2011 BUICK LACROSSE Complaints

2011 BUICK LACROSSE (60,000 MILES - PROPERLY MAINTAINED BY 73 YEAR OLD MAN) BROKE DOWN ON INTERSTATE HWY. WHILE VACATIONING IN KNOXVILLE, TN - BUICK BEGINS TO STALL AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON (WAS FLICKERING AND NO ACCELERATION). WE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY AT A GAS STATION AND CALLED AAA - WHO TOWED US TO A CERTIFIED AAA REPAIR/TOW COMPANY. WE INITIALLY SUSPECTED IT WOULD BE THE FUEL PUMP OR FILTER . MECHANIC IN KNOXVILLE WHO IS A ASE CERTIFIED MECHANIC FOR 40 YEARS SAID IT WASN'T THE FUEL PUMP SO HE PUT HIS DIAGNOSTIC TESTER AND DETERMINED THERE WERE MORE PROBLEMS AND STARTED TO TAKE APART THE ENGINE....AND FOUND THE MAIN VALVES WERE BROKEN AND FELL INTO THE PISTONS. ENGINE FAILURE AND HE SAID IN HIS 40 YEARS THIS HAD HAPPENED ONLY 3 TIMES BUT NOT ON A 2011 CAR WITH ONLY 60,000 MILES. HE SAID IF WE WOULD HAVE CONTINUED DRIVING, THE WHOLE ENGINE WOULD HAVE BLOWN UP. CALLED THE LOCAL BUICK DEALERSHIP AND FOUND OUT NO RECALL, NOR DID WE HAVE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY (A BIG MISTAKE - AND WE LOVED THE LACROSSE THINKING IT WOULD LAST A LONG TIME). LOOKED UP BLUE BOOK VALUE - WORTH $11,000 (WITH RUNNING ENGINE) AND A NEW ENGINE WOULD BE APPROX. $8,000 AND WOULD TAKE A WEEK TO REPLACE. SOLD THE CAR TO THE MECHANIC IN KNOXVILLE, TN) AND PURCHASED A NEW TOYOTA AVALON IN KNOXVILLE. VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED IN G.M. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BUICK LACROSSE. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS OR APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD THUMPING NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER REPLACED BOTH REAR BRAKES, STRUTS, AND SHOCKS; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BUICK LACROSSE. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE CLIMATE CONTROL FAILED TO OPERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS EXCLUDED FROM NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V149000 (VISIBILITY). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,000.

VEHICLE COMPLETELY DEAD AFTER ALL TYPES OF ELECTRICAL MESSAGES DISPLAYED WHEN TRYING TO START. CAR WAS STATIONARY BOTH TIMES. THIS FIRST HAPPENED EARLY FEB 2016; THEN REPEATED SIMILAR SCENARIO 20 DAYS LATER. CAR WAS TOWED BOTH TIMES. LOW MILEAGE 52,278 MILES. MESSAGES GENERIC, DEALER COULD NOT DETERMINE PROBLEM AND CONTACTED THE GM CUSTOMER CENTER ALSO. NOTHING DONE FIRST TIME. SECOND TIME DEALER STARTED UPDATING ALL THE ELECTRONIC MODULES-ALTHOUGH AGAIN NO SPECIFIC CAUSE AND EFFECT COULD BE IDENTIFIED. MODULES UPDATED (EBCM, BCM ECM, ETC. ABOUT 27 MODULES. THUS FAR CAR HAS NOT BEEN DEAD AGAIN WITH EXCEPTION OF BATTERY ISSUE (ALREADY ANOTHER WARRANTY REPLACEMENT FOR ORIGINAL). MY CONCERN: IF THESE ELECTRONIC MODULES (COUPLE THOUSAND OF DOLLARS) ARE THE PROBLEM, HOW COME IT WAS NOT A RECALL VS REPAIR. OWNER SHOULD NOT BE A HOSTAGE TO A SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR A REPAIR TO MAKE THE CAR START? OF NOTE; MY CAR HAS HAD 21 WARRANTY FIXES WITH MY LOW MILEAGE. GM PRIOR TO THIS ELECTRONIC FAILURE EXTENDED MY WARRANTY OUT DUE TO THE MANY ISSUES AFTER I WAS FORCEFUL. BASICALLY, GM ENGINEERS ARE PRODUCING A CAR WHERE THEY CANNOT DEFINITIVELY STATE THE PROBLEM, BUT START TRYING EVERYTHING. THESE MODULE UPDATES WOULD COST COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS AND LOTS OF TIME IN SHOP. NOTE: MY AUTO IS A 4 WD LARGER ENGINE BUICK; FOB VS KEY SO SOMEWHAT FEWER ON THE ROAD. MY AUTO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST 2011 THAT ROLLED OFF ASSEMBLY LINE PROBABLY BUT VERY SIMILAR TO THE 2010 (FIRST YEAR OUT WITH THE CURRENT BODY STYLE). THE OTHER 21 WARRANTY JOBS (DRIVER SEAT, PASSENGER SIDE TRAFFIC WARNING MESSAGE, OIL LEAKS, TRANSMISSION LEAK AT SAME TIME AS ENGINE OIL LEAK, PROBLEMS WITH DOORS OPENING, RADIO NAV SYSTEM, RIGHT REAR HUB BEARING PAD, AND A COUPLE DRIVEN BY THE ACTUAL REPAIR VISIT.

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP AT STOP SIGN BY APPLYING BRAKES VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP THEN ACCELERATED. WHILE APPLYING BRAKES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BRAKES STILL FAILED WITH VEHICLE PLYING THROUGH FIELD AND COMING TO REST ONLY WHEN PLOWING INTO AN EMBANKMENT,

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BUICK LACROSSE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULD LOSE POWER AND THE ENGINE LOSING POWER WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE START TO LOSE POWER. THE FAILURE RECURRED FOUR TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACTS RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000.

CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM. ON THREE OCCASIONS THE CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM HAS SWITCHED TO HEAT AND HIGH FAN, LOCKING THE DRIVER OUT OF THE CONTROLS AND CAUSING THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT TO BECOME EXTREMELY HOT AND UNCOMFORTABLE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ON ONE OCCASION, TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND LET THE CAR SIT FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE RESTARTING THE CAR. THE SYSTEM RETURNED TO NORMAL. ON TWO OF THE THREE OCCASIONS, THE CAR WAS IN MOTION. ON ONE OCCASION IT HAPPENED IN THE GARAGE. DASH LIGHTS - WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, ALL PASSENGER COMPARTMENT LIGHTS WENT OFF FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS, AND THEN CAME BACK ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE LOCAL DEALER AND THEY CHECKED THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE BATTERY. THEY FOUND NO COMPUTER CODES TO EXPLAIN THE MALFUNCTION.

2011 BUICK LACROSSE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT FROM PARK TO REVERSE OR DRIVE, THERE WAS A 5-15 SECOND DELAY BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION RESPONDED. *JB

DEFROSTER,HEAT,A/C,FAN SPEED,RECIRC, HEAT/COOL SEATS FUNCTIONS FAILED (STOPPED WORKING COMPLETLY) WHILE DRIVING IN A SNOW STORM ON JANUARY 12, 2016 ON HIGHWAY US 131 TO TRAVERSE CITY, MI. FOUND RECALL INFORMATION NHTSA # 11V149000. BROUGHT TO DEALER. DEALER SAID NOT COVERRED UNDER RECAL DUE TO VIN #, AND OWNER COST OF $400 + TO REPAIR. CONTACTED BUICK CUSTOMER CARE. SPOKE WITH ASIA AND LESLIE ON 1/15/16, WHO SAID GM COULD NOT HELP. I DESCRIBED LANGUAGE OF THE RECALL AS BEING IDENTICAL TO THE SAFETY HAZARD DESCRIBED IN THE NHTSA LANGUAGE: "WINDSHIELD DEFROSTING AND DEFOGGING SYSTEMS" ON THESE VEHICLES, THE SOFTWARE IN THE ELECTRONIC CLIMATE CONTROL MODULE MAY DISABLE THE ABILITY TO ADJUST THE HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM SETTINGS. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE DRIVER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE COOLING AND VENTILATION FOR THE VEHICLE. CONSEQUENCE: IF THIS CONDITION AFFECTS THE DEFROST SYSTEM WHEN IT IS REQUIRED, IT MAY DECREASE THE DRIVER'S VISIBILITY AND COULD RESULT IN A CRASH."

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BUICK LACROSSE. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ERROR CODES WERE REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE BATTERY OF THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE REPLACED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, BUT THE DEALER COULD NOT DIAGNOSE WHY THE BATTERIES WERE FAILING. WHILE DRIVING TO HAVE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO MOVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.