1998 Buick Regal: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 376 complaints
376
Total Complaints
91,000mi
Median Mileage
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
Top Issue
8
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

62,000 25th Percentile
91,000 Median Mileage
130,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING:RACK AND PINION
36
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
33
ENGINE
29
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
26
STEERING
23
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
14
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
13
TIRES
11
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
10
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
10

Severity Assessment

8
Crashes
47
Fires
5
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS ARE TOO SMALL."
"BLACK LINE RUNNING THROUGH WINDSHIELD."
"WHILE DRIVING THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT ANY REASON. CAUSE UNKNOWN. THIS COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT IIF IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN TRAFFIC. *AK"

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

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