10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 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.

1997 Buick Riviera transmission problems

transmission problem

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1997 Buick Riviera Owner Comments

problem #3

Jul 012001

Riviera

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

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

Goes out of high gear while driving between 35-65.

- Washington, NC, USA

problem #2

Mar 162000

(reported on)

Riviera

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle started making noises under the hood. Also, when putting in reverse the rpms would move, but the vehicle would not. Dealer said vehicle needed new transmission..

- Alachua, FL, USA

problem #1

Nov 011999

Riviera

  • miles
After stopping at an uncontrolled intersection, my front bumper was into the traffic lane so I backed up about two feet in case a car was coming from my left that I might not see. I shifted back into drive almost immediately so I could proceed across the lanes and complete my left turn. The transmission was slow to engage completely into drive and lurched for a few seconds before it let me accelerate into my left turn. I was almost broadsided on my right as this transmission needed a long pause before engaging from reverse to drive. I have had this transmission opened up and repaired by my Buick dealer twice in two years. Buick has published multiple service bulletins dealing with harsh shifting from reverse to drive and also harsh shifting in general. I took the car again into don snell Buick on Tuesday, November 2 and asked them to replace this faulty transmission or see if another service bulletin has been issued. After two days in which I had some normal 30000 mile serv ice done, the service foreman politely told me that this pause can't be fixed and I have to live with it. The problem only seems to be in the Riviera model not other Buick. In this day of faster and faster computers, I find it hard to believe that this transmission must pause for a few seconds to engage in drive from reverse. How many accidents has this caused or will cause in the future? I guess since the Riviera is no longer made, this transmission issue will fade away in Buick's eyes. Hopefully you can nudge Buick into issuing a fix for this dangerous problem.

- Dallas, TX, USA

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