Owners have filed 393 complaints on the Buick Skylark, covering 1981–1998. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (62 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1996, 1997; cleanest: 1981, 1983, 1982. 37 reports describe a crash, 15 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 5.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Buick Skylark
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 393 Skylark complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 62 Read
While parked vehicle caught on fire. It was determined that it was the engine that caught on fire. Vehicle was totalled
The contact stated while driving 25 mph, the vehicle engine hesitated, then stalled completely. The vehicle lost power assist steering, and power assist braking. After being restarted, the vehicle stalled several more times. The vehicle was taken in for ervice. Previously, the on-board computer was replaced by a…
Parked car in front of house, observed wisp of smoke, opened hood, engine engulfed with flames;nest made by unknown creature(s) ignited by heat/exhaust manifold
Service Brakes 60 Read
No summary listed for above vehicle
When the brakes are applied the pedal becomes soft, causing extended stopping distances which resulted in two minor collisions. The passenger sustained minor injuries.also, brake pads were replaced . Manufacturer has been notified
The braking system when applied would cause the vehicle to slide in the rain also, in dry weather it still would slide/jump/jerk and make a noise. Speed at 35 mph or les., dealer contacted two times, states it is the design, problem still exists
Electrical System 60 Read
While driving 45 mph there was gray white toxic type smoke coming through vents of vehicle. Problem resulted in vehicle being engulfed in flames. Possible cause electrical system failure as noted by gm investigators and fire department. Vehicle was a total loss
Vehicle caught on fire that originated on driver's side of vehicle in cab. Please provide additional information regarding this issue, and a copy of the report made by the fire department
Fire caused by a short in the electrical system (wireharness) in steering column & ignition system, melted the entire steering column, dash area, drivers seat, interior roof, and dash. I want my car replaced. I loved that care and I will never get from the insurance company what the car was really worth to me. Let me…
Air Bags 33 Read
During frontal impact, the driver's side air bag did not deploy. Speed unknown
While traveling at 35 miles struck another vehicle on left rear side. Upon impact, dual airbags failed to deploy, consumer sustained injuries. Vehicle was totalled
Front driver's side and passenger's side airbags failed to deploy during 40 mph front end collision. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details
Steering 30 Read
Since I bought the car 01/17/97, I have had numerous problems: emergenchy/parking brake pops out when parking the car and putting parking brake on, brakes fail to perform properly and brake pads wear down excessivly, dash board (check engine, ABS, ets, seat belt light blinks when wearing and doesnt blink when not…
Consumer was inside of a garage and was traveling about 35 mph, and steering wheel column fell in her lap. There were no injuries. Dealership was aware of problem
Axle seal shaft assembly--channel plate, steering column
Vehicle Speed Control 23 Read
The contact owns a 1997 buick skylark. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. The contact applied the brakes, but the vehicle would not stop. He then applied the emergency brake and it slowed the vehicle down to approximately 40 mph, but did not come to a complete stop. He…
When vehicle is put in drive and lightly touched the accelerator, vehicle suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed on its own. The manufacturer has been notified
Vehicle suddenly accelerated upon shifting from neutral to drive crashing into another car/embankment and building, resulting in an accident/injuries. Tt
Seat Belts 20 Read
Sudden acceleration, caused loss of control/accident/injuries
The driver's seatbelt did not restrain the occupant during a rearend collision, also cruise control linkage disconnected due to sudden acceleration and lock on driver's side would not release, driver had to climb to other side to open driver's door
Design of front brake pads caused them to wear prematurely
Power Train 19 Read
When vehicle was parked on an incline, 5 year old son was able to put vehicle in gear without keys in the ignition. The vehicle was in park with the steering wheel locked. When vehicle began to roll backwards, child became scared, jumped out of vehicle, vehicle rolled over child and hit an embankment before stopping.…
While car was parked and shut off, vehicle someway jumped out of of park and rolled across the lot, hitting another parked car. Consumer feels this is unsafe
When car is parked in any gear it will reverse without putting key in ignition. This inccident happened twice, once resulting with an infant in car when it reversed. Contacted dealer , cannot not fix problem
Skylark 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 7 | 4 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 7 | 4 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 3 | 1 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 3 | 1 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | — | 2 | |
| 1988 | Exterior Lighting | 2 | 1 | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1985 | Engine And Engine Cooling,fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1983 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1982 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1981 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — |
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 | 249 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.6 |
| Worst single series | 9 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.5 years |
A model average of 1.6 hides a worst series at 9. 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 Skylark?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1996, 1997 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 Skylark years are the cleanest?
1981, 1983, 1982 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Buick Skylark have?
393 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–1998. Of those, 37 describe a crash and 15 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.