1998 BUICK SKYLARK — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 24 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (5 complaints · 20.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 8
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1997 →
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 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 5 of 24 owner complaints (20.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 20.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 20.8% AIR BAGS: 4 complaints, 16.7% of reports AIR BAGS 4 · 16.7% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 16.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 16.7% ENGINE: 2 complaints, 8.3% of reports ENGINE 2 · 8.3% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 4.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 4.2% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 4.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 4.2% SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 4.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 4.2% STEERING: 1 complaints, 4.2% of reports STEERING 1 · 4.2% STRUCTURE: 1 complaints, 4.2% of reports STRUCTURE 1 · 4.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 13 complaints, 54.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 · 54.2% 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)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 20.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 4 16.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 1 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 54.2% 0 crashes · 0 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 Jul 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 2004. 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1998 Jan 2016 Recall campaign 04V036000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V036000 Recall campaign 07E015000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E015000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000
  • Campaign 07E015000 was reported 2,247 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 2,261 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 2
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V036000
Recall campaign 1 07E015000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
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 04V036000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    IF THE SWITCH IS DAMAGED, A FIRE COULD OCCUR IN THE STEERING COLUMN, EVEN WITH THE ENGINE OFF AND THE KEY REMOVED. THE FIRE COULD SPREAD TO THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR, WHICH COULD INJURE OCCUPANTS OR CAUSE DAMAGE TO ADJOINING STRUCTURES.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A RELAY KIT IN THESE VEHICLES TO PREVENT HIGH CURRENT FROM FLOWING THROUGH THE IGNITION SWITCH, AND CHECK THAT YOUR CAR WILL START WITH A PROPERLY CHARGED BATTERY AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION WILL BEGIN ON MARCH 1, 2004. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668, BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537. CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO CHECK THEIR VEHICLE ONLINE BY GOING TO WWW.MYGMLINK.COM AND ENTERING THE VEHICLE'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E015000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    A STALLED VEHICLE CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH. A FUEL LEAK CAN RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE MRAS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 20, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 1-877-335-7443.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E021000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    FUEL MAY LEAK, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UPR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 23, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 877-411-8770.
    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 24 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