2003 Buick LaSabre with only 22,000 miles Highway problems

Asked by Guru94R48D Sep 20, 2020 at 07:53 PM about the 2003 Buick LeSabre

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My late mom passed away and I inherited her car (see subject line above,
Buick LaSabre with only 22,000 miles on it and NO reported prior problems). It
has sat in a garage for a few weeks but started right up this week. I used it to
drive between San Diego and LA and it broke down 44 miles into the trip. It
decelerates from 70, 60, 50......to a complete stop. When it stops the battery
VOLT red light comes on and the interior lights come on. When you pull out the
key all lights go out and nothing comes on (including lights). If you wait for 20-
30 minutes it starts right up as if nothing is wrong. This happens over and over
again without warning. It is very dangerous and unpredictable, since when it
loses power, you have to coast to a stop wherever you are. We have had it into
2 advance mechanic shops that spent hours trying to diagnose the problem
and can't figure out what is wrong with it because they can't seem to get it to
break down like it does on the highway during their diagnostics. One replaced
a main sensor but ended up refunding that, because the same problem
happened again an hour later after they replaced that part. I desperately need
help repairing this, since I am in dire need of this car and operating on very
limited funds. It's also very dangerous to drive because it initially seems
absolutely fine. Does anyone know what might be wrong with it or where I
might take it to be properly diagnosed and repaired in the San Diego area? I
have only a few days to remedy the problem. Thank you in advance for your
help.

2 Answers

735

First off....No, I have not seen this problem connected to a LeSabre before. However, it sounds exclusively like an electrical problem. Things to check are: bad grounds and/or connections and also possibly shorted wires. Does that sound simple? It is not because the problem could be almost anywhere. Would start by cleaning battery terminals and making sure they have excellent connection. Then find the cars main grounds and do same for them. Then at the alternator...same thing....good clean strong contacts. If your local auto parts place can test your alternator and battery that could give you some peace of mind. If all of that reveals nothing, then I personally would think hard about if there is any predictor of when it fails. Maybe when you hit a bump. Maybe only when you turn on something in the car. Hard to tell.... could be a bad component anywhere in the car that is drawing down the voltage. Drive with no radio, a/c, heat, lights, etc. and see if it makes a difference. I should have mentioned this earlier....is the check engine light on? If it is on not, go to local auto store and have them read the codes if any. That may give useful information.

735

First off....No, I have not seen this problem connected to a LeSabre before. However, it sounds exclusively like an electrical problem. Things to check are: bad grounds and/or connections and also possibly shorted wires. Does that sound simple? It is not because the problem could be almost anywhere. Would start by cleaning battery terminals and making sure they have excellent connection. Then find the cars main grounds and do same for them. Then at the alternator...same thing....good clean strong contacts. If your local auto parts place can test your alternator and battery that could give you some peace of mind. If all of that reveals nothing, then I personally would think hard about if there is any predictor of when it fails. Maybe when you hit a bump. Maybe only when you turn on something in the car. Hard to tell.... could be a bad component anywhere in the car that is drawing down the voltage. Drive with no radio, a/c, heat, lights, etc. and see if it makes a difference. I should have mentioned this earlier....is the check engine light on? If it is on not, go to local auto store and have them read the codes if any. That may give useful information.

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