1996 Buick Skylark problems
Owners have filed 116 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Buick Skylark. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. Next are air bags (16%) and electrical system (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 116 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 96,000 miles 16 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 16 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 96,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Buick Skylark with enough data (60 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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 involved in a rear collision with a 96 buick skylark which was struck from behind while at a complete stop, yielding traffic at a traffic circle. The car that struck me was at a relatively high rate of speed. The impact caused both the passenger and driver seats to collapse. Both seats did not retain an upright position and were partially reclined from the accident.
While driving at approximately 25MPH driver's airbag inadvertently deployed, no impact on hwy, sustained injury to right arm, no prior warning.
On july 30 2008 the drivers side airbag deployed in my 1996 buick skylark. I was sitting at a red light when this occurred. Minor injuries bruises and a small cut on my chest area. After reviewing the recalls on this car, I realize that I have other problems related to other recalls. Upon contacting the local buick dealer, I was told my car did not match any of the recall companies? Perhaps it should have made the campaign list.
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 buick skylark. When the contact started the vehicle, the driver's side air bag deployed. The driver sustained injuries to the face, neck, chest, right shoulder, and mouth. Medical attention was required. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,818.
This problem is happening more frequently now I can go out to the car and it won't start. I can wait a few hours or so and it will start right up. The first time this happened I had it towed to the mechanic, the day it was towed in it wouldn't start for him either. The next day and the days following that it fired up each and every time he kept it from mon-fri, he could not duplicate the problem. He did the diagnostic test it showed nothing wrong with it.