Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 65 safety complaints
about the 2018 Buick Enclave with the US government. Of those, 5 describe a crash, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is the brakes,
named in 20 complaints, 31% of the total.
The typical failure was reported at 24,400 miles,
the median across the 33
complaints that gave
an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers February 2018 to September 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
65 complaints on file
65
Complaints
5
Describe a crash
0
Mention fire
1
People injured
0
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a
finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts
them.
Complaints more than doubled year on year: 17 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 6 in the twelve before.
No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not
the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production
ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.
Which system owners named
Complaints naming each system
SERVICE BRAKES 20 · 31%
20 31%
POWER TRAIN 15 · 23%
15 23%
ENGINE 13 · 20%
13 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 · 15%
10 15%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8 · 12%
8 12%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 · 6%
4 6%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 · 6%
4 6%
AIR BAGS 2 · 3%
2 3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 · 3%
2 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 · 3%
2 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 3%
2 3%
STEERING 2 · 3%
2 3%
01223
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 65.
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2025 at 11.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program
NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what
happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2018 Buick ENCLAVE, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
SUV AWD
SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
15.0%
16.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed.
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
In owners’ own words
Quoted from the complaint file
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
AIR BAGS
1 injured · crash · towed · 83,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while making a left turn, another vehicle jumped onto a curb and struck the rear end and rear tire of the vehicle. The front driver side, passenger side, and curtain air bags deployed. The contact was concerned about whether the air bags should have deployed for the type of impact experienced. No warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A police report was filed. The contact sought medical attention for bloody stool, lower back pain, and neck pain. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.
NHTSA complaint 11687252. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
crash · towed
-A few weeks prior to accident, while driving down a 65mph highway in TX, vehicle side mirrors were folding inward. Continued to fold inward after hit button to open them multiple times. Even did this after pulled off highway and stopped/started vehicle and exiting vehicle and locking to try to create a "reset" of system. (Auto folding windows feature in infotainment was NOT selected to be ON before or after this incident! Auto-folding sidemirrors are tied to the electron shifter status and should only engage when turned ON in infotainment option AND vehicle in PARK. This was occurring over 2-3 days while driving on highway at 65mph) Accident: -Pulled into parking spot and placed vehicle in …
NHTSA complaint 11495213, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
crash · 34,500 miles
COLD START, AC UNIT ON, ENGINE AT HIGH IDLE SPEED. PUT CAR IN REVERSE TO BACK OUT OF THE GARAGE. STEPPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE CAR KEPT ROLLING. PUMPED THE BRAKE PEDDLE AND APPLIED EXTREME PRESSURE, CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN. PANICKED THAT I WOULD HIT A WALL, I DROPPED THE CAR FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE. STILL ON HIGH IDLE, THE CAR WOULD NOT STOP EVEN WITH EXTREME PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. CAR CONTINUED FORWARD AND HIT A CABINET IN MY GARAGE CAUSING CONSIDERABLE FRONT-END DAMAGE. EVERY THING HAPPENED SO QUICKLY, I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED AT THE TIME. THE ONLY THING I COULD THINK OF WAS THAT I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG. RESTARTED THE CAR AND ALL FUNCTIONS WERE FINE. THE …
NHTSA complaint 11258993, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
crash · 35,850 miles
THE BRAKE ISSUE RAISED ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN. THE VEHICLE HAS OPERATED FINE SINCE THE ORIGINAL INCIDENT EVEN WITH THE FRONT-END DAMAGE. YESTERDAY, ONE WEEK AFTER THE ORIGINAL INCIDENT IT OCCURRED AGAIN. COLD START LEAVING A RESTAURANT TURNED OUT OF PARKING LOT ON TO SIDE STREET. TRAFFIC WAS STOPPED AT A LIGHT AND I PULLED INTO THE LEFT TURN LANE. GOING VERY SLOW, HAVEN'T EVEN TRAVELED 200 FEET. PUT PRESSURE ON BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP AND NO RESPONSE, THE CAR KEEPS ROLLING FORWARD AS I APPLIED EXTREME BRAKE PRESSURE. AT THAT POINT I HIT THE EMERGENCY PARKING BRAKE BUTTON AND THE CAR STOPPED JUST AS I HIT THE REAR END OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THANKFULLY THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO HIS CAR. I RESTARTED …
NHTSA complaint 11259038, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The vehicle is experiencing an intermittent but severe safety defect involving the StabiliTrak and Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) systems. While driving at operational speeds, the "Service StabiliTrak" warning light illuminates, immediately followed by the uncommanded, autonomous engagement of the electronic parking brake. When the defect occurs, the vehicle forcibly brakes itself and suffers a complete loss of throttle response, preventing acceleration. This creates a severe, immediate crash hazard, as the vehicle decelerates abruptly without warning to surrounding traffic, leaving the driver unable to accelerate out of harm's way.The vehicle was brought to an authorized General Motors …
NHTSA complaint 11766879, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2018 Enclave w/106k on the odometer and the catalytic convertor cracked. $2200 repair.
NHTSA complaint 11744702. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I am submitting this letter to formally report two ongoing issues with my 2018 Buick Enclave. First, I have experienced persistent problems with the emissions purge valve. My vehicle has repeatedly triggered diagnostic trouble code P0496, indicating a malfunction in the purge valve system. I am aware that this issue has been the subject of recall campaigns for other Buick Enclave models; however, my vehicle has not been included in any such recall, despite exhibiting the same symptoms. This malfunction has resulted in persistent check engine warnings and noticeable performance concerns, raising questions about emissions compliance and the overall reliability of my vehicle. Given that other …
NHTSA complaint 11742783, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECU/ECM)
towed · 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shut off and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the alternator was replaced 4 times before the dealer diagnosed that the failure was due to oil leaking onto the alternator and the battery. The contact stated that the alternator had been replaced 6 times in total. Additionally, the contact stated while pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road, the vehicle shut off. The messages "Electronic Control Module Failure", "Battery Saver Active", "Battery Charging System" and "Steering Assist Is Reduced- Drive with Care" were displayed. The vehicle failed to …
NHTSA complaint 11740184, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
After two transmission flushes and being told by a Buick dealership's service technicians that nothing is wrong with the vechile's transmission, it has now failed completely at ~90k miles.
NHTSA complaint 11737422. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Catalic converter weld broke both sides now
NHTSA complaint 11737064. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's
lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How
many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by
the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file, published October 2, 2026.
A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by
us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that
sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst