Vehicle speed control, electrical system and powertrain issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
In the world of SUVs, few can compete with the good looks of the 2020 Buick Enclave. This luxury model is praised as being “tomorrow’s SUV for today’s family.” Yet, many owners don’t want to drive it today or tomorrow thanks to the defective electrical system, powertrain and vehicle speed control.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2019 2021
The electrical system must run properly for every aspect of the SUV to work, but the Enclave fails in this department.
Just look at this Edmunds review. “I have 356 miles on this 2020 Enclave as of today it has been in for repair 5 times. All for 3 codes. Flashes a service park brake light then check engine. Then you’ll get 3 messages steering assist reduced, engine power reduced, service parking brake. So far they have changed a battery, tightened a cable, replaced accelerator, and still after picking it up the 5th time drove approx. 1/4 of a mile and yep all 3 came back again. Seems they can’t fix the issue and the vehicle is undriveable.”
Among the countless service bulletins, there is one in particular that stands out about the electrical system. #070604025M states that the Enclave might produce a clicking or ticking noise when first started. However, the automaker wants people to know that this is a completely “normal characteristic.” Basically, the vehicles of “tomorrow” are going to make strange noises that the consumer should just accept.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Power Train | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Seat Belts | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Back Over Prevention: Warnings | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
It turns out that the powertrain is just as defective and leads to numerous problems too.
Here is one NHTSA complaint worth reading. “Bought brand new 2020 Buick Enclave with 4 miles on it, on 6/13/20. Started having transmission problems almost immediately. The car would jerk hard (hard shift) when pushing on the gas and also anytime it was placed in Park. On 6/21/20 the Check Engine Light came on and the vehicle would barely shift. Called local Buick-GM dealership to get repaired. Local shop restarted computer on 6/24/20 and said that it was good to go. Drove it less than 3 miles before Service Engine Light came back on and jolting started again. On the drive back to the dealership the vehicle came to a hard jolting abrupt stop on the road. Vehicle would no longer start or shift. Had to leave vehicle in the middle of the road until dealership could come get it. On 6/26/20 dealership called to say that the vehicle was running good and ready to pick up. On 6/27/20 drove car about 15 minutes before the hard shift started happening again and the Check Engine Light came back on. When attempting to shift into Reverse, the vehicle hard jolted us backwards and then died. The vehicle would no longer start or shift gears. On 6/28/20 got the vehicle to start so drove the vehicle as it was still hard shifting, back to the dealership and dropped it off. The dealership still has it as of today and has refused to give us any paperwork from our previous 2 attempts at getting it fixed, however gave us false documentation stating that we only brought it in the shop 1 time, when it actually is the 3rd time to be taken in for the same problem to be fixed. GM has refused to replace this defective vehicle nor return our money paid for it.”
Again, Buick is fully aware of transmission issues. In fact, GM’s communications are filled with information for the technicians. One such example, Service Bulletin #PIE0570, talks about a torque converter clutch shudder happening while accelerating between second and sixth gear. Considering that is the majority of the gears used, this shudder is occurring all of the time. With all of these defects present, owners are realizing they should have just bought a Chevy.
The harassing company pays our fees.
Tomorrow’s vehicles are also equipped with a sophisticated vehicle speed control system, but this is one more function that is unreliable.
Here’s another NHTSA complaint. “I bought a 2020 Buick Enclave, (Owned by GMC) with 6 miles on it, 1 week ago. Yesterday the Check Engine Light came on and the car started jerking anytime the transmission switched gears. I called to try to get it in to a Certified Buick Dealership to be looked at and nowhere can get it in for 3-5 days and none of the dealership will give a loaner until the time of the vehicle appointment. I contacted Buick directly regarding this and they told me the same thing, that we can’t get a safe driving vehicle, until the one we have can be looked at by the dealership and if we take it to a un-certified shop that it would not be covered. So now I am stuck with either driving an unsafe car 50 miles on the highway to work for the next few days or not being able to go to work. This is a brand new car driven straight out of the floor room! Buick is putting people’s life at risk by insisting that we drive this unsafe vehicle on the highway until we can get it looked at! Looks like a huge lawsuit in the making!!!”
Aside from the constant complaints over the drivability, there are some real safety concerns that should be addressed if an accident were to occur. NHTSA Campaign Number 20V446000 states some vehicles are equipped with a diffuser component in the Roof-Rail Air Bag inflator that might not have been crimped properly, causing it to separate during air bag deployment. Additionally, NHTSA Campaign Number 19V643000 states that some Enclave’s might have a crack in the frame rail that further reduces crash performance. Basically, if this Enclave causes an accident, the occupants are left vulnerable to serious injuries. Maybe the vehicles of “tomorrow” are scheduled to be more dangerous than they are today.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes GM pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
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Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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My 2020 enclave has a problem with the backup lights, when backing the lights are useless they are so dim I cannot see where I am backing. I have to use my brake lights to see where I am backing