Eboost intermittent. Loss of brakes.
Buick Enclave brake failure problems
13 of the 2,515 owner complaints about the Buick Enclave describe brake failure, most of them for the 2008 model year.
- owner complaints
- 13
- worst model year
- 2008
- typical mileage
- 28,000
By model year
- 20261
- 20252
- 20211
- 20201
- 20182
- 20121
- 20101
- 20092
- 20082
Often reported together
Check engine light 3ABS 2Water leak 1Steering noise 1Power steering loss 1Jerking 1Harsh shifting 1Grinding brakes 1
Trouble codes mentioned
U0401 1U0121 1U0078 1P0557 1
What owners say
Vehicle suffered a catastrophic, uncommanded electronic and mechanical system failure within 30 days of purchase, resulting in a severe crash.Prior to the incident, the vehicle exhibited a violent, unexpected jerking motion while accelerating up a highway on-ramp, though control was briefly regained. A few days later at the end of May, while driving in the rain, the electronic systems completely failed with zero dashboard warning lights or error messages appearing.The vehicle completely overrode driver input, veering uncontrollably from lane to lane on its own. Simultaneously, a total loss of braking power occurred; pressing the brake pedal had no effect on reducing the vehicle's speed. To stop the runaway vehicle and prevent hitting other drivers, I was forced to intentionally steer the SUV into a physical wall. The impact deployed components, caused orange engine coolant to leak, and forced the electronic precision shifter into Neutral on its own before the vehicle lost all electrical power. The steering wheel airbag deployed during this initial impact.Approximately 5 minutes later, while the vehicle was disabled on the road and after I had safely exited, a secondary vehicle struck my stationary car, which caused the majority of the remaining airbags to deploy.Detroit Police responded to the scene and filed an official crash report noting that I 'lost control' and struck the wall, but the responding officer failed to document the mechanical/electronic brake and steering failure reported at the scene.This simultaneous loss of eBoost braking control and electronic steering assist strongly aligns with the current federal safety investigation into GM vehicles (the federal safety agency Case PE24011). The vehicle is currently parked and being preserved exactly as-is at my residence to serve as evidence, as the module memory holds the Event Data Recorder (EDR) data proving full brake application during the failure. I am requesting an immediate investigation into this VIN.
I am reporting a sudden, complete failure of the vehicle braking system. I was operating a black 2026 Buick Enclave (an Enterprise rental car which my husband, [XXX], rented from the Tucson International Airport fleet, Vehicle Fleet #XXX) with my two children in the backseat. We were traveling at the posted speed limit of 45 mph in the fast lane on [XXX], heading toward Costco. Without warning, the braking system completely malfunctioned. Half a dozen red warning lights illuminated and alarmed on the dashboard, including the primary "BRAKE" indicator. When I pressed the brake pedal, it completely stopped working and went dead. The electronic parking brake failed to engage as well. Fortunately, the vehicle immediately ahead of me cleared a green light at the intersection, allowing me to coast through before the light turned red. I safely steered across the slow lane onto the shoulder and pressed "Park," but the vehicle continued to roll. The vehicle only came to a complete stop when I turned the engine ignition completely off. This vehicle has an Iowa license plate (PYR149) and failed at around 28,128 miles. This matches the exact profile of the ongoing master brake cylinder cartridge seal failures documented in active federal litigation against General Motors (such as XXX v. General Motors LLC). This defect poses an immediate public safety risk across GM's 2025-2026 shared-platform vehicles (Enclave, Traverse, Acadia, Colorado, Canyon) and needs to be formally investigated for a 2026 fleet safety recall. I have contacted GM Corporate (Case Number XXX) and William Withington at Enterprise Corporate regarding this incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was driving and a variety of failure warnings popped up on my screen along with a total brake failure, unable to stop, had to coast until the vehicle was no longer moving. No accident resulted, but it could have been very serious. Mechanics diagnosed it as a loose battery cable.
Brake pedal went to the floor 1 time when starting vehicle at approximately 400 miles.
I purchased this vehicle (used)on 01/12/2021. 5 weeks later the brakes pedal went to the floor. It has done this randomly several times. Usually I can get the car stopped, put it in park and pump the brake pedal a few times and the pedal will be back to normal.When this happens it's usually at a low speed and I can get the car stopped but it takes a while. I have attempted to talk to Gen. Motors at Detroit seeking information as to how can I repair this problem. I got no help from Detroit. My local Buick shop manager tells me it could be any number of things. Maybe a sensor or something in the brake system or a vaccuum problem. I need to know what to do to fix this problem before I get into a wreck.
The Electronic Parking Brake has had multiple apparent malfunctions and one complete failure. On several occasions the parking brake failed to disengage completely with multiple warning dash lights illuminating. One such incident apparently self-corrected after being left parked overnight our semi-heated garage, with another incident only partially disengaged the parking brake with warning lights indicating a parking brake malfunction, and after driving two to three miles returning home the right rear brake was baking hot. The latest malfunction was a complete failure of the parking brake to engage at all, with the warning lights again illuminating and would be an obvious danger while parking. The vehicle is just over four years old and was two-and-a-half months out of warranty at the time of failure, and had/has 5,121 miles. It has now been waiting at the dealership for repairs for FOUR WEEKS, awaiting a Parking Brake Control Module which they cannot give any timeline for delivery or arrival. It is unknown if the Brake Control Module for the parking brake has any control or effect on the service brakes, so the vehicle is sitting at the dealership collecting dust, unusable to us.
I was driving the car and when I depressed the brakes the brakes did not engage. The dashboard illuminated with a "brake assist: alert and I could feel the ABS brakes engage. Luckily this happened while I was pulling into a parking lot. Only had 1,200 miles. Had vehicle towed to dealer. Check engine light did come on and showed code p0557. They replaced the crank shaft position sensor wiring harness and 2 gaskets, based on a repair bulletin and then before I could get the vehicle home it happened again. No brakes, but brake assist activated and ABS was able to stop the vehicle. Check engine light came on again and showed codes p0557, u0401, u0121, & u0078. Had vehicle towed to dealer again. This time they replaced part # 84341899. Luckily both instances happened at low speeds and I was able to safety maneuver the vehicle to a place where I could get towed and nobody was in front of me.
I was driving at 75 MPH and my engine shut off; car began to slow, fuel dropped, power steering went out, brakes didn't work. I was able to, thankfully, get to the side of the road safely and use the rumble strips to slow me down. I turned the car off and 5 min. Later turned it on and was able to drive to a safe location. This is a common issue and all of these conditions are related to the "limited warranty protection" that gm issued nov. 2015 (14582). This is a safety hazard. My car experienced all the other condition, malfunction indicator light came on multiple times ( may, sept), was issued a letter in nov. 2015 and then this occurred in jan. 2016. Stipulation for this to be covered, under 120k miles of 10 years whichever first. My car experienced initial troubles at 110k in may and this potential fatal incident at 125. Arguing with gm over this. Should be a recall, not a limited warranty. Seems to be an unethical company. Does it take death to make this right? This has occurred countlesss times- check the internet, 100s of customers have reported this. Does this have to be another toyota incident for gm to recognize this is a recall not a limited warranty! I have all paperwork showing the issues except dealer states since they can't replicate, they need the check engine light on and the car to be under 120k to determine if they should pay. Gm is unethical!!!
Squeaking brakes and steering noise. Resubmitted for repair could not duplicate at dealership. Resubmitted in 2011 and 2013, water pump replaced, steering gear box replaced, steering pump replaced, throttle body cleaned. Engine timing off at idle, harsh/ruff transition between gear shifts. Rear hatch failed to operate. Sensor replaced, then actuator replaced, then control buttons replaced then final control button and internal door sensors replaced not by warranty, rear hatch struts failed and dropped on child and owners heads, open and close buttons non responsive on remote for the hatch. Only the interior hatch release button worked. Onstar would not power down, no notice it was connected, dropped cell calls and killed battery. Upon jumping, the control module for onstar failed as did cellular antenna not covered by warranty. Brakes squeaking and fluttering plus pulse at slow down. Master cylinder had hydraulic fluid leaking into brake lines, boost pump failed and repeated flushing did not clear the system. Air in lines caused brake failure near collision avoided with evasive operator driving maneuvers, 3rd flush cleared the lines not covered by warranty. Steering unstable on uneven roadways and in left and right turns, repeat/recur, final submission 4th time, engine mount broken and possible spark plugs for idle problems. Replaced sparke plugs did not resolve idle speed or hard shift out of 3/5 gears. A/c outage three times, no leak detected, freon loaded and reloaded: evaporator coil diagnosed as problem. Total dash disassembled, several electrical issues surfaced since including onstar, ECM errors, nav sys stayed on, cell phone not connecting and check engine light illuminating without cause codes. Over $16500 in repairs completed on this vehicle, some covered by warranty, some not, by 2013 nearly all repairs not covered by extended warranty.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Buick Enclave brake failure
Which Buick Enclave years have brake failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2008 (2 complaints), 2009 (2 complaints) and 2018 (2 complaints).
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