The 1986 Buick Skylark has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 179,390 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 10 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
UNDER EXTENDED HEADLAMP USAGE, CIRCUITRY IN THE HEADLAMP SWITCH PANEL MIGHT EXPERIENCE INCREASED RESISTANCE AND EXCESSIVE HEAT BUILDUP.
HEADLIGHTS WOULD CYCLE ON AND OFF. SUDDEN LOSS OFHEADLIGHTS UNDER SEVERE WEATHER OR NIGHTIMER DRIVING CONDITIONS COULD RESULTIN A VEHICLE CRASH.
REPLACE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WITH MODIFIED SWITCH.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“I am a college student. I commute about 50 miles to school and back. I was in brick nj on rt 70 about to enter the parkway when I saw smoke coming out of my hood. Before this happened I was using gallons of coolant in my car. I pulled over and got out and opened my hood so the car could cool. It…”
“I am a college student. I commute about 50 miles to school and back. I was in brick nj on rt 70 about to enter the parkway when I saw smoke coming out of my hood. Before this happened I was using gallons of coolant in my car. I pulled over and got out and opened my hood so the car could cool. It…”
“Electronic dashboard failure.”
“Seat belt retractors for both left and right side inoperable, rendering seatbelt unusable. The plunger activated by the closing of front car doors has a cable attatched to release the belts. The cable for both front doors is broken. This causes the seat belts to remain locked, therefore driver and…”
“Wheel fell off. (ohio state police report)”
“Engine failure due to a defective engine head gasket/also overheated. *ak”
“Driver's side seat failure, seat belt will not come out of its housing. Tt”
“Windshield wipers will not stay on , have to hold switch in when driving. Had vehicle in for repair of windshield wipers and they still won't work. *ak”
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1986 Buick Skylark as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.