NHTSA Complaint #10712505 — 2004 BUICK REGAL

THE FIRST FEW TIMES, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AS I WAS BRAKING FOR STOP SIGNS. THE ANTI-LOCKS ACTIVATED, THE ANTI-LOCK WARNING CAME ON, AND THEN THE ENGINE REFIRED, THE DASH LIGHTS WENT OUT, AND IT RAN FINE. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN FOR A COMPLETE TUNE-UP. THEN IT QUIT ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE IGNITION WOULD REFIRE. THEN IT QUIT ON AN ONRAMP AND I HAD TO SHIFT TO NEUTRAL TO RESTART IT. THE LAST TIME IT FAILED, I ATTEMPTED TO START IT IN A PARKING LOT. IT TOOK SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO KEEP IT RUNNING. THE LAST SEVERAL TIMES THAT IT FAILED, ALL OF THE DASH LIGHTS WOULD BLINK ON AND OFF UNTIL I RESTARTED IT. THAT WAS THE CLUE THAT I SEARCHED FOR ON THE INTERNET. I FOUND THIS PARTICULAR WEBSITE AND I ALSO FOUND VIDEOS AND BLOGS OF MY PROBLEM. MY LOCAL MECHANIC DID HIS OWN RESEARCH AND WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION TO REPLACE THE IGNITION CONTACT BLOCK. SO, I TOOK THE OLD IGNITION CONTACT BLOCK APART. THREE CONTACTS WERE BURNED. TWO WERE MILD, BUT THE THIRD ONE WAS SEVERE. I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT CIRCUIT IT WAS FOR, BUT IT WAS THE LAST CONTACT AWAY FROM THE CIRCULAR OPENING ON THE SIDE WHERE THE RED AND THE ORANGE WIRES ENTER THE BLOCK. SINCE THE REPAIR, THE CAR IS RUNNING GOOD. DUE TO THE RANDOM NATURE OF THE PROBLEM, I CANNOT BE COMFORTABLE QUITE YET UNTIL I PUT A FEW MORE MILES ON IT. I FRANKLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY GM DOES NOT ADMIT THAT THE SCOPE OF THEIR IGNITION SWITCH RECALL IS PROBABLY MUCH LARGER THAN THEY ALREADY ADMIT TO - UNLESS IT INVOLVES THAT MANY MORE CARS. I READ AN ARTICLE WHERE THEY ARE TELLING PEOPLE NOT TO HANG ANY WEIGHT ON THE IGNITION KEY UNTIL THEY CAN GET THEIR REPAIRS DONE. I JIGGLED AND PULLED ON MY KEY WHILE CAR WAS RUNNING OK BETWEEN BOUTS OF FAILURE: IT HAD NO EFFECT. THIS REPAIR COST ME $326.54 AND I AM HOLDING MY RECEIPT JUST IN CASE EITHER THE GOVT. OR GM DOES THE RIGHT THING AND REIMBURSES ME. I THINK I WILL LOOK AT FORD NEXT TIME. *TR