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 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
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
Blind spot is extremely large between the front windshield and side windows, because of the enlarged side view mirror housing. Entire vehicles and people can dissappear into these spots rendering them invisible to proceeding motorist.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
Blind spot is extremely large between the front windshield and side windows, because of the enlarged side view mirror housing. Entire vehicles and people can dissappear into these spots rendering them invisible to proceeding motorist.
Incident date: Jul 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 15, 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 m... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that water was leaking into the engine compartment and the passenger side foot well, causing the vehicle to not start. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and re... 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distributio... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2024
We took our 2018 buick encore in to get the turbo fixed for the recall. The mechanic told us he can't test the turbo on it because the oil line going into the turbo isn't working and he has multiple other vehicles in for the SAME issue and they have been sitting in his back lot since December because he can't get the part in because everyone is out of stock. We will have to pay out of pocket for t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 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, 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: Oct 2, 2023
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Mar 13, 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 local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 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 not ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Mar 11, 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 local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms par... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
Dealership sold car knowing there’s recalls and never fixed
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
Dealership sold car knowing there’s recalls and never fixed
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
Dealership sold car knowing there’s recalls and never fixed
Incident date: Mar 9, 2024
You will just be driving down the road and then get the check engine light, engine power reduced, traction control off, and service stabilitrak warning on the dash board. You can be going 60 and it will just shut down with no warning. It's been to the shop 3 times and the issue is still unresolved. This is highly dangerous and could cause an accident
Incident date: Mar 7, 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: Mar 7, 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 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 3, 2024
The vehicle was parked in a Driveway in Michigan on Sunday [XXX]. It was approximately 64 degrees. The car seat was safely positioned in the rear passenger side. Rear facing. The window was cracked about an inch so the vehicle was not too hot when leaving. After 4-5 hours I went to leave and the right upper seatbelt on the car seat had melted/burned to the point where it was broken into 2 pieces, ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2024
Driving 40 mph all dash electronics went off as going to turn into parking lot medium traffic steering very very hard to turn, made into lot pulled immediately into first open space engine stalled. Put into park attempted to restart, click-click-click like dead battery opened hood alternator belt ok. Walked into nearby restaurant for lunch ( could not close windows) came out (45minutes) car starte... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2024
Driving 40 mph all dash electronics went off as going to turn into parking lot medium traffic steering very very hard to turn, made into lot pulled immediately into first open space engine stalled. Put into park attempted to restart, click-click-click like dead battery opened hood alternator belt ok. Walked into nearby restaurant for lunch ( could not close windows) came out (45minutes) car starte... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2024
Driving 40 mph all dash electronics went off as going to turn into parking lot medium traffic steering very very hard to turn, made into lot pulled immediately into first open space engine stalled. Put into park attempted to restart, click-click-click like dead battery opened hood alternator belt ok. Walked into nearby restaurant for lunch ( could not close windows) came out (45minutes) car starte... Read more
Incident date: Mar 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 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: 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 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 4, 2024
2nd bad headlamp assembly that develops moisture and causes lamp to go out. First was passenger side now driver side
Incident date: Mar 4, 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 m... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2024
On Wednesday February 27, 2024 while driving on the highway suddenly after about 15 minutes the engine light came on stating "Engine Overheating - idle engine." The car decreased speed to about 40mph in a 60mph speed zone and then continued to decrease to 20mph with black smoke excessively blowing out of the exhaust and then a rattling /knocking sound continued from the engine until the car stopp... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
We received a letter from General Motors in June of 2023 advising us of the recall associated with our vehicle (airbags that could inflate and kill occupants) and promising to remedy the issue at no charge. However, it has now been 9 months since we received notice and still there are no parts available to fix this issue. It is clear that General Motors is not trying to remedy this matter and si... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2023
Steering wheel repeatedly locks while turning followed by loss of power steering. Also accompanied by warning messages such as "Service ESC", "Park Assist Off", "Steering Assist is Reduced Drive with Care", as well as the stability control and stability control off lights. Began in October 2023. Brought in to dealership 4 times in 5 months (waiting on loaner availability to bring in for a 5th t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2024
On Wednesday February 27, 2024 while driving on the highway suddenly after about 15 minutes the engine light came on stating "Engine Overheating - idle engine." The car decreased speed to about 40mph in a 60mph speed zone and then continued to decrease to 20mph with black smoke excessively blowing out of the exhaust and then a rattling /knocking sound continued from the engine until the car stopp... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Steering Advance System Declined message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact related the fa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 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: Jul 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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: Aug 1, 2023
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 while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 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 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: Feb 19, 2024
The vacuum pump failed, causing the gear to explode, which in turn damaged the cam shaft. Yes, this is available for inspection. The brake was unable to be depressed, requiring extreme force to being able to safely stop at an area that was safe to do so. I turned the car off and it made a funny sound. When I tried to start the car, it would no longer start. The car was towed to my local aut... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
The contact's friend owns a 1997 Buick LeSabre The contact stated that the hood was difficult to open and close. The latch was in the correct location. The contact stated that while her roommate was driving at 45 MPH, the hood opened and detached. The driver pulled over, and a 2012 Chevrolet crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There were no reporte... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
The contact's friend owns a 1997 Buick LeSabre The contact stated that the hood was difficult to open and close. The latch was in the correct location. The contact stated that while her roommate was driving at 45 MPH, the hood opened and detached. The driver pulled over, and a 2012 Chevrolet crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There were no reporte... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 19, 2024
The vacuum pump failed, causing the gear to explode, which in turn damaged the cam shaft. Yes, this is available for inspection. The brake was unable to be depressed, requiring extreme force to being able to safely stop at an area that was safe to do so. I turned the car off and it made a funny sound. When I tried to start the car, it would no longer start. The car was towed to my local aut... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2024
The vacuum pump failed, causing the gear to explode, which in turn damaged the cam shaft. Yes, this is available for inspection. The brake was unable to be depressed, requiring extreme force to being able to safely stop at an area that was safe to do so. I turned the car off and it made a funny sound. When I tried to start the car, it would no longer start. The car was towed to my local aut... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
The Instrument Panel Cluster failed and is completely gone black. Due to the failure, there is no speedometer, or other safety notifications being delivered to the driver. The lack of knowing your current speed, the speed cruise control is set at, along with zero safety notifications is a huge safety issue for the driver and passengers, other vehicles on the road and pedestrians, etc. All of the a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
The Instrument Panel Cluster failed and is completely gone black. Due to the failure, there is no speedometer, or other safety notifications being delivered to the driver. The lack of knowing your current speed, the speed cruise control is set at, along with zero safety notifications is a huge safety issue for the driver and passengers, other vehicles on the road and pedestrians, etc. All of the a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2024
Took 2017 Buick Cascada in for repair following whistling noise and stalling while idle. This vehicle only has 42K miles. The mechanic was concerned this could/should be a recall issue due to the low mileage on the vehicle. On Google searches, I found similar issues were reported and GM extended the warranty on Buick Cascadas for different years. Both the 2016 and 2019 had a Global Warranty for PC... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
Due to an inability of the Buick auto manufacturers to provide parts to my 2022 Enclave, after becoming disabled to drive in auto accident..since November 27th, enduring a 3 month wait with rental car fees, and emotional stress strickly because unable to obtain parts! How does a company sell a car without the ability to pro ide ANY customer service in a timely manner.. I've made 4 car payments w... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
Due to an inability of the Buick auto manufacturers to provide parts to my 2022 Enclave, after becoming disabled to drive in auto accident..since November 27th, enduring a 3 month wait with rental car fees, and emotional stress strickly because unable to obtain parts! How does a company sell a car without the ability to pro ide ANY customer service in a timely manner.. I've made 4 car payments w... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
Due to an inability of the Buick auto manufacturers to provide parts to my 2022 Enclave, after becoming disabled to drive in auto accident..since November 27th, enduring a 3 month wait with rental car fees, and emotional stress strickly because unable to obtain parts! How does a company sell a car without the ability to pro ide ANY customer service in a timely manner.. I've made 4 car payments w... Read more
Crash