2009 Buick Lacrosse problems
The 2009 Buick Lacrosse has 146 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (32%) concerns lighting. Next are electrical system (21%) and air bags (18%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 146 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 115 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 | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 35 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 22 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 14 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 115 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 60,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 55,000 miles (35 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Buick Lacrosse with enough data (68 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Left home for local restaurant about 7:am on may 8. Traveling down hwy 2 lane, must have dropped wheel off pavement and the car went crazy. I do not remember what happened. The accident report says vehicle crossed the road, hit a bank head first and flipped the vehicle. One car accident. Airbags did not deploy. I was taken by ambulance to a hospital, then transported to another state to a trauma center. Multiple injuries. I was in hospital for 12 days and then a nursing rehab for 2 weeks.
The owner had been smelling a bad odor when she arrived at her destination in a mall parking lot. The odor did not fade when the vehicle engine was turned off and subsequently opened the hood. Black smoke was seen coming from the fuse block. Upon removing the cover to the fuse block, the owner observed a small fire which caused damage to the wiring harness. The vehicle was later examined by an independent engineering consultant who identified the origin of the fire.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 buick lacrosse. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact was made aware of recall NHTSA campaign number 14v355000 (electrical system). However, the VIN was not included on the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. Updated 09/11/14 the consumer stated the manufacturer has recalled the ignition switch but has no solution. Updated 1/13/2015
The sensor for the passenger airbag associated with the front passenger seat works erratically, and generally does not enable the front passenger airbag when a passenger is in the seat. This occurs with a full size adult in the seat. This condition seems to occur regardless of idling or driving conditions. It generally reports through indicators that the front passenger airbag is turned off and the airbag readiness indicator is lit to indicate a problem.