Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1999 Buick Park Avenue submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 16 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
PERIODICALLY THE ENGINE WILL STOP. THIS WILL GENERALLY OCCUR WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. THIS WOULD CAUSE A LOSS OF POWER. WHEN IT OCCURS IN TRAFFIC OR ON A CURVE THIS IS EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS. IT WILL RESTART BY SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL AND TURNING THE IGNITION. IT WILL OCCUR ANYWHERE, WHILE TURNING OR DRIVING STRAIGHT. THIS HAS CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
SUDDEN ENGINE FAILURE. I OWN A 99 BUICK PARK AVENUE ULTRA THAT HAS ABOUT 65,000 MILES ON IT AND IS WELL MAINTAINED. THE CAR IS ONLY UTILIZED ABOUT 6 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR SINCE WE ARE SNOW BIRDS HAVING RETURNED FROM THE EAST 2 MONTHS AGO. LAST EVENING AS I DROVE NORTH AND UP ONE OF THE LONG HILLS ON THE TOLL RD 73 IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA I EXPERIENCED THE SUDDEN AND TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WHILE TRAVELING BETWEEN 65 AND 70 MPH. ALL ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS, HEADLIGHTS, DASH LIGHTS ETC STAYED ON AND APPEARED NORMAL. FORTUNATELY THE TRAFFIC WAS SUCH THAT I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, STOP AND TURN ON MY HAZARD WARNING LIGHTS. I SAT FOR A MOMENT AND THEN TRIED TO RESTART THE ENGINE. THE CRANKING APPEARED NORMAL AND THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY STARTED AND THE ENGINE PARAMETERS, TEMPERATURE, VOLTS, ETC APPEARED NORMAL. I WAS SURPRISED TO SAY LEAST BUT WE DECIDED TO START MOVING AGAIN AND PROCEEDED TO DRIVE PRETTY MUCH AT NORMAL SPEEDS WITHOUT A HICCUP THE 20 MILES LEFT TO GET HOME STAYING IN THE RH LANES FOR THE MOST PART. GETTING BACK INTO THE FAST MOVING STREAM OF TRAFFIC WAS SOMEWHAT HAZARDOUS IN AND OF ITSELF. PRIOR TO THIS SUDDEN FAILURE THERE WAS NO WARNING OR CHANGE IN PERFORMANCE. THE ONLY CAVEAT TO THAT IS THAT IT SEEMS LATELY THERE HAS BEEN A MINOR BUT NOTICEABLE SAG OR HESITATION WHEN STARTING TO ACCELERATE WHILE IN DRIVE AND AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TR
WHEN I TURNED ON THE LEFT TURN, THE LAMP ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL HAD STOPPED BLINKING AND STAYED ON, EVEN WHEN THE SWITCH WAS IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION. RIGHT-TURN WORKED FINE. THE NEXT DAY I COULD NOT START MY CAR, THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. I WAS LATE FOR AN IMPORTANT MEETING. LATER I FOUND OUT THAT WHEN THE ENGINE IS OFF AND THE KEY REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION, ALL THE LIGHTS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CAR CONTINUED TO BURN, AND THAT WAS THE CAUSE BATTERY DISCHARGE. I STARTED RESEARCHING MY PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND OUT THAT MANY PEOPLE FACED THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. YOU CAN CHECK GOOGLE ASKING 'SIGNAL FLASHER PROBLEM BUICK PARK AVENUE 1999' , 'LEFT TURN ALWAYS ON BUICK PARK AVENUE 1999' ETC. ACCORDING MY ESTIMATION, AT LEAST THOUSAND PEOPLE MET THIS PROBLEM THE CULPRIT IS 'TURN SIGNAL HAZARD FLASHER UNIT'. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THIS UNIT HAS A BUILT FACTORY DEFECTS AND IT IS DANGEROUS, THIS UNIT UNNECESSARILY MISLEADS OTHER DRIVERS, AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HAZARD FLASHING. I BELIEVE THAT GM SHOULD REPLACE THIS UNIT AT ALL BUICK PARK AVENUE 1997-2005. FACTORY DEFECT IS OBVIOUS AND THE BUYER DOES NOT HAVE TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF THE SHORTCOMINGS OF ENGINEERS. PLEASE REPLACE MY TURN SIGNAL HAZARD FLASHER UNIT FOR FREE. *TR
CONSUMER CONCERNED THAT AUTO SAFETY DATA WON'T BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC. *NM THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THAT THE PUBLIC HAD THE RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT DEFECTS REGARDING ALL VEHICLES. THE CONSUMER PURCHASED A VEHICLE WHICH HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS, SUCH AS A MOLDING REAR DOOR, A BROKEN DOOR HANDLE AND A NEW ENGINE AND FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR WAS NEEDED. AFTER THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, HE SOLD THE VEHICLE AND ANOTHER COUPLE ENDURED PROBLEMS SUCH AS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THE BATTERY DYING. THE OTHER COUPLE WAS TOLD IN JAN 2004 THE REGULATOR HAD BEEN RECALLED. *JB
IT WOULD TAKE 7-10 SECONDS BEFORE IGNITION WOULD START. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT REPAIR THE PROBLEM. *AK
BATTERY LEAKED, CAUSING VEHICLE NOT TO START. *AK THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL #03V473000 AND BELIEVED THE RECALL WAS THE REASON WHY THE BATTERY LEAKED. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT , HOWEVER THE CONSUMER WAS DENIED. *JB
CONSUMER STATED THE BATTERY TERMINAL LEAKED ACID ONTO THE GARAGE FLOOR. THE BATTERY HAD BEEN REPLACED TWICE DUE TO A LEAK. *PH THIS HAPPENED FOR A SECOND TIME. THE BATTERY WAS BY DELCO FOR GM WHICH HAD SIDE TERMINALS WHICH SUDDENLY LEAKED. (THIS ACID CORRODED THE MOTOR COMPARTMENT AND LEAKED ONTO THE GARAGE FLOOR EATING THE CONCRETE. PRIOR ODI# 8002108 *SCC *JB
WHEN THE IGNITION KEY WAS TURNED, A SMALL EXPLOSION WAS AND THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. *MR *PH *JB
THE CONSUMER TURNED THE KEY IN THE IGNITION TO THE ON POSITION, AND BEFORE THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THERE WAS A NOISE AND THEN SMOKE STARTED COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. MR SCC *JB
CONSUMER TURNED KEY TO START VEHICLE AND HEARD A LOUD POP, VEHICLE DID NOT START. SHE SAW SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, THEN FLAMES. VEHICLE AT DEALERSHIP AT THIS TIME, DAMAGE TO VEHICLE UNKNOWN.*AK
WHEN STARTING VEHICLE THERE WAS ALOUD BANG, VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. CONSUMER SAW SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, THEN FLAMES. DEALER COULD NOT DETERMINE CAUSE OF FIRE. FIRE DEPARTMENT STATED COMPUTER WAS THE CAUSE. VEHICLE HAS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE.
CONSUMER NOTICED ACID ON GARAGE FLOOR, CHECKED UNDER HOOD, AND NOTICE ACID LEAKING FROM BATTERY. *AK
NEGATIVE POST SNAPPED FROM BATTERY, CAUSING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK
INTERMITTENTLY VEHICLE STALLED AND DIE WITHOUT WARNING. DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE OR CORRECT THE PROBLEM.*AK
CAR BATTERY GOES DEAD INTERMITTENLY WHEN PARKED OVERHIGHT, REPLACED BATTERYLALTERNATOR/DID NOT HELP
AFTER VEHICLE HAS BEEN PARKED IN HEATED GARAGE FOR AWHILE. THEN STARTED IT, AND VEHICLE STALLED. WOULD NEED TO BE JUMPED. HAS HAPPENED 15 TIMES. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP & MECHANIC CHANGED THE BATTERY & ALTERNATOR. BUT PROBLEM COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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