2009 Buick Enclave Problems: Steering (218 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2009 Buick Enclave is Steering (45% of 218 owner reports). There are 8 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Steering — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 218 complaints · 8 recalls
What problems show up on the 2009 Buick Enclave?
97 of 218 filings named Steering (45% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Engine (24 reports).
There are 8 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Seat belts, Transmission / driveline, Airbags, and Body / frame. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The 2008 has 534 reports on file; this year has 218. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.
What owners reported
System named most often: Steering 97 complaints · 44.5% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
- Crashes 3
- Fires 5
- Injuries 11
- Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Which systems owners named
Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.
“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.
View component data as a table
| System / Component | Complaints | Share of Reports | Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering (STEERING) | 97 | 44.5% | 1 crashes · 1 fires |
| Engine (ENGINE) | 24 | 11.0% | 0 crashes · 3 fires |
| Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) | 24 | 11.0% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) | 14 | 6.4% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) | 8 | 3.7% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Airbags (AIR BAGS) | 7 | 3.2% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Body / frame (STRUCTURE) | 7 | 3.2% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) | 5 | 2.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Suspension (SUSPENSION) | 5 | 2.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Unclassified NHTSA leftover | 34 | 15.6% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
When reports and recalls showed up
When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.
- Campaign 14V118000 was reported 1,711 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 15V415000 was reported 1,438 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 21V782000 was reported 4,472 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2009-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2010-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2010-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2011-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2011-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2011-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2012-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2012-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2013-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2014-Q4 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2018-Q3 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2018-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2020-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2020-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2021-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2022-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2023-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 08V615000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 09V073000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 10V240000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 10V375000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V118000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V266000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 15V415000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 21V782000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | AQ10001 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | RQ19003 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA20002 |
Safety Recalls (8)
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Seat belts, Transmission / driveline, Airbags, and Body / frame.
-
Recall campaign 08V615000
Seat belts
- Report date
- Component:
- Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)
- Consequence:
- IN A VEHICLE CRASH, IF THE RIVET IS MISSING, THE BUCKLE MAY SEPARATE FROM THE MOUNTING STRAP, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE PASSENGER.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE SAFETY BELT BUCKLES IN THE SECOND AND THIRD ROWS, AND REPLACE THEM IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 26, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; GMC AT 1-866-996-9463; SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876; OR THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 09V073000
Transmission / driveline
- Report date
- Component:
- Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
- Consequence:
- THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE COULD ROLL AWAY AFTER THE DRIVER HAS EXITED THE VEHICLE, RESULTING IN A POSSIBLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND ENSURE THAT THE SHIFT CABLE ADJUSTMENT CLIP IS FULLY ENGAGED. IN THE EVENT THAT THE CLIP DOES NOT ENGAGE, THE SHIFT CABLE WILL BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE MARCH 24, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668 AND SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876 OR AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 10V240000
Safety recall 10V240000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE HEATED WASHER MODULE TO IGNITE AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL PERMANENTLY DISABLE AND REMOVE THE HEATED WASHER FLUID MODULE. AN UPDATED PAGE FOR THE OWNER MANUAL WILL BE PROVIDED AND INSERTED IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FEATURE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DISABLED AND REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 10V375000
Safety recall 10V375000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- THE SAFETY BELT MAY NOT RESTRAIN THE OCCUPANT AS INTENDED DURING A CRASH, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE SECOND ROW SEAT SIDE TRIM SHIELDS. IF A SAFETY BELT BUCKLE IS DAMAGED, DEALERS WILL REPLACE IT FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, AND SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Recall campaign 14V118000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
- Remedy:
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
-
Recall campaign 14V266000
Safety recall 14V266000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.
- Remedy:
- General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-462-8782 (GMC), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). General Motors recall number for this campaign is 14187.
-
Recall campaign 15V415000
Body / frame
- Report date
- Component:
- Body / frame (STRUCTURE)
- Consequence:
- If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
-
Recall campaign 21V782000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Dealers will replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 3, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 10, 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 N212349040.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
What owners actually wrote
Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Showing 9 of 218 complaints · page 1 of 9
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Every time I turn right my car turns off. I am able to restart after. I’ve taken it to several mechanic's and no one seems to know the issue. I’ve had my battery change circuits change a tune up and my gas filter changed and the car still doesn’t work.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Odometer Fraud. The contact owns a 2009 Buick Enclave. The contact purchased the vehicle from a local used car dealer in April 2025. The contact stated that the odometer and the bill of sales indicated that the mileage was 133,000. The contact stated that while registering the vehicle with Carshield, the contact was informed that the mileage was reported in January 2025 at 163,000. The dealer was made aware of the issue.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the rear tailgate unintentionally opened. The contact stated that once the failure had occurred, the contact closed the rear tailgate, and the rear tailgate was inoperable and failed to open. No warning lights were illuminated; however, the message "Gate Lifted" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The contact researched and was made aware of an undisclosed recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Enclave. The contact stated while reversing at 5 MPH, the steering wheel seized and was inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to his destination. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering wheel sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 179,000.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The seat caught on fire. Origin of fire started in the seat according to fire officials.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2009 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that the rear driver’s side and center seat belt failed to latch securely. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed but no failure could be determined. could not be determined. The contact then stated that on another occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the gear shifter failed to operate in drive(D). The contact stated that the shifter was stuck in drive (Low). As a result, while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. Additionally, the contact stated that on multiple occasions, the instrument panel digital display failed to illuminate, and the contact was unable to state whether there were any warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the instrument panel light bulb was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
My 2009 Buick Enclave CXL, VIN [redacted]: Engine caught on fire during the time i was driving it. The car hesitated as if it was going to shut off then i saw smoke coming from underneath the front hood, I pulled to the side of the road and stopped the car and open the front hood, my engine was on fire. The fire was located on the passenger side of the car or the left side of the car if you were facing the front of the car. I tried to put the fire out, but the fire got out of control. I called 911 and the fire Department and Police arrived. My car was being repair due to the fire.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
While driving 65 mph on the hwy, in rush hour traffic my entire steering column came completely out and I lost control of my vehicle causing a 3 car wreck. The only indicator that something was wrong was that just prior to this happening the tilt on my steering wheel came undone 2 times and by the 3rd time when I pushed the wheel back up to lock it into place it came out entirely. There was no lights, no nothing. No tampering of any kind had ever been done to it whatsoever. And no one has looked at it since. It still falls randomly while driving. I have a picture taken about 5 minutes before this happened and one taken after the accident I will upload.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Having problems with the power steering, was a recall but was informed recall has expired. I didn’t purchase the vehicle until 2016, steering wheel is really tight, and going to cost thousands to fix, If this is a problem GM knew about they should at least be willing in some type of assistance to correct it.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems on the 2009 Buick Enclave?
Owners named Steering most often — 97 of 218 reports (45%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2009 Buick Enclave?
NHTSA lists 8 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Seat belts, Transmission / driveline, Airbags, and Body / frame. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.
What should I inspect before buying a 2009 Buick Enclave?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Check for play in the wheel, noises on lock and whether it tracks straight. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.
Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?
No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.