1994 BUICK REGAL — Complaint #98770
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:SWITCH/WIRING filed February 18, 1998
NHTSA complaint #98770 (ODI reference 818914) concerns a 1994 BUICK REGAL and was filed on February 18, 1998. The report was geocoded to Georgia based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as visibility:windshield wiper/washer:switch/wiring, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same BUICK REGAL cohort independently describe similar visibility:windshield wiper/washer:switch/wiring failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 1994 BUICK REGAL shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
RECALL 97V017000; THE WINDSHIELD/WIPER/WASHER SWITCH WAS NOT REPLACED, BUT THE JOHNSON CHEVROLET BUICK CADILLAC REPLACED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS BECAUSE THEY DID NOT KNOW OF THE RECALL.*AK
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 98770 |
| ODI Number | 818914 |
| Date Filed | February 18, 1998 |
| VIN | 2G4WF5SL8RI |
Similar VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:SWITCH/WIRING Complaints for 1994 BUICK REGAL
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1994 BUICK REGAL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS DO NOT WORK. THE WASHER/WIPER SWITCH POWER FEED WIRE CAUSES THE WIPERS TO WORK INTERMITTENTLY AND BECOME INOPERA
WINDSHIELD WIPER SWITCH FAILED.
RECALL STATES THAT DEALER WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE WASHER WIPER SWITCH WITH A NEW SWITCH, DEALER ONLY INSPECTED THE OLD SWITCH. TOLD CONSUMER IT WAS NOT NECESSARY TO PUT IN A NEW SWITCH. THEREFORE,
ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS HAD BEEN TO DEALER CONCERNING RECALL NOTICE (#97V017000). EACH AND EVERY TIME THE DEALER SAID THEY DID NOT HAVE PARTS OR THEY WOULD HAVE TO ORDER THEM. HOW MUCH LONGER DO
WINDSHIELD WIPER SWITCH FAILURE CAUSED SHORT CIRCUIT, REDUCING VISIBILITY DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER. *DH
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.