Buick - Century :: 2003 - Dies When Turning Left / ABS Sensors Keep Needing To Be Cleaned
Oct 19, 2011
My wife's car, a 2003 Buick Century, has died a couple times on her while driving. Each time has been while she was in the midst of a left turn, so I think that is relevant. Today it is a humid, raining off/on kind of day, but she says that she thinks the last time it did it was a dry day. When it dies, she pulls over, puts it in park, and restarts the car, it runs normal, no problems. She said she has turned the ignition switch off, and then starts the car, and has not tried just turning forward to start, however her daughter said that when it died on her, she could not turn it to start - she had to turn it off then back on and it started fine.
Her daughter said that she had it die once while sitting at a traffic light, so I may be off base thinking that it is related to a left turn. The car has about 155K miles on it, and the only engine work that has been done on it other than maintenance is that the catalytic converter was replaced a few years back, when it was plugged up.
On this same car, I have to spray brake cleaner on the ABS sensors (front) about every 3-4 weeks, when the ABS light and the TRAC Off lights come on. Is there some way to keep them from becoming fouled?
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1996 Buick Century has a humming noise while driving at normal speeds and curving or turning slightly to the left only. It will not do this while turning left from a stop or slow turn, but only at moderate or hi-way speeds. You can make the sound while changing lanes, passing or curving to the left. This is only noticeable on actions involving left turn or merging motions.
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I'm looking to sell my dad's '97 Buick Century Limited, but it has a problem with the steering. The short of the problem is that when you step on the gas the car steers to the left but only when you get on it. The more you get on it the more it goes left.So a little more detail here. So if the steering wheel is aligned correctly, it sits at 9 and 3 o'clock, but it isn't, it sits at 8 and 2. It goes pretty much straight at that position; it would take a couple blocks at least to go from the left side of a lane to the right. It doesn't pull hard or anything, you can easily steer it with one finger.
So the problem comes when you get on the gas, either stopped to cross a road or going 55 to pass on a highway. When you get on it the car starts to vere off to the left if you don't let the steering wheel automatically correct itself back to a 9 and 3 position. So it still goes straight unless you don't let the wheel move. The more you get on it, the more the steering wheel goes back to 9 and 3 position. So if you don't floor it, it won't go all the way back to 9 and 3. As soon as you take your foot off the gas it will automatically correct itself back to the 8 and 2 position. However when you are just cruising the wheel is at 8 and 2, doesn't matter if your going 15, 30, 50 or 75 mph.
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Car : 03 Buick Regal
Recent Repairs : Installed new brakes, rotors, and bearings a month ago
Problems/Symptoms:
1. When going forward grinding noise ONLY when turning wheel to the right, becomes a tad louder when applying brake.
2. When going reverse cannot turn at all without hearing an AWFUL grinding noise and the tire seizing up.
3. Front left rotor (where noise is coming from) is beginning to wear heavily on the upper-outside portion in a 2" band.
Possible Solution that I thought of:The metal brake pad clip is somehow bent/not installed right so it is grinding on the rotor.
Why Can't I Check Right Now : Do not have hydraulic jack currently to get my car up. Waiting until Friday.
Today, I took the car to the shop today and they actually found that my sway bar needs to be replaced, but unfortunately they did not open up the brakes to check out the grinding noise. So when I left, I got to thinking about the brake pad clip.
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I just had my EGR valve and hose and DPFE sensor replaced and the truck is running better than it has in quite a while except that whenever I turn to the left and pull into a parking space it dies.
I've read that it could be a bad power steering pump. This would make sense because mine is pretty noisy when I make a left or right turn. However, it has never caused the engine to stall before. This didn't begin happening until immediately after the recent maintenance.
Is there something I should be looking for that my be related to the new EGR valve/hose or DPFE sensor?
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Currently I have a 1998 Buick Century Custom having turn signal issues.
The front left blinker is not blinking. Understandably, with this malfunction, the rear left blinker blinks rapidly when the turn signal switch is in the left turn signal position. However, when I put the hazard lights on, BOTH rear blinkers blink normally as does the front right blinker.
When the headlights are on, the amber-colored blinker bulb remains lit (left front). The right side front and rear blinkers work great.
I have checked the fuses, replaced the bulb and cleaned the socket of the front left blinker and still have no results. While my next guess would be that the flasher unit is the problem, I don't believe the rear, or front right blinkers would blink if that was the problem.
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I have a 96 Buick Century Special with the 3.1 six cylinder engine. Starting on March 18, 2015 my car has started blowing the Injector Coil fuse any time I take a fast left-hand turn. It never does it during a right-hand turn. I have now replaced the fuse a total of 5 times since March 18.
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I have a 2003 Buick Century 3.1L. The airbag light goes on randomly. I realize that it is supposed to go on momentarily after I start the engine. Sometimes the light will stay lit for one or more drives and sometimes it will stay off for one or more drives. I have checked the fuse; it is good. I have tried smacking the airbag on the steering and the dash...the light remains lit. I have seen a bundle of wires on the back side of the fuse box and am not sure whether I should try to trace the fuse wire back to both locations or what to do next. Is there some trick of the trade like a reset button and what do you think I should try next?
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I have a 2003 Buick Century in automatic with overdrive. During the past week I experienced a hum and slight vibration at speeds over 20 mph. (The faster I drive the higher the hum.) I checked the transmission fluid. It was brown and pink but did not smell burned. I have not changed the trans fluid in 2 years. I sent it to my transmission guy for an oil change. He said that the 1st gear clutch was having some problem and there was no 4th gear. He suggested another transmission...
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2003 Buick Century draining fully charged battery overnight. Have tried almost everything and cant figure it out. The high blower is not working either and I am wondering if a short in that can cause the battery to drain? Changed fuses, alternator, searched for shorts, an so on. Cannot find location of the blower.
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I have a 2003 Buick century custom, 45,000 miles. I just got it 3 months ago, so don't have any maintenance records. Recently, the steering wheel has started to shake/shimmy while driving. It shakes left-right about 1/4-1/2 inch when I let go of it. The car also pulls to the right quite a bit. The steering wheel doesn't seem to shake at all at stops, only while in motion. My dad and I are going to look under the hood at whatever we can tomorrow, so where to start checking for issues!!! I am have been able to fix things before on my own and my dad has rigged his pickup to run partially on hydrogen from water, so gets 75 mpg city from an old 1990 beater that's falling apart physically, so we should be able to fix this if we can figure out what it is. So somewhere to start is what I'm looking for now.
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I have 2003 Buick Century. I started having problems with the car after coming to a stop, accelerating - the car starts to go hesitates, then jerks a bit to go. This does not happen every time after a stop but when it does the service engine soon light comes on. Initially I got the P0401 code (I think) and took it in to a mechanic. They could not find anything wrong with the car but did clean out the EGR valve, that didn't work, they worked on my transmission and replaced other parts, still no success.
I took the car to another mechanic who replaced the EGR valve and several other small parts. I still had the problem but this time the error code was P0420. I took it back again and replaced the spark plugs, O/2 sensor, catalytic converter. That hasn't fixed the problem. The mechanic said that they have taken my car for several test drives and the car has not demonstrated the problem. The error message still reads P0420 even after all of the parts have been replaced. The 2nd mechanic has washed his hands of my problem.
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My 2003 Buick Century heater works fine while accelerating but as soon as I release the gas the air begins to cool, swiftly. I have had the radiator flushed and the coolant topped off but the problem persists.
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My Toyota land cruiser 1993 dies at low speed only turning left....ONLY leftSo, it started last year while in low turning left off road she suddenly died and I just about rolled her, but was able to turn her back on and keep going albeit in higher RPM. Now, she dies all the time when making a slow speed left turn and ONLY left turn. Also, in low she bucks and starts to die....
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I have a 2000 Buick Century that I cannot get to start. While my wife was driving home it started to sputter (like running out of gas) and did a little back firing. She made it home and I put in some gas (Just to make sure) and the care cranks over but will not start. I have replaced the fuel filter, checked the spark plugs and replaced the CAM Sensor. The car still will not start.
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My wife has a 2000 Buick Century with about 150,000 miles on it. It has been relatively trouble free. Recently, the "low coolant" light began to come on.She took the car into a garage where she was told there was oil in the coolant and the sensor had been compromised. The cooling system was flushed and cleaned and a new sensor installed. The "low coolant" light continued to come on. She took the car back in. She was told the wrong sensor had been installed. When she went back for the car the second time, she was told the oil in the coolant was preventing the new sensor from working and there was nothing more the garage could do. I went in and asked questions, primarily how serious was the condition, and couldn't get a straight answer.
We are due to drive to Florida in November. My wife would like to take it to a garage there. Is it save to drive it as is? What are the implications of oil mixing with coolant? What is causing it to happen?
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I am trying to get opinions on the best and safest Head Gasket Sealer that will be used on a 2003 ford focus. I was recently told by a mechanic that my head gasket needed to be replaced and was the cause of the water reservoir losing antifreeze and constantly needing to be added even though there were no traces of leakage.
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My 03 Buick century is overheating. I changed the thermostat and the water pump. And still overheats as soon As I start driving. I am also getting when it is overheating some misfiring in cylindar 1. I am going to reflush and bleed the coolant even though it seems to be full . i dont think it is disappearing. Is it Possible i have a blown headgasket or intake manifold leak?
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I am having a very tricky problem with my Buick.
For approximately the last 4 months, it has been (at least according to the heat gauge on the dash) running pretty hot. Not overheating, but getting close. And it doesn't take long for it to get there. This all seems to have begun right around the time that my father and I flushed the coolant system.
Since then, I have replaced some parts, and learned a few things in the process.
I learned that there are bleeder screws which can be opened to let air bubbles out. And I have heard that the 3.1L is especially susceptible to them.
New parts which I have installed:
- thermostat
- coolant temperature sensor
- radiator cap
- upper radiator hose
- lower radiator hose
I have checked the water pump and it seems to be perfectly fine. No leaks. No signs of bad bearings. And it circulates coolant just fine. I have not been witness to either cooling fan, primary or auxiliary, switching on in a while.
The exact symptoms are these:
The heat gauge does not take long to get to mid-way point, but will sit at that point for a bit if the vehicle remains stationary. Once the vehicle is in significant motion, the heat gauge will climb fairly quickly, especially with moderately high RPMs. It WON'T touch the red though, but will get very very close to it. The car runs fine. It does seem to be a bit underpowered, but I am comparing it to my fiance's 1996 Olds Cutlass Ciera, which I believe has a different transmission. My Buick does not seem to have lost power since this problem arose. The cooling fans no longer kick on. The oil appears fine. The coolant as well. With the radiator cap off, coolant does not bubble out or shoot out.
I made sure after changing upper and lower hoses to fill the radiator, let the car run long enough for the thermostat to open, and then slowly poured more coolant into the radiator until it was full again. And the reservoir is at proper level and the the reservoir hose s not clogged.
I am not SURE, but I don't believe the radiator is clogged. I believe that covers it, at least as well as I can.
BTW, I do not know where the fan relays are, otherwise I would test the fans to see if they still work.
What the heck is up with my Buick? Also, it has 97,xxx miles on it, and the transmission fluid is at proper level and looks normal.
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2002 Buick century will sometimes not start. Seems to correlate with warmer weather and happens after long drives. I try to restart within 10 minutes of turning off and it will start and then in a few seconds the car shakes and the engine dies. I can restart multiple times, but it will always die in a couple of seconds. If I wait an hour and retry, no problem. Once someone banged on the gas tank and that solved it. Mechanic cannot diagnose problem unless it dies while he is there. Should I replace the fuel pump or could it be something else?
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My grandpa's old wood paneled station wagon is sick. The idle seems to be getting rougher and rougher with every time I kill the battery (I've somehow left my headlights on four times in the past two months and needed a jump). It's to a point now where if I don't throw it in neutral at stop lights and keep a tiny bit of gas on the engine it stalls out.
Notes:*When it first gets jumped after being dead, if I stop even for a second, it dies instantly.*While cruising - it is fine. *It idles smoother stopped in neutral than it does stopped and in drive. *It seems a bit rougher with the engine is cold, but still rough and can stall with the engine hot. *Some random times it idles just fine (like for example the first few seconds on start up, and then it sounds like the engine is decreasing in rpm automatically, and then it is rough again).
Could the dying battery and rough idle be related?? The battery guy says "if it starts fine, the battery is fine" (it does start fine, although keeping the radio on for 20 minutes without it running will kill it).
Also other problems with my car in case this has anything to do with it: *I have a leaky tail pipe*my ABS has recently been randomly engaging at low speeds (next problem to work on...)
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