2003 Buick LeSabre

large car / 4-door sedan

2003 Buick LeSabre 4-door sedan
2000 Buick LeSabre shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test
Head restraints & seats

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2000-05 models built after April 1999

Tested vehicle: 2000 Buick LeSabre Custom 4-door

The Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville were redesigned for the 2000 model year, and the Oldsmobile Aurora was redesigned for 2001. All 2000 and later Buick LeSabre models manufactured after April 1999 include structural changes to improve occupant protection in frontal crashes. All Bonneville and Aurora models include these same improvements (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the crashworthiness of a LeSabre with the structural changes in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.

The Oldsmobile Aurora was dropped after the 2003 model year, and the Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville were dropped after the 2005 model year. The LeSabre was replaced by the Buick Lucerne.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head hit the head restraint and shoulder belt housing during rebound. Front lap/shoulder belts are mounted to the seats.

The active front head restraints, new in the 2000 LeSabre, were designed to move automatically into position to provide protection from whiplash injuries in rear-end collisions. However, the initial position of the head restraint (too far from the head of an average-size male) is inadequate to provide the intended protection.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CF99015
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 12
Left (cm) 18
Center (cm) 18
Right (cm) 15
Brake pedal (cm) 9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 3
Right (cm) 3
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 3
Rearward (cm) 2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 5

Driver injury measures

Test ID CF99015
Head
HIC-15 409
Peak gs at hard contact 75
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 16
Maximum Nij 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 2.8
Femur force - right (kN) 1.9
Knee displacement - left (mm) 4
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.58
Maximum tibia index - right 0.75
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 99
Right 128

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: All seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type All seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm) 75
Distance below top of head (mm) 130
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Fail
Max T1 acceleration (g) 0.0
Head contact time (ms)
Force rating 0
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)
Max neck tension (N)

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.