2008 Buick Lacrosse problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (56) · Air Bags (55) · Electrical System (32)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Buick Lacrosse model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
200 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Exterior Lighting:headlights 2015-08-14 · campaign 15V519000 · 429,170 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix, 2006-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2007 Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT, GMC Envoy XL, 2006-2008 Isuzu Ascender, and Saab 9-7x vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the headlamp driver module (HDM) may overheat and fail, causing the headlamps and daytime running lights to not illuminate.
Risk: Headlamps that do not illuminate reduce the driver's ability to see the roadway and reduce the vehicle's visibility to oncoming vehicles, both of which increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the HDM, free of charge. The recall began on May 17, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 14291.
Electrical System:ignition 2014-06-23 · campaign 14V355000 · 3,141,731 vehicles
Defect: This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the af
Risk: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.
Service bulletins (949)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-09-09 · 13598 · Other
new vehicle monitoring programs section in ivh
Unknown Or Other 2025-08-07 · PIC5650M · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming on. technician may find diagnostic trouble codes b3055, b3060, b3935, c0750, c0755, c0760, c0765, and/o
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Showing the 6 most recent of 949 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Exterior Lighting“high beam headlights stopped working and the ignition control module connector with a burnt power supply.…”
2024-09-30 · Air Bags“air bag light comes on is also intermitt some times stays on and someimes on only for a minute or two…”
2024-04-16 · Exterior Lighting“on three occasions, when driving at night, both headlights suddenly went out. the next day the headlights were working normally. the dealer's service department could not find anything wrong. later, we found out there was a "safety recall" (#14291),but it expired one year before our car developed the problem. we have contacted the dealership and bu…”
2023-08-31 · Unknown Or Other“my vehicle has been parked for the better of about two years due to head lamp failure and engine shutting off without warning at any particular time. steps were made to fix the issue but the problem continues still to this day.…”
2022-04-20 · Exterior Lighting:headlights · 41,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 buick lacrosse. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the headlights failed to illuminate. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the headlamps had failed. the headlamps were replaced and the failure was remedied however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified of the failure …”
2021-10-26 · Air Bags · 50,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 buick lacrosse. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the airbag warning light illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 50,000.…”
2021-08-08 · Electrical System“door locks somtimes would lock or unlock and other times not work at all. made it a issue when parking or entering the car. i had to replace the lock mechanism in the doors. the car has 99135 miles on it but should not have a problem especally the back doors since they are not used very often.…”
2021-04-01 · Air Bags · 30,196 mi“the vehicle only has 30196 miles on it.the passenger side airbag stays on all the time. i noticed there are a lot of complaints about this model buick lacrosse.why hasn't a recall been issued on these vehicles.…”
2021-02-02 · Unknown Or Other · 45,000 mi“doors will not lock with either the fob or the interior lock button on either doors. i'm reading on line of similar issues with this model where doors will not unlock!…”
2021-01-21 · Unknown Or Other · 125,000 mi“the front headlights and running lights just go off for no reason. when driving home on night the headlights went off for no reason. the nest day, they worked. they continue to work, but the night they went out was very disturbing. the vehicle was in motion, on state hgwy, getting ready to turn to the right.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.