10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,542 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.

2011 Buick Regal engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Buick Regal:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2011 Buick Regal Owner Comments (Page 2 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #82

Sep 012018

Regal

  • 164,000 miles

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

Motor has very high oil consumption. Going through 5 quarts or more before system indicates the vehicle needs a oil change. Engine has a loud rattling noise at start up.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #81

Aug 262019

Regal

  • 123,964 miles
Whenever I am driving my vehicle for an hour it starts to stall or sputter in traffic and the engine dies completely. It will restart but still continues to hesitate when accelerating. I've taken it to a mechanic and no error codes pop up when this happens so they do not know the cause or how to fix the issue.

- Richmond, IN, USA

problem #80

Jan 042019

Regal

  • 83,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Regal. While driving approximately 25 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated intermittently, which caused the vehicle to go into limp mode. The contact mentioned that the vehicle failed to accelerate more than 1 mph. In addition, the vehicle needed to be restarted in order to operate. The contact called vision Buick GMC (800 panorama trail S, rochester, NY 14625, (585) 200-3905) and informed them of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #79

Jul 112019

Regal

  • 67,000 miles

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

Engine and brakes seized up on me without warning while driving in a parking lot, low speed. Took it in to my mechanic and found out there was an oil consumption issue, even though I was 2K miles under the next change I was also 2 qts low.

- Downers Grove, IL, USA

problem #78

Jul 062019

Regal

  • 60,000 miles
2011 Buick Regal purchased from show room floor in 2011. Presentative maintenance up to date. No warning lights. Something terribly wrong with transmission, engine. While driving on city street approaching interstate at 25 mph, car starting stalling, puttering, losing power. Pulled over, put in park. Then car would not go into gear. Would accelerate but would not go into gear or move. Had to be towed. First thing dealer service center suggest is $3000 transmission. Car only has 60,000 miles, one owner. No way! no prior symptoms or warning lights, in fact onstar diagnostics currently showing no issues found with engine/transmission system. This car is unsafe and should be recalled!!! 2011 Buick Regal diagnostics report from your 2011 Buick Regal as of 07/08/2019 no issues found

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

problem #77

Jun 022019

Regal

  • 88,000 miles
Back on February 9th, 2019 I had an oil change and received whatever premium-ultra synthetic oil they had. This oil was rated up to 9,000 miles I believe. As I was heading in for an oil change on the morning of June 2nd, 2019 the car suddenly locked with brakes and steering becoming extremely stiff. I was driving when this occurred but had been coming to a stop with nobody in front of me luckily. Had this happened 15 seconds before as I was going 55mph around a curve, I would have undoubtedly killed myself or someone else. There was no ability to steer the car or brake. When I took the car to the dealership they told me the engine would require a complete rebuild, costing seven-thousand-dollars. They claim it was caused by a "lack of maintenance (ie. Not keeping up on oil changes)". the lack of oil then caused the timing chain to break, which then further damaged intake valves, head gaskets, balance chain, etc. Now I know February 9th and June 2nd is nearly four months apart, however, in that time I had put less than 2,000 miles on the car. How was I supposed to know that my ultra synthetic oil which is rated for four times longer, in a car that in that time had been reported to burn oil, and doesn't have an oil level sensor, would burn oil? in my mind this isn't a lack of maintenance, it is GM's lack of communication. GM never informed me of any issues regarding oil burn, yet they supposedly require technicians to roll back the sensor because of this very issue. I should also mention that miraculously the car wasn't giving any outward signs of distress including extra noise, loud idle, handling differences or anything. While my situation ended with no injuries, after reading about this issue I am one of the lucky ones. This issue is not only unjustly draining bank accounts but also costing lives.

- Spring Lake, MI, USA

problem #76

Jan 012019

Regal

  • 154,000 miles

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

Had to replace engine because of detergent in recommended engine oil. With the yearly oil change and high detergent levels it eats away at seals and gasket.

- Rockford, IL, USA

problem #75

Apr 012019

Regal

  • 50,000 miles
The car was very noisy at start up. Had the oil changed, the noise was better for a while but came back in less than 2 months and now it is constant. The car will stall out in the middle of driving. I will lose everything, electrical and power steering. This would happen whether or not on a highway or during city driving. Engine light came on and I took it to my mechanic. Mechanic told me it was in reduce power mode. Camshaft coralation code.

- West Deptford, NJ, USA

problem #74

Apr 132019

Regal

  • 75,000 miles
Timing chain tensioner failed at just less than 75,000 miles. I've been told by 2 different mechanics that it would be easier to replace the entire engine than get the pieces out of the engine.

- Muncie, IN, USA

problem #73

Oct 182018

Regal

  • 55,000 miles
Nyb car has less than 69K miles and is burning through oil. I bought it used and the dealer liked warranty ended before problems started. My check engine light came on within the first 2000 miles of me driving and the dealer wanted to charge me another $200 for a diagnostic. So I went to a mechanic and he said the engine was burning through oil faster than it should. At this point the car had turned off while under 10mph twice which is dangerous as the brakes lock up along with steering becoming very stiff. A mechanic did work on the car replacing plugs and other parts that had been damaged fue to the oil being gone, but the same engine is still in the car. Now less than a year later along with regular oil changes the car still burns through oil. The engine causes the car to rock when at idle and when moving under 5mph. My fear is that ive car will shut off again. This is a fault of Buick for designing an engine that can't hold oil.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #72

Mar 082019

Regal

  • 10 miles

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

Engine of my car acts weird and I took it to the mechanic shop and they say theres nothing wrong

- Elgin, IL, USA

problem #71

Feb 052019

Regal

  • 93,000 miles
Our cur completely shut off all power lights engine everything doing 80 mph on interstate 84 in Idaho. A semi seen it happen jumped in the middle of both lanes to block traffic so we could get to the shoulder. In a no cell phone area 13 we disconnected the battery and had to shift srive it in limp mode. No alert lights came on we took it yo a certified dealer to find the pistons, timing chain and other things are ntoken GM/ Buick was notified they decided to decline assistance because we are out of warranty 93K miles on the car and over 5,000$ in repair and possibly another 2100$ to repair the cadilitic converter. We were in a no cell service area and had to drive in the shoulder now the headlights won't turn on at all either. The car never alert us it just shut off the dealer says the oil was very low again no oil light came on with that yhe dealer says therecould be a BCM/ECM communication issue costing $1200 to $2500 to fix. They can't assess completely until the piston/ timing belt issue is fixed but the car is not communicating the steering is now super tight and the only yhing it says now is service stibilatrac and the mechanic didn't even bring that

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #70

Jan 152018

Regal

  • 130,000 miles
Timing chain engine failure

- Chester, SC, USA

problem #69

Dec 172018

Regal

  • 85,000 miles
Icar only has approx 86,000 miles. Was riding down street car shut off. It turned right back on but it was making a very loud noise. Parked it. Next morning went to start it and it wouldn't. had timing silenoids and starter changed. Car is read no codes and it still went start. Had taken to another shop for second opinion. They said I needed a motor. Where am I to get $2800

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

problem #68

Dec 182018

Regal 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Regal. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and an abnormal noise was heard coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to Liberty Buick GMC (9028 E independence blvd, matthews, nc 28105, (704) 708-8000) where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. On another occasion, while driving, there was an abnormal noise coming from the engine. It was discovered that the engine oil was below the low marker on the dipstick. The contact was informed that there was no oil leak evident; however, there was an excessive amount of oil consumption. The vehicle was not repaired a second time. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and provided case number: [xxx]. the approximate failure mileage was 64,000. Consumer stated transmission and engine failed. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #67

Dec 032018

Regal

  • 141,000 miles
While driving on the highway at 70 miles per hour, car completely shut off. Loss of engine power and car would not restart. Prior to that, entine car shook violently right before the shut down. I was driving on an interstate with light traffic. Car is extremely unsafe.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #66

Nov 132018

Regal

  • 82,500 miles
2.4 L 4cyl engine burning excessive oil between oil changes

- Depew, NY, USA

problem #65

Oct 012018

Regal

  • 82,000 miles
Piston ring failure causing massive oil consumption timing chain tensioner failure

- Kimball, MI, USA

problem #64

Oct 282018

Regal

  • 69,000 miles
Check engine light on. Code P0011 present. Indicating over-advanced camshaft position sensor. While performing a U-turn, the vehicle died/lost engine power and steering locked in place in the middle of the road. The vehicle was spread across three lanes, as I was in the middle of my U-turn, with oncoming traffic approaching. Luckily, I was able to start the car back up and regain control just as traffic neared my position. Almost deadly situation. Also noticing engine hesitation as well as shaking of the vehicle while idling.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #63

Sep 122018

Regal

  • 84,000 miles
Tamara recall; my Buick regeal is 2011 with 84000 mileage. A frustrating rotting/granding noise comes out from the engine from the car ignition turn on to accelerating FR0-25mph, before the annoying noise stop. Engine also misfire and car dies when it likes; stability control indicate on the screen. When check online, lots of people have complained about the same problem and how difficult for it to be resolve as many things brocken can cause the problems.

- Bedford, MA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?