My 2009 buick enclave started out with a feeling in the steering when turning to the limits either left or right which was checked out by the dealership as being nothing. Then the power steering pump started making noises which was determined by the dealership as something the occurs in this type of pump but is not a safety issue. Then the noise became louder and loss of power steering when the engine is initially started and at lower speeds ie in a parking lot. Now there feels like a detent in the steering at the straight foreword position and it is noticeable when turning (on the highway) and takes some strength and awareness to overcome the problem. The dealer advises that there is no recall and the car is no longer covered on warranty.
2009 Buick Enclave steering complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 108, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Hard to turn. My wife almost hit by a tractor trailer. Appears to be a common problem with most enclaves.
I was heading out my neighborhood up a hill to make a left turn and all of the sudden the steering wheel would not move and almost caused me to get into a wreck. I already had the steering pump and pinions changed 1 week ago and now this happens. Apparently this is an issue gm knows about and nothing has been done. I have 2 kids and I am concerned about their safety. Not to mention how costly this is and as a single mother I cannot afford to buy another vehicle or repairs, by the way I did just purchase this vehicle 2 weeks ago. Yes I did just purchase it from a dealer.
My 2009 buick enclave has intermittent loss of power steering, mainly at lower speeds to make turns. This is a very dangerous situation. When this occurs, it takes a lot of strength for me to turn my vehicle. I have read numerous complaints of the same problems of other enclave owners and many different attempts to repair without success. I also came across a web site that states there is a class action lawsuit against gm for said problem. This is such a safety issue that immediate action is needed today! Peoples lives are in danger, inside and outside of these vehicles. This failure happens without warning! Your prompt attention is appreciated! Recalls need to be ordered asap.
My power steering, in my 2009 buick enclave, has caused me problems for almost two years. The power steering has made weird (and loud) noises, when doing slow speed turns. There always seemed to be resistance when turns are made (especially if a slow, sharp turn is needed), above the norm. Finally, today, the entire power steering/rack pinion drive went out. I almost got into an accident, when trying to turn left out of an intersection today. It now requires a huge effort to turn the wheel and the car is not safe to drive.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 buick enclave. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the power steering failed without warning. The contact stated that he had to increase the amount of effort in order to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 84,000.
While wife was driving her buick enclave with the kids the power steering pump failed and she narrowly averted being in an accident while trying to turn on an intersection. She was unable to maneuver the vehicle after the pump failed. Vehicle was taken to the dealership and it was confirmed that the pump was indeed bad. The dealer also stated that the need to keep the pump in stock because of the amount of failures they see on the buicks and also the chevy traverse. A search on the internet revealed hundreds of complaints of people losing power steering on the chevys and buick models with nothing being done by gm to remedy the situation. Losing the ability to steer a vehicle without any warning is a fatally or serious accident waiting to happen(if not already). Something needs done to have these known faulty parts recalled or a fix in place. Other buick enclave owners as well as the dealership have stated that replacing the pump does not permanently fix the problem but only delays the problem until it occurs again. Hopefully my wife and kids will stay out of harms way when it happens again. Please press gm for a fix to this problem before someone is injured.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 buick enclave. The contact stated that while sitting at a complete stop, smoke emitted into the cabin from under the hood. The engine compartment then became engulfed in flames. The fire department was called to the scene and the vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where it was discovered that the power steering components had failed and allowed fluid to leak onto the manifold. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
I took my car in to be fixed again. I needed the running lights and a hesitation in the car fixed. So they fixed the problems, but when they went to test drive it the power steering failed. Now the power steering needs to be replaced. It seems this car is needs to be fixed all the time. I have had a lot of cars and this is the most I have ever had problems with a car. It really scares me that this can be fixed but will most likely fail again due to the problems with gm's steering.
I brought my car into the dealership in late 2012 for a sound that it was making when I turned my steering wheel. They told me it was "an air bubble in the power steering line" the sound never went away and only got worse- I brought it back into the shop this week- 11/13/13- not the dealership- and I am not being told that my power steering is going out and it has been leaking fluid and damaged my rack and pinion. Clearly there are numerous other customers with this same issue and people have had their power steering fail on them while driving- this is a huge safety issue and in my opinion due to the rate of occurrence should be addressed by the manufacturer.
I own a 2009 buick enclave that started experiencing intermittent steering lock-up issues at approximately 55,000 miles. The steering would intermittently 'lock-up' especially at speeds below 35 MPH without warning, the problem became much worse over time. We frequently travel to the nc mountains where there are many 2 lane curvy roads going up/down the mountains, the problem was especially noticeable when traveling in the nc mountains. A vehicle having the steering 'lock-up' is a definite safety issue. I had the vehicle repaired by the dealership when it reached 68,295 miles for $2186.50 due to safety concerns of harming one of my children or wife should a wreck occur due to not being able to steer the vehicle. The repairs consisted of replacing the defective 'steering gear' as well as the power steering pump due to metal shavings from the disintegrating steering gear getting into the power steering pump. In searching encvlaveforum.net many users complained of the same issue with vehicles in the lambda family (enclave, traverse, acadia). A recall should be issued for this defect.
The vehicle (2009 buick enclave) was being serviced at a gm dealer for investigation of a noise we have heard while driving the car. The mechanics determined that the noise was due to the steering mechanism which was beginning to fail and needed to be replaced to avoid potential loss of steering.
My vehicle has experienced the exact same as numerous complaints for this model and year. At low speeds, the power steering will intermittently fail. Just as everyone else, I am told I need a new steering gear, power steering pump, and alignment. This is a safety issue. Recently when trying to pull out from a gas station, the power steering failed and it was very difficult to continue turning into near lane without being pulled into the farther lane with oncoming traffic. If this would have been a daughter, I cannot imagine what would have happened (pull into oncoming traffic for a head on collision and possible death). Further, to demonstrate buick and gm are fully aware of this problem, when I had it investigated at the local buick dealer, the service department told me that gm changed the power steering pump after that model year because the "7-van pump" installed does not give a great amount of flow of fluid, and it is now replaced with a 12-vane pump. He probably wasn't supposed to tell me that. Buick and gm offer absolutely no assistance. It is one thing if there was something wrong with an amenity or something. But a safety issue should be recalled or assistance given. Again, there are numerous complaints of exactly the same issue. Is it going to take someone pulling out and being pulled into oncoming traffic before gm does the right thing? Will an innocent person have to die before the proper action is taken? Very upset with the lack of interest from gm and buick for the sole purpose of "saving a buck". Where is the integrity?
Intermittent, complete failure of power steering / steering assist at low speeds, e.g. When braking at a left turn or when parking, resulting in difficulty controlling the direction of the vehicle.
After highway driving for a couple hours, I exited onto the off ramp and stopped at the intersection. When my time came to turn, the steering wheel would not move. I was out in the middle of traffic, and almost was hit by oncoming traffic. I had to brute force the steering wheel to get it to move while vehicle moving. While vehicle was moving at city speeds (20-40mph) I was able to steer. Later that day the steering seemed to work again, but was noisy and made scraping sounds at the ends of travel. Recently the problem returned again, where there is no assist in steering at stopped position (unless I rev the engine up to 2000rpm), and when I am driving the steering assist seems to be back. I am extremely concerned that this is a safety issue and will eventually cause a serious accident. From the other complaints it sounds like the complete steering system is at fault, and in some cases after repair this can happen again. What is being done to remedy this? The complaints go back to 2010....
My husband went to make a right hand turn and when he turned he lost power steering and the ABS light, traction control icon, brake light and "service all wheel drive" all came on at the same time. My dash looks like a christmas tree.
The steering wheel started to make a rubbing, squeaking sound upon turning left or right at low speeds. By the next day, I had lost power steering completely at low speeds. I went to make a turn, thinking I had power steering and almost got in an accident because I was unable to turn the car as quickly as usual. It was so scary! I took the car to the dealer who has had it in the shop the last four days. They are replacing the entire steering column. I hope that will solve the problem, but after reading tons of complaints online at buick enclave forums, I fear that this issue is widespread and is an on-going problem, no matter how many "fixes" at the dealership.
I was driving and attempted to make a turn, the power steering failed and I almost crashed into another vehicle, with other traffic coming toward me around 45 MPH. Over the past couple weeks, the power steering intermittently failed and took significant effort to turn. This is a used vehicle so I am unsure of the previous frequency of occurrence. I took the vehicle to the buick dealership who found the steering gear was at fault and had to replace it at a cost of $900. Upon researching the cause, I have found that this is a common occurrence with this and other gm products. I am documenting this to assist the bureau in determining that this is a very serious safety issue with this product and should be evaluated and issued a recall.
The power steering loses power when making a turn. The steering still works just with no power assist. This is extremely scary as the wheel suddenly pulls out of your hand unless you are gripping very tightly with both hands. The power steering can then return just as suddenly. The only good thing is that it seems to only happen at lower speeds so while I may hit another car while pulling into a parking space I probably won't kill myself or some other driver while driving at speed.
At low speed the steering will not function correctly. I was going thru parking garage and as I turned the steering would not respond. This is now occurring at low speeds and steering locks up.it is ok at above 10mph.
First noticed problem 5 months after purchase in october 2012. Turning into parking lot, left or right at a stop light, steering wheel locks up. Steering rack replaced and problem is still not fixed. Nothing kicking out code with diagnostics and fluids are fine.
I was stopped on the street waiting to pull in my drive way as traffic passed. I attempted to turn expecting to pull in as normal but steering wheel locked up and missed driveway. To avoid traffic accelerated into yard due to steering not working as anticipated. Steering returned to normal intermittently.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 buick enclave. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the power steering failed. The contact stated that he had to increase the amount of effort in order to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Purchased june 2009. Coolant level has never stayed at full level. After adding coolant it eventually drops in level. Lately, having problems with the power steering. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to turn wheel. Current mileage is 89,000.
Purchased on 05-25-2013 as a replacement vehicle for a 2004 nissan xterra. Noticed when turning into parking space or driveway that power steering suddenly turned into manual steering and was difficult to turn. Took vehicle in for an unrelated problem( dvd stuck in player) and ask them to check power steering. ? Maybe low fluid? No problem found. Did some online research only to find this has been a common problem years 2008 to 2010 usually resulting in replacement of pump and rack and pinion.called dealership and reported problem, they are now ordering a steering pump to see if it will fix problem.I have only had the car 3 days and driven 200 miles. Also found that them problem includes gm acadia and chevy traverse.
I bought my enclave brand new. I now have 73000 miles on it. We took the car in because it was becoming very hard for me to turn the wheel and I could have been in an accident because of this. The dealership told us that the power steering pump and the power steering rack & pinion had to be replaced! What??!! I had never heard of anyone that I know of having this kind of major issue with their car at 73000 miles. We did some research and found that there have been several other buick owners with this same issue with fewer miles on their car. This is a safety issue that buick needs to research and resolve. My other safety problem is the power liftgate. If your car is parked on a hill, the power liftgate will drop on top of you with no warning. The liftgate struts dont work when your car is parked on a slope.
I have already had the steering rack replaced previously... Now, today, the steering pump is failing and needs to be replaced... This is a safety issue... I have notice a number of other enclave owners experiencing this problem. There should be a recall on this item.
I was driving with my family on vacation in the mountains and the vehicles steering began to lock up in every turn. We almost hit multiple people. The vehicle drove fine in a straight line it's only when cornering or turning. Took it to a dealer to ask of they have ever heard of this problem because I read numerous incidents online of people having the same issue. Every dealer told me they haven't heard of a steering problem with the enclave. I really find this hard to believe with all of the post online. They want to replace the entire steering rack at a ridiculous price. I do not believe that the issue they are only guessing! There have multiple occurrences since and very close calls. This vehicle will have to be parked until we get some help with this issue!!!! Please help!!!
Power steering fails intermittently when maneuvering at low speeds executing tight turns such as going into or out of a parking spot. There are many online vehicle owner complaints and this is clearly an accident waiting to happen that the ntsb needs to get in front of .
While driving at very low speed--usually when preparing to park or turning at very low speed, the power assist goes out completely, and to complete turn it is very difficult and much worse than the "old fashion" manual steering systems. No indication that such failure is going to happen and failure is very unexpected. No failure at speeds above less than 5 miles per hour.
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