Owners have filed 323 complaints on the Buick Rainier, covering 2004–2007. The system named most often is Electrical System (102 reports). Worst years by volume: 2004, 2005, 2006; cleanest: 2007, 2006, 2005. 15 reports describe a crash, 11 a fire. On average the car was 6.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Buick Rainier
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 323 Rainier complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 102 Read
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. The contact stated while traveling 30 mph , burning fumes started to emit from the front driver door. The contact mentioned that the electronics in the door panel were not functioning properly. The vehicle was able to be driven to the contact's destination. The vehicle was not…
The heated seat got hot and was unable to turn off. The leather seat burnt through from the heating unit or wire to the heating element. The dealership said it is not their problem so it is not fixed. There is no longer power to the seat
Vehicle idling in driveway while I went inside to retrieve cell phone. Came out and smoke in vehicle and electrical fire smell. Pull exterior of power window panel up and saw switch burned and melted on one corner
Fuel System 61 Read
The vehicle fuel gauge is erratic and inaccurate! When the tank is filled it shows empty and displays a low fuel level warning. As the tank draws fuel it fluctuates between full and empty. At one point it would stabilize at a certain level but nowadays it either shows full or empty. I track mileage and fuel use but…
My wife was stranded with no gas even though the gas gauge said 1/2 full - took to dealer and they said sender unit was bad, they said it was all too common on this vehicle
Fuel gauge reading inaccurate. With a full tank when starting and fuel level gauge slowing showing empty knowing I have just filled the tank. The level fluctuates up and down creating frustration and anxiety. My wife is now afraid to drive the vehicle. This has brought much apprehension while driving thinking there is…
Exterior Lighting 35 Read
The contact owns a 2006 buick rainier. While the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the passenger side low beam headlight blew out. The contact replaced the bulb; however, the failure recurred and the headlight socket melted. The contact repaired the vehicle. The failure recurred on the driver side low beam…
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainer. The contact stated that the headlights flickered on the vehicle intermittently. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V519000 (exterior lighting) in 2015. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the hdm service part was replaced, but the failure reccured…
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14V755000 (exterior lighting) and stated that the part needed for the repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The manufacturer was made…
Suspension 20 Read
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the wheels suddenly locked with the 'stability control" warning light illuminated. The failure would recur multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where they stated that a switch of some type that…
Around january 2016, the rear end was basically sitting almost on the rear tires--the air bags would not pump the rear end up. After a couple of days, it was fine. Then around march 2016, same thing happened. In june 2016, same thing happened but only down for about a day. The fourth time this happened was the other…
Both trailing arms in the rear suspension have failed to due to rust. The failure of at least one of the two trailing arms occurred when traveling across a bump in the road at low speed while on a long distance trip. The 2007 buick rainier had a history of being in pennsylvania. The use of salt during the winter…
Power Train 18 Read
I had involved car accident which from they called throttlebody due to (tps...shift by wire) you can find in ask.com encyclopedia *(see bottom) that I experienced which I had. It was running in reverse and hit steel post that protect gas meter while I tried brake but engine and tranny was in full idle and I tried…
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. The contact stated that after shifting into park, the gear would not lock. As a result, the engine could not be shut off. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance.…
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. The contact stated that while driving 5 mph, the rear end of vehicle jerked and the stable track system warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the output shaft on transfer case and slip yoke needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired…
Air Bags 15 Read
2005 buick rainier was in a head on collision with a chrysler town & country van in coming traffic. My wife driving the rainier hit her head on the steering wheel and bent it. She receive a large laceration requiring about 30 stitches, clavicle strain, broken collar bone and multiple bruises. She was wearing the seat…
Driving on freeway, engaged in normal breaking and wheels locked up and brakes no longer worked. I did not have the ability to brake or steer the SUV. I ultimately hit the center divider nearly head on, mostly middle to passenger side front of car. The air bags did not deploy. Had gm mechanic look at the brakes after…
I was stopped at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change. One vehicle was in front of me. I was impacted from the rear by a third vehicle traveling at a rate of speed I would estimate at somewhere between 20 and 40 mph. The force of the impact threw my car into the car in front of me. In addition to…
Steering 11 Read
I have various types of problems with my 2005 buick rainier. I have owned it for about 6 years now and it currently has a little over 93,000 miles on it. I am reported the problems to you so that you can document the problems to your list and I am also hoping that you can let me know if there is a recall for these…
Fire crews responded to a motor vehicle fire involving a 2005 buick rainier. An origin and cause investigation concluded the fire originated in the engine compartment in the vicinity of the power steering pump and related hoses. The vehicle was occupied and in operation at the time of the incident
The contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. The contact stated that the steering wheel emitted a squeaking noise while turning. The noise was also present while driving over bumps or potholes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however they stated that there was no noise. The failure was not diagnosed. The approximate…
Engine And Engine Cooling 9 Read
I was third in line waiting to pull out of a parking lot in peoria, az in my 2005 buick rainier. My foot was resting on the brake pedal. All of the sudden the car revved up and surged forward (from a standing start) with enough force to crash into the car in front of me and pushing that car in to the one in front of…
The contact stated since july 13, 2006, the vehicle stalled without warning at speeds below 20 mph. The vehicle restarted each time and was taken to the dealership. The dealership was unable to determine a problem, but replaced the ignition switch and coolant temperature sensor in a repair attempt. The problem…
At highway speeds (50-60 mph) accelerator became inoperative...I.e., no connection with engine. Used "resume" button on cruise control to speed up. Many months ago same thing happened. Could be very dangerous. Just intermittent
Rainier years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Electrical System | — | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | 4 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 8 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 120 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.7 |
| Worst single series | 12 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.6 years |
A model average of 2.7 hides a worst series at 12. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Rainier?
By complaint volume, 2004, 2005, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Rainier years are the cleanest?
2007, 2006, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Buick Rainier have?
323 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2004–2007. Of those, 15 describe a crash and 11 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.