By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
To get to it you remove the storage tray behind the 3rd row seat and use the "tire iron" wrench from the jack area to lower the spare to the ground (on a cable).
The owner's manual has a detailed explanation on the complete process to change a tire - including details on how to remove the spare tire in the event it gets "stuck" from coming down from its mounting location.
Good luck.
I love the XM radio, Bose sound and the navigation system. OnStar, of course, is wonderful. I'd had it my Tahoe but it was the analog version and had been inoperable for about a year so it is good to have OnStar back again.
The car drives like a dream and hugs the road like a much bigger vehicle. My husband always comments on how it hugs the road on curves. I helped move our daughter to a new apartment earlier this month and was amazed at how much I could get into the vehicle with the 3rd row seats down and the 2nd row captain's chairs moved forward.
I have no complaints so far and get lots of compliments on the car's styling, interior and exterior design.
A funny story about the navigation system. I work in a very small town and the work address in our multiple building location is the same for everyone. When I drove up to my building the navigation system gave me the building's street address. I've worked at this location for 30 years and never, ever knew that there were individual building addresses. Neither did anyone else I talked to!
This is the first car in many, many years that I look forward to driving every day.
The noise is from the pass door seal. have your dealer look at the seal. I sold an Enclave to a engineer who had the same problem. Service did not know what to do so he figured it our. Take a look at you upper door or pass seal.
Any one know about the patch on the trans computer ?
It is a "SHOWSTOPPER" I live near the Hamptons and out here you see it all but I am getting soooo much attention it makes me paranoid when I walk to the car because other cars hover around it to see it!! Peole are constantly asking and complimenting it. The drive is smooth, very quite. The kids love the Dvd system and the Bose system is great. Had to travel to a dealer all the way in the Bronx. LaSorsa because no one out here in L.I wanted to deal. They were straight up with me all the way about the waiting time and kept me post. I am pleased with this vehicle and it made it easier to come down from a Navigator to this car. It was worth the wait!!!!
oh, another complaint - people keep staring at me and knocking on the window to see how I like it and compliment me on it - I'd think I was getting car jacked were it not for the caliber (jag drivers/lexus/land rover) of peopl (mostly men) asking.
Maybe the engines going to explode soon, but in the meantime, I"M LOVING THIS CAR ! 1st tank of gas not impoving on Pilot's miserable 14mpg - but I'm hopeful.
I traded in my 01 Lincoln Navigator... Well, I cannot believe how many people come up to me and I have become paronoid. I look around to be sure no one is near because people stop me as I approach my car. Since I park far from my destination ( for excersise) I observe other cars driving around mine just to look at it. My color is White tricoat but just any other color is fine beause it is a stunning car!!!! It is and eye catcher.. But I keep thinking to myself ok... when itwill things go wron???. Enjoy... Millie
In my case, it is the head has to be replaced. The car has been in the Buick dealer since February 28th with no idea when a head will be found. The dealer tells me that it is on "stat" which was explained as if any dealer has a head just sitting on their parts shelf, they are to ship it to my dealer? Can't imagine a dealer having inventory parts on a 2008 Enclave at this point.
Looks like I'm calling the complaint line to get more attention to the problem. We also experienced the shifting problem, where the transmission wants to shift to the highest gear as soon as possible.
Has anyone elese got a response from the complain department of GM? Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks
rosebud-58@hotmail.com
What have I gotten into. Beautiful car, quite (or at least before the engine work) but what do I do?
I bought my Enclave 2 weeks ago. Happened to stumble across this thread of discussions as I was trying to figure out what people were doing when it came to Bluetooth options. Found a much bigger issue at play in regards to engine light as earlier in the day, my check engine light had come on. I had read the manual and followed the directions to replace fuel cap. My husband had just recently filled up my tank, so that seemed to be a viable option. 3 days later, check engine light comes back on. We took it to dealer, came up Code P0346 - which means only the sensor needs to be replaced. They think it's just the sensor, but my husband thinks it's the cam's that you all are talking about - and has asked that they check them once they are in there replacing the sensor. We take it in tomorrow to get sensor replaced. I guess we'll see if that's the end of the check engine light.
On another note, the undercarriage is showing signs of rusting. This seems to be a big discussion in the Maintenance & Repair Section thread. This is our first new car bought off a lot, so was not expecting for that to happen. I've alerted our Service Manager & he will be taking a look at it tomorrow as well. It's extremely noticeable if you're looking at the passenger's side of the car...basically underneath the 2nd row passenger side undercarriage (i'm not sure what that piece is called underneath there.)
I have to say I fell in love with this car...once I got over the fact of it being a Buick. Now, I'm a bit worried about the reliability, and am on trip #2 to the Service Dept. after getting rid of my Grand Cherokee (80,000+ miles) with no problems. I'm just heart broken. We are thinking about doing the formal complaint to GM - but wanted to get this sensor replaced before doing so. Any thoughts & helpful direction are sincerely welcomed.
Pro: Visual Appeal. This is one of the nicest looking cars, inside and out, on the market today.
Con: The seats are poorly executed. The bottom cushion tilt travel acts like a dump truck to spill you onto the front floor, but does not go nearly far enough in the opposite direction. Seats are way too soft.
Bonus Con: Passenger seat bottom tilts toward the front. Wife complains she is always bracing herself with her feet to keep from sliding forward. No passenger power tilting seat in a $45k car? Are there no passengers working at GM?
Pro: Everything works. The memory seats, memory mirror setting, bi-xenon articulating headlamps, wireless DVD, auto-dimming outside mirror, etc. All the interior goodies I wanted function as advertised. Interior lighting is superior. The dashboard at night rivals any Cessna I've ever been in, and if you drop something on the floor the interior lights illuminate like a prison with the siren going off.
Con: Poor steering wheel articulation forces me to choose which part of the dash I won't be able to see while driving. Wheel down, I can't read my speed if it is under 45-50 mph because the wheel obscures the speedometer. Move the wheel up to see the speedo and I can't see the Driver Information Center or signal light indicators.
Con Reducer: When you can see the dash, it is stunningly beautiful. Even more so at night.
Pro: Gas Mileage.I boosted my city mileage by accelerating like a snail. Now I'm getting 17-18 city mpg. At first, I was only getting 20-21mpg on the highway, cruising @ 69-74 mph. Over the last month I eased back and would set the cruise at 4mph over the limit, and mileage has jumped to 24-25 mpg. Our terrain is rolling-to-moderate hills, so I could possibly attain that magical 26 mpg-rating on a nice flat road.
Con: Now, at $3.49 a gallon, I'm only driving 4 mph over the posted speed limit on the highway, and at 95 mph this baby really shines. Around town, I'm easy to find (and catch).
Pro: Ventilation is outstanding. Auxiliary vents really help to heat/cool the kiddies in the back, and they worked very well to keep the rear side windows fog-free all winter long.
Con: All these great aerodynamics make for serious wind thumping when the wrong combination of windows are open. You have to find the right combination of windows and sky roof to stop it.
Pro: Strong Engine. I won't win any drag races, but I have all the torque I need to pass on the highway, merge into traffic, and accelerate with confidence.
Con: Brakes are only fair. Driving dynamics are not "inspiring".
So there you have it. I have a couple of minor squeaks that I'll have the dealer address at my next oil change, and yesterday the button on the rear hatch that lowers the rear hatch decided to give up the ghost. My overall rating would be an 8.0. The car is amazingly quiet at any speed. It idles so smoothly, on more than one occasion at the car wash I've had to rev the engine to see the tach move to make sure it was still on. I have a small 5x8 trailer I use to haul light loads, and I really appreciate the hitch cover integrated into the bumper (until you try to put it back on in January with the temperature hovering near zero and you can't locate the darn hole to..well, you get the idea).
The kids (7 and 10) love the rear entertainment. My wife and I like it because we can listen to XM Comedy without worrying about the kids hearing naughty language because they are watching and laughing to Shrek in their wireless headphones.
The ingress/egress to the third row is a snap. We have a boxer who loves to go back and forth between the 2nd row captain's chairs to check out the driver, make sure everything is ok, then saunter back to the rear. Over and over.
Storage, cup holders, even the gear-shift knob just fall nicely into your hands. I am very pleased with the fit and finish. Gap tolerances inside and out are excellent, though maybe a quarter-step below a Lexus. But hey, this is a Buick, right? For a GM product to be that close is amazing and welcome.
My only trips to the dealer were for scheduled maintenance and an emergency run when I poured the washer fluid into the coolant reservoir. I did spring for nitrogen gas in the tires, and they really hold their pressure evenly.
Finally, I can proudly say my car turns heads, drives nicely, works properly and can haul a ton of stuff home from Costco while still getting respectable gas mileage.
High gas prices may save you from some speeding tickets. :P
I bet an upholstery shop could add or replace some foam in those seat bottoms for not too much money.
The thumping helicopter noise is all too common on most new cars nowadays.
thanks.... Millie
Yes the mileage is not what I'd like (15.8 mpg in city driving so far), but I'm glad they didn't put in a bigger engine or this would have been a deal breaker on mileage. While it doesn't take off like a rocket (owned an Audi A4 manual with 2.8 liter for 10 years prior) it has PLENTY of power when needed.
I'm glad mine is running fine, especially after reading the problems people are writing about here!
cost: $150.00
He showed me the crappy OEM foam, explained how nearly everyone used it, then showed me his industrial-strength foam.
Best $150 I've spent on the car so far!
I attended the autoshow last year and saw the new Chevy Malibu and came away VERY impressed. It was close to the fit and finish of my VW Passat GLX (which has to be one of the best interiors in the business) and finally GM had things right like direct lines of site to the gauges versus having to bend your head to see important gauges like the SPEEDO in previous versions I'd rented. This caused me to wander over to the SUV section to see if they had anything... and I fell in love with the Enclave. I was about ready to purchase a Mercede's R320 (my number 2 was a LEXUS RX400) when I saw it. I loved the looks of the thing (I got the chocolate CXL fully loaded with AWD) and thought the interior was the best of all of them.
We call it the magic school bus as it's WAY bigger than it looks - you find out when you try to park it - do NOT buy it without the rear backup camera! We have put over 15000 miles on it in fairly rough service (we live out in the country on some pretty bumpy roads and tow a 4000 boat a fair bit) and have had NO issues on it at all. This is the first car we've had that I haven't taken 5-10 things into the dealer at the first maintenance check. My last Honda (Odyessy), I'd replaced the tranny by now (the first of 3 times). On the Passat - the most reliable of the cars I'd ever owned, I'd had it in for lots of minor trim issues - just factory QA. The Buick was perfect.
Now, there are two things that I don't like... The lack of Rain Sensor wipers - apparently the gal who is the product owner hates them and decided that customers wouldn't get a choice. Someone needs to tell her who she really works for! The other is that the tranny shifts around a bit much. I think it's because the 3.6 is a bit light for this heavy vehicle and they have put a 6 speed in it so it's going to shift down on steep hills or when passing. I can certainly live with it but it does bug my wife a bit.
It isn't great on gas (especially if you drive it at 80mph) but if you keep the speed down, it's better than both my old Passat and the Odyssey. I heartily recommend this vehice and if they put a good torquey VW/Mercedes blue tech style Diesel in it, it would be just about perfect. It's SO quiet it is a joy to drive. Well done General - now if you can fix the rest of the crap in your line up you might actually have a chance of hauling yourself back from the brink.
I purchased and installed a set of roof rails so I could attach my Thule Mountaineer. We prefer to load up the roof rack and have ample space in the vehicle for snacks and general comfort.
Pounding the pavement at sustained 80-85mph, the mileage for the entire trip was 20.8mpg. For a fully-loaded 5,000lb vehicle with the a/c on the whole time and a roof rack, I feel this is exemplary mileage. My '01 Sequoia with the same Thule on top barely managed 17mpg when we blasted our way to the Outer Banks.
The Enclave's highway manners are excellent. Acceleration is there when you need it: 80mph cruising puts you smack dab in the middle of the torque curve. Emergency braking revealed no uneven wear in the rotors or pads yet...braking is still as smooth as the day I drove it off the lot. I had the tires rotated at 12k, so I will do it again at the next oil change.
The articulating headlamps, a source of entertainment up until now, really perform well on highway curves. And the West Virginia mountains have plenty of tight curves at speed.
While I have had no cause to tire of my car, this trip reinforced what a great machine GM has put together. Our family will plan additional road trips and bypass the airports entirely.
And with all due respect to Jackie Gleason, we have dubbed ourselves: "The Enclavers."
Good Luck!