2006 Buick Rainier Fuel system Problems

In driving cross country, filled up the fuel tank and resumed travel when the fuel gauge immediately went to empty (I didn’t even have time to drive up the highway ramp back onto the highway). The alerts started ringing and blinking and dash board told me there was no fuel. I went to a gravel area and inspected the engine compartment, under the car and the interior to be sure I was not missing anything, then restarted the SUV. Could not find any issues anywhere, including leaking fuel. I took off the fuel cap and reattached it to be sure there was no problem there. I had no choice but to get on the highway and continue my journey. The problem continued for the following 1000 ish miles. When I got home I contacted my dealer and set up an appointment to look at vehicle. They found the vehicle needing a sensor kit which was a recall back a few years ago. I had the issue repaired which took 3 days. They may have the removed items. Attached please find the invoice from the repair that shows the message numbers, etc from the inspection prior to and during repair. Since this issue was a recall, but I understand not for my vehicle but for many similar SUV’s and Pickups of the same area of manufacture; I feel the same components were used in my vehicle and should be paid for and included in this recall. Attached please find the invoice if I can figure out how to get it attached to this type of format.

NHTSA ID

11448952

Incident

Nov 26, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BUICK RAINIER. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE JERKED VIOLENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. IN ADDITION, THE POWER WINDOWS WERE JAMMED AND WOULD NOT WIND UP OR DOWN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE ALSO LEAKED FUEL ONTO THE GROUND. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000.

NHTSA ID

10956820

Incident

Feb 3, 2017

Mileage

105,000 mi

THE FUEL SENSOR FOR MY 2006 BUICK RAINIER STARTED TO MALFUNCTION APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS AGO. I HAD IT DIAGNOSED BY GM DEALER, KING CHEVROLET BUICK GMC OF LONGMONT, COLORADO AND THEY INFORMED ME THE CAR NEEDED A NEW FUEL SENSOR. THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATES THE TANK IS EMPTY, WHEN ACTUALLY FULL. WE DECIDED NOT TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, DUE TO THE COST. THE BUICK RAN OUT OF GAS NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT THE LAST 2 YEARS. THREE DAYS AGO THE CAR STALLED ON INTERSTATE 25 WITH PASSENGERS ON BOARD. WE TOWED IT BACK TO KING CHEVROLET BUICK GMC, LONGMONT, CO. AND NOW DIAGNOSED WITH A FAULTY FUEL PUMP WITH AN ESTIMATED COST OF $1400 TO CORRECT THE FUEL PUMP/SENSOR PROBLEM. EACH TIME THE CAR WAS DIAGNOSED BY THE GM DEALER, NOT A WORD WAS MENTIONED BY STAFF/TECHNICIANS ABOUT THE KNOWN FUEL COMPONENT FAILURE. I DISCOVERED THIS ISSUE AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, YESTERDAY. I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THIS SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD IS NOT PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY GM CORP AND ITS DEALERS AND A RECALL FOR THESE VEHICLES HAS NOT OCCURRED. SEEMS GM CORP AND KING CHEVROLET BUICK GMC HAVE NO CONCERN FOR CONSUMER SAFETY. *JS

NHTSA ID

10598102

Incident

Jun 7, 2012

Mileage

84,500 mi

THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT ABOUT 65K MILES IN FEBRUARY 2009. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED AND WAS TOLD THAT THE FUEL SENSOR INSIDE THE GAS TANK HAD FAILED AND THAT THE REPAIR WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE THE 60K MILES HAD BEEN EXCEEDED. NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD THIS COSTLY REPAIR HAS FORCED ME TO CONTINUE TO USE THE TRIP METER ON THE ODOMETER AS A WAY TO ESTIMATE MY FUEL LEVEL. IT IS NOW 4 YEARS LATER AND I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANY NOTICE OF RECALL OR SERVICE NOTICE FROM THE MANUFACTURER OR DEALER. THE VEHICLE NOW HAS OVER 125K MILES AND APPARENTLY NO LONGER QUALIFIES FOR THE OFFER FROM GM OF SPLITTING THE REPAIR COST WITH THE CUSTOMER. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY NOTIFICATION FROM GM OR MY DEALER OF ANY OFFER OF ASSISTANCE WITH THIS ISSUE. GM OBVIOUSLY INSTALLED FAULTY EQUIPMENT AND THE FACT THAT THEY EXPECT THEIR SO CALLED VALUED CUSTOMER TO PAY AT ALL FOR CORRECTING THIS TYPE OF ISSUE IS NOT GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE. I GUESS THAT I'M NOT THAT VALUED A CUSTOMER AS I BROUGHT THIS ISSUE TO THEIR ATTENTION IN 2009, REPAIR WAS DENIED UNDER WARRANTY AND I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANY SERVICE NOTICE REGARDING THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10505605

Incident

Feb 20, 2009

Mileage

65,000 mi

FUEL GAUGE SHOWED MORE FUEL THAN WHAT WAS ACTUALLY IN FUEL TANK CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL WHILE DRIVING. FUEL GAUGE NOW READS EMPTY AT ALL TIMES EVEN WHEN TANK IS FULL. *JS

NHTSA ID

10452539

Incident

Jul 5, 2011

Mileage

50,000 mi

THE FUEL GAUGE SUDDENLY SHOWED EMPTY AFTER FILLING AND THEN ABOUT 10 MILES LATER SHOWED FULL. SHORTLY LATER EMPTY AGAIN. THE ERRATIC FUEL READINGS CONTINUE TO DATE. THIS MALFUNCTION IS CREATING A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. BUICK IS NOT WILLING TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE FUEL GAUGE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10451441

Incident

Nov 1, 2011

Mileage

43,000 mi

THIS TUESDAY AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN A MAJOR HIGHWAY WITH MY 2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, MY 2006 BUICK RAINIER TURNED OFF AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. IT WAS FREEZING COLD AND WE WERE ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY, LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER AND NO ONE WAS HURT. COME TO FIND OUT I RAN OUT OF GAS. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE RUN OUT OF GAS, MY FUEL GAUGE WAS READING INCORRECTLY. I HAD TO MAKE MY HUSBAND LEAVE WORK, WHILE MY DAUGHTER AND I HAD TO SIT IN THE FREEZING COLD CAR!!! I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TO FIX THE FUEL GAUGE, AND I WAS INFORMED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. GM IS ONLY PAYING HALF THE REPAIR COSTS, ALTHOUGH THEY ADMIT THIS IS A DEFECT. PLEASE HELP, THESE REPAIRS ARE NOT IN MY BUDGET, BUT I ALSO CAN NOT BE STRANDED AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10442605

Incident

Jan 3, 2012

FILLED UP AT THE GAS STATION ONE DAY. STARTED MY RAINIER AND THE GAS GAUGE READ EMPTY AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT WAS ON. DROVE FOR A BIT AND THE GAS GAUGE APPEARED TO START WORKING AGAIN. OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS THE GAUGE WOULD FLUCTUATE RANDOMLY. THEN ONE DAY, WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR AND MY GAS GAUGE TELLING ME I HAD PLENTY OF FUEL, I RAN OUT OF GAS ON A VERY BUSY STREET. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO COAST INTO A PARKING LOT AND AVOID AN ACCIDENT. MY DEALER KEPT TELLING ME I NEEDED TO PUT A FUEL CLEANER INTO MY GAS TANK AND THAT WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS FAULTY FUEL SENSOR HAS CAUSED ME TO RUN OUT OF GAS A NUMBER OF TIMES (EVEN WHEN USING THE TRIP MILEAGE INDICATOR TO GIVE MYSELF SOME IDEA OF MY FUEL LEVELS). THIS CREATES A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10436316

Incident

Jul 6, 2009

FILLED FUEL TANK AND GAS GAUGE WENT TO EMPTY, TURNING ON THE LOW FUEL LIGHT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATOR BOUNCES FROM EMPTY TO FULL. AFTER A FEW MILES THE FUEL GAUGE NEEDLE STAYS IN RANGE BUT AS I GET CLOSER TO NEEDING GAS IT DOES NOT READ ACCURATELY AND I CANNOT TELL FOR SURE IF I MIGHT RUN OUT OF GAS. MY CONCERN IS RUNNING OUT OF GAS WHEN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, FEARING FOR MY SAFETY AND THAT OF ANY PASSENGERS. I BELIEVE THIS IS INDICATIVE OF A DESIGN FLAW AND NEEDS TO BE ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED BY GM. I HAVE A RECALL THAT INDICATES THEY WOULD PAY HALF THE COST AT A GM DEALERSHIP, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE TO ME. I AM NOT HALF RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DESIGN FLAW. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE COMPLETELY ADDRESSED BY GM. *KB

NHTSA ID

10429499

Incident

Jun 5, 2011

Mileage

60,514 mi

FUEL GAUGE WORKS ERRATICALLY. WHEN THE GAS TANK IS FILLED COMPLETELY THE FUEL GAUGE READS LOW AND DINGS THE "LOW FUEL" ALARM. GAUGE THEN CLIMBS TOWARD FULL AS YOU SPEED UP AND THEN REPEATEDLY DROPS TO THE LOW FUEL ALARM. THE FAULTY FUEL LEVEL COULD LEAVE YOU STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY WITH NO GAS IF YOU ARE NOT TRACKING YOUR FUEL LEVEL. *TT

NHTSA ID

10427714

Incident

Sep 9, 2011

Mileage

100,500 mi

FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING. GAUGE BECAME ERRATIC REPORTING LOW/NO FUEL WHEN TANK WAS FILLED. FUEL GAUGE CONTINUOUSLY BOUNCES BETWEEN FULL AND EMPTY. BEHAVIOR CONTINUES TO EXIST. CAN'T RELY ON FUEL GAUGE TO DETERMINE WHEN A FILL UP IS REQUIRED. CURRENTLY CALCULATING MILEAGE TO NEXT FILL UP BY TRACKING MILEAGE. FLASHING LOW FUEL LIGHT IS DISTRACTING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10427201

Incident

Apr 29, 2011

Mileage

54,250 mi

MY FUEL GAUGE HAS STOPPED WORKING ON MY 2006 BUICK RAINIER. *KB

NHTSA ID

10425988

Incident

Sep 18, 2011

Mileage

63,000 mi

THE GAS GAUGE BEGAN READING EMPTY WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY FULL. THIS STARTED IN SPRING 2010 WITH THE ODOMETER READING ABOUT 65K. WHEN THE TANK IS INITIALLY FILLED THE GAUGE WILL READ FULL, THEN GO DOWN UNTIL THE GAUGE READ EMPTY. THIS CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL DAYS AFTER FILL-UP AND FLUCTUATED BETWEEN FULL AND EMPTY. AFTER DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 TO 20 MILES THE GAUGE WOULD RETURN TO FULL AND BACK TO EMPTY AGAIN. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE. I ALREADY PAID MY BUICK DEALER OVER $500 TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM, WHICH IS NOT THE RESULT OF WEAR AND TEAR OR CARELESSNESS OR MISUSE ON MY PART, BUT RATHER THE FAILURE OF A CRITICAL SAFETY DEVICE. THE CONSUMER SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO BEAR THIS FINANCIAL BURDEN. *TT

NHTSA ID

10422272

Incident

Apr 10, 2010

Mileage

55,000 mi

FUEL LEVEL SENDER IN THE GAS TANK FAILS, GAUGE IS UNRELIABLE AND INDICATED FULL TANK OR EMPTY TANK RANDOMLY. CAN INDICATE A FULL TANK WITH ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF FUEL LEFT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10418012

Incident

Jun 1, 2011

Mileage

85,000 mi

WE HAVE HAD NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. THE FAN MOTOR CONTROL MODULE WHEN OUT,THEN THE MODULE THAT CONTROLS THE FUEL INDICATOR AND DISPLAY WENT BAD. NOW LESS THAN 6 MONTHS LATER THE TRANSMISSION HAS GONE BAD. IT IS ONLY WORKING IN 2 & 3. NO OVERDRIVE OR FIRST. THIS LAST PROBLEM SUDDENLY STARTED ON 7/17/11. OUR MECHANIC CAME AND CHECKED IT OUT (HE DID NOT WANT US TO DRIVE IT) AND SAID THE TRANSMISSION WAS ONLY WORKING IN SECOND AND THIRD AND WE SHOULD NOT DRIVE IT AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED OR REPAIRED. WE ARE STILL PAYING FOR THIS CAR AND FOR THE LAST REPAIRS ON THIS CAR. I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS AND SERVICE BULLETINS ON THIS PROBLEM AND THE PROBLEM WITH THE GAS GAUGE. HAS THERE BEEN ANY RECALLS OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THESE PROBLEMS BY GM? *KB

NHTSA ID

10413651

Incident

Jul 17, 2011

Mileage

73,000 mi

APPROXIMATELY 3 MONTHS AGO AFTER FILLING MY TANK AND STARTING MY 2006 BUICK RAINIER THE GAS GAUGE READ PAST 'EMPTY' AND THE 'LOW-FUEL" WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THIS CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL DAYS AFTER FILL-UP AND FLUCTUATED BETWEEN FULL, EMPTY AND ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN. IN ADDITION THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON WITH EACH FILL-UP. AFTER DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 TO 20 MILES THE GAUGE WOULD RETURN TO MORE ACCURATE READINGS. HOWEVER, MOST RECENTLY THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE AS THE FALSE GAS GAUGE READINGS, LOW-FUEL AND CHECK ENGINE WARNINGS HAVE BECOME CONSTANT AND I CAN NO LONGER TRUST THEM AT ALL. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH A $500 + PRICE TAG WHICH CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BEAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10412210

Incident

Mar 20, 2011

MY 2006 BUICK RAINIER HAS A GAS GAUGE THAT DOES NOT REGISTER ANY FUEL IN THE TANK. WHEN THE PROBLEM BEGAN THE GAUGE WOULD GO UP TO THE WHATEVER LEVEL OF FUEL WAS IN THE TANK BUT NOW IT REGISTERS EMPTY ALL THE TIME. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO REPAIR SHOP AND FOUND OUT THIS IS A PERVASIVE GENERAL MOTORS PROBLEM WITH THESE TYPES OF VEHICLES. THE REPAIR IS GOING TO COST BETWEEN $300.00 AND $400.00 TO REPAIR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10408571

Incident

May 1, 2011

Mileage

108,000 mi

THE GAS GAUGE BEGAN READING EMPTY WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY FULL. THIS STARTED ON 03/03/2011 WITH THE ODOMETER READING ABOUT 70K. IT NOW HAS ABOUT 76K ON THE ODOMETER. WHEN THE TANK IS INITIALLY FILLED THE GAUGE WILL READ FULL, THEN GO DOWN GRADUALLY WHILE DRIVING UNTIL THE GAUGE READ EMPTY. WHEN THE TANK WAS FULL THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WOULD ALSO LIGHT UNTIL THE TANK WOULD BE AT APPROXIMATELY 3/4. AT 3/4 FULL THE GAUGE WOULD THEN READ CORRECTLY AND THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WOULD GO OFF. *TT

NHTSA ID

10407594

Incident

Mar 3, 2011

Mileage

70,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BUICK RAINIER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER REFUELING, THE FUEL GAUGE WOULD NOT READ THE ACTUAL LEVEL OF GASOLINE IN THE FUEL TANK. IN ADDITION, WHEN REFUELING, THE PUMP WOULD SHUT OFF BEFORE THE TANK WAS HALF FULL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED BY A DEALER OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY INFORMED HER THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 50,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. UPDATED 09/01/2011 *LN

NHTSA ID

10405659

Incident

Mar 7, 2011

Mileage

50,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BUICK RAINIER. WHILE PARKED, THE CONTACT REFUELED THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATOR WAS FLUCTUATING IN BETWEEN READINGS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THERE WAS AN OPEN INVESTIGATION UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE11014 (FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM) THAT COULD POTENITALLY HAVE BEEN RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,600.

NHTSA ID

10404274

Incident

Sep 30, 2010

Mileage

57,600 mi

GAS GAUGE FAILED AT APPROX. 75000 MILES. AFTER RESEARCHING ON LINE, THIS SEEMS TO BE A DEFECT IN THE GAUGE INSIDE THE FUEL TANK. *TR

NHTSA ID

10404015

Incident

Apr 1, 2011

Mileage

75,000 mi

FUEL GAUGE ON OUR 2006 BUICK RAINIER DOES NOT DISPLAY THE CORRECT READING FOR THE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE TANK. IT FREQUENTLY READS EMPTY WHEN THE TANK HAS BEEN FILLED, AND THEN READS ANYWHERE THROUGHOUT THE RANGE OF THE GAUGE, CHANGING WHILE DRIVING AND OR WHEN SHUTTING THE VEHICLE OFF AND RE-STARTING. WE NEVER GET A CORRECT READING OF THE GAUGE, AND THEREFORE NEVER KNOW WHEN WE MAY RUN OUT OF GAS. THE PROBLEM STARTED DURING THE FALL OF 2010 AND REMAINS TO THIS DAY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10402945

Incident

Sep 15, 2010

THE GAS GAUGE BEGAN READING EMPTY WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY FULL. WHEN THE TANK WAS INITIALLY FILLED THE GAUGE READ FULL, THEN GO DOWN GRADUALLY WHILE DRIVING UNTIL THE GAUGE READ EMPTY. WHEN THE TANK WAS FULL THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WOULD ALSO LIGHT UNTIL THE TANK WOULD BE AT APPROXIMATELY 3/4. AT 3/4 FULL THE GAUGE WOULD THEN READ CORRECTLY AND THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WOULD GO OFF. ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY AND ONLY READS EMPTY NOW.

NHTSA ID

10403308

Incident

Mar 23, 2011

GAS GAUGE BEGAN TO FLUCTUATE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. ONCE DOWN TO A HALF TANK, GAUGE WOULD READ EMPTY. NOW THE GAUGE READS EMPTY AT ALL TIMES, HAVE TO USE ODOMETER TO FIGURE OUT WHEN TO GET GAS. BOUGHT FROM A FRIEND WHO OWNED FOUR AS COMPANY CARS, AND HE FOUND OUT THAT ALL FOUR BEGAN DOING IT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10398864

Incident

Sep 2, 2010

ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE BEGINNING IN AUG, 2010. ALWAYS FAILS AFTER COMPLETE FILLUP. SOMETIMES OPERATES BELOW 3/4 TANK. CURRENTLY NOT OPERATING AT ALL FOR PAST 90 DAYS. IT IS SHOWING "LOW-FUEL" WARNING LIGHT IRREGUARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE TANK, THE GAUGE NEEDLE REMAINS ON EMPTY. THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW HOW MUCH FUEL I HAVE OR WHEN MY 2006 BUICK RAINIER WILL RUN OUT OF FUEL. *TR

NHTSA ID

10398863

Incident

Aug 1, 2010

Mileage

58,000 mi