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Buick · NHTSA safety record

2019 Buick Enclave

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

42

Complaints

2

Crashes

1

Fires

2

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2019 Buick Enclave have filed 42 safety complaints with NHTSA between March 2019 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 16 of them (38%). The typical failure was reported at 15,500 miles, the median across the 18 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

20V668000 · October 29, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
The risk
Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

General Motors LLC · up to 194,105 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 42.

POWER TRAIN 16 38%
ENGINE 12 29%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 26%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 21%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 7%
STEERING 3 7%
AIR BAGS 2 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 5%
SEAT BELTS 2 5%
SEATS 2 5%
STRUCTURE 2 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 8.

2019 2024 2026
2019 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 · fire

The passenger side seat air bag exploded and burned my daughter’s back while she was getting into the car. The car was in park and auto started. My son was sitting in the back seat behind her while this happened. She has 1st and 2nd degree burns and thankfully my son is okay. The car has been sitting in my driveway since that day. I have contacted the dealership and GM as well as my personal insurance. GM is moving very slow and stated they would send someone to look at my vehicle within 7-10 days from yesterday . The investigation could take 30-60 days before we have an answer. We are currently on day 11 since this happened. Insurance doesn’t want to touch it until GM or the dealership

NHTSA complaint 11502536, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 injured · crash

On the morning of October 25, 2021 at approximately 7:05 am, I was fixing to leave to go to work. The carport light was on, so I open the door to my car, slid into the driver’s seat, started the car up and the lights came on. As I was starting to get out of the car to go turn the carport lights off, I realized the car was going backwards. I tried to get back into the driver’s seat to try to stop the car but I was unable to do so. The door knocked me down on the concrete floor of the carport and the front left tire ran over both my legs. The car continued to go backwards, the door hit the column between the carport bays but continued to travel backwards down our approx. 11-foot paved drive

NHTSA complaint 11446655, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed · 7,712 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 BUICK ENCLAVE. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONTACT BECAME DISTRACTED WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN AND CRASHED INTO A TELEPHONE POLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE CRASH OCCURRED IN FRONT OF THE CONTACT'S INSURANCE COMPANY WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED AND TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT TO CALL NHTSA TO FILE A COMPLAINT. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,712.

NHTSA complaint 11267071. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The problematic 9 speed transmission failed at 72,000 miles on [XXX]. GM required a flush due to the significant shudder problems in the transmissions. This was performed on this vehicle at 32,000 miles. GM knows the is issues. The car brought to Gerald Jones GM in Graniteville, SC and GM/Buick customer service was contacted 5/22/26 and after. The transmission failed when traveling on busy highway in Aiken, SC on [XXX]. The money spent for these cars with failed transmission design/construction and the safety risk to all traffic must be addressed by NHTSA. GM customer is horrific in there determination to cover up this colossal issue and safety risk. No one holds them accountable.

NHTSA complaint 11755753, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Formal Complaint – 2019 Buick Enclave Rear A/C Evaporator Failure I am filing a safety complaint regarding repeated refrigerant leaks and rear A/C evaporator failure on my 2019 Buick Enclave. My vehicle has 72,000 miles and has experienced two A/C system failures within 60 days. The first Freon leak was repaired under a GM special warranty. Only two months later, the system failed again, and the dealership diagnosed a rear evaporator core leak requiring a $3,000 repair. This is not normal wear. GM has documented this defect in bulletins PIT5335, PIT5335A, and 16‑NA‑046, which describe rear evaporator corrosion caused by blower‑motor copper brush dust contaminating the evaporator. My vehicle

NHTSA complaint 11752440, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2019 Buick Enclave (GM) w/ 29481 miles, consistently serviced and in excellent working order. In city traffic about 45-50MPH, no warning lights until total electrical/power failure - no power, no steering, no electrical/lights. Car is owned by [XXX] mother-in-law ([XXX]). Her daughter ([XXX]) was driving. Had [XXX] been driving, there would have been a wreck. [XXX] was able to coast into a corner gas station/garage. Buy next day mechanic was able to isolate failure to alternator. Since we performed the repair at the closest mechanic, I do not know what GM knows. I see on internet a high volume of alternator failures in Enclaves. It doesn't seem an alternator failure should be so abrupt,

NHTSA complaint 11751653, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

80,000 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at 30 to 40 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was hard to shift. The TPMS was illuminated. The contact indicated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V668000 (Power Train). The local dealer was contacted, who informed about the diagnostic fees. The contact called another local dealer, Starling Buick GMC Stuart Parts, and Starling Buick GMC Stuart Service, at 2445 SE Federal Hwy, Stuart, FL 34994, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to a transmission center, which confirmed the failure was due to the torque converter. The manufacturer was contacted, who

NHTSA complaint 11742026, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

72,000 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving in traffic at 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The horn and wipers turned on unexpectedly. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality and was inoperable and the vehicle jerked. The doors failed to unlock, and the air conditioner was inoperable on a hot day, and the contact had symptoms of hyperventilation. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the windows failed to roll up or down. Eventually, the vehicle failed to turn off, and the owner disconnected the battery. A towing company was called to tow the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle

NHTSA complaint 11730218, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The car hesitates when accelerating. It feels like its going to die. Also, the car has shut off randomly with the display saying "not in right conditions to start". The dying has happened a few times.

NHTSA complaint 11708807. 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
2018 64 0
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 2019 Buick models

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