Buick Exterior Lighting: Headlights

Buick is recalling about 411,880 vehicles over a problem with the exterior lighting. Driver visibility may be impaired increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
99V356000
Manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Reported
17 December 1999
Vehicles
411,880
Built between
Apr 1997 – Jun 1999
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
20 July 2000
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 1997 and June 1999. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1998-1999 Buick CenturyBuilt April 1997 to June 1999
  • 1998-1999 Buick RegalBuilt April 1997 to June 1999

What the defect is

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. These vehicles do not conform to the requirements of FMVSS no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." the vertical head lamp adjusting device may not be calibrated properly.

What could happen

Driver visibility may be impaired increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH AN OWNER'S MANUAL INSERT CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPTICALLY AIMING THE HEADLAMPS.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 1997 to June 1999
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA17 December 1999
  3. Owners notified20 July 2000

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 17 December 1999.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Safety standard
FMVSS 108
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification began july 20, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact buick at 1-800-521-7300. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand