The contact owns a 2015 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated that while stationary at a stop light and attempting to depress the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available.
Buick Lacrosse transmission failure problems
10 of the 2,127 owner complaints about the Buick Lacrosse describe complete transmission failure, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 10
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical mileage
- 81,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20191
- 20151
- 20121
- 20112
- 20101
- 20071
- 20061
- 20052
Often reported together
Check engine light 3Won't shift 2Loss of power 2Stalling 1Jerking 1Hesitation 1Harsh shifting 1
What owners say
In October 2021, while driving, the car lost power. Several indicators displayed at the time, including: • Service Engine • Service Stabilitrak • Service Antilock Brakes • Service Transmission I managed to pull the car to the side of the road and restart it, but it was stuck in first gear. After several restarts it performed normally. I took the car to Miller & Sons, they told me they could not find a code and the car was performing normally at that point so there was nothing they could do. They told me if the car did it again, to bring it in immediately so they could get a code for the malfunction. Two weeks later, the same malfunction occurred, I took the car directly to Miller & Sons. Once again I was told they could not find a code or problem and I was sent away again. The third time this malfunction occurred, I was driving at 40 miles an hour and the car began to accelerate on its own. I could not brake, shift to park, shift to neutral, steer or apply the emergency brake. After about 15 seconds, the car shut down in the middle of the road. It could have caused death or seriously bodily injuries to me or others. At this point I had the car towed to Miller & Sons. I am told that while test driving the vehicle, it also accelerated on the mechanic [XXX], almost causing an accident again. At this point the told me they found 60 codes dating all the way back to the first incident, but they still did not know the problem, they replaced the Transmission Control Module in hopes that would solve the problem. It did not. In August, the same thing happened. They replaced the transmission control module again. About a month ago (September 13) it happened two more times. It is still sitting at Miller & Sons. This time I contacted GM for some assistance. I was using the messaging system (case number [XXX]) I was told a senior advisor was assigned to my case and that a TAC team would consult with the dealership to diagnose and correct the problem.... INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (F
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 buick lacrosse. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted abnormally. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 118,000. *tt consumer stated transmission stopped working. Updated 11/20/18
The transmission,with approx 89,000 miles burned up while I was on a road trip. I was 9 hours from my home and alone with a full car of vacation equipment. I was on interstate 24 in nashville tennessee. I pulled off and a service station checked why the engine light was on. They said the codes showed transmission problems. I should try to get to the nearest buick dealer, in clarksville tennessee. They said it would make it. I was alone. Thank goodness for onstar. I had to spend the night in clarksville because the dealership was closed and it was getting dark. The car was barely moving by now. It was frightening. I stayed the night at a baymont in clarksville and was at the dealership at 6 30 am. Was praying it could be fixed and I could continue on my was to milwaukee with my beautiful car, which I had put so much effort in keeping in good running condition. Just before my trip, I had replaced my tires with beautiful michelins, and sick my car had gone into limp mode twice, replaced the throttle body. Everything ready for a road trip to amelia island from milwaukee. Wyatt johnson dealership said the transmission was shot. 4500.00 to fix, and would take a week. I was stuck. I had to get home 9 hours away. I would need a rental to drive home, then drive back then drive home if I would have the new transmission. I gave my beautiful car to them for 1500.00. I bought another 2015 lacrosse. I had to unload a full car into the new one. Extremely frightening situation. I now have a 2015 buick lacrosse which I bought for 19,800. Just so shocking that an american made transmission would burn up at 89,000 miles. The car was in motion, but in slow traffic on the expressway in nashville when the problem began. I will send copies of all documents.
Car was driving fine and transmission went out with no warning at intersection at stop and could not go had to push veh out of roadway
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 buick lacrosse. While driving at various speeds, the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure could not be diagnosed. The contact stated that the error codes were removed from the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to dealer where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact also stated that the battery of the vehicle had to be replaced on several occasions, but the dealer could not diagnose why the batteries were failing. While driving to have routine maintenance performed on the vehicle, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to move. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be repaired. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 buick lacrosse. While driving 31 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle violently jerked forward without warning. The failure recurred continuously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 350.
While driving on busy freeway 2010 buick lacrosse loss all power, wouldn't accelerate, couldn't do anything besides panic and coast off freeway to meridian, very unsafe and scary situation. But I was told it was a module switch that didn't tell the transmission what to do. But a new transmission was replace prior to that incident and still having problem afraid to drive car, it might shut down again while driving just feel unsafe to drive the car, im terrify of what would happen next.
Tl* the contact owns 2006 buick lacrosse cx. While the vehicle was parked on an incline, the contact started the ignition and the gear selector failed to shift into reverse or drive. After numerous attempts, the contact was able to shift into drive. The contact stated that the failure would only occur while parked on an incline. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they informed him that the transmission failure was a common issue. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. Updated 03/29/11 *bf updated 05/05/11
2005 buick lacrosse transmission failed at 81,000 miles- took car to dealership before extended warranty expired with the hard shifting problem before the transmission went out they stated it wasn't the transmission- transmission had to be rebuilt at my cost $2,500. Per google search this has been a common problem other owners of the same car have had.
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
- Risk
- Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1‑888‑988‑7267, Buick Customer service at 1‑866‑608‑8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.
Recall number 20V668000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse, Verano, and Enclave, and Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Cruze, and Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjuster may disengage from the transmission shift lever. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect." They also fail to conform to FMVSS number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
- Risk
- If a vehicle's shift cable disengages from the transmission shift lever, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the driver may be able to shift the lever to the "PARK" position, but the vehicle transmission may not be in the "PARK" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "PARK" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
- Remedy
- General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1‑800‑222‑1020, Buick owners at 1‑800‑521‑7300, and GMC owners at 1‑800‑462‑8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.
Recall number 14V092000 · Recall details
Questions about the Buick Lacrosse transmission failure
Which Buick Lacrosse years have complete transmission failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (2 complaints), 2011 (2 complaints) and 2006 (1 complaints).
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