1996 BUICK PARK AVENUE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 55 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (10 complaints · 18.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1995 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 10 of 55 owner complaints (18.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 10 complaints, 18.2% of reports AIR BAGS 10 · 18.2% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 9 complaints, 16.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 · 16.4% ENGINE: 8 complaints, 14.6% of reports ENGINE 8 · 14.6% · 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 9.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 5 · 9.1% · 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 7.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 7.3% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 5.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 5.5% VISIBILITY: 3 complaints, 5.5% of reports VISIBILITY 3 · 5.5% SUSPENSION: 2 complaints, 3.6% of reports SUSPENSION 2 · 3.6% PARKING BRAKE: 1 complaints, 1.8% of reports PARKING BRAKE 1 · 1.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 44 complaints, 80.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 44 · 80.0% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 10 18.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 16.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 8 14.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 5 9.1% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 7.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 5.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 3 5.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 2 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
PARKING BRAKE 1 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 44 80.0% 1 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1996; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1995. 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1995 Apr 2021 Recall campaign 95V204000 ◆ Recall campaign 95V204000 Recall campaign 96V044000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V044000 Recall campaign 96V116000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V116000 Investigation PE02050 ● Investigation PE02050 Investigation EA02030 ● Investigation EA02030 Investigation RQ03001 ● Investigation RQ03001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 6
1997-Q4 Owner reports 3
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 3
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 3
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 95V204000
Recall campaign 1 96V044000
Recall campaign 1 96V116000
Defect investigation 1 PE02050
Defect investigation 1 EA02030
Defect investigation 1 RQ03001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 95V204000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    CONSEQUENCE OF NON-COMPLIANCE; THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT THE KEY WAS LEFT IN THE IGNITION OR THAT THE SAFETY BELT WAS NOT BUCKLED.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND, IF REQUIRED, REPLACE THE MALL MODULE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V044000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    CONSEQUENCE OF NON-COMPLIANCE: IF AN INCORRECT PART IS USED, THE BELT MAY NOT LATCH PROPERLY, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE OCCUPANT SHOULD A VEHICLE CRASH OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT ALL FRONT AND REAR SAFETY BELT LATCH ENDS AND SAFETY BELT BUCKLES FOR CORRECT PARTS AND REPLACE ANY INCORRECT PARTS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V116000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE A NO-START CONDITION AND POSSIBLY AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL UPDATE THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE PROGRAMMING. UNTIL THE CAMPAIGN REPAIR IS MADE, THE VEHICLE HOOD SHOULD BE SHUT WHENEVER STARTING THE VEHICLE TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF PERSONAL INJURY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 55 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources