07/25/2021 started the motor, in stationary in personal driveway, in idle it began to puff thick white smoke from the tail pipe and exhaust manifold in the engine compartment. Turned engine off within 15 seconds of starting the engine. Left vehicle off for 24 hrs, and tried to turn the motor back on and the engine seized and would not crank over. Tried 3-5 additional times to start engine, with the same outcome. Since this occurence vehicle has been left undriveable and still remains in personal driveway. Recall number: 240412
1999 Buick Regal engine problems
91 complaints (37% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 102,000.
- owner complaints
- 91
- of this car's complaints
- 37%
- typical mileage
- 102,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 3
Which part fails
- Engine14
- Engine: gasoline6
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe5
- Cooling system1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Buick Regal engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 1999 Buick Regal engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Stalling 12Check engine light 11Engine failure 5Loss of power 5
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 1998-1999 Chevrolet Lumina and Oldsmobile Intrigue, 1997-2004 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix, 2000-2004 Chevrolet Impala, and 1998-2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. The affected vehicles were previously repaired under recalls 08V‑118, 09V‑116, and 15V‑201 to address the possibility that engine oil may drip onto the hot exhaust manifold.
- Risk
- Engine oil that drips onto the hot surface of the exhaust manifold may result in a fire.
- Remedy
- The remedy applied under recalls 08V‑118, 09V‑116, and 15V‑201 did not adequately remove the safety risk. Under the improved remedy, dealers will replace the engines front valve cover and gasket. Vehicles that are covered by recalls 08V‑118, 09V‑116, or 15V‑201 that have not yet received the original remedy will instead receive the improved remedy under the original recall number. The recall began on February 19, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, Buick customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300, Oldsmobile customer service at 1‑800‑442‑6537 and Pontiac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006. GM's number for this recall is 15757. Note: Until the improved remedy has been applied, owners are advised to park their vehicle outside since the fire risk exists even when the vehicle is unattended.
Recall number 15V701000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- General motors is recalling 1,497,516 my 1997-2003 buick regal, my 1998-2003 chevrolet lumina, monte carlo and impala, my 1998-1999 oldsmobile intrigue, my 1997-2003 pontiac grand prix vehicles equipped with a 3.8l v6 naturally aspirated engine. Some of these vehicles have a condition in which drops of engine oil may be deposited on the exhaust manifold through hard braking.
- Risk
- If the manifold is hot enough and the oil runs below the heat shield, it may ignite into a small flame and may spread to the plastic spark plug wire channel and beyond increasing the risk of an engine compartment fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the engines front valve cover and front-valve-cover gasket with new parts of an improved design and remove the engines plastic cover and plastic oil-fill-tube extension, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during may 2016. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, oldsmobile at 1‑800‑630‑6537, and pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668 or http://www.pontiac.com or http:www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 09V116000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- Gm is recalling 207,542 my 1997-2003 buick regal and pontiac grand prix vehicles equipped with a 3.8l supercharged v-6 engine. These vehicles have higher front rocker cover gasket temperatures, creating the potential for earlier degradation of the front rocker cover gasket and eventual oil seepage.
- Risk
- Certain underhood fires may be caused by drops of engine oil, from seepage or spillage, being deposited on the exhaust manifold through hard braking. If the manifold is hot enough and the oil runs below the heat shield, it may ignite into a small flame and, in some instances, the fire may spread to the plastic spark plug wire channel and beyond.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the engines front valve cover and front-valve-cover gasket with new parts of an improved design and remove the engines plastic cover and plastic oil-fill-tube extension, along with the 1-3-5 spark plug wire retainers, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during may 2016. , free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during may 2016. Until the remedy is completed, gm strongly recommends that owners observe the following important precautions (1) that owners do not park their vehicle in a garage, car port, or other structure; (2) if owners notice a burning odor, they should have their dealer inspect the vehicle. The dealer will inspect the vehicle without charge; (3) use premium fuel (91 octane or higher) in the vehicle as recommended in the vehicle's owner manual. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080 or pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668, or through their website at http://www.gmownercenter.com .
Recall number 08V118000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Engine compartment fire
By letter dated march 12, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (identified by the federal safety agency recall number 08v‑118) to address a defect in approximately 207,542 model year (my) 1997-2003 buick regal gs and pontiac grand prix gtp vehicles equipped with the l67 supercharged version of gm's 3800 series ii v6 engine.the recalled regal gs vehicles were built from august 1996 to june 2003 and the grand prix gtp from march 1996 through january 2003.according to gm, oil may escape past the valve cover gasket on the front cylinder bank (cylinders 1-3-5) and deposit onto hot exhaust system components.under certain conditions, it is possible for this oil to ignite a small pilot flame, which may spread to the adjacent plastic spark plug wire channel, the spark plug wires themselves, the plastic engine cover, and other under hood components.reports indicate this most often occurs on higher-mileage vehicles shortly after the vehicle has been driven and then parked.typically, the fire was discovered within 5 to 15 minutes after the vehicle was parked.during this time window, under hood temperatures may become elevated.such elevated temperatures combined with a lack of airflow through the engine compartment may permit a small pilot flame to propagate and ignite other fuel sources.to correct the safety defect, gm will install an improved design front valve cover gasket and spark plug wire retainer.this remedy will be suppliedfree of charge for all recalled vehicles.until sufficient parts become available to repair all of the affected vehicles, gm strongly recommends that owners observe the following important precautions: (1) they strongly recommend that owners do not park their vehicle in a garage, carport, or other structure; (2) if owners notice a burning odor, they should have their dealer inspect the vehicle - the dealer will inspect the vehicle without charge; and (3) use premium fuel (91 octane or higher) in the vehicle as recommended in the vehicle's owner manual.the action taken by gm is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.the subject fire incident rate on the c-, g-, and h-platform subject vehicles is low.the agency will continue to monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.accordingly, this investigation is closed.see document file for additional information regarding this resume.
EA07008
Engine compartment fires
PE02050
What 1999 Buick Regal owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Weird engine noise , when switching the ignition switch sometimes delay, also dash lights and headlights also AC doesn't work and low oil , low air , and low coolant lights turn on even if all of them are full at the right level .
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 buick regal. After driving and parking the vehicle, smoke and flames appeared. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer. There was a recall regarding the failure, but the contact received the notification too late. The recall information and failure mileage were unknown.
The engine caught on fire no more than 3minutes after I parked the car. The valve cover recall was repaired in 2016. Car was running fine. I just happened to go back out to the car to get my cell phone when I saw smoke. I open the hood and saw flames. I used a fire extinguisher to out he flame out. Now the car starts but runs too rough to even trust to drive it! Why have the recall if it was going to catch fire anyways!
On 10/28/2016 my wife had drove the car about 3 miles to the store did some shopping for approximately 30 minutes. She returned home the 3 miles parked the car in the driveway in front of the garage and went in side. She was in the garage a few minutes later and saw smoke filling the garage. She went out the back door and around the house and the car was in flames. Neighbors had all ready called 911. It took about ten minutes for the fire department to arrive. The entire engine bay and front of the car was destroyed. The paint was burned off of the garage door and blistered paint and soot on the house. The hood strut exploded and put a hole in the garage door.
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 buick regal. The vehicle caught fire while the contact was parking in front of his house. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was engulfed in flames before the police and fire departments arrived. Police and fire reports were filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 09v116000 (engine and engine cooling) and 04v375000 (exterior lighting). The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 buick regal. While driving approximately 20 MPH in march, smoke appeared from the front end of the vehicle without warning. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the road and the contact walked home to call her husband. When the contact stated and her husband arrived back to the vehicle, it had caught fire and burned to the ground. The police and the fire department were at the scene and reports were filed. There were no injuries. The remnant of the vehicle was towed away. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. On september 7, 2016, the contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling) and 99v356000 (exterior lighting). The failure mileage was unknown.
On 9/1/16, the engine caught on fire while parked, turned off, and unoccupied. Half the car burned--total loss. I learned shortly after that it was under recall for under hood fires--do I have any way to recover my losses from gm? I only had liability coverage, so there won't be any insurance money.
I have the recall letter. I have been to duer speet in fremont mi 4 times and to jim winter in jackson mi. Both places told me they would call as soon as the parts came in. I have been waiting to hear from them since feb. It's a safety recall!! Does anybody care that this car should be fixed?
1999 buick regal. Consumer writes in regards to engine oil deposited on exhaust manifold can cause engine compartment fire recall notice. Consumer seeks compensation for new vehicle after recalled vehicle caught fire.
Questions about the 1999 Buick Regal engine
Does the 1999 Buick Regal have engine problems?
Owners have filed 91 complaints about the engine of the 1999 Buick Regal, 37% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 1999 Buick Regal engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 102,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1999 Buick Regal engine?
Yes, 3 recalls: 15V701000, 09V116000, 08V118000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Buick Regal have bad engine?
The Buick Regal model years with the most engine complaints are 2011 (111 complaints), 1999 (91 complaints) and 2001 (86 complaints).
Other 1999 Buick Regal problems
Electrical 42Steering 31Brakes 25Visibility 21Seat belts 10Transmission 10Lights 8Suspension 7Wheels 7Fuel system 6Acceleration 5Tires 5Airbags 3Body 3Locks 3Driver assistance 1Seats 1
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