What are the common problems with the 1990 Buick Regal?
Owners of the 1990 Buick Regal have filed 77 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the brakes (42). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 2 of its 77 complaints list a mileage (104,000 to 147,076 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
Buying this 1990 Regal? Enter its VIN.
Complaint figures describe the model year, not one vehicle. The decode is free; the original ClearVIN PDF is $14.99 one time, with no account: odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for that VIN.
Title brands · Odometer records · Auction history, where reported
No subscription. No charge to check the VIN. Report contents vary by vehicle; applicable tax is shown at checkout.
See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 77 owner complaints on the 1990 Buick Regal. Owners named the brakes most often: 42 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 77 complaints, 7 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 7 report an injury (11 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Check the records on file before you buy
VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1990 Buick Regal.
One VIN. One $14.99 history report.
For $14.99, VIN Lookup delivers an original ClearVIN vehicle-history PDF for the 1990 Buick Regal VIN you enter: title brands, odometer readings, accident and auction records on file. ClearVIN is on the U.S. Department of Justice’s list of approved NMVTIS data providers; VIN Lookup sells that original report. The records returned vary by VIN.
The VIN decode is free. No card is needed until you choose to buy; applicable tax is shown at checkout. A missing record is not proof that an event never happened.No account · Refund reviewed if not delivered, unopenable or wrong VIN by our error · Sold by VIN Lookup (SH LLC, Sheridan, WY)Original provider PDF
One time, no subscription
Common problems with the 1990 Regal
NHTSA's file holds 77 owner complaints on the 1990 Buick Regal. Owners named the brakes most often: 42 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 42 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 6 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Structure | 6 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Suspension | 6 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 4 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 77 complaints, 7 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 7 report an injury (11 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 1990 Regal
Too few complaints on the 1990 Regal list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 2 of its 77 complaints list a mileage (104,000 to 147,076 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1990 Regal wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 841 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1986–2004 Buick Regal that list mileage came after 90,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Buick Regal last? →
Is the 1990 Regal a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1990 is a good or a bad Regal: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1990 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 77 complaints, the 1990 ranks 16th of the 19 Buick Regal model years from 1986 to 2004 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1998 (302). The fewest: the 1986 (12).
NHTSA files the Buick Regal name for 1986–2004 and 2011–2019. A gap of three or more model years means the name covers different vehicles, so the 1990 is compared only with the 1986–2004 model years.
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 Regal | 12 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1987 Regal | 25 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1988 Regal | 123 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1989 Regal | 106 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1990 (this page) | 77 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1991 Regal | 200 | 12 | 86,419 |
| 1992 Regal | 144 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 Regal | 85 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1994 Regal | 110 | 14 | 92,945 |
| 1995 Regal | 173 | 17 | 89,659 |
| 1996 Regal | 204 | 56 | 87,000 |
| 1997 Regal | 136 | 59 | 105,771 |
| 1998 Regal | 302 | 133 | 92,000 |
| 1999 Regal | 246 | 116 | 89,000 |
| 2000 Regal | 184 | 104 | 94,608 |
| 2001 Regal | 187 | 112 | 91,000 |
| 2002 Regal | 117 | 81 | 85,000 |
| 2003 Regal | 101 | 68 | 94,528 |
| 2004 Regal | 66 | 45 | 90,963 |
1990 Buick Regal recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 9 recall campaigns that name the 1990 Buick Regal (8 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1990 Regal lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1990 Regal.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 75 of the 77 complaints on the 1990 Buick Regal give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: REGAL. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: REGAL.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1990 Buick Regal questions
What are the most common 1990 Buick Regal problems?
NHTSA's file holds 77 owner complaints on the 1990 Buick Regal. Owners named the brakes most often: 42 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 77 complaints, 7 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 7 report an injury (11 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 1990 Buick Regal?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 1990 Buick Regal: 2 of its 77 complaints list a mileage (104,000 to 147,076 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 1990 Regal can cover.
Is the 1990 Buick Regal a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1990 is a good or a bad Regal: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1990 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 77 complaints, the 1990 ranks 16th of the 19 Buick Regal model years from 1986 to 2004 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1998 (302). The fewest: the 1986 (12).
How many recalls does the 1990 Buick Regal have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 9 recall campaigns that name the 1990 Buick Regal (8 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1990 Buick Regal before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1990 Buick Regal.