Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,192,899 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 137,559 crashes, 55,854 fires, and 8,555 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim — NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,192,899 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports — when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report — that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints — specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened — feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 27,958 complaints for BUICK
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
The recall was discovered on March 25 by my car insurance company. We stopped driving the vehicle since it is unsafe to drive it until recall is remidied with a new part. I have called GM 3 times as well as 3 different dealerships. GM and one dealership mentioned the vehicle is actually safe to drive its just if you got in accident that it would be a concern! Noone can say when these parts will b... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT APPROX. 70 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE MADE A LURCH FORWARD MOTION. THE VEHICLE LOST POWER.WE WERE NEAR A EXIT RAMP AND COAST TO THE INTERSECTION. VEHICLE WOULD START BUT WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK. WE COULD NOT MOVE THE VEHICLE. IT WOULD NOT EVEN GO INTO NEUTRAL TO PUSH THE VEHICLE TO SAFETY. THE POLICE WERE CALLED TO DIRECT TRAFFIC, WHILE WAITING FOR A TOW TRUCK. WE ATTEM... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT APPROX. 70 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE MADE A LURCH FORWARD MOTION. THE VEHICLE LOST POWER.WE WERE NEAR A EXIT RAMP AND COAST TO THE INTERSECTION. VEHICLE WOULD START BUT WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK. WE COULD NOT MOVE THE VEHICLE. IT WOULD NOT EVEN GO INTO NEUTRAL TO PUSH THE VEHICLE TO SAFETY. THE POLICE WERE CALLED TO DIRECT TRAFFIC, WHILE WAITING FOR A TOW TRUCK. WE ATTEM... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
Vehicle shuts off due to fuel pump relay connection problem which is due to the back seat rubbing against the fuse box
Incident date: Apr 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2018
Back in 2018 my car was cutting out while driving on the road I had to pull out then engine light came on I was told it was rodent that ate the wires but I fact it was not because fast forward to and incident that happened Sunday last week my car won’t go inter gear and was shaking really bad and I found out it’s fruse block was bad. This power the transmission and can cause serious damage to ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms par... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms par... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2024
Infotainment screen will appear black when it should be showing the image from the rear-facing camera, and is showing a red triangle and a circle with a line through it.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fail... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2024
Car was running just fine had its oil changed new tires added and it just stopped running. Got it checked with a car technician and he stated it’s the engine.
Incident date: Apr 9, 2022
The "auto stop" on my car, when I was at stoplights or stop signs, would not automatically restart. The engine failed to start again when stopped in "idle"..
Incident date: Apr 9, 2022
The "auto stop" on my car, when I was at stoplights or stop signs, would not automatically restart. The engine failed to start again when stopped in "idle"..
Incident date: Apr 9, 2022
The "auto stop" on my car, when I was at stoplights or stop signs, would not automatically restart. The engine failed to start again when stopped in "idle"..
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
It’s an absolutely unreasonable period of time to fix an airbag defect, I don’t feel safe at all driving this car. What is the government doing about this?
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
It’s an absolutely unreasonable period of time to fix an airbag defect, I don’t feel safe at all driving this car. What is the government doing about this?
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
My convertible top is not lining up with the windows. When it rain water on the floor . U don’t see where it’s coming from . I just see large amount of water
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
My convertible top is not lining up with the windows. When it rain water on the floor . U don’t see where it’s coming from . I just see large amount of water
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
My convertible top is not lining up with the windows. When it rain water on the floor . U don’t see where it’s coming from . I just see large amount of water
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The light is on and the warning chime constantly goes off when someone is in the passenger seat. This is a known recall issue yet my VIN is not included. It needs to be fixed at the cost of the manufacturer and not my own.
Incident date: Mar 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000(Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
The Virtual Cockpit Unit on my Buick Encore GX ST 2024 keeps intermittently blackout at vehicle startup and or while driving. When this happens while driving, I have no way of knowing the speed, gas level, and other important information that would be displayed on the cockpit screen. At times when the screen starts to go out, it starts to glitch (images on screen are distorted). When this happe... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
I was in a car accident on 10/31/2023. the air bags did not deploy and the seat belt (Pretensioners) did not engage as a result of this high impact force. Esis- General Motors inspected the vehicle and provided the crash data retrieval report, attached. There were no problems prior to the accident.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
I was in a car accident on 10/31/2023. the air bags did not deploy and the seat belt (Pretensioners) did not engage as a result of this high impact force. Esis- General Motors inspected the vehicle and provided the crash data retrieval report, attached. There were no problems prior to the accident.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 12, 2018
On [XXX] original Steering Rack and Pinion was replaced at 138974 miles by established reputable garage with NAPA part which was remanufactured. That part failed [XXX] at 141443 miles. That part failed [XXX] at 145999 miles and was replaced with NAPA part which was remanufactured. That part failed and was replaced at [XXX] at 157999 miles with another NAPA remanufactured part. That part failed ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
Several malfunction indicator lights in dash appeared suddenly. Car would not start after shutting off. Finally started and drove to repair shop. Diagnosed as faulty ride height sensor. Shop searched for part at several dealers and online and found the part was discontinued in 2021. I contacted Buick and was offered $1500 off on a new GM car. I have not received any suggestions on how to repair th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
Several malfunction indicator lights in dash appeared suddenly. Car would not start after shutting off. Finally started and drove to repair shop. Diagnosed as faulty ride height sensor. Shop searched for part at several dealers and online and found the part was discontinued in 2021. I contacted Buick and was offered $1500 off on a new GM car. I have not received any suggestions on how to repair th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
Several malfunction indicator lights in dash appeared suddenly. Car would not start after shutting off. Finally started and drove to repair shop. Diagnosed as faulty ride height sensor. Shop searched for part at several dealers and online and found the part was discontinued in 2021. I contacted Buick and was offered $1500 off on a new GM car. I have not received any suggestions on how to repair th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
I am writing to express my alarm as to the length of time it is taking to resolve a safety recall ([XXX]) on my 2016 Buick Enclave. The recall was issued in May of 2023 and 10 months later, still no fix. It gives me great pause to be driving this vehicle whose driver's front airbag could shoot projectiles into the cabin if deployed. It even states in my recall letter that this could be deadly. Rec... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienc... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags), however, the part to repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable time to remedy the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the parts to repair were not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs as the recall notice was received several months ago. The local dealer was notified of the recall notice and confirmed that the parts... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienc... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experien... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2024
GM refuses to replace the part, refund the vehicle, or replace it.
Incident date: Feb 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Buick Encore. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that soon after the warning light appeared, the engine struggled to remain running. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal while in park to prevent the engine from shutting off. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accele... Read more