What breaks most · 1990 to 2005 model years
Buick Park Avenue problems by year
Owners have filed 1,297 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Buick Park Avenue across model years 1990 to 2005. Three years stand out: 1998 for engine and cooling complaints, 1997 for seat belts complaints and 1999 for engine and cooling complaints. The quietest years are 1990, 2002 and 2003.
- Years to check closely: 1998, 1997, 1999
- Fewest complaints: 1990, 2002, 2003
- Complaints on file
- 12971990 to 2005, all trims
- Worst year
- 1998246 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 67119 fires · 59 injuries · 2 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 75kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 23Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 0 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (4) | |
| 92 | 14 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (56) | |
| 77 | 10 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (21) | |
| 64 | 7 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (21) | |
| 48 | 5 | 0 | Body and structure (11) | |
| 117 | 5 | 1 | Steering (22) | |
| 59 | 2 | 3 | Air bags (10) | |
| 219 | 5 | 3 | Seat belts (52) | |
| 246 | 7 | 2 | Engine and cooling (97) | |
| 140 | 2 | 3 | Engine and cooling (39) | |
| 81 | 3 | 3 | Engine and cooling (14) | |
| 57 | 3 | 2 | Electrical system (11) | |
| 32 | 3 | 1 | Electrical system (7) | |
| 33 | 1 | 1 | Engine and cooling (7) | |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | Exterior lighting (3) | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | Wheels (3) |
What fails on the 1998 Buick Park Avenue
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 39% |
97 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
| Seat belts | 13% |
32 | 1 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 11% |
28 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 11% |
27 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 7% |
17 | 1 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 5% |
13 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 5% |
12 | 1 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 5% |
12 | 0 | Shop steering parts for the 1998 Buick Park Avenue |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Loss of coolant internally to combustion/compression chambers, hydro locked engine, thick smoke from engine exhaust, coolant mixing into oil, unstable temperature requiring vehicle stoppage to avoid overheating/fire, car will not run. Intake manifold failure and head gasket damage.
-
Engine oil is leaking from the front valve cover of the 3.8l supercharged engine and dripping on the front exhaust manifold.
-
1999 buick park ave v6=3800 3 8l shot fire apx. 6 feet per firemen on duty that witnessed this. The motor shook. Upper intake, intake set, valve cover set, pcv, oil pressure switch, both converters and still not fixed.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Buick Park Avenue years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1998, 1997, 1999 carry the most filings on the Buick Park Avenue. The 1998 alone has 246 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Buick Park Avenue problem?
On the 1998 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 97 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Buick Park Avenue problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Buick Park Avenue complaints that include mileage is about 75,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.