Best tires for the Buick Century
Top picks across four categories for the Buick Century, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 225/55R19. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Buick Century owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Buick Century owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Buick Century owners.
Bridgestone
Alenza A/S 02
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
BFGoodrich
Advantage T/A sport LT
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best quiet Michelin Defender 2 | Best winter Toyo Celsius CUV |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 820 | 800 | 520 |
| Mileage warranty | 85,000 mi | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 70 dB | 68 dB | - |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | all-weather |
| Type | touring | touring | truck-suv |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the buick century use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 185/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1983 | 195/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1984 | 195/70R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1985–1996 | 185/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1997–2004 | 205/70R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2005 | 225/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2022–2025 | 225/55R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the buick century
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 225/55R19; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for buick century
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (34) · Tread / Belt (8) · Sidewall (8) · Bead (2) · Valve (1)
Reported across: 1987 – 2005 (16 years)
What owners described
Sidewall failure appears in 29% of these reports; about 1.9× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 35 reports covering every model year of the Buick Century that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidewall failure | 29% | 15% | 1.9× |
| Tread or belt separation | 26% | 13% | 1.9× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 20% | 20% | 1.0× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 11% | 9% | 1.2× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 11% | 8% | 1.4× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 3% | 6% | 0.5× |
Mileage at failure
16 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 27,500 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 3,000 and 90,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Buick Century. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 BUICK CENTURY EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR DOUGLAS (NA) TIRES, SIZE: 215/70R15/98T XTRAC2 (NA). AFTER INSPECTING THE TIRES, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE SIDEWALL WAS UNEVEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE TIRE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE TIRE WAS REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE VEHICLE AND TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 71,803.
WITHIN 43 DAYS OF PURCHASING COOPER GRAND TOURING CS5 TIRES FOR MY 1997 BUICK CENTURY, ONE DEVELOPED A LARGE SIDEWALL BULGE. THE RETAILER FORCED ME TO BUY ANOTHER NEW TIRE FOR $72. AND COOPER REFUSED TO PAY FOR IT! I HAVE BEEN DRIVING CARS FOR 40 YEARS AN NEVER HAD A NEW TIRE OR ANY TIRE DEVELOP A SIDEWALL BULGE. I HAD A SPIRITED CONVERSATION WITH A COOPER REP AND SHE GOT VERY RUDE WITH ME. THEY HAD ONE RECALL FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AND NEVER FIXED THE PROBLEM OBVIOUSLY. PLEASE HELP!
MULTIPLE CRACKING ON SIDEWALLS OF 4 MICHELIN HARMONY TIRES BEING USED 3000 MILES A YEAR. TIRES BOUGHT IN 2007 AND HAVE 99% OF TREAD STILL PRESENT ON TIRE. FEEL MICHELIN USED INSUFFICIENT UV/OZONE INHIBITOR CHEMICALS IN RUBBER COMPOUND MANUFACTURING THESE TIRES. TIRES MAY BE UNSAFE AND NOT DUE TO CAR OWNER'S FAULT. FEEL MICHELIN SHOULD REPLACE THESE AT THEIR EXPENSE, NOT MY MOTHER'S EXPENSE. TIRES SHOULD LAST MUCH LONGER THAN 7-8 YEARS AT 3000 MILES A YEAR WHEN 80,000 IS ADVERTISED FOR THESE TIRES.
PE00 048; CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 65MPH ON HIGHWAY AND HEARD A FUNNY NOISE, AND THEN TREAD CAME OFF. HE WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO SHOULDERS. AND RIGHT REAR TIRE TREAD SEPARATED, AND TIRE WAS STILL INFLATED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. *AK DUNLOP SP 40 P195/70R14 DOT DB R W 466047 ( 006677 ) CONSUMER ADDED IT WAS A HOT DAY
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Buick Century →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Buick Century?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Buick Century?
Does the Buick Century need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Buick Century?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.