10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 10
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 70,967 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.
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle sputtered and failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who recommended that the fuel pump relay be replaced. The mechanic became aware that the fuse was melted. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the fuel pump relay overheated and burned the fuse box. The accelerator pedal and steering wheel became inoperable. The contact was able to control the vehicle and park the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact replaced the relay, but the vehicle failed to start. The contact called the local dealer and was advised to schedule an appointment for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
- Yuma, AZ, USA
The fuse box or fuse holder under the back seat had the fuel pump relay fail due to pressure on the fuse box lid from the seat above it. This is a known issue by Buick as they keep the fuse box in stock (for about $300) I have owned two similar Lucernes with this issue. The fuel pump relay caused enough heat to melt into the fuse box, causing a disconnection. This caused the fuel pump to stop pumping, causing the car to stop running. The problem can be confirmed by calling any Buick dealer. I'm sure they have had several examples of this issue besides my pair. There are many examples mentioned on the internet, as well as videos as to how to fix it. There are no warning lamps prior to the failure. The engine dies and refuses to restart.
- Valley Center, KS, USA
Fuel pump relay keeps burning out.
- Fort Wayne , IN, USA
Fuel pump relay under vehicles back seat fried out due to the back seat hitting the fuse box cover and grounding out the fuel pump relay. My child was in the back seat and said there was smoke coming from the back seat and the fuse box nearly caught on fire. After reading online I am appalled that this has not been recalled yet. There was 0 warning, no lights on dash, I did not file a police report or do anything with my insurance as there was no accident. Just a car bomb manufactured by
- Riverside, IL, USA
failed fuel pump relay and melted fuse block. Car would not start in garage. Knew this vehicle is known to have this issue and when investigating the failure to start the first thing I checked was the fuel pump relay and fuse block and sure enough that was the issue. Common issue that Buick never addressed adequately.
- Dothan, AL, USA
Vehicle was no start. Dealer found fuel pump relay bad on 10/05/201. Next time using vehicle same problem. On 10/20/2021 dealer service department diagnosed bad fuse box. The fuse box is located under the rear passenger seat. It was extremely hot and melting. Fortunately no fire, this time.
- Sainte Genevieve, MO, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that on multiple occasions the vehicle would not immediately start-up. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel pump relay was faulty and needed to be replaced. After replacing the fuel pump relay the failure was temporarily fixed before it recurring. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 79,000.
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving at an unknown rate of speed upon exiting a highway, the vehicle had shut off without warning. She was able to pull the vehicle over and restart the vehicle. As the contact's girlfriend proceeded to drive, she initially smelled smoke coming from the vehicle; she then saw a flame ignite from the bottom rear passenger seat. She stated that she was initially unable to unlock the doors or roll down the driver side window; after a second attempt, she was able to roll down the driver side window and exited the vehicle. A fellow motorist saw the situation and called the fire department. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed and no injuries were reported as a result of the fire. The vehicle was destroyed at the scene and was towed to an independent junk yard. The contact called penske Buick GMC(100 S museum rd, shillington, pa 19607) where he was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.
- Shillington, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, a burning plastic type odor and smoke was present coming from the rear seat area. Upon inspection it was discovered that the fuel pump relay had burned and was very hot to the touch. The contact indicated that the electrical fuse box was located under the driver side rear seat and had made contact with the fuel pump relay causing the failure. The failure was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.
- Youngstown, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. After the vehicle was driven for a short period of time and parked, it failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to empire Chevrolet Buick (1931 us-421, wilkesboro, nc 28697, (336) 838-2191) where it was diagnosed that the relay and fuse panel underneath the rear seat had melted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000. The VIN was invalid.
- North Wilkesboro, NC, USA
After being driven normally all day, the car all of a sudden wouldn't crank properly after being parked for a few hours. The car needed to be towed to a car shop. According to a local mechanic, the back seat pressed on the wiring that, in turn, burned up the electric panel and the fuel pump. Due to this, the electric panel and the fuel pump need to be replaced.
- Reidsville, NC, USA
Going down highway 70 mph straightaway car stalled able to get to side of highway pulled off seat found fuse box temp hot when cooled down noticed fuel relay switch burnt out. Common problem with car due to engineering of seat brackets hitting fuse box and damaging it. This is the second time in 5 years fuse box has been replaced by certified dealership. Obviously problem is with the engineering of seat bracket but apparently dealer does not take me seriously and did not trim seat clips per my specific request bc there is only a bulletin from GM 15-na-051 not a recall. Several complaints have been made and must be common enough for a bulletin luckily no one was tailgating or this could have been a very serious accident.
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that after turning the vehicle off, later the vehicle would not restart. Upon inspection it was discovered that the battery relay was faulty and the fuse box had melted. The contact indicated that the battery and fuse box were located under the rear seat and with rear passengers seated the seat cushion made contact with the battery and fuse box. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 98,000.
- Ravenna, OH, USA
Rec- battery drain no start condition or a stall may melt or overheat. I reveived letter on 1/2019 however experienced this issue in July 2018 had to have car towed mechanic rep;aced bettery. Tk to dealership they experienced the same and draining battery. Sent invoice to Buick for reimbursement of battery that was still in warranty and towing refused to reimburse this should be a recall several complaints and a safety issue. Vehicle was stationary in parking lot could have been worse
- Roanoke, VA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that the vehicle did not start. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact also mentioned that the same failure occurred six other times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the relay panel shorted out. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.
- Centerport, NY, USA
A piece to the fuse box under back seat has melted inside of the fuse box, which has caused the car not to start. The vehicle is now in front of my home, sitting. Buick has no recall but yet this keeps happening.
- Decatur, GA, USA
When driving the car died and would not start. The fuel pump relay had burned up and so we changed the relay, but that did not fix the problem so we went ahead and changed the fuel pump; this did not fix the problem. The fuel pump relay switch is still getting red hot and not sure at this time what is causing the issue. Having it looked into further. I am not sure if there is a recall on this issue or not but have seen quite a few people having this same issue,
- Henryetta, OK, USA
Fuel pump relay heated up and burned up fuse block witch is located under rear seat.fire hazard. Sits above gas tank. Car will not start or will lose power while driving.lost steering and brakes. There has been numerous complaints about this. Also ignition switch not working.
- Rockford, IL, USA
- Clarks Grove, MN, USA