Buick Skylark Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 512 consumer complaints across the 13 model years of the Buick Skylark (1984–1998) that have at least 5 complaints. 1996 has the most, with 85. Across all years, the part named most often is electrical system (104 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Skylark years →
All Skylark model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 24 | 94,500 | 1 | 21 | — | Stable |
| 1997 | 79 | 55,033 | 3 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1996 | 85 | 95,280 | 4 | 17 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1995 | 85 | 90,000 | 1 | 14 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1994 | 68 | 110,000 | 2 | 4 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1993 | 46 | — | 1 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1992 | 32 | — | 3 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1991 | 38 | 88,000 | 1 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1990 | 19 | 138,000 | 1 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1988 | 14 | — | 3 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1986 | 8 | 135,014 | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1985 | 6 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1984 | 8 | — | 3 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Electrical system104 22%
- Brakes92 19%
- Engine cooling89 19%
- Air bags53 11%
- Vehicle speed control38 7.9%
- Steering38 7.9%
- Transmission and drivetrain34 7.1%
- Seat belts30 6.3%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
1997: “When it rains the car leaks. It has been doing this for a few years. Previously it was in a garage, so we don't no for sure how long this has been going on. We brought it to a garage to be fixed, they worked on the area of the cowl section. But couldn't fix it. Also the air conditioning never worked right and had to have a charge every year. Finally it quit all together.”
NHTSA complaint #10231250, filed 2008-06, 100,000 miles1995: “My horn stopped working. The problem was traced to the horn switch. My mechanic could not replace the horn switch because it is part of the driver's side air bag assembly, which had been discontinued. I had to have a bypass switch installed on the dashboard, which is inconvenient and awkward to use. In my opinion, the horn is a more important safety feature than the air bag. I am 71 years old and have never seen an air bag deploy, but my horn has prevented accidents many times.”
NHTSA complaint #10650040, filed 2014-10, 90,000 miles1996: “The airbag exploded while I was driving the car and then caused the horn to continuously go off. Not five minutes into my drive it went off while I was accelerating from being stopped at a red light. I was pulled over on a side street when the horn started going off. The air bag bruised and burned my left arm, however medical attention was not required. I had a water leak somewhere that caused water to build up primarily on my driver side floor board, however eventually the back floor boards became wet as well. …”
NHTSA complaint #10717763, filed 2015-05, 97,000 milesOther Buick models
3,720 complaintsBuick Regal
3,247 complaintsBuick Enclave
2,507 complaintsBuick Lacrosse
2,124 complaintsBuick Century
1,812 complaintsBuick Park Avenue
1,366 complaintsBuick Rendezvous
1,237 complaintsBuick Lucerne
943 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology