NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2005 Buick Rainier (Page 2 of 2)

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,525 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.

2005 Buick Rainier electrical problems

electrical problem

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2005 Buick Rainier Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #12

Dec 102012

Rainier 6-cyl

  • 60,800 miles

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

The speedometer does not read the correct speed. Sometimes while traveling at 55mph it will state I am only going 40 while other times it will state I am going 120. Sometime when I start my vehicle the needle will read below 0 and others it will read over 80 while just idling. This on top of the gas gauge not reading accurately, stating I am almost out of gas after I just filled it tells me there is something majorly wrong with the electronics on this make. All I had to do was put in the words "2005 Buick Rainier speedometer gas gauge failure" and found way to many incidents of the same problem. I contacted Buick and they are going to send me to have it looked at, I have a feeling they are going to charge me. And I think it should be their responsibility since it seems to be a prevalent issue and my vehicle only has 60K miles on it for an almost 8 year old car. If I have to pay for it, it will be the last GM car I purchase. Especially since my grand daughter is getting of driving age and I wanted to pass this on to her.

- Ocala, FL, USA

problem #11

Feb 062012

Rainier 6-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
The speedometer has begun registering significantly higher speeds than the vehicle is traveling. At one point, a gps device in the vehicle indicated a speed of 55, and the speedometer for the vehicle registered more than 100 mph. In other cases, when standing still, the speedometer showed a speed of 35 mph. Subsequently, and intermittently, the speedometer works correctly, and then reverts to defective mode. GM advised that the vehicle was out of warranty and that the cost of repair would have to be borne by the vehicle owner, even if it was a safety issue. A GM dealer in Vermont indicated that the entire "bundle" for the instrument panel would have to be replaced. When given the ok to proceed, the dealership said that new bundles were no longer available, and rebuilt bundles would have to be used - and none were currently available. They suggested leaving the vehicle, removing the bundle and sending it away for rebuilding, and then installing it back into the vehicle. I declined that offer. The defective speedometer problem continues today, and I have to believe that the unavailability of new bundles, if correct, means that this is likely a widespread problem and potentially major safety issue.

- No Bennington, VT, USA

problem #10

Jan 152012

Rainier 6-cyl

  • 105,000 miles
We no sooner have our gas gauge fixed and then the speedometer stops working. At first it would move back and forth between 0 and 120 mph. Now it just stays on 120 mph. Since the speedometer stopped working half of the dash board lights now no longer work, neither power seat work and last week the power windows in the back seat stopped working. Obviously there is a major problem with the electrical system in this make/model because we are not the only ones with these problems.

- Westwood, NJ, USA

problem #9

Aug 012011

Rainier

  • miles

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

The speedometer began sticking appx 70,000mi. In summer 2011. I contacted my local dealer an they stated the panel needs replaced @ a cost $450 and only 5 to 10mph off at the time. I let it go at that time. Since then the alt. Gauge started jumping(changed battery) still jumping. Now the oil pressure gage bottomed out and I was out of town. Had this checked out and the panel needs replaced now. Since the oil pressure went out this is now a safety issue! do I trust the elec. Panel? (no!). since numerous complaints, it's time for the manufacture to fix this problem! this is a costly repair and I'll have to have it fix now.

- Litchfield, IL, USA

problem #8

Feb 032012

Rainier 8-cyl

  • 68,500 miles
Fuel system sensor was the first to malfunction. Then the oil gauge is malfunctioning and now air suspension and other systems are starting to not work properly.

- Monroe, ME, USA

problem #7

Nov 012010

Rainier 8-cyl

  • miles
Instrument cluster/speedometer does not display correct speed. Speedometer fluctuates from 0 to 100mph at various speeds.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #6

May 172010

Rainier 6-cyl

  • 63,000 miles

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

Gas gauge failed reads less than 1/8 tank. Warning for low fuel alarm comes on even after full fill-up. Check emission light periodically turns on.

- Blacklick, OH, USA

problem #5

Jan 162007

Rainier

  • 28,426 miles
Gas gauge is erratic, goes from empty to full and full to empty leaving you with no idea how much fuel you have. When slowing down or turning, vehicle lunges or stalls. Also, low beam headlights will go off with no warning and takes time to re-light. Low beams also tend to flicker to dim.

- Lynn Haven, FL, USA

problem #4

Dec 262010

Rainier

  • 60,000 miles
Instrument cluster going crazy. Speedometer reading 80 when going 45 (I'm estimating obviously because I have no idea exactly how fast), fuel gauge working when it wants to. Feel unsafe in this vehicle. Dealer will not repair faulty cluster. Estimated $600. When I research many GM vehicles have been recalled for this (stepper motors) but not my vehicle. Funny, when they sold it to me they told me it was exactly like the Tahoe. Tahoe has recall, why not my Buick Rainier?

- Biglerville, PA, USA

problem #3

Feb 282009

Rainier

  • 39,000 miles
The speedometer has completely and instantly stopped working. To the best my knowledge the odometer appears to be working but cannot validate. The vehicle has less than 40K miles on it. I noticed several other complaints regarding speedometer issues and don't feel I the consumer should be responsible for the expense of this costly repair. GM has not recalled due to this problem. It's unfortunate the warranty period is expired, but this vehicle has very low usage and low mileage, where I don't feel this type of problem should be occurring. Please provide your response. Thank you.

- Stanley, WI, USA

problem #2

Jun 172008

Rainier

  • 55,000 miles
My 2005 Buick Rainier had 55,000 miles on it when my speedometer went on the blitz. The speedometer was stuck at 60 mph and would continue to rise until it was pegged past 120 mph while traveling on the highway. This has been going on intermittently for about 9 months. Now my speedometer may stop working completely while traveling down the road. My mother has a 2004 Rainier and she is having problems with multiple gauges including the speedometer. Ac delco identified the problem to be a defective stepper motor in the gauge cluster but GM has not recalled the vehicles and it is a costly repair that I believe the consumer should not have to pay for. Please look into this trouble in more detail as I've searched your site and several people have complained about the same symptoms in not only Buick but the Chevrolet trailblazer as well. Thanks.

- Bahama, NC, USA

problem #1

Dec 012008

Rainier

  • 68,000 miles
The lower instrument panel display, that shows the odometer, fuel mileage etc, does not always come on. I have had the display show up prior to starting, while in "run" but not started and then not come on after starting. Most of the time it will come on the next time I start the vehicle after letting it sit for a minute or two.. even more recently the fuel gauge did not go up to full after adding fuel, the needle bounced on full and then when I placed the vehicle into drive it went back to empty, then thirty seconds later it went back to full. Fortunately at that point the display was working and the range immediately went to zero, leaving me with no information on the fuel. The fuel gauge has also dropped to empty unexpectedly while driving. The problems are irritating and intermittent at this point, and chasing it down is next to impossible. I would also like to note that when the fuel gauge did its dance from E to F to E to F that the check engine light also came on. Unfortunately I am not able to get my obdii scanner to work on the car yet, to determine the problem, that may have to do with I have older software. The engine light is now off so I may never figure out what went wrong.

- Clio, MI, USA

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