Five problems related to brake hoses, lines/piping, and fittings have been reported for the 2001 Buick Century. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Buick Century based on all problems reported for the 2001 Century.
Backing out of the driveway my brakes went straight to the floor. Luckily I was able to apply the parking brakes to stop the vehicle. After inspection, the brake lines have completely rotted out causing a rear brake line to burst. All four brake lines have now been replaced.
The contact owns a 2001 buck Century. The contact stated that while traveling 25 mph, the driver depressed the brakes and smoke started to emit from the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the brake lines failed and needed to be replaced due to corrosion. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 53,000.
When stopping for a red light the brake pedal suddenly went most of the way to the floor and the car ends up in the intersection due to longer stopping distance. Upon inspection, the metal brake line from the abs unit, running across the firewall to the right front wheel, has completely rusted through. All the brake fluid blew out of the brake circuit when the line ruptured during the stop. Upon further inspection, two other steel brake lines and the steel fuel feed line are about to rust through and fail as well. I have never seen brake and fuel lines rust through like this! nine years old. The first brake line mentioned runs along the fire wall, right behind the exhaust manifold, as such, it has a fiber heat shield wrapping around it for about two feet and this is where the worst rust occurred, conveniently hidden from sight. I suspect the heat shield material held moisture, leading to the rust. When discussing this problem with a mechanic at the gm dealer, he said, "I see this all the time. " I know corrosion resistant materials are available to prevent this. I have never seen this happen on all the foreign cars I have owned. To make matters worse I am told that the only way to replace the brake line is to drop the subframe that holds the drivetrain, at a cost of about $1200, since the line is one of the first things to go on the body at the factory!.
The contact owns a 2001 Buick Century. While servicing the vehicle, the mechanic noticed that the brake line had rusted and brake fluid was came out. There were no warning indicators. The mechanic replaced the brake line. The contact stated that he previously owned a 1997 Buick Century with the same failure. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage is 28,500 and failure mileage was 28,000.
In stop & go traffic on highway went to stop for 8th or 9th time that morning and brakes failed and caused me to rearend another vehicle. Upon further investigation, there is about a 6" section of brake line that is completely rusted through. Same place on both sides at a bend. Rest of the lines are pefectly fine. This should not happen on a carr that is only 3 ears old and has 9000 miles on it. The defective part of the line is not in a place where it can be attributed to any cause other than defective material. (no rubbing, no sitting in dirt or salt, can't be hit by flying debris, etc).