What breaks most · 1991 to 1999 model years
Buick Roadmaster problems by year
Owners have filed 330 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Buick Roadmaster across model years 1991 to 1999. Three years stand out: 1992 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 1994 for electrical system complaints and 1996 for steering complaints. The quietest years are 1991 and 1993.
- Years to check closely: 1992, 1994, 1996
- Fewest complaints: 1991, 1993
- Complaints on file
- 3301991 to 1999, all trims
- Worst year
- 199287 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 468 fires · 37 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 117kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 20Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 | 3 | Fuel system (2) | |
| 87 | 16 | 4 | Brakes (hydraulic) (25) | |
| 46 | 10 | 1 | Air bags (9) | |
| 85 | 11 | 5 | Electrical system (21) | |
| 50 | 4 | 5 | Electrical system (8) | |
| 52 | 3 | 2 | Steering (8) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Child Seat (1) |
What fails on the 1992 Buick Roadmaster
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 29% |
25 | 5 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1992 Buick Roadmaster |
| Seat belts | 13% |
11 | 1 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 11% |
10 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1992 Buick Roadmaster |
| Air bags | 11% |
10 | 9 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 10% |
9 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 1992 Buick Roadmaster |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 9% |
8 | 0 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1992 Buick Roadmaster |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 5% |
4 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 1992 Buick Roadmaster |
| Equipment and infotainment | 5% |
4 | 0 | — |
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.
-
Received notice #97v217000, and contacted dealer for an appointment for repairs of ABS modulator. ABS brakes were going out whenever applied. Dealer did not have parts for repairs. *ak
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Upon turning vehicle off key become stuck in the ignition switch. Vehicle was towed to dealership, technician replaced ignition switch. *ak
-
Car all of a sudden darts left then has a large amount play in steering . Then it may not do it for four or five days then it may go the other way. This is a high mileage car but i see where there is another one listed as doing the same thing.
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 Roadmaster years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1992, 1994, 1996 carry the most filings on the Buick Roadmaster. The 1992 alone has 87 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Buick Roadmaster problem?
On the 1992 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 25 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Buick Roadmaster problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Buick Roadmaster complaints that include mileage is about 117,000 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.