Recall Register

1986 Buick Century: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1986 Buick Century. The newest campaign is 86V061000. NHTSA received the report on 13 May 1986. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System / Wiring / Rear Compartment/Trunk. NHTSA has 22 complaints on file for this model year. 3 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 86V061000, in the NHTSA record

Correctly index wiring harness terminals.
NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

2 campaigns, newest first. 969 units in total.

  1. 86V061000Received . 197 units.

    Electrical System / Wiring / Rear Compartment/Trunk

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    An incorrectly indexed wiring harness may cause the center high mounted stop lamp to remain illuminated when the headlights or parking lamps are on. Fmvss 108 lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment requires that this stop lamp be lighted only when the brakes are applied. Also, the opera lamps may come on when the brakes are applied. Consequence of defect: the center high mounted stop lamp provides additional warning that the vehicle is slowing or stopping. If this lamp malfunctions, it may contribute to a rear end accident.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Correctly index wiring harness terminals.

    Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 85V122000Received . 772 units.

    Electrical System / Alternator/Generator/Regulator

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The generator "bat" terminal located on the rectifier end frame may contact the carburetor fuel inlet pipe. Consequence of defect: the "bat" stud may rub through the terminal boot and contact the fuel pipe which could result in an underhood fire and cause burn injuries to the occupant.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Obtain clearance between fuel pipe and generator "bat" terminal by rotating the rectifier end frame.

    Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP..

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

22 complaints, 43 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

1986 Buick Century: component mentions in complaints
ComponentMentions
Engine and Engine Cooling12
Steering5
Electrical System4
Seat Belts4
Structure3
Suspension3
Visibility2
Unknown or Other2
Service Brakes, Hydraulic2
Service Brakes, Air2

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 14.

Complaints that report a crash
2
Complaints that report a fire
2
Injuries in the complaints
5
Deaths in the complaints
1
Date of the newest complaint
15 Jan 2004

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1986 Buick Century, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1995, with 11 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1986 Buick Century
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
PE91120Preliminary evaluationFRONT BRAKE DISC/HUB SEPService Brakes, Hydraulic30 Aug 19914 Nov 1991
EA87022Engineering analysisSTALLINGVehicle Speed Control / Linkages27 Aug 198727 Nov 1991
EA87006Engineering analysisPOWER ST. ASSISTSteering16 Dec 198619 Sep 1988

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 19733
  2. 19742
  3. 19752
  4. 19762
  5. 19773
  6. 19786
  7. 19795
  8. 19805
  9. 19813
  10. 19822
  11. 19831
  12. 19843
  13. 19850
  14. 19862
  15. 19870
  16. 19883
  17. 19891
  18. 19902
  19. 19912
  20. 19923
  21. 19932
  22. 19946
  23. 19951
  24. 19961
  25. 19972
  26. 19982
  27. 19993
  28. 20005
  29. 20013
  30. 20020
  31. 20030
  32. 20040
  33. 20050

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1986 Buick Century: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/buick/century/1986/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1986 Buick Century?
969 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Buick Century have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 55 recall campaigns for the Buick Century, model years 1973 to 2005. 2 of them name the 1986 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1986 Buick Century name most often?
Engine and Engine Cooling: 12 of 43 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1986 Buick Century open?
No. Each of the 3 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.