Reliable Auto DB

2013 Buick Regal reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 91 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Buick Regal over 14 years — 4 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Regal years here — over the median of the other years, which is 3. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Rear, Electrical system, and Turn signal.

2012 Buick Regal
Photo by Zoerides, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

91

Per year

4

Recalls

6

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Exterior lighting (37 of 91), then Electrical system (36) and Engine (9). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 4 that report an injury.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 Regal has 92 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2014 has 38 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Buick Regal. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (6)

Recall suspension, rear 2026-02-26 · NHTSA campaign 26V113000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012–2013 Buick Regal Turbo and GS trim-level vehicles that were sold or ever registered, in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear suspension toe links may have received improper corrosion protection, which can result in rear toe link fracture.
Remedy Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 3, 2026. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N252537580. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall numbers 20V764, 21V633, and 21V00F.
Recall suspension, rear 2021-12-22 · NHTSA campaign 21V00F000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse, 2012-2013 Buick Regal, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received an improper amount of electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately fracture.
Remedy Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212346640. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recalls 20V-764 and 21V-633.
Recall suspension, rear 2021-08-12 · NHTSA campaign 21V633000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Buick Regal, Chevrolet Malibu, and Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately fracture.
Remedy Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 3, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212330130.
Recall suspension, rear 2020-12-21 · NHTSA campaign 20V764000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners were mailed an interim notification on January 27, 2021, and April 15, 2021. A third notification was mailed on August 19, 201. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202308930.
Recall Electrical system 2013-05-06 · NHTSA campaign 13V173000
Summary General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 and 2013 Buick LaCrosse and Regal, and model year 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco vehicles equipped with eAssist. These vehicles may have a condition in which the Generator Control Module (GCM) may not function properly. This could cause a gradual loss of battery charge and the illumination of the malfunction indicator light.
Remedy GM will notify owners and dealers will test the GCM and replace it, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on June 11, 2013. Owners may contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. GM's recall campaign number is 13136.
Recall exterior lighting, turn signal 2012-10-04 · NHTSA campaign 12V484000
Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Buick Regal and model year 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with two turn signal bulbs in each front turn signal. If one of the two front turn signal bulbs burn out in either front turn signal lamp, there is no indication to the driver. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Remedy GM will notify owners, dealers will update the body control module software, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact Buick at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 12212.

Complaints by component (91 total)

Exterior lighting
37
Electrical system
36
Engine
9
Powertrain
9
Speed control
7
Service brakes
6
Structure
6
Fuel and propulsion system
4
Steering
4
Electronic stability control (ESC)
2
Suspension
2
Air bags
1
Engine and engine cooling
1
Tires
1
Visibility
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Wheels
1
Show 9 more Show less
Crash-flagged

6

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

4

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

520146201552016220171420181720191420201020215202272023220241202532026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Buick Regal. The contact stated that while stopped at a stop light and depressing the brake pedal, the hybrid battery would power off as intended; however, when the brake pedal was released, the…"
    Electrical system · filed 2026-05-08
  • "While in motion at about 25-30 miles per hours, slightly stepping on the brake to slow down, the car just… wouldn’t, I was forced to swerve, preventing damage to cars ahead, I went over a curb"
    Steering, Structure, Unknown or other · filed 2026-05-05
  • ", while driving, doing a steady 25-30 mph my vehicle completed transformed behavior, literally, I could only guess the problem(s)"
    Electrical system, Structure, Speed control · filed 2026-04-30
  • "I have a continuous problem where the vehicle goes into limp mode/reduce power mode it studders and stalls out. The check engine and stabilitrak light comes on. It is extreamly dangerous at it happens on the road and in…"
    Powertrain, Electrical system, Engine · filed 2025-03-13
  • "Second time, the car has basically shut down. Brake assist, ABS and traction control lights on. Stabilitrak Service light. Had to slow down to 25 miles an hour because it was shaking so bad and limped it home. Last time…"
    Speed control, Service brakes · filed 2024-02-23

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Buick Regal 4 DR FWD 5 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2013 Buick Regal eAssist 4 DR FWD 5 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Regal 2.4L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 19 30 23 MPG $2800
Regal 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 19 26 22 MPG $2950
Regal 2L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 20 31 24 MPG $2700
Regal 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 28 22 MPG $2950
Regal 2L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 19 27 22 MPG $2950
Regal 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 28 22 MPG $2950
Regal 2.4L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 19 30 23 MPG $2800
Regal eAssist 2.4L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 25 36 29 MPG $2250

Specs and fitment

Fourth generation, 2012–2017
Body styles Sedan
Oil 5W-30 (all temps); 0W-30 below −29 °C , 5 qt capacity
Tire size 235/50R18 (base/Premium), 245/40R19 (GS)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 20V764000 covers certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal vehicles (with 2013 Malibu and 2010-2013 LaCrosse) sold or ever registered in salt-belt states whose rear toe links may have received excessive electrocoating that can lead to corrosion; dealers replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners. Recall 26V113000 covers certain 2012-2013 Regal Turbo and GS vehicles in the same salt-belt states for improper corrosion protection on the rear suspension toe links, with the same replacement remedy. Recall 12V484000 covers certain 2012-2013 Regal vehicles (with 2013 Malibu) whose body control module software may not detect a burned-out front turn-signal bulb when only one of two bulbs fails; dealers update BCM software. Recall 13V173000 covers certain 2012-2013 Regal vehicles equipped with eAssist (with LaCrosse and Malibu Eco) whose Generator Control Module may not function properly, which can gradually lose battery charge; dealers test and replace the GCM as needed.

Compare

Previous year 2012 Buick Regal Next year 2014 Buick Regal See every Buick Regal model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Buick Regal reliable?

Owners have filed 91 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Buick Regal over 14 years — 4 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Regal years here — over the median of the other years, which is 3. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Rear, Electrical system, and Turn signal.

What are common problems with a 2013 Buick Regal?

The complaints owners file most often name Exterior lighting (37 of 91), then Electrical system (36) and Engine (9). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 4 that report an injury.

Is the 2013 Buick Regal more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 Regal has 92 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2014 has 38 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2014.

Has the 2013 Buick Regal been recalled?

The 2013 Buick Regal has 6 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Buick Regal?

Owners have filed 91 complaints about the 2013 Buick Regal with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Buick Regal get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Buick Regal is 23.4 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a fifth-generation Buick Regal take?

0W-30 for the 2.0L turbo; capacity about 6 qt—confirm in the owner’s manual.

Is there a rear suspension recall on 2012-2013 Regals?

Recalls 20V764000 and 26V113000 cover certain 2012-2013 Regals in salt-belt states for rear toe links with inadequate corrosion protection; dealers replace the toe links.