2012 Buick Lacrosse: sudden loss of power

Filed Nov 9, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · MO

13136 recall issued on XXX was visually inspected by [XXX] Chevrolet Pleasant Hill Iowa on 7/10/13. With the statement no further action required .Diagnostic inspection done by Thompson Buick Springfield [XXX] XXX the following codes flagged.B1517,P0606,P0700,P0AC4,P0BE6,P0BEE,P0C0B,U0140,U0293,U1817 The vehicle is owned by my wife's aunt a [XXX] widow the car is a critical Lifeline used by her niece to drive a 2.5 hour highway route from [XXX] to [XXX] where her aunt resides in a nursing home. On a return trip to [XXX]. The vehicle experienced catastrophic shut down power windows failed , air conditioner quit functioning and a mile of home the car lost power steering. Because recall inspection was done one month after the recall roll out XXX and then recall inspection was done XXX was a visual inspection that did not replace the known to be ,a future failure point part. After the catastrophic shut down, we took the vehicle to Thompson Buick [XXX]. To have a diagnostic service done which showed Parts noted in the original recall had failed the dealership was unable to do anything because the recall showed no further action completed . Service manager contacted GM representative who stated GM declined the request because the vehicle is outside the age and mileage guidelines for repair assistance GM does not allow for assistance Beyond 7 years or 50,000 miles Beyond warranty and service date. I believe this is taken out of context and the recall should be reviewed because the inspection was not adequate to solve the initial problem noted in the recall. There have been several changes to this recall to facilitate a review. But they have refused to have any other statement. All check engine lights activated. This misinterpreted recall failure has put an elderly patient and her caregiver in possible fatal conditions as well as innocent drivers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 17, 2026 · Electrical · MO

**Subject:** Formal Safety Defect Complaint: Premature Failure of Completed Recall Remedy (the federal safety agency Campaign 13V173000 / GM Recall 13136) Resulting in Sudden Loss of Power Steering **VEHICLE INFORMATION** * **Year/Make/Model:** 2012 Buick LaCrosse Hybrid (eAssist) * **VIN:** [XXX] * **Current Mileage:** [Insert Current Mileage] **DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY DEFECT & INCIDENT** This vehicle was previously serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign 13V173000 to resolve an inherent defect in the Generator Control Module (GCM) that presents a severe stalling and trunk fire risk. On 9-9-26, under normal driving conditions in ambient temperatures of approximately 95°F and after covering a distance of 10 miles, the manufacturer-installed remedy component suffered a premature, catastrophic thermal failure. The replacement GCM ceased regulating and delivering power to the vehicle’s 12-volt system. The resulting critical voltage drop forced the vehicle into an emergency load-shedding protocol, abruptly disabling the air conditioning system. Shortly thereafter, the severe drop in operating voltage caused a total, sudden failure of the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) while the vehicle was actively in motion. The driver was forced to navigate a heavy vehicle entirely without steering assistance, causing an immediate, severe collision hazard. Battery warning symbol activated. I have not taken it to the dealership because of the recall status. **REASON FOR ADVANCED ESCALATION** While the vehicle’s VIN status officially shows "No Incomplete Recalls" because the campaign was previously executed, the remedy part provided by the manufacturer has failed in the exact same manner as the original defective component. By failing prematurely, the safety risk mandated to be fixed by federal law has been completely reintroduced. REQUESTED ACTIONS Manufacturer-Covered Remedy: A goodwill replacement of the failed Generator Control Module and associated diagnostics at no cost to the owner. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AC

Filed Jul 10, 2026 · Brakes, Engine · OH

2012 Buick LaCrosse V6 (Fairfax Plant). The vehicle suffered a sudden, complete loss of engine power and forward propulsion while traveling at highway speed, cutting off mid-drive with no warning. This occurred alongside a persistent StabiliTrak malfunction; the dash showed repeated "Service StabiliTrak" warnings before the failure, then turned bright orange with multiple warning lights and a message instructing me to activate my turn signal and pull over before RPMs dropped to zero. Because power cut out instantly, my [XXX] son (passenger) and I were trapped in the center lane of a dense, multi-lane highway. I was forced to dodge high-speed traffic and coast the dead vehicle across multiple active lanes to reach the shoulder, creating an imminent collision risk to us and other drivers. We were then stranded on the narrow shoulder awaiting a tow, with traffic passing within feet at highway speed. Both my son and I have CMT2A (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease), a neuromuscular disability limiting mobility; we were incapable of quickly evacuating the vehicle or reaching safety up the embankment, leaving us trapped in a highly dangerous position. No official inspection or diagnosis has been performed yet. My dash displayed the same "Service StabiliTrak" warning referenced in the federal safety agency Campaign 11V404000, though my VIN was excluded from that recall, and my failure went beyond the handling/deceleration issue described in that recall to a complete loss of propulsion. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 3, 2025 · Acceleration, Electrical · AL

Improperly calibrated Stabilitrak ESC system. Accelerator pedal position sensors 1-2 5v reference 3 circuit Heated oxygen 2 sensor Car is losing power and esc light is on along with check engine light

Filed Mar 11, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 122,000 miles · WV

While going around curves the engine lost power several time. Check engine light came on, power steering failed, power brakes failed and engine restarted on its own after a few seconds.

Filed Mar 11, 2021 · Electrical · 122,000 miles · MI · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 buick lacrosse. The contact stated while driving at 45 MPH when the vehicle lost power without warning. The contact stated he stopped the vehicle by crashing into a curb. The vehicle was unable to be restarted. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with, the federal safety agency campaign number: 13v173000 (electrical system) however the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.

Filed Dec 23, 2020 · 56,000 miles · OR

Sometimes while cornering, almost always a right corner, my car will act like anti skid is enabled...I lose power and slow way down,, then my car speeds back up on its own, it does it while engaged to anti skid or not. When I put brand new tires on, it quit doing it, but it's doing it again. I have had this car into the dealer with this complaint about 3 years ago...no issues or recalls were on file at that time. This rear toe link recall is what my car is mimicking, but my VIN # is not listed.

Filed Sep 27, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 106,000 miles · CA

My 2012 buick lacrosses newest problem is one that actually scares me. I can be driving along at 65 miles an hour and it will kinda jerk a couple of times, then usually it will flash 'service the stability track' then I lose power steering and it dies. I'm lucky if I can make it to the side of the road.I live in a rural area and the highways around here are two lane with minimum shoulders. So when the car does this it is dangerous. It has happened 5 times now. It will restart after about 15-30 minutes and drive just fine. I've taken it to a mechanic and nothing shows up on the computer, everything looks good. But its not, this is by far the worst of the problems I've experienced with this car and there have been quite a few.

Filed Apr 9, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 107,666 miles · MS

Driving my car was just great on my 81st day of ownership it all changed I was leaving a red light in vicksburg off the interstate onto warrenton rd I experienced loss of all power to everything in the vehicle and if anyone is familiar with that road the are hardly any room to pull over so bad that if I had a passenger hey would have to climb over to the driver side to get out or else slide right into the mississippi river, talk about bad timing with the exception for the radio the vehicle would only click once no abnormal smells smoke or anything that would cause me to think of any engine damage. After hours of waiting the tow truck came checked the car tried to boost it and couldn't get a charge after getting it home I took the battery to the advance auto parts to charge it and they said it was a dead cell so j brought another battery got it home just for it to click still no crank, it's push to start so it was just one single click and the engine light is the only light on the dash that would illuminate. So I called onstar they told me it needed to be taken to a dealer immediately due to a charging issue after taking it back to the dealership they said it's the motor locked up which is obserd due to the fact there was no indication of it doing anything abnormal before it shut down and with it being new I was told it would shut down before it ran hot and mess up the engine and also makes me wonder why it would even be considered because of the fact of the engine protection mechanism. Now the vehicle is at the dealership just sitting there and I have no way to work and still have to pay car note and insurance on a vehicle I don't even have access to anymore. The dealership is dixon auto and body sales and I'm stuck waiting with nothing to look forward to as far as a ride.

Filed Aug 15, 2018 · Electrical, Steering · 45,000 miles · AL

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 buick lacrosse. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to unknown dealer in 2014 to be serviced under the federal safety agency campaign number: 13v173000 (electrical system); however; the repair did not prevent the failure. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle stalled and all lights on the instrumental panel flickered and the battery warning light illuminated. The contact also advised that the steering wheel lost power steering ability while driving. The vehicle was not taken back to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 45,000.

Filed Jan 14, 2018 · Driver assistance · 54,086 miles · VA

We purchase a eassist 2012 buick lacrosse in feb.2017 with 46845 miles.we recently started having several issue either when in slow motion backing up out of a parking space or turning on a city street with the car doing a hard jerk, surging forward then loosing complete power! , not being able to see in the dark as all the light shut off, can't steer the car with no power steering, all the while in the line of traffic is definitely a safety issue that has been reported by other people years ago by my research and still no recall?!?! Just the other night the same thing happened and we were about 20 minutes from home at night having to travel through the mountains, feeling the car not wanting to accelerate and feeling the surges was quite scary! We have had the car looked at but they couldn't find what was wrong with it. The check engine light came on a few times over the last month but shut off automatically within the same day. One morning before work I noticed a message on the dic to service stabilitrak. We have had the car in the shop several times but they were unable to detect the issue to fix it or to get the car to do what we are telling them it's doing and the check engine light is no longer on. Again the safety issue with the loss of power while in the line of moving traffic is unacceptable and must be made right with the cars owner!

Filed Dec 17, 2017 · Engine, Steering · 29,975 miles · FL

Car stalled out twice, lost power steering. I was backing out of a parking lot space; restarted and then stalled while pulling onto street. Fear is it stalling in traffic and getting rear-ended. I took to garner buick where had purchased new. When car was relatively new and still on warranty had had similar issue, but dealer never found problem. Now occurs again. They found two sensors that failed but ok now so told me to drive over weekend and see what happens. I see this as a big safety problem and an accident waiting to happen. Buick should be responsible if this happens, but in the meantime I am the one injured.