2004 Buick Regal problems
NHTSA has received 94 complaints about the 2004 Buick Regal, and 38% of them involve electrical system. Next are engine (27%) and steering (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 94 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 95,000 miles 64 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 9 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 21 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 64 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 95,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 89,000 miles (30 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a fire. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 92% 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 2004 ranks 23rd most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Buick Regal with enough data (18 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.
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 buick regal. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated that prior to the fire, the temperature gauge showed that the engine was overheated. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. It was unknown if a police report was filed or if any injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15v201000 (engine and engine cooling).
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 buick regal. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire while parked. The contact saw smoke escape from underneath the hood of the vehicle as it entered into the cabin of the vehicle. The contact's friends attempted to extinguish the fire, but were unsuccessful. There were no injuries. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report and a fire report were not filed. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the fire.
While driving at lower speed consumer heard a noise coming from the front end. Vehicle was taken to the dealership, and mechanic replaced the bushings, and greased the rack and pinion.
Driving down the road at 30 MPH without notice the car turned off with no apparent reason. Causing the car to loose power steering, power brakes, and rapid loss of speed in a busy downtown setting. This has happened 4 other times since then. We have read other complaints on forums recently and everyone who has replaced their ignition switch has not had a problem since. We would like this investigated because buicks are not on the list at this time for the national recall.
First time my car stalled and had the ignition switch replaced was 15 months after purchasing it from a buick dealer. Beginning 9/2011 car began stalling at many and various times. I attempted to have this repaired - taking to my buick dealer on many occasions and to my local auto mechanic making repairs as suggested and still my car continued to stall, most recent time of stalling - oct.