1997 Buick Riviera Problems, complaints & recalls

I have a 1997 buick riviera that has a security light problem. I try to crank the car and sometimes it will crank other times it wont. I am a young male that normally travels back and forth to work but some morning's all I can do is pray. It never really bothered me before I have been told that I have the patience of a slug. But today I was pulled over because the brake light in my window was out long story short. I asked the officer if I could leave the car running because of the security problem while he checked...

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 buick riviera. The contact stated the vehicle was parked when he noticed there was a puddle of oil on the engine due to an oil leak from the valve covers. The contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling) but did not confirm if the vehicle was included in the recall. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 170,000.

On the night of august 11, 2009 my car caught on fire. My husband was driving home form the grocery store one night, as he was driving down the street when he smelled a burning smell coming from the car, he immediately pulled over to see were it was coming from. When he got out of the car he seen a cloud of smoke coming from the bottom of the vehicle, he lifted up the hood in saw flames coming from passengers side of the car under the hood, he went into the facilities to were he pulled over and got a fire...

Steering column/wheel started a little wiggle room, (wouldn't lock into place after adjusting position). Within about a month or so it was not drivable. It would not stay in a fixed position at all. In september 2006 we took it in to be repaired. They had to find and rebuild another steering column. It cost us almost $1000 dollars, plus the cost of a rental for about ten (10) days. The biggest reason I'm writing this now is because, it has broken again. (It is the same exact thing as before). I am wanting to...

This morning I tried to start the car to get my kids to school, I turn the key but the engine didn't start, immediately a big loud explosion (the car never started), then smoke came out from under the hood, I got out to open the hood and fire was coming out of the engine right next dashboard near the driver side.....The fire department had to come to get the fire out. *Tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 buick riviera. The contact noticed small flames erupting from underneath the vehicle. Smoke immediately appeared from the front end of the vehicle, followed by flames under the hood. The failure occurred without warning. The fire department was called to the scene and a report was filed. There were no personal injuries or property damage. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The insurance company and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The mileages were unknown.

Gm has recalled 1997-2002 pontiac grand prix and buick regals wit the 3.8 Liter supercharged v-6 engines for oil leaking and burning on the exhaust manifold causing some 267 known fires. I have a 1997 buick riviera 3.8 Liter supercharged engine which has begun doing the same thing recently. I have not seen the riviera included in any web search but I am sure gm is trying to get by without repairing as many 3.8 Supercharged as possible. *Tr

Vehicle - 1997 buick riveria 3.8 L supercharged engine -- oil leak from front valve cover gasket -- recall just released for 1997-2003 buick regal and grand prix but left the riveria out of the recall list for the exact same engine --- I replaced the gasket myself (very expensive gasket) - 11/05 -- and feel that gm should at least reimburse me for the gasket ---. *Tr

1997 Buick rivera. Consumer was driving onto the turnpike upon stopping at the toll plaza he noticed smoke and smelled plastic burning. Consumer pulled over and the vehicle burst into flames. *Mc ohio traffic crash report. *Tr

POWER STEERING RACK FAILURE WHILE DRIVING. *AK

Dt: the contact owns a 1997 buick riviera. The paint is beginning to peel off from the hood of the car. She contacted gm , and they checked for open recalls, and they wanted her to file a complaint. *Ak

Dt: consumer states that when security light is on the vehicle will not start. Consumer has to wait 2-3 minutes, sometimes longer, and the vehicle will start.*Ak

While pulling out of a parking space the front passenger wheel completely disengaged. *Jb *sc

1997 Buick rivera ... Driving down highway-hole worn into high pressure freon discharge hose-freon sprayed throughout engine compartment and onto drive belts-belt broke and wrapped around harmonic balancer - broke teeth and crank sensor- engine died immediately-loss of power steering, braking, etc., Dead car hard to control - towed to gm dealer - dealer replaced all parts ($900.00) - Gm mechanics and service manager all agreed to buick design flaw - steel manifold for freon hoses is formed in such a way to cause...

We have a '97 riviera with paint problems...If the paint becomes chipped or scratched, temperature changes cause the paint to shrink and expand (moreso when the weather turns colder) and unless I break the sheets of peeling paint off, it keeps spreading. This exposes the gray metal sealer. I'd be glad to send you a sample of the paint (champainge pearl) while supplies last. *Jb

The sending unit failed three times. The first time at 44,000 miles, second time at 67,000 miles, and third time at 80,000 miles. The unit was replaced. Consumer did not know how much gas was actually in the vehicle. *Ak the sending unit had bare and melted components. *Tc

Jack for my 1997 buick riviera collapsed when I tried to change tire. Fortunately, I had not removed the flat tire yet and was not injured. This was the first time I had ever used the jack since the car was new. I still have the defective jack. I also own a 1995 buick riviera and its jack is much sturdier and has never been a problem. I showed the broken jack to my auto mechanic. He said the jack was unsafe and never should have been part of the equipment for the car. He said the jack was too small and lightweight for the buick riviera. I could have been seriously injured if I had been under the car or attempting to replace the flat tire when the jack collapsed.*Ak

Paint is peeling in several different areas ranging from the front hood to the back sides.

When turning the steering wheel to the left, the power steering went out and the steering wheel was extremely hard to turn. Please provide any additional information. *Nm

1997 Buick riviera with 3800 engine has a plastic intake manifold that degrades and leaks coolant into the engine and causes hydrolock, thereby rendering the vehicle useless. This can happen anywhere at anytime and leave you stranded and is an ongoing problem with this engine type. Gm issued a service bulletin on this problem in july of 2001 (tsb 01-06-01-007a) and the dealership service people that I have talked to have indicated that this is a known and ongoing problem with this type of engine. I have...

Consumer noticed steering wheel would not turn left or right while traveling over puddles. *Ak

As I turned the switch on, the car back fired and then smoke started coming in the car and it was smoking from under the hood. The car was parked in the driveway, I immediately got out. My husband who had heard the back fire from inside the house, opened the hood, and the fire was already blazing. We tried to put the fire out but ended up calling the fire department. The care was completely destroyed. *Jb

The consumer says that the vehicle began to not start, except after turning the key to start, then wait exactly 3 minutes and it would start each time with no failures. All the power worked except no start or noise and no crank without security read out by the speedometer. The consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealer without out failure and they stated that they started the vehicle 25-30 times with out failure. The dealer removed the dash in order to repair, and it now has a rattle in the dash. *Scc

Consumer states that while driving at 35 mph on gravel road and no warning the air bag inadvertently deploy causing the consumer to pull over. Dealer notified. Mr consumer also stated that the dealer refused to fix defect due to the miles on the vehicle. Ph 09-dec-2002

Vehicle is subject to having difficulty restarting once it has been shut off. The owner would have to wait several minutes or longer before the vehicle would restart. Was told by dealership that the problem is the computer and they can not replace it. Nlm