1996 Buick Riviera: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 69 complaints
69
Total Complaints
112,500mi
Median Mileage
Cooling System
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

76,000 25th Percentile
112,500 Median Mileage
126,861 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Cooling System
5
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
5
Control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm)
4
Column
4
Engine
4
Alternator/Generator/Regulator
3
Fuel System, Gasoline
3
Horn
3
Gasoline
2
Tank Assembly
2

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"3800 SERIES II SUPER CHARGED ENGINE; WHILE DRIVING HEARD CLANKING ENGINE DROPPED DEAD ON HIGHWAY COAST TO STOP. DEALER WILL NOT OPEN ENGINE, JUST REPLACE. TT"
"TOP OF THE GAS TANK SPLIT, RESULTING IN A LARGE GAS SPILL, ALMOST CAUSING A FIRE. *AK"
"TOP OF THE GAS TANK SPLIT, RESULTING IN A LARGE GAS SPILL, ALMOST CAUSING A FIRE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

SC: 15 CA: 13 IL: 8 FL: 6 OH: 5 TN: 4 NC: 2 MA: 2 GA: 2 DC: 2

Who Files Complaints?

30.4%
Original Owners
69.6%
Second+ Owners

Buick Riviera — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
19951778
1997483
1998433

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28