Buick Rainier vs Oldsmobile Silhouette

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Buick Rainier	Oldsmobile Silhouette
Complaints on file	525	1,277
Model years covered	2003–2007	1990–2004
Worst model year	2004	1999
Best model year	2007	1996
Crashes reported	33	65
Fires reported	24	27
Injuries reported	14	73
Deaths reported	0	5
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	13.5%	13.3%

Buick Rainier by year

1 205 158 117 44

03 04 05 06 07

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 147 28.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 93 17.7%

Lights 57 10.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 5.3%

Suspension 25 4.8%

Engine & Cooling 22 4.2%

Airbags 22 4.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 22 4.2%

Oldsmobile Silhouette by year

68 57 29 24 43 60 24 155 225 186 139 113 102 40 12

90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 179 14.0%

Body & Structure 120 9.4%

Lights 93 7.3%

Electrical System 86 6.7%

Brakes 86 6.7%

Steering 78 6.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 76 6.0%

Doors, Latches & Locks 74 5.8%