122838B

A local garage with the "latest" in diagnostic software failed to pinpoint the cause of the yellow ABS warning lighton my 90 Reatta. They (said they) checked all the brake senors, all relays and fused, flushed the brakes, but did not detect any faulty items. They said the yellow light did not flicker so they could not get a diagnostic code. They recommended taking the car to the dealer. I wonder if I should do the simpler steps first such as install a new accumulator, reservoir level switch, etc. before the dealer tells me I need to put $1,000 into the ABS? I am driving the car locally now because the regular brakes are working fine, but I do not trust it on high speed roads.

I wonder what would be the best way to attach the Reatta emblem so you would not damage the paint if you decided to take it off. Adhesives and glues can sometimes cause paint or metal damage.

To me, those Reatta logos look pretty good on both the trunk and on the window post. Alfa has a similar emblem on the window posts of its GTVs of the 1960s and 70s. I do not know if I would have the nerve to actually put the logos on the Reatta, but again, to me they do not like half bad.

Many European marques including Alfa, BMW, Mercedes, Saab, and even Asian brands such as Toyota, Honda, etc., dispaly their emblems on the trunk lids of their cars. Now I know that Reatta has the BUICK letters ungainly displayed across the rear of the car below the trunk lid. But has anyone ever considered dispaying the Reatta emblem (as displayed on the wheels) on the top of the trunk lid itself, as do the major European brands. I think the Reatta emblem is every bit as striking as the BMW propeller or the Alfa cour de lief or the Mercedes star. I also think that since the Reatta emblem is displayed with such impact on the hood, it would have an equal impact on the trunk. After all, the BUICK dissplayed across beneath the trunk it like a big turn off. It spells out "your father's car." The Reatta emblem is a small modification that could have a real visual impact. Any thoughts on this????

Nick how do you determine if a Reatta is gray or silver? I also see the interior descrived as gray or silver. Just wondering, since I have a 90 "silver" coupe.

The same thing happened to my Alfa. Luckily, the way everything died at once, I checked and sure enough I needed a negative cable and a wire brush.

I am trying to find the proper size car cover for my 90 coup, one that blocks harmful sun rays and is water resitant but is not too expensive. The cover I ordered for my Alfa convertible was very expensive and way too big. High winds make it flap and the result has impacted the paint on the four fenders. Do not want to make that mistake again. Maybe someone can suggest a good car cover source for the Reatta?

I put the 30% legal tint on my Reatta but the shop said even its lightest tint will stop 98% of the sun's harmful rays, including the UV rays. The tint also makes the car interior much cooler and theAC has less work to do. I still cover the entire car, however, if it is going to set for two or three days to protect the paint from sap, bird droppings, etc. If you go for the tint, make sure the shop applies the rear window in one piece. Don't let them talk you into a two-piece tint job, since with time they will migrate apart. If one shop can't do it, find one that will. It might cost a little more. Mine tint job cost $170, about as much as a decent cover.

The cost for the CF-12 was $127, the cost for the 134 was $60, so I spent another $20 for the modification to put in the 134, looking ahead to saving on future freon chargings. I am assuming the ACKits web site stands behind what they sell if anything goes wrong with its products. As to why I did not do the work myself: I do not have a garage. I live on a steep hill with no level place to park the Reatta. When I got up at 6 this morning, it was already past 80 degrees and the humidity was above 90% and climbing. These types of things you think about when you are 67.

The garage wants to charge me $260 labor to install a new compressor and a new dryer that I myself purchased over the internet. Plus $127 for CF-12 freon. He also told me I need an adapter to charge the a/c with R134 which costs $65. Do these costs sound reasonable?

My current 90 Reatta coup, which has been garage kept, has a clear rear taillight lens. My first outdoors only 90 Reatta had a rear taillight lens that suffered from what I suspect are the damaging effect of UV rays from the sun, causing cloudy, dark conditions. What I would like to know is whether there is a proven way to keep clear the taillight lens or must I surrender to invetible damage from the sun's harsh rays as times goes by? I have noticed that newer cars with the same types of rear lens do not suffer the damage seen in the Reattas.

What I am wondering is if taillight lens (buffing), headliner replacement and ABS lights are such frequent problems, why are they not mentioned in the FAQ section? I am fortunate that my tailight lens so far is clear, but is there a proven way to keep it clear? I am unfortunate in that I have the ABS and the headliner problems, but lucky that both these can be readily solved. In any case, dissension has solved a lot of problems in the past.

It opened for me this morning, no problem. What is a problem is that the article covered very old ground. It is not news that the "last" caddy convertible flopped as a collectible. I can't see a magazine on collectives would publish it.

If adequate brakes mean they will lock up the wheels unless prevented by ABS, then why do the major car magazines include stopping distances in their tests? Why do sports cars generally stop a lot shorter in these tests? Trucks too have "adequate" brakes but they take a lot longer to stop. A difference of even one foot in an emergency can mean the difference between avoiding and having an accident. That is the more I can ask for.

New rotors and softer pads? Worth a try since no other convenient solution appears to be available. Also, the price is right.

As to the question "why" install better brakes if available, safety is the best reason. Brakes are conintually evolving and newer cars stop in less distance than the Reatta. This can be a hazard on crowded freeways. Also, the Reatta has only a driver airbag compared to multiple airbags on newer cars. If the brakes can be modified without great expense to stop better, this makes the change a safety feature.

I'm wondering it there is not a way to install bigger, more powerful brakes on the Reatta, which is not going to win many stopping contests. Surely GM has come out with something compatible but with bigger rotors and better calipers?

As a matter of interest, what is the GM part number for the accumulator? I may need to go that route myself. Thanks in advance.

Barney, the tire size calculator shows that the radius, diameter and circumstance is comparable between a tire size of 215/65-15 and of 225/50-17, with the smaller tire very slightly largerin all three dimensions, and a rollling difference of only .6%. So I am guessing that the radius of the 50 series tires will not pose a back-spacing problem.

I notice that Buick Lucerne "hyper silver" wheels are starting to appear on the market. These are 17 by 7 inch wheels with the 115mm bolt pattern. Are these wheels too tall & wide for the Reatta and, if not, what tire size would be required to make them fit? The only drawback to the wheels is that the Reatt hub and emblem will not fit. Too bad. It appears that some Cadallic wheels can take the Reatta emblem. Am I correct here?

Barney, After watching the questions concernings Reattas for a couple years, I think repondents have hit several nerves that bedevil owners....they concern the oxidation of taillight lenses, sagging headliners even in non-sunroof equipped cars, air conditioners that go on the blink without a warning, emergency brake lights than remain on, and ABS problems that crop up unexpectedly. Reattas may have been handbuilt, but perhaps robots would have done a better quality job????? At any rate, I do not think you have a paupicity to subjects to expound on, even if it requires patrolling old turf.

That white & burgundy Reatta listed in autotrader as having only one mile on the clock is at a dealer in Spring Valley, N.Y. Phone salesman Sean McCarthy at 866-472-0879. No price listed.

Barney says 235-55-16s are a good size for aftermarket wheels and tires and in ton to 17 inchers, a 225-50 will fit while 245-45 might create a width problem. What about 235-55-17s. Would they create a fit problem? The reason I ask is that many of the wheels in the aftermarket now seemto be 17 inches and up.

The carpet on the 91 convertible looks to me as if it has more than one mile on it. The carpet mat is pretty shabby looking. The photo of the car itself looks very good. I wonder about the lubrication problems involved in letting a car set for 15 years without any stress on the running gear. Just idling the engine would not do the trick. But then again, if the body is flawless, the rest can be fixed.

I must have expressed myself poorly. By "independent mechanic I do not want to put on the spot," I meant the guy who did the second inspection and found nothing wrong, not the old meanies trying to steal $400 from me with a phony inspection report. It was the independent who backed up my thoughts there was nothing wrong.