Recall Register

1985 Buick Regal: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for the 1985 Buick Regal. The newest campaign is 88V014000. NHTSA received the report on 8 Jan 1988. The NHTSA record gives the component Exterior Lighting / Headlights / Switch. NHTSA has 9 complaints on file for this model year. 5 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, 88V014000, in the NHTSA record

Replace headlight switch with modified switch.
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

8 campaigns, newest first. 790,256 units in total.

  • 88V014000Exterior Lighting / Headlights / Switch
  • 87V124000Structure
  • 86V030000Vehicle Speed Control / Springs
  • 85V114000Equipment / Other / Labels
  • 85V049000Structure / Body / Bumpers
  • 85V047000Visibility / Windshield
  • 84V154000Seat Belts / Front / Retractor
  • 84V124000Steering / Linkages / Tie Rod Assembly

  1. 88V014000Received . 179,390 units.

    Exterior Lighting / Headlights / Switch

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Under extended headlamp usage, circuitry in the headlamp switch panel might experience increased resistance and excessive heat buildup.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Headlights would cycle on and off. Sudden loss ofheadlights under severe weather or nightimer driving conditions could resultin a vehicle crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Replace headlight switch with modified switch.

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

  2. 87V124000Received . 261,171 units.

    Structure

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Small cracks may develop in the body pillar around the door striker bolt hole.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Cracks would increase leading to difficulty in closingthe door and might allow door to come open during a crash, increasinglikelihood of injury to occupants.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Install inner and outer reinforcement plate on both left and right body pillars.

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

  3. 86V030000Received . 135,623 units.

    Vehicle Speed Control / Springs

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The throttle return spring assembly may fail preventing the throttle from returning to the closed (idle) position when the accelerator pedal is released. Consequence of defect: engine speed may not decrease and loss of accelerator control could result in an accident without prior warning.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Replace throttle return spring.

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

  4. 85V114000Received . 6,735 units.

    Equipment / Other / Labels

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The certification label located on the left front door did not include a required federal certification statement. Consequence of defect: vehicles do not comply with federal regulation 567.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Labels containing correct information are being mailed and should be installed on the left front door.

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

  5. 85V049000Received . 196,939 units.

    Structure / Body / Bumpers

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The rear bumper may fracture during a rear end collision, puncture the fuel tank, and cause a fuel leak. Consequence of defect: a fuel leak creates the potential for a fire which could result in burn injuries to persons in or near the car.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Replace the rear bumper brackets and the "l" shaped reinforcement with a "u" shaped full reinforcement.

    Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP..

  6. 85V047000Received . 20 units.

    Visibility / Windshield

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    A loss of bonding adhesion between the paint and the windshield opening area could allow the windshield to separate during a 30 mile per hour frontal barrier test required by FMVSS 212, windshield retention. Consequence of defect: windshield separation during an accident could result in an unbelted occupant being ejected from the car and severly injured.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Remove and reinstall windshield if a lack of paint bonding is evident.

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

  7. 84V154000Received . 19 units.

    Seat Belts / Front / Retractor

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The vehicles were assembled with front seat belt retractors which may not perform adequately during a collision.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    The dealer will replace the left and right front seat belt retractors free of charge.

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

  8. 84V124000Received . 10,359 units.

    Steering / Linkages / Tie Rod Assembly

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The tie rods are part of the steering linkage and transmit turning movements to the wheels. The bolts that fasten the tie rods to their adjusters may not be tight enough. This could allow the tie rod to loosen and detach itself from the adjuster.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    The tie rod end bolts will be tightened without cost to the owner.

    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

9 complaints, 10 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.

1985 Buick Regal: component mentions in complaints
ComponentMentions
Service Brakes, Hydraulic3
Engine and Engine Cooling3
Vehicle Speed Control2
Electrical System1
Steering1
Complaints that report a crash
1
Complaints that report a fire
0
Injuries in the complaints
0
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
3 May 2001

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 1985 Buick Regal, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1995, with 2 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1985 Buick Regal
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
PE90014Preliminary evaluationCRUISE CONTROL FAILUREEquipment31 Oct 198928 Feb 1990
PE89145Preliminary evaluationPARKING BRAKE CABLEParking Brake21 Jul 198922 Sep 1989
PE89104Preliminary evaluationJAMMED STEERING MECHANISMSteering17 Mar 198912 May 1989
PE88027Preliminary evaluationHEADLAMP SWITCH FAILUREExterior Lighting9 Feb 198811 May 1988
EA86025Engineering analysisWINDSHIELD WIPERSVisibility25 Aug 19862 Mar 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. 19731
  2. 19742
  3. 19752
  4. 19762
  5. 19773
  6. 19786
  7. 19794
  8. 19805
  9. 19813
  10. 19822
  11. 19831
  12. 19844
  13. 19858
  14. 19864
  15. 19872
  16. 198810
  17. 19897
  18. 19908
  19. 19916
  20. 19922
  21. 19932
  22. 19943
  23. 19958
  24. 19963
  25. 19977
  26. 19986
  27. 19996
  28. 20008
  29. 20016
  30. 20023
  31. 20033
  32. 20042
  33. 20050
  34. 20080
  35. 20090
  36. 20100
  37. 20114
  38. 20126
  39. 20135
  40. 20142
  41. 20150
  42. 20161
  43. 20183
  44. 20193
  45. 20202

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. 1985 Buick Regal: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/buick/regal/1985/. 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
29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
15 May 2019
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 1985 Buick Regal?
790,256 units in 8 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Buick Regal have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 98 recall campaigns for the Buick Regal, model years 1973 to 2020. 8 of them name the 1985 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1985 Buick Regal name most often?
Service Brakes, Hydraulic: 3 of 10 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1985 Buick Regal open?
No. Each of the 5 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.