1996 Buick Riviera from North America - Comments

Bucks and jerks when approach 50 MPH

at traffic light, feels like you have to hold it back with brake

door on cigarette lighter - ashtray - won't stay shut

check engine light - constantly comes on then goes off - no reason why

check oil light comes on even if has oil.

Love car, styling, handling, performance -things started to go south at about 55K miles - no mechanic seems to know how to fix the bucking and jerking that occurs when approaching 50 MPH - transmission was rebuilt, power converter module was replaced, coil packs replaced - still no one has been able to fix it - want to keep it, but not reliable now.

There is a reason the check engine light is on, they don't just come on for no reason. Take it to an auto parts store and have the codes read. So you had the transmission rebuilt, was there a reason given to you by the mechanic that it needed to be rebuilt. I would guess there is a problem with the torque convertor locking up when you hit 50 and this could be the jerking sensation that you feel, but this could be fixed with just a fluid and filter change which is supposed to happen at 36000 miles. Get the codes read, this could also be a reason for the jerking at 50 mph (maybe a bad throttle position sensor sending the PCM bad information causing the torque convertor to lock up at the wrong time).

You should also check you gas door. I was having the same problem with the service engine light coming on and going off randomly. I just had to pay more attention at the gas pump, making sure the gas cap was secure. That stopped my engine light from coming on and off. And I don't know how much "bucking and jerking" your riviera is experiencing, but mines used to do the same thing. All I had to do was clean the terminals on the distributor because they were started to rust. Come to find out, they had rusted so bad on some terminals that some of my values weren't even working! If you are experiencing a decline in power that may be the problem.