10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 16
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
49,532 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.

2008 Buick Lucerne electrical problems

electrical problem

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2008 Buick Lucerne Owner Comments (Page 3 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #64

Nov 292018

Lucerne

  • 88,500 miles

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

"takata recall"relay to fuel pump in fuse box under drivers side rear seat. Keeps melting (relay and fuse box) leaving an electrical fire smell in car. This is the 2nd box and fuel pump to be replaceed in less than 2 years.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #63

Dec 022018

Lucerne

  • 131,000 miles
My battery is located under the back seat and caught flames yesterday with my small children in the back. I dont understand why U would put a battery under a passenger seat where people sit on top of with fabric

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

problem #62

Oct 012018

Lucerne

  • 170,000 miles
The contact owned a 2008 Buick Lucerne. After starting the vehicle, an electrical surge occurred and the driver noticed smoke under the hood. After opening the hood, flames appeared from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed and towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The local dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 170,000.

- Lansing, MI, USA

problem #61

May 252018

Lucerne

  • 42,000 miles

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

Automatic door locks on various doors have failed repeatedly. This problem has required entire replacement of the door lock/latch assembly's which is quite expensive. Failure of door locks is sometimes not immediately noticeable since it is intermittent at first, until it does not work at all. Children or persons could fall out of car as result of failed locks that you think are locked but they are not. You rely on the door locks to keep everyone safe from accidentally opening the doors.

- West Covina, CA, USA

problem #60

Oct 222016

Lucerne

  • 78,000 miles
Buick Lucerne electrical problems - onstar suspected. I 'm not sure that this is or isn't a safety problem, but after complaining to Buick I was advised by them to file a claim(?) with you. About a month to 6 weeks after an in-town accident (10/22/16) that was repaired immaculately by the local GM dealer, the car sat in a park and fly lot for about 5 days while we had gone visiting out East. When we got back the car was dead as a stone. After a triple a call we got home and immediately got a new battery (12/20/16), even though I was surprised that it had gone dead because there was no warning (slow starting, etc). However, in the next 6 months or so, two more new ones went dead (2nd 1/3/17, 3rd 3/13/17) and were replace by the dealer at no charge. However, in the next year or so, not only did the onstar go dead, the brakes lights quit and was replaced, the cruise control quit, the stabiltrak quit, (and both were replaced). My insurance company - american family - informed me that the accident is not the cause of the problems. So finally I took it to another shop cas (complete auto service - austin) that does the city's police cars, and they ran a diagnostic on it and even though the onstar has quit working, by removing the fuse in it that 'seems' - after spending over $1300 and still not replacing the onstar for another $650, - to have solved the problem. At least so far.

- Austin, MN, USA

problem #59

Nov 062017

Lucerne

  • 70,235 miles
Was driving and vehicle started to stutter, hesitate, then total loss of steering brakes didn't work properly. We were on an over pass during rush hour traffic busy intersection. Finally after about 1 hr we made it to autozone limp mode all the way. Purchased coils X 3, coil ignition module, spark plug wires, spark plugs, camshaft sensor, crankshaft sensor. Then find out it was only a freaking fuse under seat that was burnt and melting away. Not very happy. GM should be held accountable for knowing about this and not offering to fix it.

- Fayetteville, OH, USA

problem #58

Sep 292017

Lucerne

  • Automatic transmission
  • 68,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Buick Lucerne. While the key was placed in the ignition, the contact attempted to start the vehicle, but it failed to crank. The vehicle was towed to burns Ford Inc. (188 N broadway ave, burns, or 97720 (541) 573-6014) where it was diagnosed that the relay that goes to the fuel pump had melted and the relay needed to be replaced. There was no fire. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that no recall was associated with the VIN. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000. Carfax cannot process VIN updated 7/26/18

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #57

Sep 142017

Lucerne

  • miles
My Buick has been constantly breaking down and every mechanic has told me the same problem. It is the fuel pump and the fuse box under the seat. I never thought that I would have any problems since buying this car in 2016. But, I have had numerous problems and all I see are recalls on my Buick. Everytime I call in to complain and ask about the recall its always something new and that you guys can't do anything. This was my first purchase for my 21st birthday and I never want a Buick ever again. If there is someone that could help me regarding my fuel pump and fuse box please contact me and maybe you could do better and send me the parts to fix my car. This is ridiculous and I hope someone could contact me right away.

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #56

Jul 272017

Lucerne

  • 137,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Lucerne. On several occasions, the fuel pump relay overheated and melted. Upon inspection, the contact became aware that the fuse/relay enclosure melted. The contact's husband was able to replace the fuse/relay enclosure, but the failure recurred. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 137,000. The VIN was not available.

- Mc. Connelsville, OH, USA

problem #55

Jun 252017

Lucerne

  • miles
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that the electronic control panel and a fuse box internally failed with a wires melted and the contact was uncertain as to what caused the failure. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop and an independent mechanic inspected, diagnosed and repaired the vehicle. The repairs were unknown and the contact was uncertain if the part may fail again. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

- Harris, MN, USA

problem #54

Jun 022017

Lucerne

  • 85,506 miles

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

The car was parked and would not start had it towed to a repair shop. The repair shop found the fuel relay had over heated and melted the fuse panel under the back seat. I did some research online and found on repair pal that 105 other people had the same problems. Ebay seller has sold 1264 fuse boxes like this another ebay seller sold 275 fuse blocks for Buick and GM cars. Did some more research found problems back to 1996 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne's had issues.

- Winchester, VA, USA

problem #53

Feb 222017

Lucerne

  • 130,000 miles
Lost power while driving 65 mph on highway which caused power steering and brakes to become hard to use. I took it to mechanic and found that the fuel pump relay had over heated causing the fuel pump to stop. I looked on recalls on the internet and saw where this has become a common problem with these cars and that General Motors refuses to issue a recall. This is a very danervous condition and needs to be corrected.

- Chidester, AR, USA

problem #52

Jan 042017

Lucerne

  • miles
Fuel pump repaced 2015, 54000 mileage, then fuse box melted 1-04-2017 74000 mileage and was stranded. Found out these two problems tied together from other compaints.no recalls or any reimbursement. With this many complaint issues I feel something should come our way for owning a biuck which I grew up being told you can't go wrong with a Buick... not right. $ 1300 later still waiting!

- Warren, OH, USA

problem #51

Jan 122017

Lucerne

  • miles
I bought this Buick used a couple of month ago with 87K. I've since driven over 4K miles. I bought this car because it was a big touring car and I needed something reliable and comfortable for longs days on the road. Several hundred miles ago it just wouldn't start in the driveway. Research led me to the fuse board. Checked the fuses and relays found nothing obvious. Car started up a few minutes later. This happened later that day when in another city and then a few more times that day. Almost had it towed but then it started. Now, after almost 1000 miles it gave up the ghost and I found one of the teeth on the relay burned and the plastic partially melted on the relay housing and the fuse panel. Went to the parts store and bought a relay replacement but it didn't do any good. Shopping for a mechanic now. My thinking is I need to get rid of it. I travel a lot throughout the snow belts in NY state and this bothers me it could happen on the highway and effect control. And a fire hazard. Why is GM not recalling this!

- Auburn, NY, USA

problem #50

Dec 302016

Lucerne 6-cyl

  • 111,421 miles
Our 2008 Buick Lucerne was in the hov lane traveling on 84 w toward hartford, ct. Without warning - no warning lights came on - the car started to decelerate. My daughter tried to accelerate and nothing happened; she then tried to brake to pull over and was unable to freely turn the wheel. She struggled to move to safety to the shoulder on the side of the road but then felt the steering wheel and brakes lock completely as the car stalled. When she attempted to restart the car to move to safety, the car violently shook. Since the car was still partially on the highway, my husband and I called the ct state police to request help while my daughters were waiting for aaa. When the trooper arrived on the scene he called us to say that the car was partially in the road and that two cruisers were there to ensure the safety of our daughters. The car was towed to our service station of 25 years in scranton pa and found that the fuel pump relay post had overheated and melted. A diagnostic test did not reveal any problems either. The car had to be towed one week earlier to this same station because the car was shaking violently. After a diagnostic test revealed nothing, they determined that the car was low on fuel (and that it wasn't a fuel pump issue). We then drove the car another 517 miles without incident. I have found that complaints have been filed with Buick (I have filed one too) regarding this problem and that fires have resulted from the overheating. These complaints indicate that sometimes the car starts, sometimes it doesn't. I believe these 2 incidents, one week apart, were related and that both times, no warning or diagnostic test revealed a problem. If my daughter had been driving on the 4 lane highway leading into hartford and this problem occurred, I have no doubt that she and my other daughter would have been in a serious, if not fatal accident.

- Scranton, PA, USA

problem #49

Jun 102014

Lucerne

  • 92,000 miles
When ready to leave work the vehicle would not start. Determined the fuel pump was not operating. Replaced the fuel pump and the vehicle still would not start. I found the fuel pump relay was the ultimate cause of failure. After replacing this relay two other times I decided to look further into the cause. I dismantled the fuse box to find it was not complete inside. The fuse box is filled with female to female couplers to connect the bottom wiring harness to the fuses. The fuel pump relay should have four of the couplers installed in the fuse box. There are only three installed. The male pins are long enough to touch and make contact. They will eventually overheat. This is a manufacturing defect and a fire hazard; as many people have had the issue. Buick still has not issued a safety recall and refuses to actually investigate the reason this is happening. The average consumer is being hit wit a $400 fuse box and $600 fuel pump replacement. I actually have since installed my original fuel pump. The replacement pump did not have a sending unit for the fuel gauge. Why are the dealers replacing probably perfectly fine fuel pumps. This has become a racket.

- Springville, AL, USA

problem #48

Oct 172016

Lucerne 6-cyl

  • 106,079 miles
Engine stalled after starting and driving about 20 yards in a parking lot. Then would crank but not start and had burning smell inside car. Had towed to dealer and they found a melted fuel pump relay and fuse box located under rear seat. They said there was a potential fire hazard if didn't replace fuse box too. Car had 106,079 miles at time.

- West Hartford, CT, USA

problem #47

Oct 072016

Lucerne

  • 72,000 miles
Electric components of fuel delivery system short causing fire hazard. The fuel pump, fuel pump relay, and under seat fuse panel malfunction causing the relay and fuse panel to overheat and melt down. The heat builds while driving or while starting. This happened three times in a week.

- Albion, IL, USA

problem #46

Jul 262016

Lucerne

  • 44,000 miles
On July 26, 2016, while driving on cleveland drive, lots of smoke started coming out from under the hood of the car then all of a sudden fire started to shoot out as well. There were no issues previously with the car as it was in perfect condition inside and out. I contacted Buick to see if the car was ever recalled but it was not, however, it probably should have been. Now I am without a car because it was deemed a total loss. I attached pictures but did need to upload the fire dept report.

- Cheektowaga, NY, USA

problem #45

Aug 122016

Lucerne

  • 150,000 miles
Car would crank over but would not start. Had fuel pump and burnt relay replaced and and an hour later the car fuel relay failed due to overheating.

- Delran, NJ, USA

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