2004 BUICK RAINIER Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK RAINIER. THE SPEED ODOMETER DISPLAYED INACCURATE READINGS. WHEN THE DRIVER IS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CORRECT SPEED OF THE VEHICLE, EXCESSIVE SPEED MAY BE EXHIBITED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND A TECHNICIAN CONCLUDED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL SHORTAGE. THE WARRANTY EXPIRED AND THE CONTACT WAS BILLED $500.00 FOR THE REPAIR. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 30,000.

MALFUNCTIONING SPEEDOMETER- THE SPEEDOMETER STOPS WORKING AT RANDOM TIMES WHILE DRIVING. IT IS DANGEROUS TO ALL TRAVELERS WHETHER IN CAR OR THOSE TRAVELING ALONGSIDE US. THERE IS NO WAY TO TELL WHEN IT GOES OUT. THE SPEEDOMETER WILL JUST STICK AT A CERTAIN SPEED-IT WILL THEN CONTINUE FROM THAT SPEED AND AT TIMES SHOWS THAT YOU ARE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS WELL ABOVE THE LIMIT. I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED WHERE IT DROPS 5 MILES EVERYTIME ITS TURNED OFF BUT IT ALSO HAS RESET ITSELF AT TIMES. I DO BELIEVE THAT WITH ALL THE COMPLAINTS I'VE SEEN SUPPORTING THE SAME FACTS THAT THIS SHOULD BE A MANDATORY RECALL AND FIX. I TOOK THE CAR TO 2 DIFFERENT SHOPS FOR HELP - SHOP 1 COULDN'T EASILY SEE HOW TO FIX & SUGGESTED IT WOULD BE EXPENSIVE, SHOP 2 (*BUICK DEALER) STATED NO IDEA ON PROBLEM BUT WOULD NEED COMPLETE PANEL REPLACEMENT MINIMUM PRICE $700. IN VIEW OF OUR ECONOMY AND DEALERS WANTING SUPPORT I BELIEVE THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED AS A MAJOR PROBLEM DUE TO ALL THE COMPLAINTS BEING VERY SIMILAR. HARD TO PIN DOWN TO A SPECIFIC DATE AND ONCE STARTED NOW OCCURS MONTHLY. I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEMS WITH THE LIGHTS DIMMING AND THE HARD TO READ MILEAGE DISPLAY. *TR

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

2004 BUICK RAINIER SPEEDOMETER IS REGISTERING 25-30 MPH FASTER THAN WHAT THE VEHICLE IS ACTUALLY TRAVELING. WHEN IN PARK IS SHOWS THE SUV TRAVELING 25 MPH. *TR

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED TO WORK. DEALER CHECKED AND FOUND THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, SINCE I SHOULD BE ABLE TO FEEL HOE FAST I AM GOING. THIS SAME FAILURE WAS COVERED IN PONTIACS AND CHEVROLET TRUCKS. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF APPROX 50-55 ON A INTERSTATE, I WAS REARED ENDED BY A AUTO, MY AUTO WAS STRUCK THEN SHOVELED INTO A CEMENT WALL BLOCK AND THEN BOUNCED INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC TO THE OTHER CEMENT WALL BLOCK ON THE OPPOSITE SITE WHILE TRYING TO STOP, I WAS WEARING A SEAT BELT, THE VEHICLE'S AIR BAGS DIDN'T GO OFF AT ALL IN THE VEHICLE. A HEAD INJURY OCCURRED, NECK AND SHOULDER INJURIES OCCURRED. THE AUTO WAS A TOTAL LOSS! *TR

MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED A USED 2004 BUICK RAINIER WITH 33,000 MILES LAST MAY 2008. ONE EVENING DURING THE SUMMER WE WERE MAKING A 20 MINUTE TRIP AND THE SPEEDOMETER JUST STOPPED WORKING WHILE EN ROUTE. SINCE THEN THE SPEEDOMETER GETS STUCK WHILE MAKING 20+ MINUTE TRIPS AND WILL ONLY GO DOWN 5 MPH EACH TIME YOU SHUT OFF THE SUV AND RESTART. SO YOU HAVE TO SHUT OFF AND RESTART SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT REACHES BACK DOWN TO ZERO AND IT WILL THEN OPERATE OKAY FOR A LITTLE WHILE UNTIL YOU MAKE THAT 20+ MINUTE TRIP AGAIN. SOMETIMES WHILE JUST DRIVING AROUND TOWN RUNNING ERRANDS IT WILL GET STUCK. SO I WOULD SAY AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK IT GETS STUCK. IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING WHEN YOU HAVE TO WATCH YOUR SPEED ESPECIALLY AROUND THE SCHOOL ZONES. I OFTEN TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROADS TO WATCH MY RPM'S AND TRY TO CALCULATE HOW FAST I'M GOING. I'M CURRENTLY SAVING TO HAVE THE PROBLEM FIXED AS I'VE HEARD OF IT BEING A VERY PRICING ITEM (INSTRUMENT CLUSTER) TO HAVE REPLACED. I'VE BEEN DOING SOME RESEARCH ON A POSSIBLE RECALL FOR THIS ITEM AND I'VE FOUND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY COMPLAINTS AND EVEN A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST GM FOR OTHER SUV'S SIMILAR TO THE RAINIER BUT THE BUICK RAINIER WAS NOT LISTED IN THIS CLASS ACTION SUIT AND NO RECALLS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR THIS ITEM ON BUICK RAINIERS. ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. *TR

THE DASH CLUSTER LIGHTING IS TOO DIM IN THE DAYLIGHT AND NON EXISTENT AT DAWN AND DUSK. THERE IS NOT A MANUAL OVERRIDE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SELECT NIGHT LIGHTING DURING THESE TRANSITIONAL TIMES AND ON CERTAIN DAYS SO YOU CAN NOT SEE THE SPEEDOMETER OUTPUT NOR THE DRIVER ADVISORY DISPLAY. I DISCUSSED IT WITH SEVERAL DEALERS AND THEY SAY SOME WORK THIS WAY AND SOME DON'T. THEY HAVE NO WAY TO TELL WHICH WORK PROPERLY AND WHICH ONES WILL NOT. THEY ALL REFUSED TO REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY AS BUICK SAYS THAT IS THE WAY THE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. FOR UP TO 15 MINUTES IN MORNING AND NIGHT THE DISPLAY IS TOTALLY UNREADABLE WHILE IT IS SLOWLY TRANSITIONING NIGHT TIME VISIBILITY. YES, I HAVE THE LIGHTING SET AS BRIGHT AS THE SYSTEM WILL ALLOW AT ANY GIVEN TIME BUT IT IS STILL NOT VISIBLE TO ME OR ANYONE ELSE THAT DRIVES THE CAR. I HAVE FOUND QUITE A FEW OTHERS ON THE NET THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND THE SAME COULD CARE LESS RESPONSES FROM BUICK ON THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THIS GOES ON EVERYDAY SO IT PROBABLY IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL IT RESULTS IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND/OR A SERIOUS MECHANICAL FAILURE THAT WILL BE MISSED BECAUSE YOU CAN'T READ THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER UNDER CERTAIN BUT DAILY CONDITIONS SUCH AS SUNRISE AND DUSK. *TR

I HAVE HAD TROUBLE WITH THE HEADLIGHTS DIMMING WHILE DRIVING SINCE THE BEGINNING, THE DEALERSHIP HAS SEVERAL TIMES WORKED ON THE PROBLEM, WHICH I THINK HAS CLEARED UP..SO FAR. NOW MY SPEEDOMETER HAS STARTED MESSING UP, IT SAYS I AM GOING 50 WHILE PARKED AND 120 WHILE DRIVING. I ONLY DRIVE SHORT DISTANCES AND MOSTLY INTO AND BACK FROM TOWN 6 MILE ONE WAY. I HAVE 50,969 MILES ON MY 2004 VEHICLE, I KEEP ITS CHECKUPS AND OIL CHANGES REGULARLY: DEALERSHIP HAS RECORDS. I FEEL THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD ELECTRICAL ISSUES FROM DAY ONE, I SEE TURN SIGNAL AND BRAKELIGHT ISSUES IN RECALL SO I DON'T BELIEVE I AM WRONG ABOUT THIS. THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME OVER $400 TO CHANGE THE "CLUSTER" AS THE ECONOMY GOES, I TOO CANNOT AFFORD THIS KIND OF CHARGES ON AN ITEM THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE ISSUES. ESPECIALLY WHEN I TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT AND REALLY HAS LOW MILEAGE AND WEAR AND TEAR (PERFECT CONDITION). *TR

SPEEDOMETER STOPS WORKING WHEN CAR WARMS UP. AS I AM DRIVING WITH MY TWO SMALL CHILDREN MY SPEEDOMETER WILL STOP WORKING AND GO BELOW ZERO. WHICH BECOMES A HAZARD BECAUSE I AM UNAWARE OF HOW FAST OR SLOW I AM GOING. MY FAMILY AS WELL AS MYSELF ARE IN SERIOUS DANGER OF GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. IT WILL NOT START WORKING AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING QUICKER AND QUICKER AS THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. I AM ALSO NOTICING A HOT SMELL WHEN THE SPEEDOMETER STOPS WORKING. BUICK REFUSES TO HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH I HAVE REPORTED THIS BEFORE MY EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED. *TR