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Buick Enclave AC Problems

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Comments

  • chrisfp62chrisfp62 Member Posts: 4
    Continuing my previous post:
    Took 2014 Enclave (27,000 mi) to dealer. They determined that freon was low and discovered leaks in rear evaporator coil.
    They replaced coil and rear blower motor under warranty. No cost to me except the inconvenience of trip to dealer.
    Blowing cold both sides and rear now.
    To be continued.....
  • kurtonlinekurtonline Member Posts: 1
    I have been experiencing the exact same issues with the my 2011 buick enclave!! It's a joke! I have taken my vehicle in so many times I do not need to tell the shuttle driver where to drop me off anymore..he knows every turn by memory. I am at the dealership at least once a month (this month 2 times already) with different issues, but the a/c is the worse! I have already paid over $1,100 to fix the "evaporative cooling system" in the rear of the car. And I paid $700 before that on some other a/c issue (I'll look it up and add it in another post). So when the car started making the exact same hissing noise again I thought, "Unbelievable! But at least the work should be under warranty." When I told the service representative this was the third time for the same issue he said that their work is under warranty...if it is for the exact same issue. Well of course when I call back they said that instead of the rear evaporative cooling system, this time its the front! in order to fix it this time it's going to be another $2200!!! Are you kidding me? Has anyone ever paid $4200 to fix the a/c on one car? It's a joke!! My coworkers laugh because they warned me about buying GMC. Every time I have to get a ride to lunch they know I took the shuttle from the dealership and the question is..."Now what's wrong with your car?" I should have listened!! I think that there should be a class action suit. This is definitely a GM issue.
  • brittany23brittany23 Member Posts: 7
    Owners of a 2012 Buick Enclave. We purchased our vehicle new in October of 2011. There was always something wrong with our AC blowing out cold air from the start. We also always had that constant hissing sound when it would try and cool down. We had originally purchased the oil/filter dealership plan and when I would take the vehicle in for this, I would tell them that my AC was not working properly. They just told me to turn the system on and off again & that would work. Little did I know about the "Lemon" law until now. I should have demanded that they check this problem & have it written down as documentation on my service order. Finally, in July of 2013, our cold air stopped blowing and it would be over 100 degrees in the car. I took it to a different dealership (and thankfully, @ this time it was covered under warranty). They never actually stated what the "For Sure" Problem was. They took out the entire front dash & replaced the front evaporator core & recharged the system with more freon. It only lasted for a YEAR!! Then the summer of 2014 rolled around, we were driving in over 100 degree air during the hottest time of the year!! At this time, our vehicle was not paid off & it was just out of warranty. (OF COURSE IT WOULD BE OUR LUCK). We suffered with having no AC for over 2 years, because we could not financially afford what the repair bill would be if they were not going to help us with the repairs. We bought fans for the car and drove around with the windows down. It was very miserable for all 4 of us. We finally decided to take it to a reputable local pop repair to have them add freon to it in May of 2016, before a long trip we were going on. It was $68.00. We finally had cold air!!!! But we knew that we still had a leak somewhere. This only lasted until December of 2016. Then, we lost ALL freon. At this time, the cold air light on the AC panal would blink 3 times and shut off. This meant that our system was completely out of freon. We took it back to the same pop mechanic and they refilled it with freon for $68.00 again. This only last for 5 days. Our system had leaked out all of the freon. Now how this mechanic did not see the leak, I am not sure. We had to finally take our Buick to the dealership. They diagnosed it with the Main High Pressure AC Hose in the front of the car being bad. They gave us an estimate of around $800 to replace this. Then they gave us an estimate of around $300 to have the system cleaned out, recharged, add more freon, and clean the front motor area of all the freon mess that had leaked out. They also discovered that two of our Engine Mounts (Upper & Lower) were going bad. I had noticed a few months ago that when we would start our engine, the engine area would shake or make a louder noise/rattle than usual. They gave us a quote of around $500 to replace 2 of the engine mounts (upper & lower). The Dog Bone Mount was still good. After doing some research online, we had a 5year/100,000 Powertrain Warrany that we were 2 months out of (based upon months, not millage).
    I have contacted GM customer service to find out if they can assist us with any of the AC repairs since it seems to be an ongoing problem. We feel that the reason why there is a hole in this high pressure AC line is due to an engineering flaw. The power steering line rubs up against this AC line causing a slow leak as what we have had from the start of owning our Buick Enclave 2012. We feel that this should have been diagnosed from the start. I have also contacted them to see if they will be able to be of some assistance with getting our Engine Mounts covered with us still being under the 100,000 miles and only 2 months out of our 5 years. I am hoping that they will cover this cost at least for us. Fingers crossed!
    I am just worried that we will be back at the dealership in a year for some additional repairs on our AC that will have gone bad by then as well.....not fun at all. We love the vehicle otherwise, but with 2 children, we cannot have a vehicle that does not have AC that works.
  • brittany23brittany23 Member Posts: 7
    We picked up our Buick today and GM paid for a big portion of our AC repair bill!!! We are so thankful for this decision! Thank you GM for stepping up & assisting us with our AC issue! We have cold air again!!!
  • BJacks1BJacks1 Member Posts: 2
    Having same issues with 2012 Buick Enclave..Have spent $2400 in last 5 months on a car barely 5 years old and 54K miles..Sub-par construction or parts is all I can say..Never another Buick Enclave!
  • ZenghuZenghu Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2010 Buick Enclave with only 51,000 miles on it and the air conditioner started not to blow cold enough air late last summer and then it never worked this summer. Because I live in Chicago and I do not use air conditioner in my car much actually. The first time I tried to turned my AC on this summer a few weeks ago, there was a yellow lights blinked three times then it just went off. I finally had a chance to take my car to the dealer and they diagnosed that the evaporator core was leaking and they would charge $1950 to replace it: the part is like $200 ~ $300 and the rest is labor cost.

    I called GM customer assistance and I thought they talked to the dealer and the dealer then called me and said they could reduce the price down to $1688 and that all they can do because my warranty expired three years ago. I decided not to repair it and from now on, i would drive a Buick Enclave without A/C (and it is supposed to be luxury car, right? how ridiculous!) That will keep reminding me never buy a GM car again!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Did you price this job out with an independent AC specialist? Nothing wrong with a 2nd opinion.
  • jftthirdjftthird Member Posts: 1
    2011 Buick Enclave AC quit. Dealer charged about $1200 to replace the rear evacuator. Later AC quit again and dealer now states front evacuator needs replacing and about $2500 to replace ! I believe they did not fix the problem initially and dealer refuses to assist other than offering to reduce the charge by $200. Seems from my research that GM has known about this problem for years and it appears some folks have received assistance but not others...not happy in sunny Florida...
  • boeh333boeh333 Member Posts: 1
    I too have the same AC issues...I have an 08 Enclave that was actually purchased from a Buick dealer who highly recommended an extended warranty. I bought the warranty and 10k miles later the transmission was rebuilt, the water pump was replaced and the power steering issue was repaired. Every summer however, after 1.5 hours down the road in hot humid weather the AC and fan begins to decrease in speed and eventually blows at a trickle with warm air. I turn the compressor off for about 20 or 30 minutes and turn the compressor back on and the blower and AC properly works. When I stopped at rest stops, I noted there were large amounts of water under the car...not normal. I've taken this vehicle to four GM dealers...each can't replicate the problem. The first dealer replaced the blower motor, the second added Freon, the third replaced the shredder valves but to no avail. Since then my extended warranty has expired....GM knew of this problem, even when there was a warranty in place but stated they could not replicate the problem---I find that insulting! I still have a problem with the AC and GM knew of it but would not properly repair it. It's a shame, I bought this vehicle for the space and performance but likely will have to trade it in for a Toyota or Honda---something dependable!
  • brittany23brittany23 Member Posts: 7
    We were back at the dealership again yesterday!!!!! (Our 2012 Buick Enclave) 8 months after my last post here (scroll up a few posts on this page). Our car began blowing hot air again (90-100 degrees). We can never go more than 8-12 months without COLD AIR!!!!!!! We took it back to the same dealership and they insisted that we have an evacuate and recharge leak test completed to see how much freon was lost (which half of it was gone) and they claim they NOW KNOW that the leak is in the rear evaporator core!!!! They want around $1,100 to make this repair!!! I was so mad that I just said no (I had to pay $200 yesterday). With all the AC issues (and not finding the real reason & not solving the real problem), we have also had motor mounts go bad (after warranty), our water pump line was leaking & caused damage (after warranty), & supposedly our battery leaked out & caused damage too. Just google Buick water pump issues & it is just as bad as the AC (it is a known problem). We had our coolant topped off early on & again when it says to add more in the mannuel, AND WE STILL HAD TO PAY OUT IF POCKET FOR THAT because of the poor design by Buick. I am going to call Customer Service (which I have for all repairs). They only helped me out once, so we shall see. I really hope there is a recall or suit @ some point because this is not fair to have this many issues & have to take so much of my time to resolve them & get nowhere. 
    Brittany 
  • brittany23brittany23 Member Posts: 7
    BUICK will not help us with any of our repairs and the dealership will not come down in their price. Buick stated that they will only help you one time and that is all. Our AC has never been right since the start & that is the frustrating part. It has always had an AC leak of some kind. We have had many cars in our lifetime & we have never had this issue of our freon leaking out like this vehicle. When you search the internet, this is a known problem since the Buick was created (2008 I believe) and is even still happening with the newer models. BEWARE!
  • nancwlr1nancwlr1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2014 Enclave that the a/c has quit working on the right side and rear vents. Took it to the dealer... it too needs the rear evaporation coil and blowers motor replaced. I bought it as a certified used vehicle so it is still under warranty. I was informed that the parts are on back order. I asked the service rep if this issue has been an ongoing problem. He said yes. Seems a lot of people are or have experienced the same issue with the Enclaves air conditioning system. It makes me wonder if this is class action lawsuit worthy. I will do more investigation.
  • brittany23brittany23 Member Posts: 7
    See my post, 2 people up (2012 Buick Enclave, $89,000 miles). My husband bought the part for our rear evaporator core replacement (@ NAPA), for around $100,  a few extra parts, ($40), and a few cans of freon for $4.88 each @ Wal-mart (4 cans total), and  (he already had the correct AC freon filler line at home). We were quoted that our labor wouldn be for six hours and the part would be over $400. My husband, with no experience with this issue, and only watching videos online, completed this task in four hours!! It did look like our rear evaporator core was bad. We now have cold air and no hissing sound!!!! I am thankful for my husband. Now? Hopefully it will last more than 6-8 months like in the past.....to be continued.
  • 2enclaveowner2enclaveowner Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2017
    This is my second Buick Enclave with a/c issues. My first was a 2009 that started blowing warm and hissing at 71,000 miles. Service dept detected no leaks, it continued and 900 miles later determined that the evaporator core had a leak. Luckily, it was covered under warranty and was repaired and replaced. My second 2014 enclave started blowing warm and hissing at 42,000 miles. GM lowered the warranty down to 50,000 miles. Service dept added dye and recharged system. It worked fine for a while. Seven months later it all started again. Now we were over the 50,000 miles and the evaporator core, like the 2009 model, was leaking. After a hard discussion, it was fixed under "customer appreciation". It should have been fixed under "warranty" when the issue started before the warranty ended. Then once again, 10 months later the a/c quite blowing cold. This time the coolant temp sensor went bad. $300 cost to us. Then can you believe just TWO WEEKS later we had issues again. It was cold for the driver, but not passenger, or rear. Hissing again and humid musky smell. Then soon the drive side quit blowing cold. Service dept now states that the rear evap core is bad and the cost is $1,400. I called and submitted a complaint and request and was told these issues are now out of warranty and they are not to provide cash assistance. The service dept is willing to discount $175 in labor. It is absolutely crazy that a/c problems like this are happening. This is not a service dept issue, but an issue with GM putting bad a/c parts in their cars. I have no confidence that if I spend $1,200 that another a/c issue won't soon occur! This is my 4th new GM product purchase. I should never have purchased the Enclave a second time! BTW it took GM 30 DAYS to come to this resolution, meanwhile I just keep driving with no a/c in hot humid weather.
  • jmartinez7jmartinez7 Member Posts: 1
     2008 Buick Enclave, front rear comes on and off. The problem is the plug underneath the dashboard in front of the passenger seat. It could possibly be because of the cover pushing on it causing it to have either a shortage  and the pigtail is melted.  Well at least that was the problem with mine.
  • plpapix13plpapix13 Member Posts: 1
    My 2012 Buick Enclave has a leak from the rear AC cable its been rubbing against another able next to it. tire Kingdom tanks its a known issue they want to charge me 1800 for to fix it ... Please HELP!!
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  • brandonblackbrandonblack Member Posts: 1
    Like many others on this page have stated, my A/C unit in our Buick Enclave has now failed for the second time in 2 years and only 30,000 miles!!!  I have tried to work with the dealership, and they are willing to do it “at cost”, but Buick GMC Corporate isn’t willing to cover the cost because the bumper to bumper warranty is up. A 5 year old car with 75,000 miles shouldn’t have A/C problems once, let alone needing $1800 in repairs for the same issue twice in 2 years. My 14 year old Volvo XC90 with 180,000 miles NEVER had A/C issues. Buick Customer Service, please help restore my faith in this vehicle. 

    Thanks
    Brandon
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited June 2018
    I would have recommended the extended warranty from GMEP while it was available when the car was within the B-B warranty period. Cost is relatively low and the many things it covers means I would buy an extended warranty no matter the brand I bought, even the "perfect" brands.

    .I always love the folks who cite perfect vehicles from their past ownerships. It may be good catharsis, but it's irritating to read. Cars aren't warrantied forever.

    Volvo is an Indian company now IIRC.

    Reminds me of a morning radio talk show host who always brags about his Honda that was the family car for the 2 kids in high school now off to college. Perfect with maintenance done by a well-known foreign car independent service group.

    Recently commented it had grenaded its AC compressor. But instead of complaining that something so simple has a reputation of grenading in certain Hondas, he was so happy that the independent could fix it for him instead of taking it back to the dealer. Maybe he should have asked Honda to replace it for him in his CRV.



    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 234,725
    Volvo is majority owned by Geely, a car company based in China. I think it’s Jaguar/Land Rover that is India owned

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  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    kyfdx said:

    Volvo is majority owned by Geely, a car company based in China. I think it’s Jaguar/Land Rover that is India owned

    Thanks for the correction. I don't follow those brands. After Ford sold them, I should have kept up!
    Or I could have looked it up, LOL.

    A further comment about getting the car brand extended warranty at least for GM products. It pays for those little things that are sometimes big expenses. Son's Cruze 15 is covered for a while longer with the $1100 extended I bought for it after I got it.

    His fiance just finished veterinarian school and "she" wanted an Encore. Low mileage off lease one she found. Almost new at a price reduced enough for the 9 months to be worth it over buying a new one with rebates and push pricing by manufacturer.

    I think this girl is a keeper as to car shopping and practicality.

    I will pay for an extended warranty for them on that car.after they're married.

    On my son's car the power window mechanism failed due to abuse with ice on outside as he has to put down the window to enter at security for his workplace parking without the ice correctly cleared from the outside. I think it damaged the cables due to the strain. Past B-B warranty, but covered by extended. No charge. 0 deductible.

    I do recommend looking on internet especially brand forums where people tell who sells the warranty at discount that is the company warranty. I bought mine from a dealer in eastern PA. Great people to work with by distance email and pdfs. They clearly make that a revenue part of their business. This is my third purchase from them after buying for my Cobalt in 2010.

    Don't know how other companies handle their after purchase sales of extended warranties.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • stefyjostefyjo Member Posts: 1
    I bought my Enclave in October of 2014 and have had several issues with the air conditioner. I have had the compressor replaced at least twice and now I take it in because it’s not working at all, and they want to charge me $2000 for the rear auxiliary air conditioning line. How is this actually possible? We have 80,000 miles and an extended warranty, but of course this isn’t covered!!
    My husband warned me to not go back to buying GM cars, but I was in love with the Enclave. I may be in love with the idea of getting rid of it now
  • milescmilesc Member Posts: 1
    2012 Buick Encalve AC problems. Complete nightmare. Problems started around 50,000 and now I'm at 74k miles and at least $2000 in on AC work. Just constant problems. Just picked it up from the shop and there is another hose leaking. Now apparently it's the discharge line from the compressor to the condenser leaking freon. Previously replaced hose from compressor to EVAP Core. Apparently now with this replacement, they need to remove and replace the Receiver Drier because it's required when the system is opened. This car has been a nightmare. I think I have a lemon. Heated seat heater on the passenger side is out and has been out. Had multiple recalls on this vehicle. The HVAC system is apparently notoriously bad on these vehicles and now we are all apparently paying the price. I have a 2005 Escalade that I absolutely love and with more than double the miles and 2005 vs 2012 I've had fewer issues in that than I have with this Enclave. The HVAC system is just bad and they should've recalled and fixed ALL of these.
  • UnhappybuickUnhappybuick Member Posts: 1
    My husband purchased me this 10 Enclave and it has been problem after problem; first the motor, then cam and crank shafts, then no defrost, then Pcv valve and now it cuts off at stop light, red light and turns, I’m in tears don’t know what to do! This is so frustrating, please help, I’m afraid to drive to work because cuts off without any noise.
  • SOONER14100SOONER14100 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2011 Enclave, now experiencing AC problems.  I had a leak on the high pressure line, & replaced the line.  When recharging the system, the gauges go into the red, &  the compressor will not cycle on.  The clutch spins freely, & it doesnt appear that that there any other leaks. Is it possible that some debris or something could be clogging the line, or does this sound like some other type of problem?
  • Unhappybuick16Unhappybuick16 Member Posts: 1
    I purchased a 2016 enclave Buick..I have been having the same issues..air conditioning working on and off and my transmission has not been working properly...I have taken my car to the shop 4 times concerning these issues and they keep telling me they cant duplicate the problem...Im completely frustrated!!!!
  • FloridaownerFloridaowner Member Posts: 2
    I purchased my 2014 Buick Enclave new. It has 20,493 miles on it, but is out of warranty due to years. Neither GM or the dealer will take responsibility for the failure of the front AC evaporator core, in spite of these numerous posts detailing the AC problems dating back years. The charge for the parts was 388.43, but because the entire dash, front seats and console needed to be removed to repair it, the cost for labor was a whopping $2,244.18. The car was in the shop for 3 weeks - service rep blamed the recent strike for the delay in getting the part. Never thought this former Detroiter would defect to the "other side," but my love and loyalty for Buick and Cadillac has diminished. Not even repeat customers get help...my purchase next year (waiting on the 2020 models) would have been my 4th with this dealer.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    It sounds like you didn't purchase the extended warranty, where both miles and months for the warranty is extended by GMEP beyond the original 50K/48 mo IIRC. Those warranties are by GM's warranty arm and cover essentially bumper-to-bumper as is done in the original warranty. I always recommend purchase--it can be found before the end of the original warranty by miles or by months on the internet. I've bought through Black Cadillac GMC in Edinsburg, PA. gmoutlet.com Authorized GM dealer just like any GM dealer can discount the sale to you. I have no connection to them other than a 3-time purchaser of GMEP through them by phone and emails for signatures.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • FloridaownerFloridaowner Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2019
    Thanks for the info @imidazol97. Have been purchasing new / GM models for many years and never had a problem like this before. My 2008 Cadillac STS is running just fine! The Dealer and/or GM could have stepped in and helped but chose not to. I guess my business was not that important to them.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited December 2019
    My posting was to help any others who read it that are thinking about buying new or within warranty autos so they know the price for the extended GMEP warranty is negotiable. Dealers always try to slide it in to add onto the CPO extended 1 yr extra warranty, but the price they offer may not be good.

    I decided for various reasons to get the warranty on those cars so my son who now owns the Cruze and wife could have the Malibu taken care of for an extended length of time were something to happen to me at my age. The Cruze warranty goes out to about 90K miles. It's at 70K now and the warranty cost has paid for itself with warranty repairs after the CPO 1 yr extra expired.

    But it takes 1 or 2 shop visits under warranty paying for the repair, for problems that happen to many cars--the others aren't perfect, you know. They have repair shops in the back for a reason. But people that own them are very forgiving about problems that occur because they want their cars to be better than other people's cars with regard to problems.

    I have found that having a solid relationship with a dealer for oil changes and other repairs that I pay helps when a questionable problem does occur.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • bigdog68bigdog68 Member Posts: 1
    edited October 2020
    We also own a Buick 2014 enclave. Just took our vehicle in and they said the AC lines need to be replaced at a whopping cost of $1700. This is crazy. Why hasn't Buick fixed this continuing problem. I will never buy another GMC. We are repairing it at this moment but will not do it again. We have owned Fords with over 200,000 miles and never have had a repair cost like this. Even our Saturn had over 200,000 miles without a repair cost like this. So disappointed in the Buick. Just an FYI we also had to have a new timing chain and torque converter between 40,000 and 50,000 miles.. Headlight replaced at a cost of $300. The car only has 70,000 miles on it!! For the price of these cars new, they should not be breaking down like this. Buyer beware!
  • TravisTravestyTravisTravesty Member Posts: 1
    We have a 2008 buick enclave the navigation system stop working changed the stereo and now the ac stopped working also the moon roof lines to drain water clog up quite often causing a excessive amount of water build up inside leaking onto stereo area and floor boards causing mold to build up on the inside this was the worse purchase we have ever made very disappointed in this vehicle
  • Deb117Deb117 Member Posts: 1

    2011 Buick Enclave: We love it!! Except we have had intermittent a/c problems for awhile. It was checked by dealer service and could find nothing wrong. Help! (Have read posts: Is there a fix?- we been thinking whole new control/ accessories board???)

  • TrishaTrisha Member Posts: 1

    I have been having issues with my 2012 enclave for months and nobody can seem to figure it out. We have spent so much money trying to get this issue fixed and nobody can figure it out. This will be my last Buick after seeing how many others are having the same problem. My car only has 60,000 miles.

  • NelsamNelsam Member Posts: 3
    Ours has been sold. The refusal by GM to deal with this problem is very obvious. The BBB and the State Attorney General's Office would have been contacted if we were not able to trade or sell our Enclave. Congratulations! GM has changed very little over the years
  • GracieGracie Member Posts: 1
    We have a 2017 Buick Enclave, turned 50K miles and just this week and my wife mentioned she thought her car wasn't cooling down like usual. I plan to check it out this week, but it sounds like we may not be the only Enclave owner with AC issues.
  • Sumpter0412Sumpter0412 Member Posts: 1

    Sad to see that this issue has been ongoing since at least 2009 and GM has never done a recall. I, like all the previous commenters, have started having issues with my Enclave. AC works, then get in one day and light blinks and AC doesn’t work. Get I. The next day and works again. Unfortunately, I’m in Florida with 90 plus degree temps and 100% humidity. Miserable!! Won’t be purchasing another GM vehicle since this is the way GM handles an obvious defect, making the car owner spend their money on a problem GM is very aware of. :/

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