1997 Buick Park Avenue problems & reliability
219 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1997 Buick Park Avenue, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
7 complaints report injuries (9 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1997 Buick Park Avenue vehicles were involved in 10 fatal crashes with 8 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Seat Belts | 52 | 24% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 44 | 20% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 38 | 17% |
| Electrical System | 24 | 11% |
| Power Train | 24 | 11% |
| Steering | 20 | 9% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 15 | 7% |
| Structure | 14 | 6% |
| Visibility | 14 | 6% |
| Suspension | 11 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 91,525 miles (middle 50% between 69,980 and 116,853 miles), based on 62 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 buick park avenue. While driving, the contact noticed an odor of burning plastic. The contact noticed a little smoke coming from the rear driver's side panel. The contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road, turned off the rear defroster, disconnected the plug, removed the rear…”
Electrical System · filed Oct 16, 2019
“Why was this car not recalled with other gm products with the 3800 v6 engines for the oil leaks? These cars have the same 3800 v6 as all of the recalled cars!”
Engine · filed Feb 7, 2016
“My problem is, the left blinker of the front, back and headboard is not working. But if I put on my flashers, all my lights are working, including the left blinker. I took it in and they told me that its not the light bulb, and its not the fuses from both the front and the headboard fuses boxes, and I've been told by…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Jun 18, 2015
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- POWER RACK AND PINION STEERING FAILURE
Recall Query RQ03001 · opened Jan 2, 2003 · closed Sep 15, 2003
- ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
Engineering Analysis EA02030 · opened Oct 22, 2002 · closed Mar 9, 2004 · led to recall 04V090000
- ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
Preliminary Evaluation PE02050 · opened Jun 13, 2002 · closed Oct 22, 2002
- FRONT SHOULDER BELT MALFUNCTION
Engineering Analysis EA00002 · opened Jan 6, 2000 · closed May 2, 2000 · led to recall 00V117000
- FRONT SHOULDER BELT MALFUNCTION
Preliminary Evaluation PE99056 · opened Sep 2, 1999 · closed Jan 6, 2000
Technical service bulletins
76 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1997 Buick Park Avenue. The 10 most recent:
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This informational bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Procedures to Unlock Delco Radio with Theftlock.
19NA273 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 2, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco Theft Lock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2017
This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information with the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 15, 2017
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1997 Buick Park Avenue has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1997 Buick Park Avenue?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 91,525 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.