NHTSA — Vehicle Speed Control Problems

2.1

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,425 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.

2010 Buick LaCrosse engine problems

engine problem

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2010 Buick LaCrosse Owner Comments

problem #15

Oct 012023

LaCrosse

  • miles

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

The car continues to have serious engine issues. I keep getting a service Stability track and Engine Power Reduced warning. It has happened to me on the expressway and the car will not accelerate past 20 miles per hour. I had the car repaired on October of last year (3 months ago) and the issue persists. I decided to research online and this seems to be a major issue going on with Buicks. It sounds like GM has done nothing to remedy the malfunction. Many people state that even the dealers can seem to fix the issues and have no clue as to why this happens. This is a serious and life threatening mechanical failure that needs to be addressed.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #14

Jun 052023

LaCrosse

  • miles
I get Reduced Engine Power and Service Stabilitrak messages. Engine Code P2138 is prevalent. The car will not accelerate, nor maintain highway speeds, forcing the driver to pull off the road and shut off the car. The warning message returns under normal driving conditions. This code points to several components [Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) Sensor, Throttle Body Assembly with Sensor, Manifold Absolute Position (MAP) Sensor, etc...] All of which I have replaced. It is rumored that General Motors knows that it is a problem and the true fix is to replace the wire(s) and seal or replace the connector. Refer to GM Technical Service Document 070604019F

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #13

Jan 222020

LaCrosse

  • 112,000 miles
On 1/22/2020 when I was driving down the road my stabilitrac light came on causing my car to slow down to 25 mph. Wouldn't go faster than that..I took the battery cables off for about 20 min. And the stabilitrac light came off so I drove the care home and right before I got home it came on again. Also in 1/20/2020 my left headlight. Does not work. I put a knew light bulb on and it worked for a few days and it went out again.

- Lubbock, TX, USA

problem #12

Jul 152013

LaCrosse

  • 50,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2010 Buick Lacrosse. While driving 75 mph, the vehicle lost power and decelerated independently to 30 mph. The failure recurred several more times. The vehicle was taken to zimbrick Buick GMC eastside (5402 high crossing blvd, madison, wi 53718), but the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that they would not assist since the vehicle was out of warranty. The contact also stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact was finally able to restart the vehicle and purchased a new battery; however, the failure recurred three or four times very close together. The contact also stated that, when attempting to start the vehicle, it would fail to detect the key fob even when placed properly. The vehicle was taken back to zimbrick Buick GMC eastside, but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was unsure of whether the manufacturer had been contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

- Madison, WI, USA

problem #11

Aug 142017

LaCrosse

  • 344,000 miles
I noted the exact same problem reported on the NHTSA site for this same make and model of car. It's included under the heading vehicle speed control. I just purchased this car in the past month and now notice that each time I try to move my foot from the foot feed to the brake pedal my foot catches on the side of the brake pedal. It seems to me to be an obvious safety risk in that it takes another movement of my foot to get it on the brake pedal slowing my response to brake. I fear that if I need to stop quickly, I will either miss the brake pedal or will have a delay in reaching it which could cause a serious accident if braking quickly is necessary to avoid a crash. This happens every time I move my foot from the foot feed to the brake pedal!

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #10

Feb 132017

LaCrosse

  • 82,000 miles
"takata recall" I have a recall letter on the throttle sensor and if I have any issues please take into a dealer right away I did this in November of 2016 and they said code did not show up, so 3 months later I have same issues with the car not going over 40 M.P.H and my engine power is reduced. I have 3 diagnostic test that show the throttle sensor is bad I also have documentations of this. I have paid a dealer $100 dollars twice for them to tell me the code still did not show up so they won't replace the recall. I have replaced the throttle myself and paid out of my pocket because the car is un-drivable since Feb 13th 2017 I have been dealing with GM customer care on this issue and they refuse to help me with anything. If this is a recall why am I putting out money for a part that is bad and needs to be replaced. This has been going on for almost 4 months, first time I was going 55 mph and was able to pull over right away. The second I was getting off the hwy and was only a mile from work and was able to pull into work. The third time this happened I was almost killed coming home from work on the hwy when I had to drive in the emergency lane doing 40 when the speed limit is 65 with a semi behind me I was a nervous wreck by the time I was able to get off the hwy and turn the car off. I also have the part to show that it is bad.

- Erlanger, KY, USA

problem #9

Jul 012016

LaCrosse

  • 67,500 miles

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

On Friday, July 1, 2016 I was traveling down a 2 lane road with my cruise control set when my car suffered a loss of power. The engine still was running, but apparently my transmission lost the ability to power the car. I was able to park on the shoulder of the road, and eventually, towed to my mechanics shop. Yesterday I was told the problem was a faulty transmission control and it will cost me $1060 to repair. I was also told that this is a common enough problem that Buick dealers keep the part in stock.. if it is that common of a problem, and cars are losing power on the road, that is a safety issue and should be subject to recall, instead of taking hard earned money out of owners pockets to fix! I might add that this car has less than 68,000 miles on it!

- Merrill, MI, USA

problem #8

Mar 182016

LaCrosse

  • 89,000 miles
Over the past several months, while driving, the service stabilitrak warning light comes on; the ABS & park assist lights flash on and off; my RPM, speedometer, & temperature gauges go haywire; and the engine loses power causing the car to jerk. I never know when this will happen. On 3/18/16, I was put in a dangerous situation when this happened while driving across the state of Florida on a 2 lane highway that had no safe place to pull off the road. The check engine light also came on and stayed on thru the rest of my drive. Two days later, the drive home was incident free & the check engine light was gone. On 3/22/16 I took the car to a GM dealer; showed the service tech a video of the events happening as I was driving and a letter I got from GM regarding a possible throttle sensor problem that causes reduced power and malfunction indicator lamps to appear. The GM dealer tech said my cars problems had nothing to do with GM's letter and he was 90% sure my fuel injector needed replacing. I took the car to my personal auto mechanic for 10+ yrs, who works for a very reputable company, for a second opinion. Since the codes had been cleared by the dealership service dept and the car checked out ok my mechanic said to drive it and bring it back if the problems occurred again. It recently started happening again & my check engine light came on so I took the car to my mechanic who found multiple codes for ECM & tcm lost communication PCM malfunction & other communication issues. He drove the car and experienced what I was explaining was happening. My mechanic couldn't pinpoint the problem but said there was no problem with the fuel injection system; that it's electrical. He suggested we take the car to another Buick dealer to have it checked out. This is a very dangerous situation & I don't feel safe driving the car since I never know when the problems will start happening.

- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

problem #7

Mar 182016

LaCrosse

  • 89,000 miles
Three days ago, while on a trip from the West coast of Florida to the East coast of Florida; and while driving on the highway at 65 mph, the warning bells started dinging and the messages: Service stabilitrak, ABS, and park assist off kept flashing off and on; the car began jerking and losing engine power; the tachometer, speedometer, and temperature gauges were jumping around all over the place; and the check engine light came on. (a video of what occurred was taken to show as proof). I managed to pull off the side of the road, turned the car off and sat for several minutes, then started the car again. Less than a minute after I got back on the highway, the same events occurred again. After at least 30 minutes or more of the car continuing to malfunction while driving; it suddenly stopped giving me warning signals and engine power seemed to stabilize; however, the check engine light remained on. Once I reached my destination, I didn't use the car for two days. My return trip home, which was approximately 140 miles, was uneventful; however, the very next morning on my way to work, while sitting in traffic on the expressway, the warning bells suddenly started ringing again, and the service stabilitrak and ABS lights came on. Fortunately I was able to make it to work and called the Buick dealer to bring my car in to have it checked. In the past few months, this problem has occurred 3 to 4 times, but each time only lasted moments and never to the extreme that it did. I received a letter from Buick about 3 months ago that pertained to such issues and loss of engine power; and the letter stated that the car should be taken to the Buick dealer and repaired at no cost. This is an extremely dangerous problem that needs to be addressed and resolved immediately.

- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

problem #6

Apr 062015

LaCrosse

  • 69,800 miles
I was getting on the on ramp for the interstate and gradually attempting to gaining speed to but my vehicle would not pick up speed.I pressed the gas pedal to the floor with no pick up. Then all of a sudden my vehicle began to pick up speed. When the vehicle got up to approximately 60 mph it began to do the same thing again I had the accelerater pedal to the floor. I could here the vehicle idling and after some time had passed it began to pick up speed again. I've had my vehicle for four years and have kept up with the maintenance at the dealer ship. I have paid for diagnostics several times at the dealership to no avail. I took it to the dealer but they found nothing wrong with it. I have taken it more than 5 times in an attempt to rectify the problem with no success. It's not a constant thing, however it is quite dangerous as well as unsettling not knowing when or where my safety may be comprised in this vehicle. This is my second Buick Lacrosse which has had problems of this nature. I was hoping my problems with my 2005 Buick Lacrosse was an isolated incident but I'm beginning to think perhaps it wasn't. maybe this can all be attributed to just poor workmanship with inferior product manufacturing.

- Bartlett, TN, USA

problem #5

Mar 252015

LaCrosse 6-cyl

  • 64,000 miles

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

I was driving on the freeway this morning doing about 60mph in traffic and all of a sudden my car lost power. The dash or the dic went completely blank, but not before all of the chimes, and the caution alerts appearing and then I started to loose speed. Fortunately I was able to pull off to the side of the freeway. At that point I put the car in park after a minute I restarted it and continued to drive to work. This same incident occurred back in November of 2014. Coincidently I was on the freeway then too. But when I called the dealership back in November when this first happened they informed me that there was nothing that they could do unless I was able to recreate the issue. But of course I can't recreate the issue and now four months later it's happening again. I don't understand why there has not been a recall for this. Especially considering I have read other complaints for the same reason.

- Parma Heights, OH, USA

problem #4

Feb 052015

LaCrosse 6-cyl

  • 87,737 miles
This is a reoccurring issue with the car shutting off completly while driving or loss of engine power.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #3

May 152014

LaCrosse 6-cyl

  • 63,000 miles
I was traveling on the highway at 5:30am with minimal traffic. While traveling at 66mph, I put the car into cruise control. Then I pulled my foot off the gas pedal that placed it flat footed with me leg towards the seat. I am a short person. I have 3 house keys on a ring attached to the car key. I felt my knee touch the dangling keys. At that moment, the electrical system and car shut down. I had no power brakes or no power steering, etc. I was in the lane closest to the breakdown lane. I was able get the car into the breakdown lane and cost to a stop. (fortunately no traffic passed me until I finally stopped.) the ignition key and switch was in the on position when I stopped. I was able to restart the car by placing the car in park and restarting the car. I brought the car to the dealership. They looked at the car and found no error codes. They could not duplicate my problem. They told me I must have shut off the ignition switch with my knee. I attempted to do this an cannot turn the key off with my knee. I addition, my knee does not reach the switch without lifting it up at least a couple inches. I only brushed the bottom of the dangling house keys. 2010 should be included in the recall!!!

- Windham, NH, USA

problem #2

Jun 122012

LaCrosse 6-cyl

  • 43,337 miles
I believe the vehicle has something that may or may not ever be found by a test drive at dealer by service mechanic. I also believe this started before the posted mileage above but I do not have all paperwork from dealership that serviced it. Vehicle will bog down after you start to accelerate on hills, around curves, at take off. Sometimes this enables traction control light but not always. I will have no acceleration for seconds and is very unsafe as the last time it did it I was coming around a dangerous curve with a dump truck behind me and couldn't speed up because had no power when pushing the gas pedal. I also had it happen as I was passing another vehicle and it all but stopped beside the vehicle I was attempting to pass. No acceleration can lead to severe injury or death depending on circumstances at time of incident. I have take to dealer more than 3 times for same issue to be told its nothing and they cant duplicate the problem. Even I know that some cars have issues that are never fixed or found! I have contacted GM to get the run around for weeks then finally be told nothing can be done because they aren't prepared to drop the engine because it may cost $4000. If I get hurt in this vehicle it is going to cost a whole heck of a lot more than that! I do not want the engine dropped I am filing a lemon law complaint and will consider a dealer buy back but I am not dropping this because I am not imagining this as the dealer said... I have read same issues online so I know I am not the first with the Buick problem. The car is unsafe so we will just let the attorneys hash this out!

- S. Bloomingville, OH, USA

problem #1

Dec 012009

LaCrosse

  • miles
Quiet often, the edge of my shoe will catch on the rh side of the brake pedal when moving from the gas to the brake or vice-versa. The area of the foot impacted is near the ball of the foot. The issue seems worse when wearing dress shoes (as opposed to athletic shoes). This has raised some safety concerns for me - especially if I were to need to react quickly in an emergency situation. I don't know if the brake pedal needs to be moved away from the gas pedal laterally or if the two pedals need to be brought more into the same plane. I have submitted my concern to the manufacturer as well, and have not received feedback at this time.

- Roanoke, IL, USA

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