1996 Buick Regal problems
NHTSA has received 273 complaints about the 1996 Buick Regal, and 19% of them involve brakes. Next are engine (14%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 273 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 22
- Injuries and deaths
- 25 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 85,000 miles 71 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 | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 12 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 71 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 85,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 22 complaints mention a fire; 25 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 82% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Buick Regal with enough data (122 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
Vehicle was involved in a frontal side collision. Uopn impact, airbags did not deploy, resulting in major injuries. Manufacturer has been notified.
My daughter was driving the 1996 buck regal on I-77 north near chelyan, wv another daughter was in the passenger seat. The rear driver's side wheel broke from the hub, causing the car to veer and eventually hit the concrete median. The crash severely damaged the front left side of the car; it wa stotalled. The crash resulted in injuries to both of my daughters - the driver sustaine d a bump on her forehead, and the passenger hasd a swolen left ankle - preliminary review of the x-rays were negative for a…
In an accident between 40-60 MPH, 12:00 position, car hit gaurdrail and driver's and passenger's airbags did not deploy. Driver sustained a broken rib and other injuries.
While merging onto the freeway, I was taking my car to be smogged. At speed, I noticed a little white puff of smoke emit from the right side of the engine bay. As I proceeded to start moving to the shoulder, this puff had turned into a gray plume. As I finally reached the shoulder, the entire front of the engine bay was billowing black smoke. As I tried to stop, the brake pedal went to the floor, so it seemed the fire had burnt through a brake line.
Tl*the contact owns 1996 buick regal. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated during an oil change. After the oil change, the engine light illuminated again and the contact had the battery changed. She drove approximately one and a half miles, made a right turn, and attempted to make a left turn when the steering wheel locked. The failure occurred while driving 10 MPH. The contact had to shift the vehicle in reverse in order to move the wheel.