2019 Buick Enclave Electrical Problems

2019 Buick Enclave (GM) w/ 29481 miles, consistently serviced and in excellent working order. In city traffic about 45-50MPH, no warning lights until total electrical/power failure - no power, no steering, no electrical/lights. Car is owned by [XXX] mother-in-law ([XXX]). Her daughter ([XXX]) was driving. Had [XXX] been driving, there would have been a wreck. [XXX] was able to coast into a corner gas station/garage. Buy next day mechanic was able to isolate failure to alternator. Since we performed the repair at the closest mechanic, I do not know what GM knows. I see on internet a high volume of alternator failures in Enclaves. It doesn't seem an alternator failure should be so abrupt, without warning and with such dire immediate impact. GM has said they 'may' have been able to help with the cost of the repair if we had had it done at an authorized service center. Frankly, this feels like a trap (and Nissan did exactly this to me 2 years ago - asking me to tow into their service center and then saying 'oops, sorry, no warranty ... ). GM should buy their failed alternator back and study why it failed and why that failure had this impact to the vehicle. The repair was made with a GM part - honestly, not sure if that's good or bad, but there is no excuse for GM to not own their part failure. No one other than the mechanic has inspected the car. He would probably be glad to speak to NHTSA. No prior warning lights, messages, symptoms. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11751653

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving in traffic at 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The horn and wipers turned on unexpectedly. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality and was inoperable and the vehicle jerked. The doors failed to unlock, and the air conditioner was inoperable on a hot day, and the contact had symptoms of hyperventilation. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the windows failed to roll up or down. Eventually, the vehicle failed to turn off, and the owner disconnected the battery. A towing company was called to tow the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

NHTSA ID

11730218

Incident

Apr 9, 2026

Mileage

72,000 mi

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection? The issue appears to be related to the auto start-stop system and/or an EVAP-related component, as the vehicle will sometimes completely shut off instead of restarting when stopped. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? When the engine shuts off, the vehicle loses all power, including steering and brake assist. This has happened at red lights, stop signs, and in school zone traffic. I have to restart the vehicle while stopped in active traffic lanes, which puts me and others at high risk of being hit. I am a single mom with 3 young children. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. A Buick dealership inspected the vehicle earlier this year. They observed the stalling issue but could not identify a single cause. They suggested possible repair attempts, but the issue has continued. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? It has only been inspected by a Buick dealership service department. No other agencies have inspected it. Were there any warning lights, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure? When did they first appear? No warning lights or messages appeared when it first happened. The problem began before I replaced the battery, and replacing the battery did not resolve the issue. Additional Description: When I come to a stop—at red lights, stop signs, or in traffic—the vehicle’s auto start-stop system activates like normal, but instead of restarting, the engine will completely shut off. I then lose power steering and braking support and must restart the car in the middle of the roadway. It is unpredictable and unsafe. Sometimes it’s instantly but today I sat there for 15 minutes waiting. I took it straight to autozone and everything tested good.

NHTSA ID

11696554

Incident

Oct 30, 2025

I purchased my vehicle in 2020. In 2022 I experienced an issue where my car stopped in the middle of the road without warning. Despite several attempts to try and move the vehicle off of the road the police were notified and my vehicle was towed. The vehicle gave an error code that conditions not met for driving. One office tried to put the vehicle in neutral but the wheels locked and the shifter was locked as well. The battery has been replaced 3 different times since I have owned the vehicle. A mechanic friend of mine (who is a trainer for GMC) hooked his computer up to it and found no issues. He did find a loose wire which he the reconnected. I was able to drive my car for 6 months before the same thing happened, same situation the vehicle just stopped in the middle of the road only this time I couldn't turn the vehicle off, we had to manually disconnect the battery and again the police came out due to traffic hold up. My car was towed twice afterwards as I could get the car running for a few minutes before another error. To date my car has been sitting in my driveway since March of this year, this time it won't hold a charge and will not even start. Im not sure if this is an engine or an electrical issue. I did call 2 Buick dealerships that told me that it would take about 5 hours to diagnose the issue where I would be charged per hour at the mechanic hourly rate. At this point I think my vehicle needs to be recalled, even if I could get it repaired I dont feel safe driving it. Thankfully it stopped on a minor freeway and no major incidents occurred.

NHTSA ID

11683367

Incident

Nov 17, 2022

Anc module is faulty after HVAC condensation entered the unit causing it to not work making all speakers nonfunctioning

NHTSA ID

11673083

Incident

Jun 1, 2025

Start/stop function malfunctioned in the middle of the road, this has happened multiple times before and after replacing starter and battery, looked at by several mechanics. If I stop the car at a light or in traffic my car will dint turn back on or let me shift. Thus a safety issue because I could have been hit as it stopped in a busy road and people had to move around my vehicle. Engine light came on after failure and ceased the engine and i couldn’t move to the intersection. I also just got an oil change. They first appeared a few months ago and I had already gotten work done on it and it keeps happening

NHTSA ID

11622411

Incident

Oct 29, 2024

The cooling fan motor assembly is shorting out internally & blowing the 70 amp fuse dedicated to that circuit. Mustreplace fan assembly and fuse to correct this concern

NHTSA ID

11568332

Incident

Jan 26, 2024

There are a couple of issues causing our concerns about the car. 1. Alternator - The alternator was reported went bad after only 4 years of usage, the dealer refused to pay the fixing cost for this. Due to the failure of the alternator, the car lost all the power in the middle of the road with our entire family in the car during the night, very dangerous. The car suddenly stopped at the road with 50MPH speed limit. 2. Engine and Catalytic converter pipe - The engine light is on due to abnormal feeling of the engine power, the dealer could not fix the issue in weeks and no rental car provided and we were asked to drive the car home and waiting for order status of the parts. 3. Exhaust system failure - The dealer mentioned the welding of the connection is bad ( still under warranty ) but refused to fix it but ask the customer to pay for the replacement and labor.

NHTSA ID

11539079

Incident

Jun 13, 2023

The passenger side seat air bag exploded and burned my daughter’s back while she was getting into the car. The car was in park and auto started. My son was sitting in the back seat behind her while this happened. She has 1st and 2nd degree burns and thankfully my son is okay. The car has been sitting in my driveway since that day. I have contacted the dealership and GM as well as my personal insurance. GM is moving very slow and stated they would send someone to look at my vehicle within 7-10 days from yesterday . The investigation could take 30-60 days before we have an answer. We are currently on day 11 since this happened. Insurance doesn’t want to touch it until GM or the dealership looks at it and determines if it is a malfunction. The safety of my kids and family is definitely a priority and the fact that this happened is scary. The loudness of the explosion was like a gunshot inside the vehicle and the fire that came out of it is insane. Literally looked like a firework. With the airbag deployed I am sure the seatbelts are now compromised but either way I will not risk my life or anyone else’s and step foot in it. The car was looked at by local law enforcement and pictures were taken. The car is available for inspection but the dealership hasn’t called me back and GM is following their protocol and has no hurry. The airbag light had come on the week prior to this happening and had gone back off. I also had the tire pressure lights go on and back off twice in the past couple of months.

NHTSA ID

11502536

Incident

Jan 7, 2023

On the morning of October 25, 2021 at approximately 7:05 am, I was fixing to leave to go to work. The carport light was on, so I open the door to my car, slid into the driver’s seat, started the car up and the lights came on. As I was starting to get out of the car to go turn the carport lights off, I realized the car was going backwards. I tried to get back into the driver’s seat to try to stop the car but I was unable to do so. The door knocked me down on the concrete floor of the carport and the front left tire ran over both my legs. The car continued to go backwards, the door hit the column between the carport bays but continued to travel backwards down our approx. 11-foot paved drive way, crossed the dirt road and stopped when the back of the car went into the deep ditch that runs along the dirt road at that point. When my husband arrived, the car was still running and the lights were on. The man driving the wrecker for the local EMA Director and my husband all looked at the gear shift and the car was in PARK.

NHTSA ID

11446655

Incident

Oct 25, 2021

AFTER THE VEHICLE IS STARTED, WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, IF A DOOR IS CLOSED OR OPENED/CLOSED ANYTHING PLUGGED INTO THE AUX OUTLET WILL SHORT OUT AND RESET (I.E. RADAR DETECTOR WILL REBOOT AS IF POWER SUPPLY WAS INTERRUPTED) AND/OR IF THE FACTORY INSTALLED DVD PLAYERS ARE POWERED ON, THEY WILL TURN OFF. DOES NOT QUALIFY UNDER THE LEMON LAW BECAUSE GM HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING A SIMILAR ISSUE SINCE 01/24/2019 WITH NO CURRENT RESOLUTION OR PATH FORWARD. GM ADVISES DEALERS TO ATTEMPT NO REPAIRS AT THIS TIME AND EXPECT THE CONSUMER TO "LIVE" WITH A POTENTIAL ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE VEHICLE. GM PIT5653 EXPLAINS A PORTION OF THE ISSUE, BUT NOT ALL. PIT5653 APPLIES TO (10) DIFFERENT GM MANUFACTURED VEHICLES.

NHTSA ID

11231900

Incident

Apr 14, 2019

Mileage

70 mi