How many miles will a 1998 Buick Century last?
NHTSA holds 11 owner complaints on the 1998 Buick Century that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 1 past 150,000 and none past 200,000. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 218 complaints on this model year, 59 of them with a mileage, and half of those mileages are at or under 57,972 miles; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 59 complaints on the 1998 Buick Century that list mileage, the middle half came between 37,000 and 83,000 miles; 11 (19%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 1998 Century last?
The 59 mileages owners gave run from 800 to 184,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 37,000 miles, half at or under 57,972, three quarters at or under 83,000 and nine in ten at or under 116,000; 11 (19%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1998 Century wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 48 of the 59 came at or under 100,000 miles. The 11 past that mark show the 1998 Century still being driven at those mileages, not how many reach them: NHTSA's file counts complaints, not the vehicles on the road.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 800 miles |
| 25th percentile | 37,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 57,972 miles |
| 75th percentile | 83,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 116,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 184,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 11 (19%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 641 NHTSA owner complaints on the Buick Century that list mileage came after 61,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Buick Century last? →
Common problems with the 1998 Century
NHTSA's file holds 218 owner complaints on the 1998 Buick Century. Owners named the brakes most often: 27 complaints, and half of the 11 that list a mileage came after 57,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 27 | 11 | 57,972 |
| Electrical System | 26 | 5 | 78,000 |
| Power Train | 26 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Steering | 24 | 13 | 72,000 |
| Visibility | 24 | 9 | 49,933 |
Of the 218 complaints, 9 report a crash, none reports a fire and 7 report an injury (9 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Century a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Century: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 218 complaints, the 1998 ranks 2nd of the 20 Buick Century model years from 1986 to 2005 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1999 (235). The fewest: the 1988 (16).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 Century | 22 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1987 Century | 28 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1988 Century | 16 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1989 Century | 40 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1990 Century | 32 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1991 Century | 38 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1992 Century | 45 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 Century | 54 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1994 Century | 106 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1995 Century | 99 | 10 | 90,000 |
| 1996 Century | 80 | 14 | 71,000 |
| 1997 Century | 106 | 22 | 89,887 |
| 1998 (this page) | 218 | 59 | 57,972 |
| 1999 Century | 235 | 101 | 56,500 |
| 2000 Century | 193 | 93 | 60,935 |
| 2001 Century | 145 | 81 | 54,800 |
| 2002 Century | 154 | 101 | 62,000 |
| 2003 Century | 127 | 94 | 62,000 |
| 2004 Century | 39 | 34 | 70,000 |
| 2005 Century | 19 | 17 | 68,977 |
1998 Buick Century recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Buick Century (2 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 09E005000 | Feb 17, 2009 | STEERING |
| 07E021000 | Mar 12, 2007 | FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:PRESSURE RELIEF DEVICES |
| 99V356000 | Dec 17, 1999 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
| 98V102000 | May 15, 1998 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1998 Century lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1998 Century.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 159 of the 218 complaints on the 1998 Buick Century give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: CENTURY. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: CENTURY.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1998 Buick Century questions
How many miles will a 1998 Buick Century last?
NHTSA holds 11 owner complaints on the 1998 Buick Century that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 1 past 150,000 and none past 200,000. Of the 59 complaints on the 1998 Buick Century that list mileage, the middle half came between 37,000 and 83,000 miles; 11 (19%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 1998 Century that never had one.
What are the most common 1998 Buick Century problems?
NHTSA's file holds 218 owner complaints on the 1998 Buick Century. Owners named the brakes most often: 27 complaints, and half of the 11 that list a mileage came after 57,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 218 complaints, 9 report a crash, none reports a fire and 7 report an injury (9 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Buick Century a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Century: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 218 complaints, the 1998 ranks 2nd of the 20 Buick Century model years from 1986 to 2005 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1999 (235). The fewest: the 1988 (16).
How many recalls does the 1998 Buick Century have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Buick Century (2 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1998 Buick Century before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1998 Buick Century.