As a typical American muscle car, Buick Regal has always attracted many consumers with its strong power and tough appearance. However, the 2024 semi-annual complaint list allows users to see the weak side of "it".
Complaint data from Auto Door Network shows that in the first half of 2024, Buick Regal's complaint index will reach 741.95, a year-on-year increase of 2991%. Judging from the feedback of complaint information, the "cliché" fuel pump failure has potential safety hazards and is the main reason why Buick Regal has been complained by car owners. Among them, the models involved in the complaint mainly include the 2019-2023 Buick Regal, whether it is a 1.5T or 2.0T engine, there is a sudden loss of power during driving, and the product has design defects.
Some car owners complained that they bought a Regal 2019 20T Elite China V in December 2019. After driving 63,000 kilometers, the vehicle experienced a ignition delay of about 7 seconds. Subsequently, at his own expense, he replaced the spark plugs, high-pressure oil pumps, oil pipes and low-pressure oil pumps, and cleaned the throttle valves, but the problem still did not go away. At the same time, the car's fuel pump and high-pressure fuel pump fault lights have also been lit.
In the recent recall announcement, the owner learned that the fuel pump module of this car is within the scope of the recall, but the official said that the vehicle is not within the scope of the recall, which is very troubled. At present, the owner requires the 4S store to completely solve the problem, and if the vehicle itself has a quality problem, the 4S store is required to return the car.
There are also car owners who said that the Regal they bought in 2018 is currently weak on the accelerator, and they can only idle forward when they step on it to the end, and the car will suddenly rush out between a few seconds and dozens of seconds. Even, the occurrence of this situation also leads to the rear-end collision of the vehicle during the exercise, which has seriously affected the driving safety.
Judging from the complaints, car owners are very worried about the potential safety hazards caused by fuel module failure, especially some car owners who often run at high speeds are even more panicked.
As we all know, the fuel pump is an important part of the engine fuel system, and if the fuel pump module fails, it will lead to weak engine acceleration, poor operation, and difficult starting. On the highway, if the fuel pump module suddenly fails and the vehicle stops in place, the safety risk is self-evident.
As early as October 2023, Buick Regal had a large-scale complaint due to the failure of the fuel pump module. At that time, the solution given by the 4S store was to glue the problem vehicle for free. However, gluing does not solve the problem at the root cause. Therefore, the complaints about the failure of the fuel pump module at that time did not decrease, but increased.
In addition to Buick, SAIC-GM's other two brands, Chevrolet and Cadillac, are also mired in the storm of "fuel pump module failure". For a time, SAIC-GM's fuel pump module failure problem was criticized by consumers.
Fortunately, in the face of complaints from car owners, SAIC-GM did not sit idly by. On November 10, 2023, SAIC-GM filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulation and decided to recall some vehicles of its three major brands in batches from May 31, 2024.
Among them, the Buick brand will recall some models produced between September 5, 2019 and July 12, 2023, including some 2021-2023 Envision S, a new generation LaCrosse, and a new generation of Regal; Some of the 2022-2023 models of Envision PLUS and Encore Banner; Some of the 2023 high-spirited cars, a total of 611,260 units.
According to the reason for the recall, vehicles within the above production date will lose power during driving due to the poor moisture resistance of the fuel pump control module. In this regard, SAIC-GM will replace the improved fuel pump control module free of charge for vehicles within the scope of the recall from May 31 this year to eliminate potential safety hazards.
However, although the official issued a recall notice, the specific implementation time is May 31, 2024. In other words, in order to completely solve the failure of the fuel pump module, the owner still needs to wait for more than half a year. Therefore, entering 2024, Buick Regal's complaints about fuel pump module failures will remain at a relatively high level even if there is a downward trend.
However, it has to be mentioned that car companies choose to recall problematic vehicles and replace them with new fuel pump modules, which is currently the best way to solve car owners' complaints. As for the length of time, the owner needs to have enough patience. After all, 1.1 million fuel pump modules is not a small number.