2002 buick air suspension growling

I just bought this custom buick and there is a growling somewhere in the rear about 30 seconds after I start the engine. Sometimes I notice it at a red light. Is it the air suspension? It will very shortly be out of warranty and the Buick dealer said "I don't know what it is, but you'll get used to it. A lot of cars do it." !!!!! I got the car from a rental car sales lot and can return it Monday. I had a Mark VIII and never again want to deal with air bags going bad. Is this what is in a Buick also? Hope someone can help me soon!

Also, I was told I could get a keyless remote installed, but the Buick dealer said it wasn't possible. He also wanted $57 for a second key, which I need.Ugh.

June

I just bought this custom buick and there is a growling somewhere in the rear about 30 seconds after I start the engine. Sometimes I notice it at a red light. Is it the air suspension? It will very shortly be out of warranty and the Buick dealer said "I don't know what it is, but you'll get used to it. A lot of cars do it." !!!!! I got the car from a rental car sales lot and can return it Monday. I had a Mark VIII and never again want to deal with air bags going bad. Is this what is in a Buick also? Hope someone can help me soon!

Also, I was told I could get a keyless remote installed, but the Buick dealer said it wasn't possible. He also wanted $57 for a second key, which I need.Ugh.

June

Man, the people you are dealing with sound like idiots! What kind of Buick is it? If it is one with ride leveling, you might just have airbags or some sort of "air" system that would give you moments of noise when it is activated. As far as keyless entries, you can put anything on any Buick. I never found one you couldn't.

From his post, he drives a Lesabre Custom. It is the automatic load leveling control thats coming on. You have adjustable shocks in the rear, to keep the car level even when you've packed it with heavy items. Your skocks have gone bad, and are sinking down, causing the levelor to think you've added weight to the rear, and it lifts it back up, only for the shocks to seep down again. You'll have to replace the shocks with new ones, about $900 for parts and labor.

As for the keyless entry, chances are the car is equipped, and the programming procedure should be at the top of this forum.

Thanks very much!!! I will check for any further comments in the morning before I go back to the rental car place who sold it to me. They claim they only keep their best 5% of year-old cars to sell! If my shocks are bad, they should have known it, and I wonder what the other 95% they sell to auction or dealers are like.

Anyway, the car does ride kind of bouncy, not real bad, but bouncy. So it makes sense it would be the air suspension. It will cost me $200 to return the car, and I traded my Mark VIII in on it and don't think they could get it back for me. So I will be without a car at all until I find another one.

And actually, I didn't believe the service writer at the dealer when he told me the keyless remote system couldn't be installed. It didn't make sense. I just think he was mad because I didn't buy it from them. One other thing. The replacement/repair of $900, is that for one, or does it have two, or a set? My car had 4 air bags and the dealer charges $1,000 for each of them to be replaced. I had a car center do them for a little over $500. Some were replaced during warranty (it had 5 years). And that is all I am familar with. I just don't want to go through those kinds of problems again.

Thanks!!!!

June

900 for the back two, not sure about the front two.

Thanks again. I took the car back and they talked me into letting them "make it right." They said the car could definitely have a keyless remote installed and they would do it. So we shall see what happens next. I will post it, especially when I find out exactly what they say they did to repair the shock problem.

June

Here I am again. The car salesman called me tonight and said that the "growling" was normal after you start the car. As far as it doing it repeatedly at red lights, etc., he said it will not do that anymore. ??? I asked him what they did, and he played dumb and really couldn't "read" what it said, and that he will have to ask his manager. I had told him I wanted a "copy" of any repairs. I had an issue with the brakes also. The car stops, but if you continue pressing the pedal, say at a red light, it goes all the way to the floor. The salesman said they could not get it to do that. I did it everytime I kept pressing the pedal when stoped.

Anymore advice here? I let them try to fix the car, but it doesn't sound like they did anything. I really hate to go through one of those "inspection" mobile things, because I don't know if they could come out quickly. I used to use Lemon Busters, but they aren't listed in the phone book anymore.

Help, anyone, please.

June

My 02 Lesabre's air compressor also runs for a few seconds after I start the car. It has since day one. I assume that this is normal operation. I have on occasion noticed it coming on after a hard stop, but not at every stoplight. I think that you will be happy that you kept the car. This is my second Lesabre (my first, a '94 had 230,000 miles on it when I got rid of it and still ran perfectly) and I don't think I will ever own anything else. Keep us posted on your progress

Welcome to AF lesabrelover!

Glad you posted that info Lasabrelover. Today, one top-notch service writer for Cadillacs told me it definitely has to have a leak. But he gave me the number of another service writer friend who is with a Buick dealer locally. I called him, and he said the same thing you said, and that all the LaSabres do this. Now, the issue remains about it doing it at red lights. I will be picking it up tomorrow after the keyless remote is installed and peeling hubcaps replaced with new ones. I also was told the brakes go to be floor under the circumstances I described.

Just wish I had known all this beforehand! It also would have helped if the salesman had known these things. He knows them now also.

June

P.S. The service writer I talked to today said to bring it in to him before the 36,000 rolls over and he will really check out the car for me to make sure nothing needs to be done. Can't beat that. And you know he'll get my other service needs.

And people say dealers are bad!

And people say dealers are bad!

I picked up my LeSabre yesterday. The rental car people had someone install the keyless remote thing, but it does not turn on the dome lights, which was as important to me as the auto door opening. But they didn't charge me anything. They replaced the peeling hubcaps.

In all fairness they were always extremely cooperative with me all the way through this. They also got me another key at no charge. So, with a Buick dealer near me that had a nice professional service writer I can deal with, I plan to enjoy my new car.

Thanks, everyone!

June

Good for you, stick around though, we can always use more active posters.

I picked up my LeSabre yesterday. The rental car people had someone install the keyless remote thing, but it does not turn on the dome lights, which was as important to me as the auto door opening. But they didn't charge me anything. They replaced the peeling hubcaps.

In all fairness they were always extremely cooperative with me all the way through this. They also got me another key at no charge. So, with a Buick dealer near me that had a nice professional service writer I can deal with, I plan to enjoy my new car.

Thanks, everyone!

June
June,
If your interior lights are not coming on when you unlock with the remote, your twilight sentinel is probably set to off. It is located just to the left of the headlight/park light switch. If the little slider is all the way down, it deactivates this feature. Slide it upwards a little and your interior lights should come on if it is dark enough. If you have an owners manual with your car, pages 2-45thru2-49 should help you out.

Well, heck! No, that didn't work. It made perfect sense, but I
just tried it, and remember, this was an added remote, not
a regular one. It is rubber with 4 buttons, and they told me
only two were active -- lock and unlock. I moved the twilight
bar up about half way, but to no avail. I've never seen a
remote like this one, must be a real cheapie. I'll find out more
about it later.

Thanks anyway.

June
P.S. I didn't get an owner's manual, but some off-brand remote
probably wouldn't apply in this car anyway. I'm not sure what
else is missing -- no anti-theft, no locking gas door, something
else I can't remember right now.

Well, heck! No, that didn't work. It made perfect sense, but I
just tried it, and remember, this was an added remote, not
a regular one. It is rubber with 4 buttons, and they told me
only two were active -- lock and unlock. I moved the twilight
bar up about half way, but to no avail. I've never seen a
remote like this one, must be a real cheapie. I'll find out more
about it later.

Thanks anyway.

June
P.S. I didn't get an owner's manual, but some off-brand remote
probably wouldn't apply in this car anyway. I'm not sure what
else is missing -- no anti-theft, no locking gas door, something
else I can't remember right now.

WHat brand did they install for keyless? Yes, most of these aftermarket do not have domelight controlls hooked up. They have to do that themselves. It is real easy to do though. Tell them you'd give them $20 for it. It is just one wire to hook up. :icon16:

I don't know what brand, but there is a little box it came in, in the car. It's late, but tomorrow I'll see if it has any paperwork. One little wire? You'd think they would have done it. The dome lights coming on is a safety factor for me.

Later

June

I don't know what brand, but there is a little box it came in, in the car. It's late, but tomorrow I'll see if it has any paperwork. One little wire? You'd think they would have done it. The dome lights coming on is a safety factor for me.

Later

June
June,

I'm almost certain that remote keyless entry is a standard feature on your car. I don't think that the dealer had to "add" it. If it is not working properly, you probably don't have the correct remote. You might check out E-Bay though, I have seen OEM remotes there for about $15 each. Only catch is that you have to carry your car to a dealer for them to program it. The dealer has to use a scantool to program them and they will charge you $40-60 for that. Might check out E-Bay for an owners manual for your car too. That will be a tremendous help in programming all of the convenience features that this car has.

I can only go on what the Buick dealer told me and the rental car co. salesmen told me, and that was that it did not come wired for remote, nor did it come wired for anti-theft. I suppose the only I will ever know for sure is to take it to some electrical guy and see what he knows.

Anyway, I got the box it came in, and it is an Ultra Start (www.ultrastarters.com). They have a product line for businesses and the only one that could be the one says "Keyless 5." My box says K-4. Nothing else even resembles the "K-4." It is the remote with the least features, but would certainly turn on the dome lights, and panic feature -- if they had wired those up. As I said, all I can do is lock and unlock.

Perhaps I can go somewhere and get it done for not much money.

Thanks for the info!

June

I was looking at the dealer work order copies the car rental salesman furnished me. My complaint about the "growling" in the rear about 30 or so seconds after starting the car got lost in communication apparently. The copy said "started engine and ran for 2 seconds, heard no growling or other noise." 2 seconds!!! Now to add some confusion to that, the salesman told me that the growling was normal upon startup, but that it would no longer do it at red lights (which was the rest of my complaint). If they did not fix or adjust anything, how come they got it to stop coming on at red lights? There's nothing in the paperwork about that, but something was done to make it stop. It didn't do it at every red light, maybe half of them.

I now understand it resetting itself upon startup is normal, but why did it stop resetting at red lights? Something is wrong with this picture. I suppose I should just let this go, but what I have in the back of my mind is that something is wrong, and I have only approx. 700 miles left on the factory warranty. I just don't want it going out right after that.

June

Obviously, your dealer is not being agreeble, take it to another dealer, and have the rear shocks replaced, because their weak, and the car wants to pump them back up all he time.

Thanks tman, but if in fact it has stopped airing up all the time, and only does it after starting it up, and the dealer and other owners say that is normal, I don't see how I can make them put on new shocks. I'm not totally sure it has stopped doing it at odd times, but will keep an ear tuned for it for the next week or so. If it airs up one time other than startup, then I will fight with them.

Let's say it has stopped airing up at odd times, I am still wondering what they did to stop that? No answer from the dealer or salesman on that.

June

pull off one of your rear wheels, look at the shock to see id anything is leaking at the seam on the shock. You might not need to remove the wheel if you can see around the tire ok.

I had to chuckle here, sorry! :grinno: I'm sure I would have pulled off the wheel around 50 years ago. I rebuilt a few carburetors, installed simple things like voltage regulators and fixed many a flat in my day. But seriously, I'm going to have it checked out. What would be leaking, fluid?

June

when the shocks go bad, as I suspect, they leak around that seam where the upper part meets the lower part.

Okay. Thanks! I am going to see if my daughter will
look (without taking the wheel off of course). But
either way, I still plan on having the other dealer
check it, or possibly first, just a good mechanic.

June

When I do find out, I will post it, just for the sake
of it. :smile: