2004 Buick Rainier problems
The 2004 Buick Rainier has 205 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (41%) concerns electrical system. Next are lighting (11%) and fuel system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 205 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 23 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 64,000 miles 166 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 33 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 28 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 166 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 64,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 59,000 miles (71 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 23 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Buick Rainier with enough data (103 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was stopped at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change. One vehicle was in front of me. I was impacted from the rear by a third vehicle traveling at a rate of speed I would estimate at somewhere between 20 and 40 MPH. The force of the impact threw my car into the car in front of me. In addition to the significant rearend damage sustained, the impact destroyed the front end of my SUV, including bumper, radiator, hood and damage to both front quarter panels. And yet the airbag did not deploy.
2004 buick rainier speedometer works sporadically. Sometimes it works then other times it registers to high or to low. From what I've read this is a common occurrence on the buick rainier.
I own two 2004 buick rainier's and have had this issue with both, also have talked to many friends that had the same issue. The issue is that the headlamp bulb connectors are melting where they plug into the bulb, causing intermittent or no function at all of the headlamp. When trying to find a new connector for the bulb I was told I would have to buy the entire headlamp housing assembly, which is quite expensive.