving no visibility for night driving. this occurred on several occasions. switching back to low beams provided light. brought vehicle to gm dealership and it was unable to duplicate the problem. dealership suggested that a remedy might be to replace the multi function switch or blinker switch. this replacement was done on 12/11/06 at a cost of $682.02. *nm
07/01/20063
 Bright lights quit working when driving, resulting in total darkness when driving at night, until dimmer switch was activated. local buick garage replaced entire dimmer unit from steering column. (switch 2.485) *jb
03/08/2006370001
 Dt*: the contact stated while switching the headlights from low beam to high beam they temporarily go out. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the dealer determined the headlight dimmer switch was faulty and offered to replace; however, the contact declined.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - SWITCH
12/15/2005207/07/2004
 Dt: the contact states the headlights go out for a few minutes and then they come back on. this has been occurring for the past week. because it can be duplicated by pulling the turn signal switch forward it is a problem in the steering column with the turn signal and headlight switch. there have been no repairs made to the vehicle, and a mechanic has not inspected the vehicle. *ak
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TURN SIGNAL - SWITCH
12/15/2005207/07/2004
 Dt: the contact states the headlights go out for a few minutes and then they come back on. this has been occurring for the past week. because it can be duplicated by pulling the turn signal switch forward it is a problem in the steering column with the turn signal and headlight switch. there have been no repairs made to the vehicle, and a mechanic has not inspected the vehicle. *ak