1988 BUICK SKYLARK — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 14 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (3 complaints · 21.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1987 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints 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.

Component Problem Distribution

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

Component Problem Distribution VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL appears in 3 of 14 owner complaints (21.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 3 complaints, 21.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 21.4% · 2 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 14.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 14.3% SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 14.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 14.3% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 7.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 7.1% ENGINE: 1 complaints, 7.1% of reports ENGINE 1 · 7.1% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 7.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 7.1% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 7.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 7.1% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 7.1% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 7.1% TIRES: 1 complaints, 7.1% of reports TIRES 1 · 7.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 7 complaints, 50.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 · 50.0% · 1 crash reports 1 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 3 21.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 14.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 14.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 7.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 7.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 7.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 7.1% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 1 7.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 1 7.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 50.0% 1 crashes · 1 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 Oct 1987. 1995-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1987 May 2006 Recall campaign 87V169000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V169000 Recall campaign 90V042000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V042000 Recall campaign 92V150000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V150000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation EA89010 ● Investigation EA89010 Investigation EA90041 ● Investigation EA90041
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 1
1995-Q2 Owner reports 1
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 87V169000
Recall campaign 1 90V042000
Recall campaign 1 92V150000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 EA89010
Defect investigation 1 EA90041
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

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 87V169000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNINGIN CONDITIONS OF POOR VISIBILITY, SEVERE WEATHER OR NIGHTTIME.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE HEADLIGHT SWITCH PANEL.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V042000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    LEAKING FUEL IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE FRONT FUEL FEED HOSE ASSEMBLY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V150000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKING IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD RESULT IN ANUNDERHOOD FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE FRONT FUEL FEED HOSE ASSEMBLY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 14 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 2026-08-22 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.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources