This vehicle has major suspension issues containing the complete strut assembly, lower control arms, and strut yokes/forks, which can not be replaced due to the discontinuance of the vehicle and parts itself. Because of this the car cannot receive an alignment which cause the tires to be eaten up at a rapid rate. When going over a bump in the highway the steering column goes one way while the car goes another. The car slides all over the road. Extreme safety concerns for my family and I.
Buick Lacrosse ball joint problems
17 of the 2,127 owner complaints about the Buick Lacrosse describe ball joint or control arm failure, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 17
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical mileage
- 81,000
Is there a fix? There are 4 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20171
- 20121
- 20112
- 20072
- 20064
- 20057
Often reported together
Harsh shifting 2Grinding brakes 2Steering noise 1Power steering loss 1Loss of power 1Jerking 1No deployment 1ABS 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2006 Buick Lacrosse. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle began to shake and vibrate and the felt like that the front passenger’s side tire was about to detach from the vehicle. The contact slowed down and drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the tie rod and wheel bearing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the repairs had not been performed by the first independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.
I was driving my car down a interstate highway when all of a sudden the stability track can on my dash and the car freaked out and breaked really hard ! I stated to spin out and then a loud crack the lower control arm broke on the rear right side . We almost really lost our lives! This is the 12 time this has happen and the mechanics tell me nothing is wrong they can see!! I'm taking it to buick to see what they say this should be recalled asap! Somebody will get severely hurt soon omg
Front stabilizer bar is cracked on both sides where the bolts from the lower control arm go though the stabiliser bar. Car has never been in a accident, has 130,000 miles, never been off road. Happened to notice it while replacing brake pads
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 buick lacrosse. While driving 30 MPH, the front driver side wheel began to make an abnormal noise. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the lug nuts and the control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. In addition, while at a stop and attempting to make a left turn, another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The ABS and electronic stability control warning indicators illuminated. The contact sustained back, right arm, and right leg injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an auto body repair center for body repairs, but was not diagnosed or repaired for the failure. After the vehicle was repaired for the crash, the gear shifter was shifted into the drive position and the vehicle began to roll backwards. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact was aware of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 06v417000 (air bags) and 14v355000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Control arm bushing failed, causing the control arm to grind into the sub frame of the car. The sub frame is aluminum and was damaged very quickly. This issue gave no indication and only became apparent under visual inspection while the car was being serviced for another complaint. The sub frame could fail completely causing steering suspension and brakes to fail.
Steering knuckle- was replaced once years ago under warranty but is now starting to make noise again consistently worse for the last 1-2 years.for months now, we've noticed that occasionally the car will act weird. The throttle will be less responsive and it will almost act like it's missing on a couple cylinders or so, but it has never set a code for it. The shift points are raised and you have to drastically give it more throttle to get the car to accelerate, but when it does, it kinda like surges and then it shifts harder. Once it is in road gear and cruising, the car surges while at a constant speed, it can be felt that the car surges and doesn't remain totally smooth and consistent like it should. An engine restart usually stops it for that time. We have the same sporadic problem and have had for years on our '98 olds eighty-eight with a 3800 engine also. Both cars are now doing the exact same thing occasionally, are 8 model years apart, both have the 3800 engine but one is a series ii engine and the other is a series iii. We just noticed the past few months that the car is starting to make front end noises like the front stabilizer bar is broke, so I looked at it recently and noticed that the left side of it where it connects to the lower control arm is stress fractured in half.
Pulled into parking lot and lost power steering. Lots of clunking and grinding just prior. Mechanic says power steering hoses, rack and pinion and tie rods. Yet another problem with this vehicle. Gm was aware enough of the problem that they put a supervisor on the line but said that it is out of warranty now, so it's not their problem. Going to try to work with local guys to get out of it. Not sinking another penny into this car. If this had happened on the highway, I'd be dead.
A creaking sound was noticed usually when turning the steering wheel or in a constant state turn mostly at speeds below 40 MPH. Car was taken to a gm (buick ) dealer garage and it was diagnosed as the rack and pinion. Dealer recommended replacing the rack and pinion, tie rods, power steering pump and hose and also recommended replacing the struts. I took the car to a garage that does md state inspections to have the car inspected and they quickly found the issue....the front stabilizer bar was fatigue cracked completely through at the attach point on one end and only the bolt was holding it together. The stabilizer bar was replaced and the noise went away. If I had taken the gm dealer's advice I would have spent at least $1,850 and still had the problem. The mech. At the inspection station says that this is a chronic problem with certain gm makes/models.
Date of repair 02/16/2011 mileages: 039610 replaced left and right outer tie rods, discovered worn when they balanced both sides. There was always a clucking noise in the steering when I took it in for repair. After the repair it still retain the clucking noise and so decided to go on line and much to my surprise there were many complaints about this clucking noise in the steering column. What I want to know is there something being done about this defective and is it life threading. Will the government force a recall to fix the problem. Thank you
Related recalls
Suspension: rear
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse, 2012-2013 Buick Regal, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received an improper amount of electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately fracture.
- Risk
- A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver's ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 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 N212346640. This recall is an expansion of the federal safety agency recalls 20V‑764 and 21V‑633.
Recall number 21V00F000 · Recall details
Suspension: rear
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Buick Regal, Chevrolet Malibu, and Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately fracture.
- Risk
- A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver's ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 3, 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 N212330130.
Recall number 21V633000 · Recall details
Suspension: rear
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.
- Risk
- A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver's ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners were mailed an interim notification on January 27, 2021, and April 15, 2021. A third notification was mailed on August 19, 201. 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 N202308930.
Recall number 20V764000 · Recall details
Suspension: rear
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (C) is recalling certain 2017 Buick LaCrosse vehicles. The rear suspension toe-links may have been incorrectly installed, and, as a result, they may loosen and disconnect from the rear suspension system.
- Risk
- If a rear-suspension toe-link disconnects, it may cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the left and right rear suspension toe-link assemblies, correcting their installation as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 25, 2017. Owners may contact Buick's customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300. GM's number for this recall is 17168.
Recall number 17V267000 · Recall details
Questions about the Buick Lacrosse ball joint
Which Buick Lacrosse years have ball joint or control arm failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (7 complaints), 2006 (4 complaints) and 2007 (2 complaints).
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