IllustrationDriver side headlamp draws moisture, keeps blowing bulbs at 104.99 a pop. Water gets in the headlight assembly and shorts out the ballast. This happens even when driving down the road at random. It could be pitch black and suddenly you have no headlights and are forced to drive with only fog lamps
2011 Buick Regal
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Regal years
Owner complaints for the 2011 Buick Regal are substantially higher than the model-year median of 29.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Regal years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
350–25K
4025–50K
4650–75K
3975–100K
33100–150K
11150K+
204 reports with mileage · 75 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 108 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 39 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
7 crash reports7 fire reports6 injury reports
Exterior Lighting complaints
38 reportsCondensation gets into headlight assembly and shorts out HID headlight. Issue occurred with drivers and passenger headlights. Car will not have headlights because of short. Thus causing a safety issue.
Moisture has been collecting in both headlight assemblies for the past 3 years, whenever the car is outside or driven in the rain. Recently, this caused both high/low beam headlights to burn out. Replacing the bulbs is not enough, as the bulbs immediately burn out/smoke and blow out because of the water accumulation. On the driv…
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Moisture has been collecting in both headlight assemblies for the past 3 years, whenever the car is outside or driven in the rain. Recently, this caused both high/low beam headlights to burn out. Replacing the bulbs is not enough, as the bulbs immediately burn out/smoke and blow out because of the water accumulation. On the driver side headlight, there was actually standing water in the headlight assembly that came pouring out when the cover was removed to replace the bulb. Dealership says both headlight assemblies must be replaced entirely to resolve the issue, due to corrosion. The vehicle has never been in an accident (there are NO cracks from collision, etc.). This appears to be a manufacturing defect or an issue with seal. This is a crazy expensive repair, to have to have the entire headlights replaced on the vehicle, on both sides, because they are not properly sealed/allow condensation and accumulation of water to take place. Can GM please cover the cost of this? Otherwise, this might be the last GM car I ever buy... This is also a major safety issue, as one must have working headlamps. Without an entirely new headlight assembly on each side, the lightbulbs, when replaced, burn out unexpectedly almost immediately, within weeks of replacement.
After heavy rain in mid-September 2022, both headlights just stopped working. The dashboard will usually display a warning or pop up symbol that something is not working, but I had no warning and got pulled over driving at dusk with no headlights. There has been been other issues with this vehicle too! The other issues include: …
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After heavy rain in mid-September 2022, both headlights just stopped working. The dashboard will usually display a warning or pop up symbol that something is not working, but I had no warning and got pulled over driving at dusk with no headlights. There has been been other issues with this vehicle too! The other issues include: Bluetooth connection not working at all, the transmission has “jerking” issues while changing gears and the engine revving too high while only going 30mph while driving in suburban Massachusetts. The car has less than 70k miles, these issues should not be happening. The main issue is the headlights, considering they cost around $200/ea and just stopped working with no notice.
I was driving on a back road when my car started smoking and blazed up on passenger side headlights an I see were people have been saying this was seriously fire issue now I'm out of work no car and I was only owner fa 5 months
Headlight assembly case on both passenger and driver side fills with condensation and then causes headlight bulb and/or ballast to burnout ,this also could cause a fire
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Regal. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions the headlights became inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the wiring in the bumper was hot at the base. The vehicle was taken to t…
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The contact owns a 2011 Buick Regal. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions the headlights became inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the wiring in the bumper was hot at the base. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the engine was diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.
Drivers side lightbulb has been changed multiple times. Noticeable condensation in light itself. Driving at night and lights went out completely. Had to drive with only fog lights on. Issue happens sporadically and without warning so it is hard to address.
The contact owns a 2011 Buick Regal. The contact stated that after a rainstorm, moisture entered the driver’s side headlight housing causing the bulb to blow. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V484000 (Exterior Lighting) which he linked to the failure however, the Vin was not included. The manufacturer was not made…
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The contact owns a 2011 Buick Regal. The contact stated that after a rainstorm, moisture entered the driver’s side headlight housing causing the bulb to blow. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V484000 (Exterior Lighting) which he linked to the failure however, the Vin was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
Front headlamp burned out due to moisture in the assembly. There is an issue with the ballast in the headlamp assembly for the turbo model. The seal may be faulty due to the headlamp shorting out except for the daytime running lights. I realized that it had malfunctioned and there was moisture in the assembly itself. My rep…
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Front headlamp burned out due to moisture in the assembly. There is an issue with the ballast in the headlamp assembly for the turbo model. The seal may be faulty due to the headlamp shorting out except for the daytime running lights. I realized that it had malfunctioned and there was moisture in the assembly itself. My repair shop quoted $1500.00 for the repair/replacement as the whole assebly needs to be replaced. This is definitely a safety hazard and a common one for this make and model. This should be a recall due to the faulty headlamp assembly.
Official recalls
416V517000 · Electrical System:wiring; Seats:front Assembly:power Adjust
Jul 7, 2016
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011 Buick Regal vehicles manufactured November 3, 2009, to March 25, 2011, equipped with 8-way power adjustable front seats. The power seat wiring harness may contact the seat frame, causing the wires to chafe.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Chafed harness wires may cause a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the wiring harness, and repair any chafed wires as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 13, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is 30710.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Seats:front Assembly:power Adjust
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011 Buick Regal vehicles manufactured November 3, 2009, to March 25, 2011, equipped with 8-way power adjustable front seats. The power seat wiring harness may contact the seat frame, causing the wires to chafe.
Consequence: Chafed harness wires may cause a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the wiring harness, and repair any chafed wires as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 13, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is 30710.
Electrical System:wiring
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011 Buick Regal vehicles manufactured November 3, 2009, to March 25, 2011, equipped with 8-way power adjustable front seats. The power seat wiring harness may contact the seat frame, causing the wires to chafe.
Consequence: Chafed harness wires may cause a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the wiring harness, and repair any chafed wires as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 13, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is 30710.
16V502000 · Electrical System:ignition; Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)
Jul 5, 2016
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Electrical System:ignition
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Consequence: If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Consequence: If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
14V447000 · Seats:front Assembly:power Adjust
Jul 23, 2014
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Chevrolet Camaro, as well as certain 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles, equipped with power height adjustable driver and passenger seats. In the affected vehicles, the bolt that secures the driver's and passenger's power front seat height adjuster may fall out causing the seat to drop suddenly to the lowest vertical position.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the driver's seat unexpectedly drops, the distraction and altered seat position may affect the drivers' control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the height adjuster shoulder bolts, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed interim letters to owners on September 11, 2014. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14271.
12V484000 · Exterior Lighting:turn Signal
Oct 4, 2012
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Buick Regal and model year 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with two turn signal bulbs in each front turn signal. If one of the two front turn signal bulbs burn out in either front turn signal lamp, there is no indication to the driver. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the driver is not aware that a turn signal is not functioning properly, the driver may continue to drive the vehicle. If half of a front turn signal is not illuminating, other driver's may not be aware that the affected vehicle is turning, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, dealers will update the body control module software, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact Buick at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 12212.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.