general problems of the 1998 Buick Regal

On my way home from purchasing the vehicle, the car began to lose power and I noticed black smoke though the rear view mirror. Another driver signaled me down, so I pulled over and realized my car was on fire. The fire was in the engine compartment from what appeared to be the exhaust manifold. Since I was in a residential area, I grabbed a water hose and began to diffuse the fire. The fire department arrived and forced my hood open to reassure the fire was out. Luckily I was able to make it out safe. But I strongly believe my life and the lives of other drivers were definitely in danger.

The contact owns a 1998 Buick Regal. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 317,000.

The electrical system on the drivers front door is faulty I went through three master window switch's and still something wrong. The cruise control has fault even after some sensors replaced. And the digital odometer display quit working but the rest of the gauges still work the odometer quit showing after 115k. The driver side electrical quit working one day while driving on the highway, the new master switch when you press the button it unlocks and locks the doors. The cruise control quit working in or around 98k miles. And the digital odometer and the other digital screen started to fade and eventually just stopped showing after 115k miles.

Tl-the contact owns a 1998 Buick Regal. The contact stated that while driving, the dash board lights and tail lights blew out. In addition, the contact mention the ignition key was running hot. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 212,500. Ak.

I used my turn signals to make a right hand turn and my car turned off. No lights, turn signals, dash lights, breaks were soft, and steering was hard. If I had been on the freeway when this happened I would have been in a car accident. This has happened two times now and I am now unable to start my car at all at this point in time. What is this all about? and why haven't anyone found a fix? help me please.

The car went completely dead after stopping at the bank following 25 minutes of driving. There is no power, the key is locked in the ignition, and cannot be jumpstarted by using another car. It can jumpstart with a machine and run for a few minutes, afterwards it instantly dies and locks in place. This happened when I was on a regular street, luckily with no traffic at the time.

4014976022.

The contact owns a 1998 Buick Regal LS. While driving 30 mph approaching a left turn she engaged the left turn signal and the vehicle stalled. She stated that she waited 10 seconds and the vehicle began to function normally. The contact stated that the failure only occurred when she slowed down to make a turn. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who replaced the turn signal assembly. After the turn signal assembly was replaced the failure recurred immediately. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was purchased used four months ago. The failure mileage was 160,000 and the current mileage was 161,000.

Driving home and car wouldn't go over 5 miler per hr and the check engine light came on, then the temperature gage went to hot so pulled over and smoke came thru the vent in the car and out from the gear shifter. Once I got out I heard a loud pop and oil starting leaking then the car caught on fire. Fire department and police came. I had received a recall on spark plugs back in the beginning of the year and had the dealership replacement them but never received any notification about any further recalls.

The car stalls out when you put the left turn signal on to turn. All the dash board lights light up and the car stalls. Sometimes it doesn't do it but half the time it does. I'm afraid to turn left in fear of being killed because my car stalled. There are no signs of any kind that the car is stalling. It does it the most when your coming to a stop and place the left signal on. Please help find a solution to this problem.

Vehicle going dead, would initially (this started about a month ago) restart and run fine until it went dead again. Speed does not seem to be a factor, goes dead at highway speeds and when braking to stop at intersections. This is unbelievably dangerous. Sometimes the gauges and dash lights will move on their own, sometimes not. Four days ago, at a local garage, the car would not re-start. Today it started and then went dead (I may be mistaken on this, but the key actually felt like it was heating up) on the way to yet another garage, would not re-start and had to be towed. So far no-one has been able to find a problem. The vehicle has been on a diagnostic computer twice, both times it showed no history and no problem.

This car has had numerous problems, noted by many owners. Rusted paint over rear wheel wells. I cannot count the number of times I have had to get the turn signals fixed. I had to replace the abs system this spring. Now I am told I have a cracked manifold. The heating display on the dashboard has not worked for three years: we manipulate the heat/ air by trial and error. I had a "check engine soon" light problem that required numerous computer scans, and would only be fixed for a month or two at a time. The window buttons are failing. The car drives well, but how much more money is it reasonable to put into? it has 138, 00 miles, and has been serviced every 3000 miles. It should be good for another 60, 000 miles. After reading the complaints, it seems I will only be washing my money. Is the cracked manifold related to the reported fires?.

Parked and turned the vehicle off; was informed approximately 5 minutes later that the vehicle was on fire. The engine was engulfed in flames by that time. Fire dept unable to put out the fire with extinguishers, the truck had to be brought in and the car hosed down. Was told that it was an electrical fire. The vehicle was totaled by the insurance company.

Head lights turn on and off when the blower fan is turned on. The rear window defrost will not operate, and the cruise control is also affected by this. I have had this in the shop several times and several hundred dollars later it is just getting worse.

Operation of the turn signal causes the car to stall, affectign the power steering and abs.

The contact owns a 1998 Buick Regal. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 03v527000 (steering:rack and pinion). She immediately took the vehicle to the dealer for repair. Several weeks later, she noticed that the vehicle would spontaneously drift to the left. In addition, the vehicle would sporadically stall while driving various speeds. The dealer stated that she needed to purchase a new vehicle. The current mileage was 180,000 and the failure mileage was unknown. Updated 01/14/09. Updated 01/15/09.

Head lights turn off when blower fan is turned on. Blower for ac/heater turns off, occasionally will work when turned to high. Rear defroster won't work when blower fan is on. Monocromatic rear veiw mirror adjustment won't work when blower is on. Left rear turn signal not working, bulb is ok.

While driving and applying the turn signal the engine failed without warning. The cause has yet to be determined. Please provide any additional information.

Recurring a/c, electrical system, and window vibration problems have not been resolved by the manufacturer, despite numerous attempts. Was referred to a Buick regional rep, who consistently lied about the fact that Buick was aware of these problems in numerous (maybe all) 1998 Regals. When that didn't deter me and the truth established, he attempted to use physical threats to get me to back down. That didn't deter me either. Bbb arbitration process was a farce. Bbb admitted that the vehicle was considered a lemon, but their resolution was to let Buick have the car for an additional 30 day period to attempt to repair it. Neither the bbb, nor Buick followed the bbb's own arbitration rules. Buick rep and arbitrator both lied during the arbitration hearing, despite taking an oath at the beginning of the proceedings. These facts have been well documented, and were witnessed by another person who attended the hearing on my behalf. Ready to start legal proceedings to protect my rights and obtain a truly fair resolution compensate for these defects. Also want to make sure Buick doesn't treat other customers the way they have treated me.