2016 Buick Enclave problems
NHTSA has received 158 complaints about the 2016 Buick Enclave, and 70% of them involve air bags. Next are drivetrain & axles (6%) and engine (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 158 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 70% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 8 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 48,000 miles 36 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 14 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 9 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 36 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 48,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 8 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 83% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Buick Enclave with enough data (36 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
We were involved in a motor vehicle accident on I-79 in pennsylvania where we were struck from the rear we were stopped in traffic the impact was severe it knocked the rear tire completely off. There was smoke coming in the vents of the front of the car and the air bags did not deploy. The front passenger seat belts tighten up so much that it caused bruising on my chest and ribs. My car was totaled out beyond repair. I do not understand why there was smoke coming from the front and the air bags did not deploy.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 buick enclave. While getting cargo out of the vehicle, the tailgate closed and locked and failed to retract and reopen. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact sustained minor hand injuries that did not require medical attention. The failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000.
Brought the car in earlier this year because the car was stalling. They told me it may have been a lose cable, but likely was nothing. In the last 3 weeks the car has stalled 3 times with my kids in the car. I brought the car in 3 days ago and they looked at it and said nothing was wrong with it. Yesterday it stalled again and my wife came very close to getting rear-ended with the kids in the car. This is a car that is 1 year old with 5.500 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while accelerating, the fourth gear jumped to the fifth gear and was stuck. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the transmission specialist test-drove the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the gear was burnt, and the transmission needed to be replaced.