10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 92,091 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Rough shifting with a very noticeable 'shimmy' or shaking during driving.
- Garretson, SD, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. While driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle lunged forward and made an abnormal noise. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000.
- Cheraw, SC, USA
My 2008 Buick Enclave has been an accident waiting to happen the entire life of the car. My main concern is the power steering. It has gone out 5-6 times in the 8 years I have owned the vehicle.if you would like invoice of each time/date I have them with the exact problem. Five or 6 times it went out.-- three at slow speed low RPM trying to turn in the city and at 6 1 wt 230 it took all my strength not to hit a car head on during the turn.three on the interstate turning off exit an higher speed. If my daughter or granddaughter had been driving in the city they would have been dead. Buick extended the power steering warranty to 150;000 miles. I had the last power steering pump put in at 149,432 miles 11/23/16. My concern to you and Buick is about every 25K power steering goes out. I never had a power steering problem with my 2002 chevey sub with 160K witch we still drive--never had a power steering problem with my 2002 GMC den with 251K witch we still drive..Buick knows they made a engineering design flawed car with their first Enclave SUV at the expense in money and lives of the 2008 owners all 2008 Enclaves should be grounded like the 787 was before boeing/faa found out what was causing the battery fires and fixed them!!.why is a flying public life worth more than the a driving public life? if you and Buick will not ground the Enclave then at least they should be a free safety check ever quarter for the life of the car for their design flaw problems.I think there are 12. Ps I cannot write 6 times so I put last one on 'when did this happen.
- Spartanburg, SC, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 mph and going on an incline, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a dealer where it stalled and failed to shift gears. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
- Douglasville, GA, USA
Vehicle makes a unfamiliar sound in shifting in 3rd and 5th gears. It sounds like the tranny is staining to complete the shift. The noise doesn T happen every time. The noise is annoying and the shift seems a little slower.
- Penfield, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. While driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of power. The failure occurred without warning. The contact contacted onstar who performed a diagnostic test, which determined that the transmission, engine, air bag, and brake systems failed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
- Detroit, MI, USA
Takata recall, I have problems with my transmission running hot. There have recalls on Buick Enclave 2008, but they claim its certain vins. It would not shift into gear like it should when the car is hot and then you get a warning transmission hot engine idle. Then the transmission starts to drag, had to pull out of traffic to prevent being ran into. Then I would shift into gear real hard and jerk. The vehicle has a bad roll back.
- Richmond, VA, USA
"takata recall"my Buick Enclave is having problem after problem with this transmission had it serviced twice module replaced at the dealership it still drags speedometer get stuck and now reverse issues I don't no what to do im mentally and financial drain with this vehicle.
- East Chicago, IN, USA
At 90K miles vehicle had check engine light along with warning for stabilitrak and traction control. Later that day the vehicle shook and stalled at a red light. The Buick dealer identified timinig chain and timing actuator as issues. These parts were replaced under an extended warranty that we purchased. At 104K miles the check engine light is on again; the dealer says it is the same timing chain that needs to be replace. But this GM nor the dealer can explain why the timing chain failed after only 14K miles of use. Timing chain appears to be an issue on 2008 Enclave even though GM has refused to cover them. Also it appears the replacement parts are not any better.
- South Plainfield, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. While driving approximately 40 mph and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a crack in the wave plate, which needed to be repaired or the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.
- Peoria, IL, USA
I have financed this 2008 Buick Enclave, which I got in February 2016. Love the car and all the space it has. That was until today! this week as I was leaving the car wouldn't shift into reverse. Once I got it into neutral I was able to back down the incline from the carport to the street. It did shift into drive, but would only go about 25 mph on a busy highway and stayed in first the whole time. I contacted the local Chevy/GM dealer and he said to bring it in. I couldn't because I was at work. This morning the dealer called again after being asked to by my husband and sent a technician to my home. The tech checked it and wrote some codes down and went back to the dealership. The dealer then called and said if I could get the car to him he would have the tech check the fuses and relays. He checked the codes he had pulled and checked all fuses and relays and said that I needed to contact a transmission shop because the computer was not talking to the transmission. All of this after an almost hour trip to drive 8 miles to the dealership and drive that same 8 miles back home because we kept having to stop on the side of the road and stop the engine and then restart it again on that same busy highway. We had several near misses (people driving the 65 mile speed limit nearly rear ending us). Surely there is something that can be done to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else!
- Kingston, OK, USA
Waveplate debris in silinoid car jerks from park to drive doesn't shift well at all
- Cape Elizabeth, ME, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. While driving 20 mph, the transmission malfunctioned and the check engine indicator illuminated. In addition, the vehicle was stuck at 3,500 rpms and the vehicle smelled of smoke and burnt metal. The contact pulled over to the right shoulder of the road and stopped the vehicle. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive away. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be repaired, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. A transmission control module was replaced based on the diagnostic test. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
- Richmond, VA, USA
The Buick dealer is saying the timing chain(s) is slipping and needs replacement and that the heads and or cams may also require replacement. The vehicle went into the shop because the 2nd and 5th gear was not engaging properly, there is hesitation in the transmission/engine. The vehicle has 94,710 miles. The powertrain warranty is 5 years or 100,000 miles. GM issued an extended warranties of 10 years and 120,000 miles for both transmission clutch wave plate (3/5/R) and for timing chain slippage. So they acknowledge they have these problems with the material used and or engines. My concern is that for the timing chain extended warranty GM skipped the Buick Enclave 2008 year model and cover only the 2007 & 2009 year models and they do not want to extend the coverage to cover my timing chain replacement. This is not a normal routine service item per their Buick Enclave user manual. Timing chain should be covered under the powertrain warranty. I should not have to pay for replacing the timing chain on a vehicle with under 100,000 miles because GM used poorly manufactured chains. Usually metal timing chains last well beyond 100,000 miles. I've never replaced a chain on any of my vehicles past or present. This is a known defect with the GM timing chains which should be covered. If the timing chains breaks it will cause tremendous damage and may cause me to get into a catastrophic accident. The diagnostic codes provided by the dealer are as follows: P0011 intake cmp B1 P0391 exhaust cmp B2 P0366 exhaust cmp B1 chains noisy diag doc 08-06-01-011K repair cost range: $2,577 + tax to $5,231 +tax depending on whether heads and or cams require replacement.
- Glen Rock, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. While driving 50 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. While at a stop sign, the failure recurred. The vehicle had to be shifted into different gears for the vehicle to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,827.
- Columbia, SC, USA
My 2008 Buick Enclave had the transmission go out at at 135,000 as we were traveling home from my parents house and left us stranded about 60 miles from home. After this happened I looked online and seen that this has been a problem for others as well. Now at 148,000 the timing chain is stretched and caused the stabilitrack and traction control warning to come on and off, even though there was nothing wrong with the traction control. This causes the traction control to stop working when it is feburary in Minnesota and still have snow and ice.
- Sartell, MN, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that the vehicle would not switch gears beyond the second gear and would not accelerate beyond 30 mph. It was diagnosed that the wave plate inside the transmission had malfunctioned. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 105,000.
- Land O Lakes, FL, USA
While traveling on a Florida interstate at express way speeds, the transmission just quit functioning. I had just gone over the top of a bridge, let up on the throttle, than pressed down again to maintain speed. The engine increased RPM's but I continued to slow down. This was with heavy traffic on my side and behind me. When I found room enough to pull over, I had slowed considerably causing traffic to swerve around me and caused panic braking on their part. Buick motor has a notice out saying they will repair at no charge for 10 years, or 120,000 miles. I had 124,276 miles and they have refused to reimburse me. I consider this feature to be a safety issue, as there could have been a very serious accident because I no longer had any control in order to get out of the way. If this were to happen on a multilane express way, and you were in one of the center lanes with heavy traffic, the result could very easily be accident/death. I believe Buick should be forced to recall before serious things happen. They should also be forced to pay for those that have already had the work done.
- Fort Myers Beach, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. While driving approximately 75 mph, the idle transmission warning light began to illuminate and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that a fuel odor emitted from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the wave plate on the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained inoperable. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and stated that the vehicle did not meet warranty requirements; therefore, the repair would not be covered by the manufacturer. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
- Centerton, AR, USA
- Omaha, NE, USA