Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 1982 LeSabre.
The 1982 Buick LeSabre arrives with a minimal complaint footprint — just one owner-reported issue centered on vehicle speed control and a single recall to its name — suggesting a relatively quiet debut compared to the turbulence that would emerge in later generations. While the model's documented complaint history spans 1990 through 2006, peaking at 698 reports for the 2000 model year before dwindling to just three by 2006, the 1982 vintage sits outside that tracked window with its own sparse record. That lone complaint and solitary recall hint at a model year that largely avoided the systemic issues that would later define the nameplate's reliability narrative, positioning it as an outlier in a lineage that grew progressively more troubled before improving sharply at the end of its run.
0–60 mph, quarter-mile, horsepower and torque from independent road tests.
Independent road tests for the LeSabre of this era, listed by trim and engine — this page spans more than one engine, so no single horsepower figure is shown.
| Year | Trim / engine | 0–60 | ¼ mile | HP | Drivetrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Sport Coupe 5.7L V8 | 12.20 sec | 18.40 sec | 170 hp | RWD |
Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.
The 1982 Buick LeSabre exhibits very low federal activity, with only one complaint regarding Vehicle Speed Control and zero reported crashes or fires. This target year precedes the provided year-by-year federal record, which begins in 1990 and shows a general trend of increasing Technical Service Bulletins from 4 in 1990 to 583 in 2006. Complaints in that later sequence peaked at 698 in 2000, making the 1982 model's record exceptionally clean by comparison. The data does not specify the root cause for the single Vehicle Speed Control issue. Because it falls entirely outside the high-complaint arc of the later generation, this is a good year to buy.
All 1 complaints on record, top 1 components.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.
Showing 1 of 1 campaigns on record for this vehicle.
UNDER CERTAIN VEHICLE OPERATING CONDITIONS, THE GOVERNOR WEIGHT RETAINER IN THE INJECTION PUMP MAY FAIL. THE THROTTLE VALVE COULD STICK, PREVENTING RETURN TO IDLE AND SHUT DOWN OF THE ENGINE BY THE DRIVER. Remedy: DEALER WILL REPLACE THE GOVERNOR WEIGHT ASSEMBLY IN THE INJECTION PUMP AT NO COST TO OWNER.
The most common OBD-II codes for this vehicle's emissions system. These are standardized SAE J2012 definitions, not vehicle-specific fault reports.
Decode factory build data for a specific vehicle by VIN.
Cross-vehicle references for the kinds of data on this page.
NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.