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Buick · NHTSA safety record

2018 Buick Enclave

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

64

Complaints

5

Crashes

0

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2018 Buick Enclave have filed 64 safety complaints with NHTSA between February 2018 and June 2026. The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 20 of them (31%). The typical failure was reported at 24,400 miles, the median across the 33 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

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.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 64.

SERVICE BRAKES 20 31%
POWER TRAIN 15 23%
ENGINE 13 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8 13%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 6%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 5%
AIR BAGS 2 3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 3%
STEERING 2 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 11.

2018 2025 2026
2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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.

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.

ENGINE
Exhaust leak from broken front exhaust pipe. This has been a known defect in this make/model however the year of my vehicle was not included in the extended repair window and should have been. The exhaust leak was identified by the dealership when the vehicle was taken in for other maintenance. I had to pay for the repair myself and would like to be reimbursed due to this being a manufacturer known defect with the exhaust pipe. The exhaust leak caused unusual noises, a loud roaring, and reduced gas mileage. This was also a danger for carbon monoxide exposure.

NHTSA complaint 11735792. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Buick Enclave

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 36 0 —
2022 13 1 —
2021 25 2 —
2020 56 6 —
2019 42 1 —
2017 179 3 —
2016 140 4 —
2015 171 5 —
2014 292 7 —
2013 68 4 —
2012 132 6 —
2011 211 6 —
2010 275 6 —

Other 2018 Buick models

Encore 74 Regal 19 Regal Tourx 14 Lacrosse 12

Every Buick on this site — 60 vehicles, 172 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst