1990 Buick Skylark problems & reliability
19 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1990 Buick Skylark. 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.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 7 | 37% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 5 | 26% |
| Power Train | 4 | 21% |
| Steering | 3 | 16% |
| Structure | 3 | 16% |
| Suspension | 3 | 16% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 11% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 11% |
| Equipment | 1 | 5% |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“1990 buick skylark (quad 4 engine)-chronic stalling due to faulty lockup torque converter.coil housing was replaced 3x in six years .alldata lists tech. Service bulletins concerning these problems.letters to gm and buick field zone office seeking restitution received no response whatsoever.*ak”
Power Train · filed Aug 31, 2003
“Transmission makes a loud jolting bang when shifting into gear whether it is in drive,reverse or park. Driver almost lost control of car when in drive gear. Also has a defective fuel line hose, which during morning car warm-up, car started smoking, which came from under car from the vac. Line(fuel line). Had the line…”
Power Train · filed Feb 6, 2003
“Steering rack and pinion as well as gear box. Severe grinding noise when turning the steering wheel,even at a slight turn. Been repaired but it is still doing it.”
Steering · filed Feb 6, 2003
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- BRAKE CALIPER CORROSION
Preliminary Evaluation PE92039 · opened Apr 15, 1992 · closed Aug 14, 1992
Technical service bulletins
1 manufacturer communication (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1990 Buick Skylark.
Information regarding snow intrusion into rear drum brake assemblies. **mr
000524001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 1, 2000
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
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1990 Buick Skylark in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
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 1990 Buick Skylark?
- · 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.