2008 Buick Lucerne: engine stalls while driving

Filed Oct 10, 2023 · Fuel system · NE

Bought my car Sept. 2022.Within the first couple of months I started having intermittent problems that seemed fuel related.After some research I found out my car had a TSB that has been out since 2016. With this knowledge I took the back seat out of my car and the problems all stopped.June of 2023 started having some problems that were sort of similar to what I was experiencing before with some power loss, had vehicle taken to mechanic who diagnosed an interlock system problem.I thought maybe that would fix all my problems and put my back seat back. I travel 4 hours once a month to go see my son and only took my car once on that trip because of not being able to have a back seat.Me thinking the interlock fix was the solve all to my problems I put the back seat in and started my drive to go see my son. 3 hours in stop for gas, try to start my car, cranks won’t start, not getting fuel. Called mechanic who just worked on my car, suggested to check my fuel pump fuse and fuel relay, find my fuel relay is melted. Replace fuel relay and pulled the back seat out, car fires right up no problems. Continue hour drive to see my son, picked up my son so had to put the back seat in. Drive about 7 blocks and stop at Walmart, try to start car and same problems as before. Replace Fuel relay, propped up the back seat around the fuse box trying to still make it safe enough for my son to ride back there, no more problems that trip, propped seat left leaning in the back. August-Was driving down the Highway at 65mph with the cruise on, when all of a sudden my car begins to lose power and proceeds to stall with no warning. Lost complete control of steering and had minimal control breaking, had to coast to a stop with no breaks or steering, lucky was on a straight rural hwy, can’t imagine if I was in the city. Seat had fallen up against fuse box fried fuel relay again and the control module. Take to shop for repair, control module, fuel pump replaced NSB complete all at my expense.

Filed May 13, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · TX

The fuel pump relay kept burning out. And caused the fuse box terminal heat damage. Almost started on fire and started smoking. Vehicle stalled out on the freeway and the Dept of Public safety towed my vehicle off the freeway.

Filed Nov 9, 2021 · Engine · 72,479 miles · KS

The contact owns a 2008 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was inspected by a local mechanic and diagnosed with needing the fuel pump relay to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,479.

Filed Aug 30, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · MD

1. Fuse box was replaced, yes. 4th repair shop replaced. I say only time will tell for sure. i don't drive every day 2. driving I-95 from VA to MD at speeds of 30+ to 75+ cars driving close behind could have ran into rear causing my car, their car, and multiple other cars to be in major accident with possible multiple deaths. 3. reproduced, no. independent service center, no 4. No. Other - the 4th repair shop inspected vehicle component. 5. No warning lamps. No messages or symptoms, car just stalled and would not start/move and w​hen I tried to start car again car would not start, but had all kinds of warnings lamps lit up. The first time the engine stalled was driving (moving) into entrance of toll booth in Richmond, VA, July 27, 2021 approx. 2:15 pm. additional info: Four (4) times car stalled while driving in traffic without warning, car would not start again had to be towed each time to a repair shop. Three (3) repair shops did not repair the problem. First repair shop charged me approx. $350.00 +- for repairs. PLUS I had to stay over night in hotel costing me approx. $120.00+- Total $470.00 +- Car still had same problem!! Second repair shop did not charge me for repairs, but not sure if any work was done, had to get a car rental to get back to Maryland. s second shop kept car ofr 6 days before working on problem. Car rental cost me $467.27. Total $467.27 Car still had same problem!!! Third repair shop kept car for 5 days, charged me approx. $125.+-, still the car had the same problem. Total $125.00+- Car still had same problem!!!! Fourth repair shop says he found fuse box to be the problem, repair cost me approx $554.00+- Total $554.00 My total expenses are approx. $1,491.20 only time will tell if problem has been fixed, not to mention the extreme emotional stress dealing with delays on repairs and extreme emotional stress driving not knowing when or how car would stall again.

Filed Apr 29, 2021 · Electrical, Fuel system · 116,000 miles · AZ

Recently replaced fuel pump. After repair, car was still a crank/no start. Replaced fuel pump relay which had obvious burn/scorching evidence, as well as melting around female port on the fuse box. Since then have had to replace 3 other new fuel pump relays due to problem of excessive heat or electrical surge frying the relay. After researching the problem, it was found that the problem is caused by the back seat of the vehicled coming in contact with the top of the fuse box causing the relay to move, causing the relay to work harder to maintain a connection, which in turn creates more current and the resulting heat increase melts the casing in the fuse box and kills the relay. When the relay is compromised in such a way the fuel pump stops operating and the engine gets no gas thus creating a crank/no start if the car is parked or causes the car to stall out if the car is in motion. In reasearching this matter, it is clear that gm has been aware of this situation for over 10 years. There are multitudes of individuals effected by this problem with some of them having smoking or burning issues with the relay. Personally, I have had stall outs while going with the flow of traffic which resulted in vehicle control issues such as braking and steering and excelleration, gm had extended repair period for the issue but failed to notify owners so many were unaware of the repairs or even the issue until the problems occurred. No recall has been initiated by gm even though it is a clear safety issue due to the control issues when stall outs occur and the potential for fires under the seat as the problem progresses. Gm refuses to cover repairs to affected vehicles since the courtesy repair order expired and the vehicles are typically out of warranty. Vehicle involved is a 2008 buick lucerne but the issue effects other gm cars. Gm tsb 15-na-051 for tech directives

Filed Jul 15, 2019 · Electrical · 124,000 miles · VA

I receive a letter from gm stating that the rear seat brackets may contact the electrical system causing damage including fires and draining of the batter. The letter further gave a very narrow time frame as well as conditions where owners could get reimbursement or repair of the problem which prohibits myself other owners from being able to correct this design defect without incurring sizable repair bills. I have replaced my battery twice because of the draining issues. The vehicle can not stay dormant for more than 2 days before the battery dies. It is unconscionable as well as an unscrupulous business practice to not recall the affected vehicles and have the problem corrected at no costs to the owners. I am lucky that it is just a battery drain, in some cases there have been fires and engine stalls. This is a potential life-threatening problem that should be corrected by gm immediately.

Filed Jun 18, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 211,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 buick lucerne. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled with no warning. The vehicle was unable to restart and towed to a truck stop. The contact stated that upon investigating the failure, discovered that the fuel pump relay was melted and burnt. The contact stated that prior to the discovery no smoke or fire was noticed under the rear seat where the fuel pump relay was located in the fuse box. The contact stated he purchased and replaced the part himself. The vehicle was able to start and the vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 211,000.

Filed May 6, 2019 · Electrical · 64,000 miles · MI

I received a letter in january, 2019 regarding this vehicle, stating that the "vehicle's rear seat bracket could contact the vehicle's rear electrical center (rec), which can, over time, damage electrical components within the rec enclosure. If damage occurs, the components can melt or overheat, which the customer may detect by a melting odor in the vehicle. Damage could also cause the vehicle's battery to drain, a no-start condition, or a stall." we have had 2 new batteries installed in this vehicle in recent years and I've also smelled the burning smell that they are referring to in this letter. I took the vehicle to shelton pontiac buick in rochester, mi to find out if our car had been affected by this condition, and after examining the rec harness, they said that it has been affected and needs repair. They quoted me $720 to repair it. Buick was the one who contacted me regarding this situation, which is unsafe and should be under a recall with no charge to the customer to fix. It is a manufacturer's problem and not due to wear and tear and I believe I should not be charged for this repair because of their faulty design. I have spoken with their customer assurance center many times and have gotten nowhere with them. I also wrote a letter to neelie o'connor, the executive director of buick's north american contact center and never received a response. She was the person who signed the letter, alerting us to the problem. I do not want this vehicle to be unsafe as I am on the road a lot, going back and forth to detroit for cancer treatments. It needs to be fixed and buick should pay for it.

Filed Oct 26, 2018 · Engine · 43,120 miles · NJ

Vehicle stalled out on a highway (and at highway speed) and would not restart. Obviously this created a very dangerous condition for me and those around me as I tried to coast over to the shoulder (esp with loss of power steering and brakes). The problem came without any warning, and was determined to have been isolated to the ignition control module. Mileage on the car is only 43k

Filed Jan 11, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 143,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 buick lucerne. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. Winegardner buick gmc (15113 crain hwy, brandywine, md) diagnosed that the fuel pump circuit failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000.

Filed Jan 4, 2017 · Brakes, Electrical · 111,421 miles · PA

Our 2008 buick lucerne was in the hov lane traveling on 84 w toward hartford, ct. Without warning - no warning lights came on - the car started to decelerate. My daughter tried to accelerate and nothing happened; she then tried to brake to pull over and was unable to freely turn the wheel. She struggled to move to safety to the shoulder on the side of the road but then felt the steering wheel and brakes lock completely as the car stalled. When she attempted to restart the car to move to safety, the car violently shook. Since the car was still partially on the highway, my husband and I called the ct state police to request help while my daughters were waiting for aaa. When the trooper arrived on the scene he called us to say that the car was partially in the road and that two cruisers were there to ensure the safety of our daughters. The car was towed to our service station of 25 years in scranton pa and found that the fuel pump relay post had overheated and melted. A diagnostic test did not reveal any problems either. The car had to be towed one week earlier to this same station because the car was shaking violently. After a diagnostic test revealed nothing, they determined that the car was low on fuel (and that it wasn't a fuel pump issue). We then drove the car another 517 miles without incident. I have found that complaints have been filed with buick (I have filed one too) regarding this problem and that fires have resulted from the overheating. These complaints indicate that sometimes the car starts, sometimes it doesn't. I believe these 2 incidents, one week apart, were related and that both times, no warning or diagnostic test revealed a problem. If my daughter had been driving on the 4 lane highway leading into hartford and this problem occurred, I have no doubt that she and my other daughter would have been in a serious, if not fatal accident.

Filed Oct 30, 2016 · Electrical, Fuel system · 106,079 miles · CT

Engine stalled after starting and driving about 20 yards in a parking lot. Then would crank but not start and had burning smell inside car. Had towed to dealer and they found a melted fuel pump relay and fuse box located under rear seat. They said there was a potential fire hazard if didn't replace fuse box too. Car had 106,079 miles at time.