KnownCarProblems2010 Buick Enclave Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 275 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Buick Enclave, most often about the steering (46% of complaints, typically around 68,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Enclave model year since 2000 and has 6 recalls.
Most common 2010 Buick Enclave problems
Steering
126 complaints · 46%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles. Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist, electric power assist system.
When driving this vehicle it has randomly started to loose power steering at lower speeds when turning into parking spots or making u turns and pulling into on coming traffic which is a major safety hazard. I've googled this and there are thousands of complaints with this happening not only with the Enclave but the…
The steering wheel often but not always locks up when driving at low speeds and making sharp turns, for example at a stop sign or making a u turn at a traffic light. It does not matter whether a right or left turn is being made. It takes significant force to turn the wheel to "unstuck" the steering wheel and make the…
Engine
74 complaints · 27%Half of these problems showed up before 92,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Enclave. While reversing out of the driveway and placing the vehicle in drive, the vehicle hesitated before moving forward without warning. The failure recurred on several occasions. The contact also stated that on one occasion when the vehicle was started, the engine warning indicator…
Check engine light came on while driving on the interstate highway, the vehicle lost power, reducing the speed to 35 MPH in a 70 MPH interstate. The vehicle cut off and would not restart. It was towed to the repair shop which identified it as timing chain stretched. On-line research shows that the timing chain has…
Transmission
34 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 78,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, driveline.
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact…
Check engine light came on. Repair shop identified it as timing chain stretched. On-line research shows that the timing chain has been an issue with Buick, and they extended the power train warranty to cover repairs for the 2008-2009 model. It appears that the same or similar problem is occurring with the 2010 model.…
Electrical
23 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 93,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, ignition.
Takata recall. My park assist radio and all other sound when completly off I went to the store everything was working fine on my way there. When I got back in the car and turned it on nothing turned on.
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Enclave. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost power. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (donnell ford, 7955 market st, youngstown, oh 44512), but the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not…
Other or unspecified
18 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles.
Steering: seems vague when in motion at highway speed. Other: rear tailgate opens while driving, sitting still w/o the key in the ignition. Contacted gm and customer service told me it was my problem not theirs. Engine: sounds like a meatgrinder on cold start up, if the engine fails will loose steering, brakes and…
Hello, we have just purchased a used 2010 Enclave Buick about three months ago and have just hit the 80,000 mile mark and my engine light turned on and the diagnosis for this vehicle is p0008. On line they show the previous models to mine where all recalled for this code issue. My concern is was this issue fixed for…
Brakes
12 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 36,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Enclave. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the ground wires from the 02 sensor had shortened out. In addition, the contact mentioned that the vehicle had exhibited problems with…
Rear brakes over heated. An inspection revealed that the brake pads were frozen due to rust and worn at an angle and not even causing metal to metal contact. Rear pads and rotors had to be replaced at a cost of $ 347.62. If this had been caught during normal inspection intervals I don't believe the rotors would have…
Body and structure
12 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 88,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Enclave. The contact opened the rear liftgate to place something in the vehicle. The liftgate dropped down onto the contact's head. The contact did not require medical attention. Prior to the failure, the contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v415000 (structure). The…
The contact owns a 2010 Buick Enclave. While the vehicle was parked, the tailgate was previously activated but independently closed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15v415000 (structure). The failure mileage was…
Fuel system
11 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Check engine light went on. Car was seemingly working alright, however, after fueling up, it was difficult to restart the car. In fact, at the last fill up I was unable to start the car for over 20 minutes while at the gas pump. This caused a great deal of anger, frustration, and rage in the other drivers who were…
Takata recall. My park assist radio and all other sound when completly off I went to the store everything was working fine on my way there. When I got back in the car and turned it on nothing turned on.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2010 Buick Enclave recalls
Air bags: inflator module
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.
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: critical fasteners
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.
Full defect summary
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.
Body and structure: hatchback/liftgate
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.
Full defect summary
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 liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Seat belts
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 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (buick), 1-800-462-8782 (gmc), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). General motors re
Full defect summary
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 fatigue and separate over time.
Air bags: side/window
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 repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Full defect summary
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.
Seat belts
Risk: The safety belt may not restrain the occupant as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.
Fix: Dealers will modify the second row seat side trim shields. If a safety belt buckle is damaged, dealers will replace it free of charge. The safety recall began on august 18, 2010. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, buick at 1-866-608-8080, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, and saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 chevrolet traverse, buick enclave, gmc acadia, and saturn outlook vehicles. The second row seat side trim shield restricts the upward rotation of the safety belt buckle when the seat back is returned to a seating position after being folded flat. If the buckle contacts the seat frame, additional effort is required to return the seat to a seating position. If sufficient force is applied, the buckle cover could be pushed down the strap, exposing and partially depressing the red release button.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Outboard front seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On august 31, 2020, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened engineering analysis (ea) ea20002, as an upgrade of recall query (rq) rq19003. This investigation, related to recall 14v-266, was opened to investigate instances of detachment of the flexible steel seat belt anchor cable attached to the outboard side of the front seats in vehicles manufactured by general motors (gm). The subject vehicles included model year (my) 2009 through 2014 gmc acadia, buick enclave, and chevrolet traverse suvs as well as my 2009 through 2010 saturn outlook suvs. These vehicles were previously repaired for this defect under recall 14v-266. The subject vehicle population is approximately 1.3 million v
Seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On may 19, 2014, general motors llc (gm) notified the office of defects investigation (odi) that it would conduct safety recall 14v266 to address fatigue and separation of the flexible steel cable that connects the front outboard seat belts to the seat-mounted belt pre-tensioner in 1.4 million model year (my) 2009-2010 saturn outlook, 2009-2014 buick enclave, gmc acadia and chevrolet traverse (lambda platform) vehicles.the remedy was to inspect for signs of damage and replace pre-tensioner anchor cables as needed. Re-work was conducted to relocate the pre-tensioner anchor cable out of the occupant entry path. Odi has subsequently received four (4) vehicle owners questionnaires (voq) reportin
Questions about the 2010 Buick Enclave
- What are the most common problems with the 2010 Buick Enclave?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (126 complaints, typically around 68,000 miles); engine (74 complaints, typically around 92,000 miles); transmission (34 complaints, typically around 78,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2010 Buick Enclave have?
- 6 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 7, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2010 a bad year for the Buick Enclave?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Enclave model year since 2000, with 275 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.