NHTSA — Exterior Lighting: Headlights Problems

CarComplaints.com Notes: The Buick Rainier is a replacement for the Oldsmobile Bravada, hopefully minus the transmission issues and AWD complaints.

7.0

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,630 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Buick Rainier lights problems

lights problem

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2004 Buick Rainier Owner Comments

problem #6

Feb 082006

Rainier 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At night, headlights flicker between dim to bright for no apparent reason. This has been an on going problems since April 2004. Buick service manager admits that this is a known problem but they have no idea how to fix it.

- Downingtown, PA, USA

problem #5

May 142004

Rainier

  • miles
AWD does not engage. Very dangerous on a slick road. Had SUV to dealer 3-4 times. They never fix the problem. Front wheels of SUV make grinding noise after a few hours of driving. Headlights go dim/and even turn off for a few seconds while driving at night. Took to dealer, of course no problem was found. Someone's going to be killed because of both these problems with the Buick Rainier.

- N. Tazewell, VA, USA

problem #4

Dec 012004

Rainier 4WD

  • Automatic transmission
  • 23,437 miles
Headlights flicker on/off, and GM doesn't have a solution for this problem. Have contacted the manufacturer, and they cannot fix it. This happens intermittently.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #3

Apr 022005

Rainier 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 17,150 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Headlights dim while driving at night. The headlights some times flicker bright to dim then back to bright and the voltage gauge fluctates. This has escalated to where for no reason the headlights will go dim for approximately 5 to 10 seconds then return to normal, at this time they go dim enough that you can't see when driving and have to pull over. The service manager has spoke to GM and Buick representitives for the past couple of days and was basically told: There is a problem - we're aware of it - we don't know how to fix it.

- Sharpsville, PA, USA

problem #2

Apr 072004

Rainier

  • miles
The vehicle's engine has been sputtering, missing and surging since it was purchased. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but they were unable to find the cause of the problem. The vehicle battery failed. Water leaked through the front driver's side floor. Water also leaked into the vehicle by the hood release lever when raining. The passenger's side fender rattled. Headlight assembly seemed loose. Rack and pinion leaked.

- Waipahu, HI, USA

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problem #1

Oct 282004

Rainier 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 11,190 miles
In October, 2003 I purchased a new 2004 Buick Rainier. A couple months later my wife and I were driving home one night and the headlights suddenly dimmed and then came back up. It happened at least twice that night. We took it to the dealer and reported the problem. They were fixing several other problems at the same time so we assumed it was fixed. Last week, October 28, 2004, I was driving on the freeway over a dark mountain pass when the headlights went completely off. They stayed off for 2 to 3 seconds before coming back on. Luckily, I didn't crash because the lights of a nearby semi kept me from crashing into the freeway barrier. I followed the semi after that because I was afraid they would go off again. A few miles down the road, in a narrow on-lane construction area the headlights dimmed several times but never went completely out. Hen I reported the problem to the dealer the next day he was absolutely willing to do anything to fix the problem and understood completely how dangerous it was. But, the GM representatives and corporate office refuses to even recognize that there is a problem because it hasn't been replicated in the shop so will not authorize our dealer to find the problem and fix it. The dealer has called GM several time and I have called several times. GM basically told me that they didn't care if I died and/or killed other people as far as they were concerned there was no problem.

- La Grande, OR, USA

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