2008 BUICK ENCLAVE Complaints

THE TAILGATE/LIFTGATE IS BROKEN FOR THE SECOND TIME. THE FIRST TIME IT WAS REPLACED WAS WHEN IT HAD ONLY 40,403 MILES. NOW, IT IS BROKEN AGAIN AT 77,000. THE HATCH WILL GO UP AUTOMATICALLY, BUT DOESN'T HOLD SO IT COMES CRASHING DOWN. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS! AM I TO EXPECT THAT EVERY 30,000-40,000 IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED? *TR

THE CAR STARTED TO HAVE TROUBLE SHIFTING INTO GEARS, ESPECIALLY OVERDRIVE. THEN IT WOULDN'T GO INTO REVERSE. THE 3-5 REVERSE WAVED PLATE BROKEN, REPLACED 3-5 REVERSE HOUSING, REPLACE 3-5R PISTON AND DAM ASSEMBLY, REPLACE ALL SEALS AND GASKETS, REPLACE FRONT COVER PISTON SPRING ASSEMBLY, AND TRANSMISSION FLUID FILTER.......$3,173 LATER I WAS OUT THE DOOR NOT HAPPY. I WAS OUT OF TOWN ON VACATION AT THE TIME! MY CAR ONLY HAD 74,074 MILES ON IT. *TR

CHECK ENGINE/EMISSIONS CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON AS WE WERE DRIVING. STOPPED ABOUT A HALF HOUR LATER TO PUT GAS IN, AS WE WERE STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT THE CAR DIDN'T WANT TO GO (NO POWER, NO SHIFT). AS WE WERE LEAVING THE STATION, THE CAR WOULD NOT GO. IT WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO 3RD YEAR, RPMS WERE AT 4000 AT ONLY 40MPH. DROVE HOME AND LATER DROVE IT TO THE MECHANIC. DROVE FINE THEN, BUT THE RPM GAUGE WAS FLUCTUATING. MECHANIC READ THE CODES AS 716 AND 717. TOOK IT TO A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST AND IT DID THE SAME THING, WOULDN'T SHIFT. TRANS MECHANIC STATES ITS THE CLUTCH WAVE PLATE THAT PROBABLY BROKE AND MAGNETIC PIECES ATTACHED TO THE SENSOR CAUSING IT TO GO INTO A LIMP MODE. APPROXIMATE COST TO REPLACE THE $20 PART (WAVE PLATE) WILL BE IN THE UPPER $2000! RIDICULOUS. I'M LOSING MY FAITH IN GM VEHICLES. PER A WEB SEARCH, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH ENCLAVE, ACADIA, OUTLOOK AND TRAVERSE. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS! *TR

JUST BOUGHT THE CAR ON THURSDAY. TODAY IS SUNDAY AND WE HAD A LIGHT RAIN. I HAD TO RUN TO THE STORE AND NOTICED WATER RUNNING ALL OVER THE SEATS AND THE DASH. THE CAR IS LEAKING ALL OVER. CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY SAID TO BRING IT IN TOMORROW MORNING. *TR

DURING ACCELERATION ON A BUSY HIGHWAY, CAR LURCHED AND LOST POWER. EVASIVE ACTION WAS TAKEN TO AVOID COLLISION WITH BIG RIG TRUCKS HAULING LARGE HAY LOADS. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON.TOLD BY SHOP THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. GEAR 3,5 AND REVERSE WERE AFFECTED BY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CLUTCH FAILURE. VEHICLE ONLY HAD 72500 MILES ON IT. HAVE SEVERAL OTHER OWNERS WHO STATED THEIR TRANSMISSIONS IN LIKE VEHICLES ALSO FAILED WELL SHORT OF 100,000 MILES. DANGER TO DRIVER AND PASSENGERS DUE TO SUDDEN LURCH AND LOSS OF POWER. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 67,000 MILES, THE RPMS IN MY 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE STARTED GOING WACKY AND I COULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN I PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL. IT FELT LIKE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS, SO I TOOK MY ENCLAVE TO THE DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY. TURNED OUT THE 35R WAVE PLATE WAS BROKEN -- DEBRIS THROUGHOUT TRANSMISSION -- AND $2700 LATER THEY RETURNED MY ENCLAVE TO ME WITH A REPAIRED/REBUILT TRANSMISSION. I WAS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE I WAS NOT REAR-ENDED WHEN MY CAR LOST ALL POWER AS I HAD TO LITERALLY LIMP MY ENCLAVE INTO THE DEALERSHIP. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS, I FOUND THAT THIS TRANSMISSION ISSUE IS EXTREMELY WIDESPREAD AMONG OWNERS OF THE 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE, BUT NEITHER NHTSA NOR GM IS MOVING ON INVESTIGATING AND SOLVING THIS PROBLEM. ALL PARTIES SEEM TO BE KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD UNTIL SOMEONE GETS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND THEN MAYBE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. ISSUE A RECALL NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE !!! *TR

WHEN ACCELERATING I WAS JUST COASTING. I PUT IT IN PARK AND THEN BACK IN DRIVE AND WENT ABOUT A BLOCK THEN LOST ACCELERATION AGAIN. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. I WAS TOLD THE 3-5 CLUTCH FAILED. SOME METAL PIECES IN THE TRANSMISSION COME LOOSE. WHEN THE CAR COOLS DOWN THEY SETTLE AND THE GEAR MAY WORK. AS IT WARMS UP THEY GET IN THE WAY AGAIN AND THE GEARS STICK. I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION OR A REBUILT ONE. I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD BE PUTTING IN ANOTHER 2008 TRANSMISSION BUT THAT THE PART THAT FAILED HAD BEEN CORRECTED. I ASKED THEM TO CONTACT GM TO SEE IF THEY WOULD COVER THE COST BUT THEY WOULD ONLY COVER HALF OF THE COST. I AM THANKFUL FOR THAT BUT I FEEL THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED TO A 2008 CAR WITH 96,000 MILES ON IT. I HAD BEEN ON THE EXPRESSWAY THE DAY PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING AND THE VERY NEXT TIME I DROVE THE CAR THIS HAPPENED. IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. SO I WAS WITHOUT MY CAR FOR EIGHT DAYS. *TR

PURCHASED VEHICLE END OF FEB 2014. PROBLEMS STARTED RIGHT AWAY. 3-13-14 REPLACED FRONT STRUTS, COMPLAINED ABOUT TRANS SHIFTS AND HEATER MOTOR WORKING PART TIME. DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE. 4-8-14 REPLACED BLOWER MOTOR AND PIGTAIL. 6-5-14 REPLACED AC EVAPORATOR OLD ONE WAS SHOT. 7-5-14 REPLACED TRANSMISSION,& WATER PUMP, & STEERING GEAR PINION SHAFT SEAL. NOW WE CURRENTLY HAVE CLEAR COAT PEALING AND WATER COMING IN ON THE DRIVERS SIDE FLOOR. *TR

2008 ENCLAVE DEVELOPED A CLUNKING NOISE WHEN TURNING A SLOW SPEEDS. TOOK TO DEALER WHO SAYS IT NEEDS A NEW RACK AND STRUTS. CAR HAD BEEN TOTALLY SERVICED IN JULY WITH NO ISSUES SEEN. I HAVE SEEN MANY REPORTS OF THESE PARTS FAILING ON THIS MODEL YEAR. *TR

IN 2012, MY 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE WAS RECALLED DUE TO A MALFUNCTION OF THE AIRBAG. THE RECALL NUMBER WAS #10085. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY FERMAN BUICK ON 11/21/12 AND THE COST OF THE REPAIRS WAS COVERED UNDER THE RECALL. ON NOV 11, 2014, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO FERMAN BUICK IN LUTZ FLORIDA BECAUSE THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WAS NOT PERFORMING PROPERLY AGAIN. THE DEALER INDICATED THE "PRESENT SENSOR PAD" WAS NOT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY AND THAT IT WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF OVER $900. I DO NOT FEEL THIS IS FAIR OR PROPER SINCE THE VEHICLE HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN RECALLED FOR AIR BAG ISSUES AND BECAUSE GM IS CURRENTLY RECALLING THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES FOR KNOWN AIRBAG DEFECTS. *TR