2012 Buick Enclave problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (18) · Steering (14) · Structure:body (13)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Buick Enclave model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
93 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (6)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2021-10-07 · campaign 21V782000 · 555 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2008-2017 Buick Enclave and 2013-2017 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to a manufacturing defect.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 3, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 10, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212349040.
Air Bags:critical Fasteners 2021-04-08 · campaign 21V246000 · 108 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2015, 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not be properly attached.
Risk: Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.
Structure:body:hatchback/Liftgate 2015-06-30 · campaign 15V415000 · 691,144 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power li
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
Seat Belts 2014-05-20 · campaign 14V266000 · 1,339,355 vehicles
Defect: General Motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through May 14, 2014, Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured June 6, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 9, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through March 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatig
Risk: If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.
Fix: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-
Air Bags:side/Window 2014-03-17 · campaign 14V118000 · 1,176,407 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repai
Visibility:windshield Wiper/Washer:linkages 2012-04-09 · campaign 12V151000 · 47,846 vehicles
Defect: GENERAL MOTORS (GM) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE, BUICK ENCLAVE, AND GMC ACADIA VEHICLES CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN ALASKA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, IDAHO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH DAKOTA, UTAH, VERMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN, WYOMING AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. SNOW OR ICE BUILDUP ON THE WIN
Risk: IF THIS OCCURS, DRIVER VISIBILITY COULD BE REDUCED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL TIGHTEN THE WIPER ARM NUTS, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 20, 2012.
Service bulletins (1,571)
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 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-27 · PIT6002C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is to advise about a part concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-08 · PIP4902U · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,571 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-05-16 · Unknown Or Other“while driving, the vehicle suddenly and without warning experienced a severe, dangerous loss of acceleration. the dashboard immediately displayed a "reduced engine power" warning message along with a "service stabilitrak" light, forcing the vehicle into an immediate electronic fail-safe "limp mode." this sudden, drastic reduction in engine power se…”
2026-03-28 · Engine“while sitting at a traffic light my engine runs rough, then it dies…”
2025-04-29 · Fuel/Propulsion System“fuel pump, throttle body, and high pressure fuel pump. car makes door lock noises and’s completely cuts off while driving over 20 times now on highway and all. have gotten several things repaired in addition to these listed things and after repairing car works fine for a few months then needing to be replaced again. no codes are being given other t…”
2025-03-08 · Unknown Or Other“steering wheel airbag warning. seat belts fraying. the underneath welding for the support bar, potentially the rear axel, came unwelded. …”
2025-02-26 · Structure · 118,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 buick enclave. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and hesitated while attempting to accelerate and depressing the accelerator pedal. during the failure, the check engine warning light momentarily illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who was unable to deter…”
2025-01-16 · Unknown Or Other“the tailgate lifts up and then slams down violently…”
2024-12-31 · Fuel/Propulsion System“my car has shut off multiple times , electrical shorts, intermittent no start, intermittent misfires all the time but randomly , injector codes even when replaced and injectors are good , yes come check out my vehicle no shops can find out what's the problem practically the whole front end has been replaced and problems still happening it is congru…”
2024-09-15 · Power Train“when pulling onto a county road with traffic the transmission kept slipping and the engine would rev higher. it took a lot longer to get up to speed and the cars behind me had to brake quickly.…”
2024-07-09 · Engine“driving along and engine power reduced causing car to slow significantly - like downshifting two gears. lights / traction control lights came on dash. errors flashed - "traction control off", "service stabilitrak", "engine power reduced" all of this not only caused a slight bit of confusion, but placed us in danger with the flow of traffic. a repai…”
2024-04-22 · Steering · 83,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 buick enclave. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lunged forward while accelerating. the failure was more persistent at speeds of 40 mph and lower. there were no warning lights illuminated. additionally, while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right there was a clunking sound com…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.