- The problem
- Brake indicator light may not light when ignition is in the "on" position, the parking brake is applied, and the shift selector is in the park or neutral gear range.
- The risk
- Vehicles would not meet the requirements of fmvss 101and 105.
- The fix
- Replace the prom in the body computer module to prevent this condition from occurring.
Vehicle safety record
1990 Buick Reatta Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 29 complaints about the 1990 Buick Reatta with NHTSA, most often about the brakes (24) and the body, doors & structure (2). Those complaints describe 3 crashes. It is covered by 4 recalls, the latest in September 1991 for the lamp. For comparison, the 1989 has 11 and the 1991 has 2.
NHTSA data checked
FFar more problems than a typical Reatta year, for its age
#62 most complained-about 1990 vehicle
- Complaints
- 29
- Recalls
- 4
- Crashes
- 3
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Most common 1990 Buick Reatta problems
Share of all 29 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
1990 Buick Reatta recalls 4
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- Threaded inflator components may have been damaged during assembly which may allow components to separate when inflator receives a signal to deploy the air bag.
- The risk
- Inflator component separation allows hot combustion gasesto escape into the passenger compartment which could result in injuries to vehicle occupants.
- The fix
- Replace air bag modules containing potentially defective inflators.
- The problem
- Transaxle shift control cable may disengage from the from the floor shift control with loss of gear indicator reference and shift selector operation.
- The risk
- Driver would not be able to determine actual gearposition the transaxle is in, which could result in unexpected vehicle movementand an accident without prior warning.
- The fix
- Install a transaxle shift control cable retaining clip to prevent cable disengagement.
- The problem
- The forward sensor for the air bag may have been incorrectly constructed with part of the wiring harness to the sensor reversed.
- The risk
- The reversal of the wires could cause delay in the deployment of the air bag and increase the severity of the of injury to an unbelted driver in an accident.
- The fix
- Replace forward discriminating sensor as necessary.
What owners say
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29 complaints about the 1990 Buick Reatta
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 2.
We have had the car over 10 years and it had a hard pedal when you first start it up then as we use the brakes they work better
Complete failure of anti brake system on my 1990 buick reatta also-- as specifically reported from other reatta owners. Dealer states there are problems --- reatta internet sites states there are major problems --- nhtsa website list several complaints / personal accounts of abs failure. How many incidents / deaths will it take for buick or nhtsa to correct this factory / part defect? What a disgrace of public safety shown by buick and nhtsa. Dealer states oem replacement parts are available -- $1500.00-$2000.00. Same part manufacture, same continuous defect. *Jb
There is a serious design problem with the 1990 buick reatta. The car has an automatic heating and air conditioning system. This system will not allow you to turn on the defroster to clear the windshield from fogging up when the outside temperature is above 39 degrees fahrenheit if the car is low on freon. I realize that windshields clear up faster if the air is dehumidified by the air conditioning system. The computer of this system will not allow any air to be blown on the windshield if the freon pressure...
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switch detects low freon pressure. The system should allow air warm air to be blown on the windshield to defog the windshield. It is an unsafe design which will not allow you to defog your windshield because of a bad freon switch or because of low freon. In louisiana there are many days in which the windshield needs defogging due to high humidity or rain. *Jb
Failure of hydralic/abs brake system on my 1990 buick reatta convertible requiring replacement of entire brake master cylinder and abs system. *Ak
The abs system on this vehicle has had many problems since new. Many times the braking system would pull to one side and this is documented in repair orders at the dealer. Dealer never was able to find a problem at the time of the ro.In 1996 dealer replaced abs relays to correct concerns of abs system inopperable. The abs warning light has come on many times. Dealer not able to determine any problem. Then during july and august of 2000 more consistant problems began to occur. Very bad pull to one side upon braking ...
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on one occasion and a stiff pedal with greatly reduced braking effectiveness. Took to dealer for these problems , ro states red brake light and yellow abs warrning lights come on and stay on. Replaced accumulator. Left dealer and with in blocks warning light comes back on. Return to dealer and discuss replacement of entire braking system. Begin to do some research on web and find reatta owners group forum with many other complaints that are of the same nature involving the braking system. Buick, dealer and owner (me) split the 3291.91 Bill 3 ways after sevice manager and factory service rep. Review information gathered from the reatta owners forum. My feeling is that the teves braking system used by buick/general motors on many vehicles during the late 80. *Ak
Both times we experienced total brake failure. The brake pedal was "hard" (would not move). Both times there was no warning ie. No abs light on dash and no brake light on dash. Both time the failure occured while driving at a low rate of speed so there was no damage to the car or diver.
Brakes would not stop car while backing down driveway. Intermittent problem. Also have had brake failures at road speed where car swerves when brakes applied. Have taken car to dealer many times and they can't find anything wrong. Have contact with many reatta owners who have this same dangerous condition that can't be resolved by the dealer. *Ak
Individual component failures resulting in near misses on highway.
Intermitant failures where abs would either engage or wheels would lock and/or the car would lunge left or right. In 10 months numerous dealerships were never able to diagnose the problems, always said there were no problems with brake system on car.
Brake boost failed only once, after 500 miles of driving, then worked okay again for another 50 miles. No panel indicators showed. When braked hard I was able to slow the car down enough to make the curve at roadway exit. During this slow deceleration a whine or screech came out from under the hood. Checked with users group on web. They have started to see this problem within the past year and are not sure what caused this intermittant problem. Very dangerous situation with no warning.
In bumper/bumper traffic, 97 degrees, stop and go, abs brakes failed without warning. No lights on dash. At time was just barely moving. Checked fluid levels, okay, no leaks. Abs brakes just stopped working with no warning lights or other hints. Glad I was behind the wheel and not my wife.*Ak
While braking normally, brakes failed to grab, and may have resulted in potential damage to other cars. This has happened 2x before. *Ak
One side brakes harder than the other causing car to swerve. Have checked the buick reatta club home page and this is a too common problem. It has happened about every two weeks for years. We have properly maintained the car, but the dealers are at a loss of what to do. There are no warning lights when this happens and no codes set in the computer. I think this is a very dangerous situation, and buick should be required to at least research the problem and come up with a fix. I would be willing to pay as I don't want to die in my car.*Ak
Abs system completly failed with no warning, had to pump brakes and finaly came to a stop without hitting anything. Buick offered to pay one third of the repair cost then they backed out of that agreement. I have since found out through the buick owners of america that this is not a insolated problem. *Ak
Abs warning light came on then vehicle lost all braking ability. *Mjs
COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
I'm writing a second time about this problem because I read the complaints section of your website and found two more incidents suspiciously similar to my own. I also wrote about it on the buick reatta discussion page on the internet and one other person wrote in to say he experienced this problem. Since this is a catastropic failure of the brake system with no warning, I figure you guys would want to know about it. I think that this is not specific to reattas but would affect every buick/gm vehicle with the...
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same electronically controlled abs system. My mechanic said that the failure was due to a bad switch that controls the electric pump. The pump burned out. There should've been a dashboard warning about the problem when only the switch was burned out, but the sensor reading the switch had also failed!!! That left me with no brakes and no warning. There was no physical change in how the brakes felt until the total failure of the system!!! Since there were only about 4,000 reattas produced in 1990, it seems to me that the incidence of this problem is way too high to be ignored. If other buicks and gm vehicles have the same system, you are looking at a potentially huge problem out there. Please do something. *Ak
I am reporting this because apparently the brake system can fail in these cars with no warning. The mechanic thinks that a switch burned out, which let the electric pump run continuously until it burned out. There's a sensor that's supposed to notify the driver of this problem, but the sensor in my vehicle is apparently non-operative. There was no change in how the brakes "felt" when applied until the moment they simply failed. The lack of a sensor has led to an extremely costly repair (estimated at $2000 parts...
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& labor). More importantly, it allowed a situation wherein the brakes could fail with no dashboard warning to the driver. I took a complete loss on this car in trading it in. I was planning to sell it anyway, but I didn't have the cash to fix this huge problem, so I just traded it to the dealer unrepaired. Because of the non-operative brakes, I received $800 for a car with a blue book value of around $6,000. I want buick motor company to be aware of this problem and make sure every reatta on the road doesn't have a similarly faulty sensor that could let these other systems' failures go undetected. *Ak
While traveling at 30 to 40 mph a vehicle jump lanes in front of the reatta. Reatta, in turn, struck another vehicle in the rear that caused about $8000 in damages. Upon impact, the driver's side air bag did not deploy. Also, there were no injuries. Dealer has been contacted. *Ak
While driving at 35 mph master cylinder went out, causing consumer to have little braking power. Vehicle slowed down gradually and came to a stop. *Ak
ABS BRAKE FAILURE.
While driving at 45-50 mph the defective braking system caused the brake pedal to be hard, and one wheel locked up, causing an accident. *Ak
Abs brakes malfunction, pulls occasionally on rear left side. *Ak
The vehicle's frame has prematurely rusted and corroded, causing loss of vehicle control. *Ak
Buick Reatta: every year compared
All Reatta years1990 Buick Reatta vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Buick Reatta | 29 | 4 | F | |
| 1990 Buick Regal | 80 | 9 | F | Compare |
| 1990 Buick Lesabre | 50 | 1 | F | Compare |
| 1990 Buick Century | 33 | 2 | C | Compare |
| 1990 Buick Electra Park Ave | 20 | 0 | A | Compare |
| 1990 Buick Skylark | 19 | 2 | D | Compare |
| 1990 Buick Riviera | 17 | 5 | F | Compare |
| 1990 Buick Estate | 1 | 0 | A | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 1990 Buick Reatta
Does the 1990 Buick Reatta have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 4 recalls for the 1990 Buick Reatta: lamp (September 1991); frontal (October 1990); floor shift (September 1990); sensor / control module-inactive (February 1990). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 1990 Buick Reatta?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the brakes (24), body, doors & structure (2), airbags (1).
How many complaints has the 1990 Buick Reatta had?
29 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on November 30, 1995 and the latest on March 20, 2020. Of these, 3 describe a crash and 0 a fire, and together they report 0 injuries and 0 deaths.
Is the 1990 Buick Reatta a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 18 out of 100 (grade F: far more problems than a typical Buick Reatta year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Buick Reatta years have the most complaints?
1990 (29), 1989 (11), 1988 (10). See every Buick Reatta year compared.
What should I do if my 1990 Buick Reatta has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data