The 1995 Buick Riviera has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 85,253 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 177 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SEAT BELTS00V0570002000-02-2885,253 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE REAR SHOULDER BELT(S) DO NOT RETRACT. A RETAINER COULD SEPARATE FROM A REAR SEAT SHOULDER BELT RETRACTOR WHICH RESULTS IN THE RETRACTOR RETURN SPRING BECOMING DISENGAGED.
Consequence
IN A CRASH, AN OCCUPANT MAY RECEIVE MORE SEVERE INJURIES IF THERE IS EXCESSIVE SLACK IN THE SHOULDER BELT.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT BOTH REAR SHOULDER BELT RETRACTORS FOR CORRECT FUNCTION AND INSTALL A SPRING COVER RETAINING STRAP TO EACH RETRACTOR. IF A RETRACTOR DOES NOT FUNCTION CORRECTLY, IT WILL BE REPLACED.
Complaints by component
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
12
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
10
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
8
1fires
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
6
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
6
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
5
5crashes4injuries1deaths
ENGINE
5
1fires
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
5
Total complaints177
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Foul smell then parked and went inside mall came back car had been on fire. *tr”
“Foul smell then parked and went inside mall came back car had been on fire. *tr”
“While driving, began to smell odor of fuel in the cabin. Pulled to side of road, opened hood to witness fuel supply line to rear fuel injector rail leaking on to top of engine. Fuel continued to leak onto engine even after I shut off the car. *tr”
“While driving, began to smell odor of fuel in the cabin. Pulled to side of road, opened hood to witness fuel supply line to rear fuel injector rail leaking on to top of engine. Fuel continued to leak onto engine even after I shut off the car. *tr”
“This is an intermittent issue and has been occurring at different times since purchase in 1999. While driving engine stalls and I lose power steering control. Experiencing long cranks before engine will start. However, engine eventually restarts but engine stalls again several times before car…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1995 buick riviera. The contact stated while driving, the engine stalled. The vehicle was restarted however, the failure recurred seven times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing however, the mechanic was unable to detect a failure. The approximate…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1995 buick riviera. The contact stated while driving, the engine stalled. The vehicle was restarted however, the failure recurred seven times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing however, the mechanic was unable to detect a failure. The approximate…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1995 buick riviera. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph the vehicle stalled. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact of a recall. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the power…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA00006 Opened 2000-02-22 · closed 2000-03-06
REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR
IN ITS LETTER DATED FEBRUARY 25, 2000 TO NHTSA, GENERAL MOTORS STATED THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL OF 85,253 MODEL YEAR 1995 BUICK RIVIERA AND OLDSMOBILE AURORA VEHICLES FOR THE DEFECT IN THE OUTBOARD REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR ASSEMBLIES.
InvestigationPE99059 Opened 1999-09-15 · closed 2000-02-22
REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR
COMPLAINTS GENERALLY STATED THAT ONE OR BOTH OUTBOARD REAR SEAT BELTS DO NOT RETRACT AT ALL AND ARE USELESS.IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE SEAT BELTS DO NOT PROVIDE ANY TENSION AND HAVE EXCESS SLACK.THE RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY HAS A PLASTIC COVER NEXT TO THE RETRACTOR RETURN SPRING.ACCORDING TO GENERAL MOTORS (GM), HEAT MAY…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1995 Buick Riviera as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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