1986 BUICK REGAL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 12 complaints · 5 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (4 complaints · 33.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1985 →
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 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL appears in 4 of 12 owner complaints (33.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 33.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 33.3% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 16.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 16.7% STRUCTURE: 2 complaints, 16.7% of reports STRUCTURE 2 · 16.7% ENGINE: 1 complaints, 8.3% of reports ENGINE 1 · 8.3% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 8.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 8.3% · 1 fire reports TIRES: 1 complaints, 8.3% of reports TIRES 1 · 8.3% WHEELS: 1 complaints, 8.3% of reports WHEELS 1 · 8.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 6 complaints, 50.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 · 50.0% · 2 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)
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 33.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 2 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 8.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 8.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
TIRES 1 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 1 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 50.0% 0 crashes · 2 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 Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 1986. 1995-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1986 May 2006 Recall campaign 86V093000 ◆ Recall campaign 86V093000 Recall campaign 87V124000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V124000 Recall campaign 88V014000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V014000 Recall campaign 89V102000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V102000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation C89001 ● Investigation C89001 Investigation PE89104 ● Investigation PE89104 Investigation PE89145 ● Investigation PE89145 Investigation PE90014 ● Investigation PE90014 Investigation PE94048 ● Investigation PE94048
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 2
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 86V093000
Recall campaign 1 87V124000
Recall campaign 1 88V014000
Recall campaign 1 89V102000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 C89001
Defect investigation 1 PE89104
Defect investigation 1 PE89145
Defect investigation 1 PE90014
Defect investigation 1 PE94048
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (5)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 86V093000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A BOLT ANCHOR PLATE REINFORCEMENT AND NEW BOLT, AS NECESSARY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V124000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    CRACKS WOULD INCREASE LEADING TO DIFFICULTY IN CLOSINGTHE DOOR AND MIGHT ALLOW DOOR TO COME OPEN DURING A CRASH, INCREASINGLIKELIHOOD OF INJURY TO OCCUPANTS.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL INNER AND OUTER REINFORCEMENT PLATE ON BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT BODY PILLARS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V014000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    HEADLIGHTS WOULD CYCLE ON AND OFF. SUDDEN LOSS OFHEADLIGHTS UNDER SEVERE WEATHER OR NIGHTIMER DRIVING CONDITIONS COULD RESULTIN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WITH MODIFIED SWITCH.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V102000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    SERVO ROD ASSEMBLY COULD CATCH ON ENGINE COMPONENTS ANDRESULT IN A STUCK THROTTLE WITH POTENTIAL FOR A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A NEW BUSHING IN CRUISE CONTROL SERVO BAIL.
    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 12 complaints · page 1 of 1

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