BUICK Complaints

A FIRE BROKE STARTED UNDER THE ENGINE AND QUICKLY SPREAD TO THE TOP AND FRONT SEAT. MY SON GOT OUT JUST IN TIME, THANK GOD. THE CAR WAS TOTALLY BURNED. A MONTH LATTER WE RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE STATING A FIRE COULD HAPPEN. I HAVE BEEN CONVERSING WITH ALOT OF PEOPLE AND GETTING NO WHERE. I PRAY YOU CAN HELP ME. MY SON WAS ON HIS WAY TO COLLEGE AND HAD EVERYTHING HE OWNED IN THE CAR. WE HAD LIABILITY ONLY SO WE LOST IT ALL. THANK YOU*TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BUICK RENDEZVOUS WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 2003. SHE STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING FAILED ON THE VEHICLE AND OVER TIME IT DEVELOPED A SLOW LEAK. THERE WERE REPAIRS MADE TO THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. IT BECAME EXTREMELY HARD TO UTILIZE THE STEERING WHEEL AND WHEN ATTEMPTING TO PUT POWER STEERING FLUID IN THE VEHICLE, IT WOULD LEAK BACK OUT. THE HUB BEARINGS ALSO FAILED CAUSING THE BRAKES TO FUNCTION IMPROPERLY WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STOP AND EARLY WEAR AND TEAR ON HER TIRES. NO ADDITIONAL REPAIRS MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE UNDER 90,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BUICK RENDEZVOUS PURCHASED NEW IN 2004. SHE STATED THERE WAS A CLANKING NOISE UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE AND WOULD GET LOUDER WHEN PROGRESSING SPEED. SHE ALSO STATED THERE WAS MUCH RESISTANCE IN THE BRAKES WHEN APPROACHING A STOP. THE DEALER STATED THE HUB BEARINGS WERE FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THE BRAKES AND TIRES COULD BE AFFECTED. SHE WAS ADVISED THAT THE BRAKES NEEDED TO REPLACED AND ALL FOUR TIRES DUE TO THE FAULTY HUB BEARINGS AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNDER 79,500.

INTERIOR REAR-VIEW MIRROR HAS DEVELOPED SOME KIND OF DARK BROWN OIL LEAK INSIDE THE (AUTO-DIMMING) MIRROR. IT HAS DECREASED VISIBILITY IN THE MIRROR TO NEARLY ZERO. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE WITH THIS MIRROR SINCE IT IS ESSENTIALLY LIKE HAVING NO REAR-VIEW MIRROR. JUST TODAY I HAD TWO OR THREE NEAR-INCIDENTS ON ROADS I NEVER HAD A PROBLEMS WHILE DRIVING OTHER CARS WHICH HAVE FUNCTIONING REAR-VIEW MIRRORS. *TR

2007 THE RIGHT REAR PASSENGER WINDOW KEPT ON GOING DOWN ON ITS OWN. HAD A MECHANIC RIP OUT FLOOR BOARD AND FOUND A DEFECTIVE ELECTRICAL HARNESS, WIRE EXPOSED CAUSING GROUND OUT. HE LEARNED THIS FROM A GM MECHANIC WHO SAID IT WAS A KNOW ISSUE. PROBLEM WAS FIXED. 2009 NOW THE SAME WINDOW WENT DOWN. ALL WINDOWS EXCEPT DRIVERS WILL NOT FUNCTION, AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS WILL NOT WORK, AND WHEN I DRIVE AT NITE I CAN SEE THE LIGHTS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR FLICKER ON FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS, AGAIN ANOTHER ELECTRICAL ISSUE? *TR

BUICK MADE NOISE WHEN TURNING A CORNER WITH AROUND 30,000 MILES ON CAR. THE STEERING INTERMEDIATE SHAFT HAD TO BE REPLACED WHICH CURED THE PROBLEM. IT COULD HAVE BEEN LUBRICATED INSTEAD, BUT THIS WOULD HAVE ONLY BEEN A TEMPORARY SOLUTION. THERE IS A BULLETIN ON THIS DEFECT, BUT WE FEEL THAT GM SHOULD HAVE RECALLED THIS MODEL, RATHER THAN LUBRICATING THE SHAFTS UNTIL THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. THIS NOISE HAD BEEN NOTICED LONG BEFORE THIS; HOWEVER IT DIDN'T ALWAYS OCCUR EVERY CORNER SO HAD TO WAIT UNTIL IT WAS ONGOING TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM. *TR

I JUST BOUGHT THIS CAR. THE INCIDENT INVOLVES THE CRUISE CONTROL OF THIS VEHICLE. I WAS DRIVING ON I-65. I SET THE CRUISE FOR 65 MPH. LATER, I PUSHED THE ACCELERATE BUTTON TO INCREASE THE SPEED BY 5 MPH. I RELEASED THE SWITCH AT THE DESIRED SPEED BUT THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AS IF I FLOORED IT. I QUICKLY HIT THE BRAKES AND THAT FIRST STOPPED THE ACCELERATION. BUT AS SOON AS I RELEASED THE BRAKES, IT WENT BACK TO ACCELERATION. I THEN TURNED THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH TO THE OFF POSITION AND THAT STOPPED THE ACCELERATION. I CONTINUED FOR ABOUT 10 MILES WHEN I TRIED THE CRUISE CONTROL AGAIN. THE UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION OCCURRED AGAIN WHEN I USED THE ACCELERATE BUTTON BUT THIS TIME I APPLIED THE DECELERATE BUTTON ONE TIME AS IF TO DECREASE THE SPEED BY 1 MPH. THAT ACTION KILLED THE CRUISE CONTROL ALL TOGETHER. IF I WANTED CRUISE CONTROL AGAIN, I WOULD HAVE TO RESET THE DESIRED SPEED ALL OVER AGAIN AS IF IT WEREN'T SET AT ALL. I HAVE ANOTHER INCIDENT INVOLVING THE CRUISE CONTROL ON THE SAME TRIP. I HAD THE DESIRED SPEED SET. WHEN THE CAR HIT A BUMP SUCH AS A SMALL POTHOLE, THE CAR'S SPEED SUDDENLY WOULD START TO INCREASE AS IF I FLOORED IT. AGAIN I HAD TO APPLY THE OFF SWITCH OR DECELERATE BUTTON TO KILL IT. ANOTHER INCIDENT OCCURRED ON THE SAME TRIP INVOLVING THE CRUISE CONTROL. I HAD THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH IN THE ON POSITION BUT HADN'T SET THE SPEED WHEN I HIT A BUMP ON THE INTERSTATE. AGAIN THE CAR ACTED AS IF I FLOORED THE ACCELERATOR AND AGAIN I HAD TO TURN THE SWITCH TO THE OFF POSITION OR USE THE DECELERATE BUTTON TO STOP IT. I HAD THIS CAR TROUBLE-SHOT FOR THIS PROBLEM. THEY FOUND THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL MODULE WAS AT FAULT BUT THE PART IS ON BACK ORDER NATIONWIDE. I WAS TOLD I COULD BE PUT ON A WAITING LIST BUT IT COULD BE A WHILE. ONE WOULD HAVE TO THINK I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE HAVING THESE PROBLEMS. I THINK THIS IS AN UNSAFE CONDITION AND SHOULD BE LOOKED AT. *TR JEFF LEONARD,

WINDOW REGULATORS ARE VERY PRONE TO FAIL. THREE HAVE FAILED ON MY CAR, AND ONE HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON SEVERAL GM CARS. THE WINDOW CAN FALL OPEN AND WILL NOT CLOSE WHICH COULD BE DANGEROUS IN INCLEMENT WEATHER. THIS IS ALSO EXPENSIVE AND A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP ON OWNERS AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED SOME TIME AGO. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 BUICK RIVIERA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH THE ENGINE STARTED HESITATING. HE PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AND NOTICED AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SALVAGE CENTER. THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED . THE CAUSE OF FAILURE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED AT THIS TIME. ALTHOUGH HE EXPERIENCED AN IDENTICAL FAILURE, HE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER WAS EXCLUDED FROM RECALL CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 96V116000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL) . THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 140,000.

SPEEDOMETER, RPM GAUGE, FUEL GAGE, AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE GIVE FALSE READINGS. SPEEDOMETER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND GETS STUCK ON DIFFERENT MPH RANDOMLY. CURRENTLY IT WILL NOT GO ABOVE 20 MPH. RESEARCH ONLINE SUGGEST THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS 6 MOTORS AND ONE OR MORE HAVE FAILED. I CALLED GM BEFORE THE BANKRUPTCY AND THEY NOTED THIS HAD HAPPENED ON SOME OF THEIR OTHER MAKES AND THEY WERE AWARE OF COMPLAINTS CONCERNING THE BUICK RENDEZVOUS, BUT THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH COMPLAINTS TO WARRANT A RECALL. THEY ONLY OFFERED TO MAYBE HELP WITH THE COMPUTER CHECK, BUT WOULD NOT ASSIST WITH THE $400 TO $500 GM SERVICE CHARGE TO FIX THE INSTRUMENT PANEL MOTORS. *TR