NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
45,569 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Buick Enclave electrical problems

electrical problem

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2009 Buick Enclave Owner Comments

problem #20

May 212023

Enclave

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The seat caught on fire. Origin of fire started in the seat according to fire officials.

- Ten Mile, TN, USA

problem #19

Feb 272018

Enclave

  • 115,000 miles
We replaced coil 4 and 2 back in Dec 2015, then number 1 on 10-30-2017, and now they are stating numbers 3 and 5 are bad...is this normal" do we have a defective car" all of the GM cars we have owned, we have never have to replace 1 much less 5!!

- Palm Desert, CA, USA

problem #18

Mar 212017

Enclave

  • 48,043 miles
Two month old battery went dead. Discovered water surrounding the battery and soaked all under carpeting on floor boards. Warranty is expired and since I am a widow on fixed income can not take it to Buick as they charge exorbitant prices for problems that should be covered and not happen. Aaa driver said there appears to be a seal someplace near battery that has come off letting water come up through the underside and collect around battery.

- Fair Oaks,, CA, USA

problem #17

Aug 152016

Enclave

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Buick Enclave. While driving 10 mph and making a right turn, the contact noticed that the graco child safety seat that was latched in the second row seating on the driver side was moving. The contact also mentioned that the daytime running lights failed to operate, as well as the key fobs. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and dealer several times for the lights and key fobs, where the battery and sensor have ben replaced in the key fob and the bulbs have been replaced for the light. However, the failures recurred several times afterwards. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the seat belt issue. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #16

May 302016

Enclave

  • 30,000 miles
My Enclave 2009 was caught fire when it was parked stationary in a garage at 9:40am on 5/30/2016. The fire started from the right front of the vehicle, which results in the whole car totaled. Me and my family have been suffering much from this event. It's hard to believe it happened to our vehicle. This vehicle has low mileage (about 30,000), well maintained by us and GM shop in the past (all the records are available in GM system). On 5/31 we reported to GM with detailed information and requested an investigation. On 6/2, customer department contacted me, stating that they don't care about the cause of the fire and they don't involve in an investigation as we have our insurance covered. I told them no matter our insurance company initiates an investigation or not, as the manufacturer, GM needs to check this vehicle and take responsibility and improve its product if there is a deficit in GM engine. However they still asserted that they don't take care of such case. I have kept the record of our conversation in case needed. It's an unhappy experience. All the evidence we got so far suggested it's the problem of the electronical system/engine. We don't want it to happen to other people. We hope GM to have someone to initiate an investigation asap.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #15

Jan 062016

Enclave

  • 116,210 miles
Car spuddering on acceleration and inclines. Check engine light on. Needs all spark plugs and coils replaced again. Codes P0300, P0302, P0303 stored. Miss fire on 2 and 3 cyclinders. Also, needs replace line and recharge system as ac discharge line is leaking.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #14

Apr 102015

Enclave

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My back hatch just started opening on its own. Motor in the lock keeps running. Now my driver side lock won't work. When in park, door lock pops up but inside handle still locked. Now indoor lock being difficult.

- Fairview, PA, USA

problem #13

Mar 102010

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 3,764 miles
Squeaking brakes and steering noise. Resubmitted for repair could not duplicate at dealership. Resubmitted in 2011 and 2013, water pump replaced, steering gear box replaced, steering pump replaced, throttle body cleaned. Engine timing off at idle, harsh/ruff transition between gear shifts. Rear hatch failed to operate. Sensor replaced, then actuator replaced, then control buttons replaced then final control button and internal door sensors replaced not by warranty, rear hatch struts failed and dropped on child and owners heads, open and close buttons non responsive on remote for the hatch. Only the interior hatch release button worked. Onstar would not power down, no notice it was connected, dropped cell calls and killed battery. Upon jumping, the control module for onstar failed as did cellular antenna not covered by warranty. Brakes squeaking and fluttering plus pulse at slow down. Master cylinder had hydraulic fluid leaking into brake lines, boost pump failed and repeated flushing did not clear the system. Air in lines caused brake failure near collision avoided with evasive operator driving maneuvers, 3rd flush cleared the lines not covered by warranty. Steering unstable on uneven roadways and in left and right turns, repeat/recur, final submission 4th time, engine mount broken and possible spark plugs for idle problems. Replaced sparke plugs did not resolve idle speed or hard shift out of 3/5 gears. A/C outage three times, no leak detected, freon loaded and reloaded: Evaporator coil diagnosed as problem. Total dash disassembled, several electrical issues surfaced since including onstar, ECM errors, nav sys stayed on, cell phone not connecting and check engine light illuminating without cause codes. Over $16500 in repairs completed on this vehicle, some covered by warranty, some not, by 2013 nearly all repairs not covered by extended warranty.

- Lorton , VA, USA

problem #12

Nov 292014

Enclave

  • 63,000 miles
The key gets stuck in the ignition in the direction of the car being on and wont turn backwards so you cant turn vehicle off.

- Merrillville, IN, USA

problem #11

Nov 032014

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 68,140 miles
Battery was completely dead. Electrical system was shorted. Installed new battery. Vehicle started but would not shut off even with key removed. Check engine light stayed on and would not go off even with key removed. Found water leaked into dash. Checking internet brought other reports of other possible water leaks.

- Raceland, KY, USA

problem #10

Jul 212012

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 57,796 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Issue: Repair done for premature timing chain wear due to engine control module resolution: Recall repair #10287 performed and reprogrammed engine control module issue #5.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #9

Sep 042013

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 73,296 miles
Issue: Check engine light issue resolution: Dealership found code P0304 and P0306 were stored. Recommended replacement of #4 and #6 coils and plugs. Repair replaced all plugs and coils. Issue #7. itr

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #8

Jan 092010

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 9,906 miles
Issue: Navigation/main control panel goes blank again resolution: Dealership found document 237119 addressing issue. Per document, updated navigation software and reprogrammed radio with sps issue #2

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #7

Nov 142009

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 6,425 miles
Issue: Radio/main control panel for car would not turn on at all (totally blank) resolution: Dealership found that power was going to radio but no power out of connector at radio. To repair, it was necessary to remove radio and repair connector for circuit. And reprogram. Issue # 1.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #6

Aug 112011

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 44,890 miles
Issue: Battery not holding charge and frequently needs jump resolution: Dealership verified and found that battery had bad cell. Battery replaced issue #4.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #5

May 012010

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 15,259 miles
Issue: Indicator light received to service rearview park assist resolution: Dealership found not problem and light not on at time vehicle was brought in for service. No codes stored in system and no repairs made. The issue is sporadic and I still have the issue today. Issue #3.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #4

May 142014

Enclave 6-cyl

  • 64,523 miles
Power steering fails and the wheel is hard to steer to the left or right. It continues to get worse and worse. In addition, as we were driving down the street at about 30 mph and all of the electrical went out in the vehicle. We stopped the vehicle, restarted it, and the problem went away.

- Goodyear, AZ, USA

problem #3

Dec 022013

Enclave

  • 79,000 miles
I would not recommend this vehicle, it is pretty expensive for all the problems we've had. It has already been recalled twice for two different problems. In December it started misfiring, hesitating and becoming sluggish. After taking it to three different repair facilities they figured out the pistons were misfiring and three ignition coils(all on the same side) had to be replaced. While I realize the time frame of the warranty has passed, we were under the mileage for warranty coverage. I guess automobile makers penalize you for not putting a lot of miles on your car. Now, just three months later with only a few more thousand miles added - out of the blue I'm driving down the road and numerous warning lights come on. Park assist goes off, all wheel drive goes off, ABS warning light, and brake warning light all come on at the same time. When I called the dealer I was told to turn the car off and then back on and it should be fine - it wasn't. then I was told it was ok to drive it! if so, then why all the warning lights" too many things have gone wrong, for a price tag of over $50,000. We have always had the suggested maintenance performed, I feel this vehicle is not made well and is not worth the price tag, but more importantly - how safe is it??"

- Prince Frederick, MD, USA

problem #2

Jul 082009

Enclave

  • 3,621 miles
Purchased new 2009 Buick Enclave cxl fwd(3/30/09) fully loaded. 4 months later, battery died. Made 5 or more visits to GM dealership. They ran parasitic drain diagnostics over night, new upgrades installed, replaced battery twice and more than a year later, every couple of months battery dies. I think there are many people out there with this kind of problem that GM should fix the problem under a recall before some electrical catches on fire and GM will have to payout millions.

- Sugar Land, TX, USA

problem #1

Mar 052009

Enclave

  • 2,500 miles
If we don't drive our 2009 Buick Enclave every few days, the battery goes completely dead and we have to charge it to even get the key out of it. The dealership service department looked at it and said the battery is fine but there is a "bulletin" (but not a recall) about a "parasitic power draw" problem in these vehicles and they will let us know when they have a repair available. In the meantime, we are to make a point to run our Enclave every few days.

- Chadwick, IL, USA

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