Buick Regal reliability by year
17 recall campaigns and 633 owner complaints across 10 model years. Best year to buy: 2017. Year to avoid: 2012.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 1 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 10 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 28, more than the 17 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Regal aggregated across 10 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Buick Regal?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2017 Buick Regal scores 8.6/10 — the strongest in the 2011–2020 range. 20 complaints on file, 0 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Buick Regal year should I avoid?
The 2012 Buick Regal scores 6.4/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 92 owner complaints with NHTSA, 7 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2012 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Buick Regal should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2011 (avoid — the electrical system — 7 fire-related complaints on the electrical system). The cleaner years on the data are 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2019, 2018. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Buick Regal are tracked?
10 model years (2011 through 2020) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 17 distinct recall campaigns and 633 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 28 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Buick Regal?
electrical is the most-reported category — 133 complaints across 8 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.