When I had an oil change at about 32,000 miles the mechanic indicated the oil was a quart low. I had the cooling system flushed at about 50,000 miles and the mechanic noted oil in the antifreeze. At 55,000 miles the car now needs a new intake manifold gasket at a cost of $800 to $900. GM faces a class action lawsuit in Canada for this same problem and many U.S. blogs indicate this is a common problem. Service stations are reporting that this failure is common and due to a design defect. The warranty expired at 36,000 miles. Because of this, Buick says it has no responsibility for this problem. In addition to the gasket problem, I had to replace the wipe blade mechanism and leaking wheel bearings. These, too, were premature problems and not due to any abuse or neglect of car maintenance. GM will not recognize a history of problems due to the fact I went to a local precision tune for maintenance. The dealership I purchased the car from moved about 45 minutes away from my home making it very inconvenient to go there for maintenance.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

Wipers have failed twice during moderate to heavy rain. Wiper arms get out of sync and hang up together in middle of windshield. Dealer has charged to tighten nut on blades, but has not resolved the problem. Last incident occurred on a crowded bridge at night in the driving rain creating a very unsafe situation.

- Beaufort, SC, USA

Windshield wipers stop in the verticle position. This has happened twice, the first time it was repaired under warranty on 10/17/03. Crank arm broken. It happened during snow storms, the wipers failed after a couple of inches of light snow got on the windshield.

- North Billerica, MA, USA