2009 Buick Enclave: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Jan 8, 2023 · Engine · NY · fire · 1 injury

My 2009 Buick Enclave CXL, VIN 5GAEV23D79J118427: Engine caught on fire during the time i was driving it. The car hesitated as if it was going to shut off then i saw smoke coming from underneath the front hood, I pulled to the side of the road and stopped the car and open the front hood, my engine was on fire. The fire was located on the passenger side of the car or the left side of the car if you were facing the front of the car. I tried to put the fire out, but the fire got out of control. I called 911 and the fire Department and Police arrived. My car was being repair due to the fire.

Filed Apr 12, 2017 · Engine, Transmission · 130,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 buick enclave. While driving 45 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, jerked, and failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the #1 cylinder misfired and the plugs and pcv valves were replaced. The mechanic then took the vehicle for a test drive and diagnosed that the transmission failed and the vehicle could no longer be shifted into reserve, third gear, or sixth gear. It was diagnosed that the transmission wave plate failed and needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that there were no open recalls. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

Filed May 8, 2015 · 65,000 miles · WV

Pressed button on rear hatch to open. The hatch engaged and went up only to catch and then freefall back down on top of my head leaving me dazed, disoriented and in pain. I hesitate to think what would have happened if I hadnt instinctively put my hand up to catch it or if had been a child there instead of me. The hatch is totally unusable because it will not stay open long enough to put anything in or get anything out. Very dangerous!

Filed Jul 29, 2014 · Acceleration, Steering · 67,878 miles · OK

In the past I had jerking or slipping of transmission at approximately 40 miles an hour, or the engine was having a coil miss fire. I had 3 new coils installed by dealer under warranty with similar problems before. Took to dealer and they could not determine if transmission was slipping or engine miss firing, but no code on miss firing engine. Slipping or hesitating of transmission is more likely but can not determine since does not act the same consistently. Steering noise started in the winter approximately november 2013, but off and on since; steering seems a little stiff but not failing yet like so many other complaints I have read about here. I was charged $342.81 for dirty throttle body and oil in the air dust tube which might cause misfire, they cleaned and replaced bank 2 value cover and cleared codes, performed idle lean reset. This did not fix problem on 05/19/2014. I returned on 06/10/14 and left car till 06/11/14 the dealer let me use a loaner over night. The dealer said stumble/misfire at times was not acting up enough to diagnose. I had the cars automatic transmission flush service on 02/26/14 and there was no problem at that time. In the course of owning this vehicle I had 3 coils replaced with problems starting 01/05/10 one coil, second coil on 08/11/10. Third coil shortly thereafter, this is after complaining since 12/02/2009 about engine shudder. The misfire/stumble is still happening about 40 MPH and sometimes around 20mph if you are slow going but not on a pull or accelerating. We love the car, but the problems are getting expensive and the worry of what else can go wrong is stressful. I did not mention the warranty repairs of water pump going out front motor mount failure, shift lever, airbags, seat belts, left out remote mirror failure, engine and transmission code updates. Dealer seem ok, so gm can not fix or will not due to cost.

Filed Mar 19, 2014 · Electrical · 79,000 miles · MD

I would not recommend this vehicle, it is pretty expensive for all the problems we've had. It has already been recalled twice for two different problems. In december it started misfiring, hesitating and becoming sluggish. After taking it to three different repair facilities they figured out the pistons were misfiring and three ignition coils(all on the same side) had to be replaced. While I realize the time frame of the warranty has passed, we were under the mileage for warranty coverage. I guess automobile makers penalize you for not putting a lot of miles on your car. Now, just three months later with only a few more thousand miles added - out of the blue I'm driving down the road and numerous warning lights come on. Park assist goes off, all wheel drive goes off, ABS warning light, and brake warning light all come on at the same time. When I called the dealer I was told to turn the car off and then back on and it should be fine - it wasn't. Then I was told it was ok to drive it! If so, then why all the warning lights? Too many things have gone wrong, for a price tag of over $50,000.00. We have always had the suggested maintenance performed, I feel this vehicle is not made well and is not worth the price tag, but more importantly - how safe is it???

Filed Dec 11, 2013 · Engine · 85,000 miles · NY

Engine coil misfires resulting in hesitation when accelerating.

Filed Dec 1, 2013 · Steering, Transmission · 57,000 miles · WI

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.