Buyer Research

2011 Buick Regal — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $4,500–$8,000. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 10 Buick Regal years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The first year of the Opel-built Regal, and a record with a clear shape: 279 complaints, 40% of them the engine, and the word that keeps coming up is 'timing' — the 2.4L direct-injection four-cylinder's chain stretches, sets a code, and in the worst cases skips and stalls the car. Behind it sit seven fires, most of them traceable to a power-seat wiring harness that chafes on the seat frame and has a recall. Four recalls in all, two of them for things that can hurt you. A 2011 Regal is cheap now for a reason, and the reason is checkable: pull the codes for P0008 or P0017, listen for a rattle on a cold start, run the VIN for all four recalls, and if the chain has already been done with an invoice, this is a comfortable, well-built sedan for very little money. If it has not, price the chain job into your offer or walk.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 279 owner complaints for the 2011 Buick Regal, and 4 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 40% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

4 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2011 Buick Regal

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

2.4L timing chain stretches, rattles on cold start, and can skip and stall the engineHigh — wallet impact

112 of 279 complaints are the engine, and the recurring words are 'timing' and 'chain'. The 2.4L Ecotec's chain, guides and tensioner wear early — a rattle for the first few seconds after a cold start, then a check-engine light with P0008, P0016 or P0017, then rough running, then a stall. One owner was on the second chain and tensioner; another was told the chain failed outright at 45 mph. Let the chain go and the pistons meet the valves, which is an engine. Start it cold yourself and listen to the top of the engine for the first ten seconds; scan it for stored and pending codes even if the light is off. The same engine is known for burning oil through worn piston rings — check the dipstick and ask how often the seller tops up.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,500 for the chain, guides and tensioner; $4,000–$6,500 for a replacement engine if the chain skipped — more than this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (112).

Power-seat wiring harness chafes on the seat frame — short circuit and fire risk (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 16V517 covers 2011 Regals built November 3, 2009 to March 25, 2011 with the 8-way power front seats: the seat wiring harness can rub on the seat frame until the insulation wears through and the wires short. The electrical cluster here is 75 complaints and seven of the car's seven fires, and several owners wrote in to say the recall part was on backorder for months when the campaign opened. Dealers inspect, secure the harness and repair chafed wires free. Run the VIN, then lift the front of each seat with a flashlight and look at the harness where it passes the frame — scorched insulation or a blown seat fuse means the recall was never done or the damage was done first. The same cluster also holds the stall-on-startup reports: steering assist drops and the engine dies right after the car is started and shifted into gear.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (75); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Six-speed automatic fails outright or drops into 'engine power reduced' at speedHigh — wallet impact

39 complaints are the power train, three with a crash. Two stories: a transmission that revs without moving in Reverse or Drive — one at 59,000 miles, another told by the shop that the unit is sealed and has to be replaced whole — and the 'engine power reduced' message that cuts the car to 25 mph on the highway, often with a Check StabiliTrak warning and a rough, high idle. The reduced-power fault is usually the throttle body or the accelerator pedal position sensor, not the transmission, but it strands you the same way. On the test drive shift through every gear from a stop, reverse up a slope, and hold 60 mph for ten minutes; a flare between gears or a lurch into Drive is a transmission conversation.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$600 for a throttle body or pedal sensor; $3,000–$5,000 for a rebuilt or replacement transmission — around 80% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (39).

Headlight and turn-signal wiring burns; half-dead turn signal with no warning (recall)Medium

38 complaints are exterior lighting and three of them ended in fire. Owners describe bulbs blowing every few weeks, then finding the headlight harness charred bare behind the lamp — one replaced the harness and it burned again two months later. Recall 12V484 is separate and smaller: each front turn signal has two bulbs, and if one burns out the dash never tells you, so the remedy is a body-control-module software update that makes the flasher speed up. With the car running, turn on the headlights and high beams and smell the front corners after five minutes; a hot-plastic smell or a discoloured bulb socket is a harness on its way out.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $150–$500 per headlight harness or connector repair

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the lights (38); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Driver's seat can drop suddenly; key comes out with the car not in Park (two recalls)Medium

Recall 14V447 covers the power height-adjustable front seats: the shoulder bolt that holds the height adjuster can fall out, and the seat drops without warning while you are driving. Dealers replace the bolts free. Recall 16V502 covers the ignition lock: the key can be pulled out with the transmission still in gear, so the car can roll away as you get out. Dealers inspect and replace the lock cylinder housing free. The seats cluster is 29 complaints, and two of its fires belong to the harness recall above. Sit in the driver's seat and run the height adjuster to both ends; then with the car in Neutral and your foot on the brake, try to remove the key — it should refuse.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under seats (29); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Brake pedal pulses or goes soft; StabiliTrak warnings that come and goLow

32 brake complaints and 20 for stability control, and reading them they are mostly the same cheap parts: rotors that warp and pulse under the pedal, a pad wear noise, and a Check StabiliTrak or traction-off message that shows up with a stumbling engine and clears on restart. The stability warning on this car is usually a symptom of the reduced-power fault above, not a brake or ABS failure of its own. Feel for pulsing on a firm stop from 50 mph and check the fluid level and colour under the hood.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$600 for pads and rotors per axle

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (32), stability control (20).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A rattle from the top of the engine for the first few seconds of a cold start
✗P0008, P0016 or P0017 stored or pending on a code scanner
✗Any of the four recalls open on the NHTSA VIN lookup, especially 16V517
✗Scorched or bare wiring visible under the front seats or behind a headlight
✗'Engine power reduced' or Check StabiliTrak appearing on the test drive
✗Engine revs with the car not moving in Reverse

Good Signs

✓Timing chain, guides and tensioner replaced with an invoice showing the parts
✓All four recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A quiet cold start with a clean scan for stored and pending codes
✓Oil level on the full mark with a receipt for the last change and the interval kept short
✓Firm, even shifts through all six gears on a cold drive and a smooth reverse up a slope