Buick La Crosse Stalling/Starting Problems

Karen_S

Something's not quite right? Ask your questions here.

csesa

I recently ..June 21st .leased a new Buick lacrosse. Everything fine until last week at an intersectionn. I was stopped, hit the gas and the car went dead... I mean dead. I put the car in park tried it nothing pulled the key and tried it again several times ..finally about 1 minute passed and the car started up.
That was on a Wednesday i believe. left for the weekend and the car sat for three days. When I went to start it up. same thing ..nothing. There was pleanty of battery ..all the guages and lights worked but nothing to the starter. I had it towed to the dealer who has tried for two days to replicate the scenario and cannot. GM is claiming that they do not know of any problems with the car. Anyone have any ideas? The dealer now wants me to take the car back and obviously I do not want it.

62vetteefp

Do you have the remote start? do not take it back. Have them call the service center or whatever it is called. Get help!

csesa

No I do not have remote start...It is a really scary situation in that I am familar enough with cars to know that something like this is they cannot figure out..The service manager has been working on it for two days and aparently contacted GM tech. They say they have not heard of any problems like this.

gorphil

Suggestion:
Replace Fuse #15 (Powertrain Control Module) in the Underhood Fuse Block. On very rare occasions, the fuse is defective and/or does not make proper contact with the contacts in the fuse socket when the engine compartment heats up. Usually works fine when everything is cold.

dell46

Did replacing the fuse help? I have a 2005 LaCrosse and several times now when I put in the key and turn it to Start nothing happens. Then I try it again and it starts right up. The dealer has checked everything for a loose connection but has not been able to find anything. I think it is time to replace some components such as fuses and cranking relays. I do have remote start on my LaCrosse.

imidazol97

Only a guess by having read and having a different but related car...

Does your car have a battery and fuse connection box under the rear seat? Tighten all main bolts for the power and ground. Careful-remove negative first at battery. Do same for underhood power distribution.

I've read of some gremlins in cars that were fixed by doing that.

Have you tried turning key on then off. And then turning again to see if it starts on second try without actually doing crank on first try? I had problems with VATS unit on earlier leSabre not reading key when put in fast and rotated quickly to start. Security resistor code didn't get read and reported to powertrain computer quickly enough. Later cars use a key encoder rather than resistor but might be related.

dell46

They finally found the problem with my 2005 LaCrosse. The nut on stud for the starter was missing and when they tried to replace the nut the stud just kept turning. Apparently it was broken inside the starter housing. They did replace the starter and all seems fine now.We dont know if there ever was a nut on the stud or if it just came off.The cable must just have been making contact enough to crank the starter. Buick quality is not what it used to be.

imidazol97

Who made the starter?

dell46

I don't know who made it. It was oe and possibly made by Delco. The dealer didn't show me the old unit.

imidazol97

When you said Buick quality wasn't what it used to be, I wondered if Buick made the starter. They probably didn't. I was made by Delco or another automotive supplier.

dotty3

I have a 2006 Buick Lacrosse. It was fine when I purchased it, but now it is very loud when I start it up. It's ridiculously loud. It stays loud until the car completely warms up (10 minutes or so). I've taken it in for service several times, but the service department claims that the noise is normal and is due to the air intake. Does anyone else have this problem?

overdrive1

I had the same problem. I recorded the noise so the dealer could hear it. He said it was a piece of plastic that sits between the engine and transmission. Somehow the winter's cold affects that piece and causes it to get hit by some kind of fan or fly wheel. He took that piece of plastic out and cut a notch in it.

danel2

, montior engine light comes on , code PO411 Secondary Air, checked air pump,it comes on and sounds fine, checked fuses and relays they are fine, what next? Any Ideas.

rklapsley

MY GOD..My 2005 Buick LaCrosse does the EXACT same thing. On occasion, I'll turn the key and NOTHING, not even a sound. Wait a minute and VOILA. it works.

My problem not is I have two lights on and I am not sure why. My security light is on. It looks like the front view of a vehicle with a lock image on it

Second light that is on is my service vehicle soon light. Not the check engine light.

My 2005 only has 35K miles on it.

dasher3

While driving on I 480 at 55MPH I ran across a piece of rough pavement and my 2008 Lacrosse Super instantly shut off(stalled). Fortunately I was close to the turnpike entrance ramp driving in the curb lane getting ready to exit when this occurred. Also, luckily, traffic was light. After coasting to a stop, I put the car in park and the car started on the first try . I proceeded with no more incidences. Scary. If traffic was heavy, things could have gotten bad. Anybody with a similar incident? I will call the dealer tomorrow to see what can be done. Only 9300 miles on the car.

hillbro

Yes, ours did the same thing. Luckily my husband was driving and didn't panic (like I would have). While "coasting", he put it in neutral then turned off the key and turned it back on and the car started right up again. This is the SECOND time in three years that the car has done this. We have a 2006 LaCrosse. This last time it was very dark out and all the dash lights were off. It was quite scary.

dasher3

Thanks for the reply. I took my 2008 Lacrosse Super to the dealer and they found no codes in their computer. They also checked for any loose connections and said none found. I then called GM Customer Assistance Center and she said that there are no bulletins out on the problem. Gave me a case number and suggested if the problem happens again, take the car back to the dealer. My reply was if I'm still alive. I then filed a complaint with NHTSA who supplied me with a confirmation number. Will have to now wait. What model Lacrosse do you drive? My Super is a V8. If yours is a V6, I'm curious to know if the problem happens in both models. I hope more people respond so some action can be generated. My wife is kinda afraid to drive the car.

fastlane429

I'm checking out a 2003 Lacrosse this weekend, She is haveing two problems. First, sometimes when you turn the key off the car keeps running, if you turn the key back on then off again the engine shuts off. The other problem is she hit a big bump and everything went dead and pull over, turned the key off and then it started right up.

khntmj

I've followed allot of the stalling complaints and mine is the same. Had the computer changed once and it helped for a couple months but started all over again. It will stall, I put the car in neutral and it will start up immediately. I bought the car from a neighbor(mother had it) 65K orig miles but they did not have this issue before. From all of the messages posted this has been going on for a very long time.

e_net_rider

Now why does it matter which part of Buick/GM made the specific part. It all has Buicks name in the end.
As to when, that is an easy answer. It was done during assembly. The person responsible putting the nut on realized the issue and just let it go. Or at best, tagged and someone else just pulled the tags.
I've seen these mistakes before where they don't stop the line or route it to the fix area.
I suspect that is why the trim piece on my '11 was not fully installed. They realized it had a problem behind it inhibiting proper installation so just partially installed so the part was present when the rest was fixed. The rest was not.
I had a problem that drove me nuts. Car would suddenly die. Answer was always "the computer". At that time we were just getting into pointless distributors, electronic pickups. I found the problem myself. Some bone-head cross-threaded a grounding screw and of course the calibrated screw-gun told them it was tight.
Too many factory bone-head issues to discuss.
Any technician with experience will tell the first place you look to solve a problem is where the last mechanic had his hands.

bill925

I purchased a new 2011 Buick LaCrosse approximately one year ago and have less than 10,000 miles. When I first bought it, it made a loud noise upon starting which the dealer said was normal, but I question that. Within the last few months, my wife has been stranded over 6 times when the car won't start. The first time, I took it to the dealer and they said it was the battery, even though everything else worked. She gain had problems with the car not starting when out shopping, or leaving work. After about 30 minutes it would start. You could turn the key, but nothing. The radio, and everything else would work fine, but nothing when you turn the key. The second time I took it to the dealer, they said it was a computer module. Two day after getting a new module installed, the same thing. I was out of town when my wife called and said it wouldn't start. I got home after we got it out of the shop, and we were out shopping on a Saturday when we got in the car, and nothing. Once again it was dead. I took the car to the dealership and told them I have a lemon and want it replaced. I left it with them while I went out of town. To their credit, they are working with GM to get the car replaced. There is definitely something wrong with the electrical problem that can't be fixed. While out of town the dealership called and said they again found the problem and this time they think it is a loose wire in the ignition. I can no longer trust the car, and won't have my wife continue to get stranded out somewhere. Now, I am going through the motion to get the car replaced through the Lemon Law. Is anyone else having a similar problem?

e_net_rider

Having to do the paperwork is almost a must to protect yourself. That is you at least read through it carefully. It does vary from state to state. In my state it is a requirement to do it if you wish to force the issue. They get one last chance once the paperwork is in place and filed. But the good news is that the pro-rata use, mileage goes back to the first complaint of that issue. So it is important that you make sure when you sign service requests that they are correctly written, so they don't claim it meant something else. Before I sign I add any pertinent information.
The life of the car is based on 120,000 miles. You also get back taxes and any interest accumulated during that time.
It is very difficult to locate such issues as you have, so it would be difficult to assess if any other problems that arise will be handled by the dealer. But then the dealer has his hands tied to a degree by GM. As my dealer told me, GM is bigger than them indicating which way crap flows.
Also a heads up. I opted for the different GM and lost a couple of thousand dollars. GM does not allow the use of incentives or rebates on the new one. Better to get the cash back so you can shop a deal.

fastnfurious18

Hi, yes I am having a similar problem with my 2011 Buick Lacrosse CXS that was purchased brand new. This problem occurred around 5,000 some odd miles in February of 2012 and it is now August of 2012. My car has been in and out of the dealership over numerous days. (It will be a total of around 48 days now, which is completely ridiculous.) It has died on the highway twice with no electronics/brakes/steering, putting my safety in danger as well as others. The car is also having problems not starting and has been a frequent problem. They have replaced body control modules, frayed wires under steering column, key less entry modules, and media center modules. They are trying everything in the book to avoid classifying it as a lemon. Mind you that this car has also had quality assurance issues such as the bumper being misaligned with the vehicle, the back covers of the entertainment system DVD seat covers popping off, plastic of console coming off, and a rattling in the wheel well brake shield covers. This car is brand new and has been having all of this issues! There is no reason for a vehicle to be brought into service that many times!So with that said, I have began documenting everything closely. I have written a letter to GM demanding the buyback of the vehicle and explaining all of the problems. (remember to keep copies of everything) I also went to BBB Autoline to file a complaint as I am working with them diligently. The manufacturer still has yet to do anything but try and "diagnose" the vehicle for problems that keep occurring. I am now using the lemon law to fight them! It has clearly gotten out of control with their lies and I am tired of it. I should not pay for a car that does not deliver what is promised and puts me and others in an unsafe, unreliable predicament. I will now be using the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act under Texas lemon law to finally put a stop to this. If you do not fight for yourself these companies will continue to deliver poor customer service and promises to a naive consumer who trusts them! It's time to do something about it, and I will!

dasher3

Hello back, My Lacrosse Super is a 2008, purchased new in Oct 2008. My warranty is soon to expire and I'm still havcing problems. My latest(2nd) won't start episode was in April, this year. The dealer couldn't find any problems after keeping the car the whole day. Told me to bring it back the following day. They removed the battery and put in the refrigerator for a number of hours and concluded the battery was bad. They changed the battery and no problems since, with starting and everything going dead , including not releasing the key. Other problems though, like not being able to read the instrument panel because the lights go dim (no fix), steering intermediate shaft replaced, Power steering rack and pinion replaced twice. The first rack was a rebuilt unit and went bad in 2 weeks. The 2nd(also rebuilt) seems to be OK since June 25, although I'm now getting a scraping noise when I turn my steering wheel. I called Customer Assistance a few times but don't ever get any satisfaction. Just excuses.

imidazol97

>like not being able to read the instrument panel because the lights go dim (no fix),

Is the automatic headllight system turning on the lights, which reduces the dash lights to the nighttime settings per the variable dimmer switch on the dash? Try turning that up as high as it goes without turning on the courtesy lights.

Or does it have the setup where the headlights are turned on when the WIPERS are on and that is reducing the dash illumination to the nighttime settings per the variable adjustment?

gmcustsvcsarah

Do you have a current case open with Customer Assistance at this time? If you wanted for us to look into it further, please email your case number or the last 8 of your VIN to us at socialmedia@gm.com

Sarah, GM Customer Service

texds

be glad you leased it, is all I can say.......funny how GM & their dealerships know nothing about this (owner of a 2011 buick lacross cxs) yet quite a few of us are expericencing the same problems!

When I ordered my car the dealership was so concerned with the survey as to how they did? I remarked the true test comes with the " service " after you have driven off the lot with their (now yours) 40 thousand dollar ride.

Needless to say, they are failing miserably
Why no survey now?
Time to get your head outta the sand GM & Your Dealerships
Read these Blogs, cuz we know you do.

From a long time supporter of American Made.
Imported from Detroit.

gmcustsvc

texds,

I'm unsure from your post if you have a current concern with your LaCrosse at this point, or if you have had an unsatisfactory service experience with your dealership. If either of the above is true and you would like for us to look into this further for you, please contact us via email at socialmedia@gm.com with more information (including your name and contact information, summary of the situation, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your dealership).

Sarah, GM Customer Service

jparkinson

This sounds like the identical issue I am currently having with my 2012 Lacrosse. This is the 3rd time into the dealer for the same issue, car won’t start. Dealership has been great with keeping me in one of their cars and GM actually flew a Engineer out to look at the car. One week later they still are not sure what the cause is. The fix was "replace another computer module". If it stalls again I am going to ask GM to buy it back.

Bill925, what was your outcome?

skupie

i was traveling 45 mph & light came on showing "Engine is disconnected" Stabilitrak...it idled real high-couldnt go over 30mph-lost all control-had to coast to side street & call roadside assistance-if was going to take 2 hrs for a tow-i decided to check it again 40 min later-it did start but check engine light still on-error code p2101-in the end-lights ended up working, didnt need tow but now afraid it will do it again-dealership says bring it in right away next time...only 7000 miles on it-& to think i traded my 2007 acadia in because it was in the dealership more than i drove it-so here we go again...maybe i should try chevy-frustrated!

mary2011

I have had car in dealership for about three weeks for a stalling issue. They claim its the oxygen sensor. Has anyone else had this issue and its been taken care of.

gmcustsvc

Hi mary2011,

Sorry to hear that your Buick is in the repair shop. If there is anything we can do to assist during this time, please let us know. Keep us posted on the repair process.

Amber N.
GM Customer Care

custom3

I have a 2010 2500hd and the rear bumper is rusting on both ends.My dealer tells me its no longer under warranty.I bought the truck new and it started at 1 year old but was polished out by the dealer.Now it won't polish out any more and I'm out of warranty.Has anyone else experienced this problem?

rich194

My 2007 La Cross intermittently stalls and won't start for fifteen minutes up to an hour, then runs great for a few hundred miles before it does it again. The dealer can never get it to do it for them and there are no fault codes. Has anyone had this problem and how did you fix it?

karibuick

I have a 2011 LaCrosse and during the heat wave we have been having it stalls on me. Once in the middle of an intersection, once on teh highway and quite a few other times just around town. Talked to the dealershipo and they said I need my fuel injector cleaned? My husband says that is crazy. Seems to have started during a heat wave we have been having in the Northeast. They want me to pay 200.00 to have this service done. I feel it is a fault with the car. It should not stall out on me like that. The car is only 2 years old!!!!!! Very Unhappy. Been buying GM Products for years. A few months ago my daughters 09 Chevy Cobalt needed a new fuel pump. They wanted 1,000.00 to fix it and then I find out that there is problems with Chevy Cobalts fuel pumps! Said it is in warm weather states only. I am losing my confidence with GM.

imidazol97

First of all, let's talk about the Chevy Cobalt fuel pump. I have not heard of anyone needed a fuel pump on the Cobalt. That infers that fuel pump problems are relatively rare. In fact, they are rare on most cars. Behaviors that _cause_ fuel pump failure are running the fuel level low in the tank. People that don't keep the tank at above 1/4, I prefer above 1/3, often find an early fuel pump failure becuase the fuel keeps the pump cooled. When the level drops below the pump, that fuel no longer is cooling the pump, which causes it to develop problems.

I don't know your daughter, nor her age, nor her driving patterns, but you can decide if the fuel pump committed suicide or if it was murdered by low fuel level. I was at a local quick market getting morning coffee and a lady had cranked her car so long she ran the battery down. Her fuel level was 0 and the car died about 100 feet from the fuel pumps on the street. Cranking when there was zero fuel going through the pump probably will cause that pump to fail soon. I warned her that might happen as I used her jumper cables to help her start her car after she put in fuel. I suspected she ran the fuel level low at times because of not being able to afford gas right then. The point of this comment is to remind your daughter to keep the fuel level above the 2 or 2.5 gallons that 1/4 tank represents on the 12-gallon tank in the Cobalt. My son has my 2008 at Ohio State at college. He has been given the "lecture."

As for the LaCrosse, is it still under warranty?

I had a fuel injector clog recently on my 3800 leSabre at 150,000 miles. I use mostly good brand fuels. However, I had used a fuel discount at the local fast market to buy a fillup for the leSabre. A few miles later was when the slight miss appeared idling for a few seconds. Then couple hundred miles later at 80 mph it gave a quick cut out, miss or full cut out. Then a few hundred miles later a little more and finally set a #6 cylinder miss. Finally, my shadetree mechanic neighbor and I took out the #6 injector which had lots of material clogging the intake. Cleaned it and switch with #4 injector and no further problems.

I think my problem was caused by that quick market fuel fillup.

So when the dealer wanted to clean, was that a removal and clean each injector? Or was that where they run a strong chemical cleaner through the line on the engine, with the fuel tank disconnected, to dissolve gunk in the injector?

gmcustsvc

Hi karibuick,

If you would like for us to work with your dealership in getting this problem resolved to your satisfaction, please feel free to email us at socialmedia@gm.com [Attn Amber]. Include your VIN, mileage, contact information, and dealership, and we will work to see what can be done to help with your situation.

Amber N.
GM Customer Care

karibuick

Actually the Cobalt has been recalled for Fuel Pumps but only in warm weather states. I found this to be odd. I live in the NE and we have some pretty warm summers andheat waves. We also had a recall on the car because of stalling while driving and after having it in and out of dealer and replacing battery there ended up being a recall on the ignition. GM ended up replacing fuel pump bec abuse it was faulty andwas leaking gas. As far as the Lacrosse I am bringing it in. The car is running very rough( sounds like a diesel engine), and stalls frequently. When I called the dealer they said I should be using a high detergent gas. I buy my gas at Mobil which is on GMs approved list, and it sounds like the fuel injector needs to be cleaned. I just turned 30,000 on the car and it seems to me that this is more then that. Based on what I have been reading, I am not the only one who has ISS uses with it stalling. We shall see what happens. Funny thing is we have had a he a t wave here and that is when my problems started.

karibuick

Thank you but I will try myself first.

karibuick

Actually the Cobalt has been recalled for Fuel Pumps but only in warm weather states. I found this to be odd. I live in the NE and we have some pretty warm summers andheat waves. We also had a recall on the car because of stalling while driving and after having it in and out of dealer and replacing battery there ended up being a recall on the ignition. GM ended up replacing fuel pump bec abuse it was faulty andwas leaking gas. As far as the Lacrosse I am bringing it in. The car is running very rough( sounds like a diesel engine), and stalls frequently. When I called the dealer they said I should be using a high detergent gas. I buy my gas at Mobil which is on GMs approved list, and it sounds like the fuel injector needs to be cleaned. I just turned 30,000 on the car and it seems to me that this is more then that. Based on what I have been reading, I am not the only one who has ISS uses with it stalling. We shall see what happens. Funny thing is we have had a he a t wave here and that is when my problems started.

karibuick

My 2011 Lacrosse is at the Dealer. They are a wonderful dealership (Ingersoll in Danbury ct) Car kept stalling and running very rough. Right before I brought it in my change oil light came on. I told them to change oil while there. My car has 30,000 miles on it. I had it changed last at 25,600. The dealer called today and said it was stalling and running rough because the oil was down 2.5 quarts and that is why it was stalling and running rough. If the oil was so low and causing these problems then why didn't the check engine light come on? Makes no sense to me or my husband and a friend that is a mechanic. There is no leak. I get my oil changed every 5,000 miles. Not happy with the outcome. I don't believe that i s the problem but if it is and the oil was that low, then why didn't check engine light come on?
Karibuick

gmcustsvc

karibuick,

I am sorry you are having this concern. If you need any assistance while at the dealership please let us know. You can email us at socialmedia@gm.com, please be sure to include your name, VIN, address, and phone number.

Erica Tiffany
GM Customer Care

2006cxl

2006 Buick LaCrosse CXL with random stalling issue - this started around 67K miles, now just over 70K. The engine just quits - totally randomly. When this happens the interior - including all guages - behaves as if the key is turned to the off position. While coasting I am consistently able to shift into neutral and re-start, continue on as if nothing happened. Dealer could not re-produce problem and only charged $60 for the "diagnosis". After much research I have replaced several parts commonly known among mechanics to cause this problem. I have switched out fuses, replaced the crank shaft sensor and ignition control module, examined and tightened every connection I could find, grounded engine block directly to battery negative terminal. Thought I had the problem fixed with the direct ground as I had no stall for almost 2 weeks of regular driving. Then last night it happened again. We can't be repeat GM customers if GM kills us on the highway! Will try replacing the ignition switch (my original suspect) next.

linda1124

2006cxl I have 2007CX LaCross with 94K miles and started having this same problem. Car going back to service at the dealership tomorrow for the fourth time. They have replaced the gas pedal, sealed a connection and replaced the PCM module. Still doing same thing. Took to Advanced Auto when check engine light came on again. They put on computer and said code was pulling a problem with the wiring to the gas pedal. If they can get this information why can't the dealership. Taking car back in tomorrow.

Nau

I need some help with this same issue!

Midwayautos

For those with the Lacrosse stalling / not restarting problem. Try replacing relay 15, run / crank relay in under hood fuse panel (#15 on my 2011). If you don't have access to a new part right away or you are stalled, swap with relay #13 (same # on relay), cooling fan relay for the time being, to get you running again until you can get a new one. Hope that helps, fixed mine!

DukeBradford

Help Please!!! I have 2011 lacrosse (push start) and lately when i try to start it clicks but wont start until i slam my car door and hit the key fob several times just bought new battery still same problem .Familiaar to anyone?