FAQ: New Riviera Buyer Questions

Look in the rear wheel wells behind the shock for rust. Other common rust areas are on the subframe, under the lip of the trunklid, and like Matt said under the spare tire and back seat.

It's just a basic self leveling system. Nothing fancy, just a compressor to fill or deflate the rear shocks to level the ride out to a set height. It could be the compressor that's bad instead of the shocks, but either way most people just replace them with standard shocks when one or both of them go wrong.

I saw you say something about having a car with an F41 suspension. Some people have actually swapped out all of the F41 components into the Riv (or the FE3 components out of a Cadillac STS).

As far as the antenna, it's probably shot. I can't think of any reason why a bad stereo install would break the antenna and cause it to run constantly. I'm sure it could be fixed (there's some sort of sensor in it that tells it when to stop), and I have a bunch of spare antenna parts if you ever feel like messing with it. I forget the technical name for the sensor, but I have one or two that work fine.

Lastly, things to look for are areas where water gets in and sits. Check the spare tire area and under the back seat. Check if the idler/tensioner pulleys have been replaced. If not, replace them as soon as you get the car. Many people on here can tell you stories about being stranded when one of the pulleys seizes up and throws the belt off. Other than that, we mainly suffer from electric problems (not that they're massive crazy issues). Overall if the car is really as good as you say it is it should last you another 150k+ miles if taken care of.[/quote]


one of the tension's squeaks but i have replacement idlers and pulleys so nothing to worry about ! I haven't checked under the spare tire but i will when i go on thrusday! and how do i go about looking under the back seat without pulling it out ?

also the suspension in my lss is f41 also had a compressor that for the elc system it turned on but no air came out of the lines, however it being an h body im not sure if the parts are compatible. I put new rear monroe matic air struts with the manual airline kit on that car but the shocks are a different design then the riv all i can try is hooking up the monroe airline kit (ak29IIRC) to see if that solves the bounce.

at-least the antennae is seized up ! unlike my olds which was seized down.

The back seat is very easy - just pull up on the front edge of the seat. Lift way up and it will unhook from the rear hooks. The battery is under there, make sure it's vent tube is intact. They are often broken. It's a cheap part that will help prevent corrosion in that area in the future.

JR3800 wrote:

at-least the antennae is seized up ! unlike my olds which was seized down.

Oh, I thought you meant the motor would just spin constantly, not the antenna being stuck in a position. The mast has a piece of plastic in it that acts as a pushrod to raise and lower it. The plastic is just snapped. I think some people have been able to replace the mast, but for the price you're better off disassembling the antenna, lowering the mast, cutting the plastic, and getting one of those aftermarket hidden antennas.

Thanks everyone ! All the help is greatly appreciated and just to clarify the antenna is stuck up because she wanted it up rather then down the motor does consistently run when it is hooked up so she ran it Untill it was up then unhooked it could it possibly just be u plugged from behind the stock headunit ?

Look for broken or cracked motor mounts.The oem mounts fail and are a pia to swap out.Listen for worn S/C coupler & check the obvious,switches and the such for the power seats.Look carefully at the rear adjustment links, if perished yer lookin at black opps mission to find 'em
besides the basics stated allready,the Riv is a robust vehicle with tons of character and as many little twitches that will drive you batty

So, I did my best on searching but I didn't come across anything relevant so I apologize if I missed something. I am looking at a Riviera for sale, and the owner describes this issue: "Fuel gauge only works when it wants to. And the speedometer won't go past 60mph. (VSS) but yes the car will go well over 60".

Assuming I decide I want the car, how big of an issue are these? Are they easy to fix?

Thank you!

Well, if it were just the Fuel Gauge having issues, I'd say that it might just be the Fuel Sending Unit that's failing. That requires Fuel Pump removal and the sensor replaced (if you can buy just the Level Sensor, It's usually part of the Fuel Pump assembly). VSS could absolutely cause the Speedo to not work properly, but you also have another gauge not working correctly. The IPC itself might be screwed up, in which case you'd have to find a good used one and have it installed/programed. Or, you really do have 2 different problems that need to be addressed.

The Fuel Pump/Level Sensor assembly can be accessed from the trunk. Pull the carpet up, and you'll find an access panel that's bolted down with about eight 7mm screws. Directly below that panel is the Fuel Pump and wiring.

The VSS sensor is located on the Output side (passenger side) of the transmission. It's right on top of the Output Shaft case.

Wow, that's some hardcore knowledge there. Thank you for being so helpful! I have no problem working on a car (more of a "shade tree mechanic" myself) as long as I have a resource to pull from haha.

If it is indeed the IPC, how do you get it programmed?

For the Level Sensor, what is that part actually called? I only see fuel pumps and sending units online when i search for it.

Thanks again!

I think it's typically the sending unit that goes bad, resulting in the gauge not working. It's a common problem with these cars, nothing to worry about really. I just reset my trip odometer every time I fill up the tank and just refuel by 400 miles just to be safe.

But would the sending unit only work "some of the time" like he described?

It should fix it, assuming it's not a problem like a ground wire or something. Here's a good discussion about the gauge problem for you: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10120-fuel-gas-gauge-problems-questions

Others have replaced their sending units with success too. I replaced mine once (I have had 3 Rivs) and it definitely worked better but still wasn't 100% accurate. The build quality of mid-90s GM parts is to blame I'm sure.

I wouldn't be discouraged by it though. If the car you're looking at is in good shape, these are great vehicles! What year are you considering? Supercharged or no?

nomosolo wrote:

But would the sending unit only work "some of the time" like he described?

Absolutely. It isn't just Riviera thing, it's a GM thing. They've had problems with the Fuel Level Sensors for years and years. Grand Ams, Aleros, Envoys, Trailblazers, Yukons, all the Buicks, etc etc. It causes an intermittent Fuel Gauge and/or incorrect level reading on the gauge. The Sensor is nothing more than a small circuit board with different sized copper tabs that read as a sweep depending on where the float is at (like a potentiometer).

Here is the Fuel Level Sensor on it's own
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=437775&cc=1303322

It also comes with the Fuel Pump Module when you buy it. Either way, the Fuel Pump needs to be removed completely and disassembled to have that part replaced.

gunmetalRED wrote:

It should fix it, assuming it's not a problem like a ground wire or something.  Here's a good discussion about the gauge problem for you: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10120-fuel-gas-gauge-problems-questions

Others have replaced their sending units with success too.  I replaced mine once (I have had 3 Rivs) and it definitely worked better but still wasn't 100% accurate.  The build quality of mid-90s GM parts is to blame I'm sure.  

I wouldn't be discouraged by it though.  If the car you're looking at is in good shape, these are great vehicles!  What year are you considering?  Supercharged or no?

Thank you for your help! Yeah it's a 97 supercharged with 137k. I can't link to it because of some 7 day rule on the forum haha. It does have an "open title" thing I need to look into, gonna call my DMV later.

I am in the market for a riv, i had a 96' sc but while searching recently through the ads most of the rivs in really good condition are the 95's sc, so since I know little about the series 2 except that it is bulletproof and even less about the series 1, i am interested to hear what do more knowledgable owners think. I would prefer a series 2 N/A but they are really rare, almost non existent here in Ontario. Obviously the 99 would be the best choice but still what do you guys think about 95's and the major differences from 96-99?

If you plan to mod, 97-99. If you don't, any of them.

I won't be doing any modding, I just plan to put on a set of newer buick rims off a lucerne or allure, currently there's 2 95' rivieras i am interested in one is 95' black on black sc with 150000 km's 4500 asking price, the other one is 95 tan with beige leather (my fav) with 114000 km's for 5000. I hope I can get the price down though. There is also a 99 silver arrow in a bit roughed up shape with 4 flats and the pic taken behind what it looks to be some barn lol so i will see. so series 1 is not that different from series 2 as far as quality goes?

The series I engines do OK, my '95 doesn't have many miles on it but I am hoping it lasts a long time. You can tell the difference when you drive both, but it isn't enough to be concerned about, I don't think so anyway.

If you have nice '95s available I would go for that over a rough Silver Arrow, even though they are a bit more rare it might not be worth fixing it up if it is in too bad of shape.

Good luck with your search,

Thanks for all the insight guys, the 2 95's are in really good condition although pricey, I will try to put some pics up when I'm off my mobile, the 99 has only 1 pic in the ad i see no rust, the body looks fine but it sits on 4 flats and the ad doesn't really specifiy anything but that it is 197 out of 200. funny thing is there was a 198 out of 200 for sale here 5 months back but it was really banged up, and i still didn't get rid of my Tiburon at that time so I just went to check it out. Like I said I would prefer a NA series 2 but looks like they are really rare

Here are the ones i am checking out, the tan one is a 95' with 113000 km (70k miles) priced at 5000 CAD , black one is 95' with 160 000 km (100 k miles) priced at 4500 CAD, and the silver arrow has 200 000 km's (125 k miles) price unknown (please contact, no reply yet)

They all seem to be priced so much higher than what I'm used to here in the states. Don't know how the dollars translate to Canadian bucks, but still seem high priced.

I'd stay away from the 99 due to the fact that anybody that will advertise a car for sale with 4 flats and high mileage isn't worth looking at.

Is the car Jason is offering for sale on here too far from you to consider. I know he is anal about keeping his cars in perfect condition and he seems to be willing to let it go for cheap. I would buy his car in a heartbeat even if I had to take a flight to get it and drive it home.

Just my opinion. Good luck in your search.

5000 cad is about 4000 usd, for the 99 i'm curios how the interior and the engine look like...unfortunately trip to vancouver is not doable at the moment, it would stretch my finances too much, plus i'm not allowed to exit canada for the time being and if i would drive from vancouver i'd wanna drive across the US

Marko, the riv you seek is right here, bro.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t11390p15-98-buick-riviera-60k-miles#183302

MarkoRv wrote:

5000 cad is about 4000 usd, for the 99 i'm curios how the interior and the engine look like...unfortunately trip to vancouver is not doable at the moment, it would stretch my finances too much, plus i'm not allowed to exit canada for the time being and if i would drive from vancouver i'd wanna drive across the US

Maybe I'm very confused about the geography, but does traveling from his location in BC cause you to leave Canada to get it home.????? I need to look at the map of the northern part of the continent.

You could drive through Canada, that's not the biggest issue, finances and time are, all these cars I'm checking out are pretty close