2013 Buick Enclave Problems and Recalls (68 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2013 Buick Enclave is Airbags (13% of 68 owner reports). There are 4 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Airbags — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 68 complaints · 4 recalls

What problems show up on the 2013 Buick Enclave?

9 of 68 filings named Airbags (13% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Transmission / driveline (8 reports).

There are 4 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Airbags. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2012 has 131 reports on file; this year has 68. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2013 Buick Enclave

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 4 campaigns on file below.
  2. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  3. Transmission / driveline. Have a shop drive it and check the transmission: hard or delayed shifts, burnt-smelling fluid, and 4WD engagement if equipped.
  4. Steering. Check for play in the wheel, noises on lock and whether it tracks straight.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Airbags. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Airbags 9 complaints · 13.2% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 0
All Buick Enclave years →
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.

Which systems owners named Airbags (AIR BAGS) appears in 9 of 68 owner complaints (13.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. Airbags (AIR BAGS): 9 complaints, 13.2% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 2 crash reports 9 · 13.2% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 8 complaints, 11.8% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 8 · 11.8% Steering (STEERING): 8 complaints, 11.8% of reports Steering (STEERING) 1 crash reports 8 · 11.8% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 6 complaints, 8.8% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 1 fire reports 6 · 8.8% Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING): 6 complaints, 8.8% of reports Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 6 · 8.8% Engine (ENGINE): 5 complaints, 7.4% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 5 · 7.4% Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL): 4 complaints, 5.9% of reports Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 4 · 5.9% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 3 complaints, 4.4% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 3 · 4.4% Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 2 complaints, 2.9% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 · 2.9% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 12 complaints, 17.7% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 12 · 17.7% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“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)
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 9 13.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 8 11.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Steering (STEERING) 8 11.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 6 8.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 6 8.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 5 7.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 4 5.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 3 4.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 12 17.7% 0 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.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2013; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2014. 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2013 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 14V118000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V118000 Recall campaign 14V266000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V266000 Recall campaign 21V246000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V246000 Recall campaign 21V782000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V782000 Investigation RQ19003 ● Investigation RQ19003 Investigation EA20002 ● Investigation EA20002
  • Campaign 21V246000 was reported 2,505 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 21V782000 was reported 2,687 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 3
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 4
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 3
2018-Q2 Owner reports 4
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 5
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 4
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 3
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 3
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2026-Q1 Owner reports 2
2026-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 14V118000
Recall campaign 1 14V266000
Recall campaign 1 21V246000
Recall campaign 1 21V782000
Defect investigation 1 RQ19003
Defect investigation 1 EA20002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (4)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Airbags.

  1. 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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. 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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Recall campaign 21V246000

    Airbags

    Report date
    Component:
    Airbags (AIR BAGS)
    Consequence:
    Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. 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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints 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.

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
Safety incident filters
Showing 9 of 68 complaints · page 1 of 3
2026-08-27Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11759995
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owned a 2013 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH and attempting to make a right turn around a curve, the driver-side curtain airbag deployed unexpectedly and struck the contact's left temple, causing the contact to lose consciousness. While unconscious, the contact's foot remained depressed on the accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch, at which point the front passenger-side and rear driver-side and passenger-side airbags also deployed. Medical attention was required. The contact sustained an injury to the left temple, head pain, and pain extending from the left side of the neck into the shoulder blade. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to Burleson Towing Service and was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
2026-02-16Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11718186
CrashFireInjuryDeath
No first gear. Engine stalls if car is brought to a halt. On take off, car will stall if given too much throttle. If able to roll from dead stop, it will jerk and hesitate as if in too high of gear or dragging clutch.
2026-02-09LANE DEPARTUREUnclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11716882
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Steering wheel is so stiff it over works my arms and shoulder muscles burn it hard to turn literally feels as if the wheels is kind of bumping the frame 5 days steering wheel started to make a weird noise that is now persistent and sounds like a rubbing rubber sound and I have been getting electric shock every time I’m getting out the car and go to close the door since this started making a static like electric sound in the dash over my steering wheel they all at the same time on the same day February 4,2026 scared my car might catch fire
2024-08-21Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11610032
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2013 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,000.
2024-08-02Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
NHTSA ODI 11606223
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Check engine light illuminated due to transmission clutch not being adequate in manufacturing. Transmission causes motor to shudder due to clutches slipping. Whether in automatic or manual, when accelerating in low RPM, the entire car begins to shudder instead of downshifting. Transmission has been replaced twice, with no corrections. Happens every time the car is driven.
2024-03-10Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11576452
CrashFireInjuryDeath
You will just be driving down the road and then get the check engine light, engine power reduced, traction control off, and service stabilitrak warning on the dash board. You can be going 60 and it will just shut down with no warning. It's been to the shop 3 times and the issue is still unresolved. This is highly dangerous and could cause an accident
2023-11-27Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
NHTSA ODI 11556973
CrashFireInjuryDeath
This vehicle should have a recall on the transmission upon review the recall numbers NHTSA Recall ID: 14V092000 and NHTSA Recall ID: 09V073000 are not showing up in the system as recalls on the 2013 model. I purchased this vehicle used from a private owner. In April of 2023 the transmission went out without any warning a major expense not to mention the trauma from being stranded on the highway. The repair at that time was not under a recall even though several other Buick Enclaves failed at the same time. Present November 2023 upon returning home from a road trip the vehicle showed the inability to shirt failed to shift into the proper gear NHTSA Recall ID: 14V092000 . Vehicle was towed to a local shop for diagnosis this is very irritating and upon calling was told that recall did not apply to my vehicle. PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY NOT !
2023-09-24Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11546242
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I originally did front end collision repairs on this GM vehicle and I had to originally replace the front passenger seatbelt. I went through 3 apparent good used ones for replacement and all of them have had their fair share of difference from acting up. One of them seemed to work but every now and then the airbag light would come on due to seatbelt. Replaced it with another and frequently the airbag light would come off and on than the last one installed. The 3rd replacement seems to work but airbag light would come on again, not as frequent and would only shut off if seatbelt is pulled and retracted purposely by hand. I am not seeing a short or a wire problem but the seatbelt is not working properly and I believe GM has failed to produce quality front passenger seatbelts. Even all three of the seatbelt would not fully retract on their own without pushing it in by hand.
2023-09-03Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11542373
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Ac issue causing it hot to be in vehicle in this hot drought we are in. Ac blows hot indicating that there is a leak in the system of Freon. This needs to be fixed as I was researching I found many others complaint of the same year 2013 Buick enclave having the same issue. In the south it is too hot and not safe for anyone to be in a vehicle with out a working ac and costly to find issues to fix the entirety of the ac in a vehicle to fix. Please help!

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2013 Buick Enclave?

Owners named Airbags most often — 9 of 68 reports (13%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2013 Buick Enclave?

NHTSA lists 4 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Airbags. 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 2013 Buick Enclave?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed. 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.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints 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.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources