Problems · by component

2011 Buick Regal exterior lighting problems

38 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 Buick Regal cite exterior lighting, 14% of all 280 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.

Complaints
38
14% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the exterior lighting

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Driver side headlamp draws moisture, keeps blowing bulbs at 104.99 a pop. Water gets in the headlight assembly and shorts out the ballast. This happens even when driving down the road at random. It could be pitch black and suddenly you have no headlights and are forced to drive with only fog lamps”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 28, 2023Exterior lightingODI 11562312
“Condensation gets into headlight assembly and shorts out HID headlight. Issue occurred with drivers and passenger headlights. Car will not have headlights because of short. Thus causing a safety issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 28, 2023Exterior lightingODI 11514265
“Moisture has been collecting in both headlight assemblies for the past 3 years, whenever the car is outside or driven in the rain. Recently, this caused both high/low beam headlights to burn out. Replacing the bulbs is not enough, as the bulbs immediately burn out/smoke and blow out because of the water accumulation. On the driver side headlight, there was actually standing water in the headlight assembly that came pouring out when the cover was removed to replace the bulb. Dealership says both headlight assemblies must be replaced entirely to resolve the issue, due to corrosion. The vehicle has never been in an accident (there are NO cracks from collision, etc.). This appears to be a manufacturing defect or an issue with seal. This is a crazy expensive repair, to have to have the entire headlights replaced on the vehicle, on both sides, because they are not properly sealed/allow condensation and accumulation of water to take place. Can GM please cover the cost of this? Otherwise, this might be the last GM car I ever buy... This is also a major safety issue, as one must have working headlamps. Without an entirely new headlight assembly on each side, the…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 10, 2022Exterior lightingODI 11496846
“After heavy rain in mid-September 2022, both headlights just stopped working. The dashboard will usually display a warning or pop up symbol that something is not working, but I had no warning and got pulled over driving at dusk with no headlights. There has been been other issues with this vehicle too! The other issues include: Bluetooth connection not working at all, the transmission has “jerking” issues while changing gears and the engine revving too high while only going 30mph while driving in suburban Massachusetts. The car has less than 70k miles, these issues should not be happening. The main issue is the headlights, considering they cost around $200/ea and just stopped working with no notice.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 25, 2022Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 11486277
“I was driving on a back road when my car started smoking and blazed up on passenger side headlights an I see were people have been saying this was seriously fire issue now I'm out of work no car and I was only owner fa 5 months”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 11, 2022Electrical system, Exterior lightingFire reportedODI 11473397
“Headlight assembly case on both passenger and driver side fills with condensation and then causes headlight bulb and/or ballast to burnout ,this also could cause a fire”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 1, 2022Exterior lightingODI 11472013

Showing 6 of 38 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Related recalls

1 recall on this component

Exterior lighting: turn signal

Free remedy

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."

Exterior lightingReported Oct 4, 2012NHTSA 12V484000
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.