FaultScore

Worst years for a Buick Skylark

Owners have filed 753 complaints about the Buick Skylark with NHTSA across model years 1981 to 2000. More of them are about the brakes than anything else.

Avoid

1997 Buick Skylark

111 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly brakes.

Cleanest on record

1998 Buick Skylark

34 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Buick Skylark year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2000 1 0 0 Electrical System
1998 B 34 2 0 96,000 Electrical System
1997 D 111 9 0 55,016 Brakes
1996 D 116 12 1 96,140 Brakes
1995 C 119 9 4 90,000 Electrical System
1994 C 95 10 4 110,000 Engine & Cooling
1993 C 54 5 0 Brakes
1992 48 4 6 Brakes
1991 46 7 1 Engine & Cooling
1990 37 1 1 138,000 Electrical System
1989 18 0 2 Engine & Cooling
1988 17 3 2 Brakes
1986 10 0 0 Engine & Cooling
1985 11 0 3 Engine & Cooling
1984 27 0 1 Steering
1983 1 0 0 Brakes
1982 3 0 0 Brakes
1981 5 0 0 Engine & Cooling

What breaks on a Buick Skylark

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Brakes 123 16.3%

Worst in 1997

Electrical System 121 16.1%

Worst in 1995

Engine & Cooling 114 15.1%

Worst in 1994

Airbags 53 7.0%

Worst in 1996

Steering 43 5.7%

Worst in 1994

Worst in 1995

Worst in 1991

Seat Belts 32 4.2%

Worst in 1996

Worst in 1990

Lights 25 3.3%

Worst in 1995

Body & Structure 24 3.2%

Worst in 1997

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 21 2.8%

Worst in 1996

Suspension 19 2.5%

Worst in 1997

Seats 17 2.3%

Worst in 1991

Exactly what failed on a Buick Skylark

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Gasoline 52 21.1%
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 46 18.7%
Frontal 28 11.4%
Ignition 24 9.8%
Switch 20 8.1%
Engine 18 7.3%
Foundation Components 16 6.5%
Horn 15 6.1%
Automatic Transmission 14 5.7%
Anchorage 13 5.3%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Buick Skylark, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Jan 1995 peak 26 Dec 2017

Buick Skylark problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Buick Skylark

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.