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Comments
All the best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Regards,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
I can imagine these multiple concerns that have come up have been frustrating for you, and I'm sorry that this has been your Enclave experience so far. Are you still within your warranty to get the AC fixed? If we can look into anything, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at socialmedia@gm.com (include the last 8 digits of your VIN as well as your name and Edmunds username).
Regards,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Vote with your checkbook....don't buy GM again!
In the summer a few years ago, my son had fallen asleep when driving to the Phoenix Zoo. Instead of wake him up my wife just parked and idled the Enclave with the A/C running. After a while the air flow coming out of the front vents got slower and slower, until there minimal air coming out the front vents. (similar to instanced described earlier in the thread). After turning the car off and letting it sit for a few hours the A/C worked fine again.
It happened again shortly after that on a summer drive from Prescott back to Phoenix. (about a 2hr drive). About an hour into the drive the front vents again slowing began to loose air flow, with the fan speed selection having no effect on the flow.
After this incident is when I discovered this Edmunds thread, and took the car to the dealer. The dealer couldn’t reproduce the problem, but make sure the system was charged with refrigerant. After reading this thread, we make sure that the AUX climate control is always on when we drive (and make sure that our young children haven’t messed with the rear temperature settings by bumping up the rear of the vehicle by +10degrees). After doing that, we haven’t had an issue for quite a while until yesterday.
It was around noon, outside temp ~100deg, humidity ~25% (first humid day of the summer). We I turned on the car, the air coming out of the front vents was warm and wouldn’t cool down. The AUX button was enabled, and the temperature setting in the back of the vehicle was +0deg. It took 15min for air to come out of the front vents to be cooler than the outside air temperature. The car then parked for 1 hour. After that hour, on the drive home (10min) the A/C never cooled down. I drove it again 3 hours after that (4pm, 110deg), and the front A/C blew cool immediately upon startup of the vehicle, and was basically “normal” throughout the 20min drive I was checking out the A/C.
On thing that I did notice in trying to debug this latest A/C issue is that the air blowing out of the back vents was warm(not cold), when:
- the front vents were blowing cold
- the AUX button was enabled
- the rear temp setting was set to +0deg.
(I feel bad, I think I’ve been blowing warm air on my kids for a while now, but they’re too young to know that that is a problem or something out of the ordinary)
The first issues to me seem like and engineering/design problem. Maybe the latest is just a maintenance/broken part issue. But with the quirkiness of the A/C on this car, you wonder if you fix something if you’re really fixing the problem.
So, I’m off to the dealer in inquire. What’s bad now is that the Enclave has 60K miles and is out of warranty.
I'll also send an email off to Sarah at socialmedia@gm.com.
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
I drove fromTn to Va shortly after buying the car (summer of 2011) and noticed the air getting warmer in my car. I tried turning the fan up and it did nothing. I have asthma and hot humid air is a trigger. I got to Va. and no dealership was open. I stopped to let my car sit for a while and went in to a restaurant cause I could not breathe. When I came out it was working again. I took it to the dealership in Knoxville, (Rice Buick) and they said they could not find anything wrong and were not familiar with the problem. My car was under warranty at this point. It did it another time as I was driving around showing homes (I am a Realtor). Took it again to the dealership the next day and again, they said they could find nothing wrong.
This summer, it has already happened to me again, but of course after hours of the dealership and I am of course out of warranty now.
I am getting ready to make another trip to Va and am worried to death that my AC will go out again. I agree with others that say there should be a recall on this. I also notice that my AC drains a lot of water from under my car. This cannot be right. I feel like something is freezing up. It is like my blower just stops. I can hear the AC running but no air is coming out. I would also appreciate any help from Buick!!
Be ready to get wait a long time for any satisfaction however. I am still working with a GM rep trying to get this issue resolved. It is taking forever! I haven't had AC in my vehicle for nearly a month now during one of the hottest summers on record. It's not very pleasant to get inside this vehicle after it's been parked outside all day where I work. Not much cooling to be had with the windows down when it's 100 degrees outside.
Until the AC issue is fixed, I have to cram my family into our 1999 Infiniti G20 to go anywhere. Great car by the way - never a single issue with it. It's a 1999! The 2008 Buick Enclave has been a huge disappointment thus far. GM needs to step up and stand behind this vehicle and all its problems or consumers will avoid GM products and tell anyone else who will listen to do the same.
Thank you for taking the time to post your concerns with your Enclave. If we can look into this matter with your air conditioning, please send an email to socialmedia@gm.com with the following information: your name and Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 of your VIN and current mileage, and the name of your involved dealership. We will set up a Service Request in our department and go from there.
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
The money that I pay for my car and to have such a major issue is ridiculous. Never never again would I buy a GM car. I have brought this car in several times already. I had to bring it in for the steering wheel issue alignment issues tire issues and now the air conditioner. That is about all I can take.
I see that your recent A/C work has been done at an independent, were your steering wheel alignment issues also addressed there? Do you have any current concerns with your Buick?
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
I could have brought the car to the dealership for the a/c to be repaired but I knew they would be more expensive than the independent station. To have to shell out that large amount of money is terrible. After reading all the posts about the a/c for this vehicle I don't understand why GM is not issuing a recall. There is obviously a serious problem that we the customers are dealing with.
All other issues were dealt with by my local dealership.
If you have any current vehicle concerns that you would like looked into, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at socialmedia@gm.com.
Have a great weekend,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Thank you for taking the time to post your experience and concerns. Can you please email me directly with your VIN, current mileage, involved dealer, and complete contact information including mailing address? I look forward to your email.
Christina
GM Customer Service
SocialMedia@GM.com
AC: I had the same AC blower issue in 2011 - it was fixed by the dealer. Believed to be a potential electrical issue
Fuel Pump: The car stopped working yesterday where it would stall and not start back up. Gas, oil, battery are all good. It's in the shop now and believed to be fuel pump
Power Steering: The last time I had the oil changed, the tech said that the power steering was making a weird noise although the fluid was good
Brakes: I noticed that there's some rubbing on my brakes
None of this should be happening on a vehicle with 31k miles!
Is the fuel pump covered by the warranty?
I see that your initial post here was from a few days ago - any updates on your progress at your shop (GM dealer or independent?) since then?
Sarah, GM Customer Service
Unfortunately last weekend the blower went out on our air conditioner. After reading on-line that it was a known problem, my husband took the blower out and we did, in fact, have rings of dried water marks in the bowl like cover). There was also rust on the blower itself so is obvious we have water damage.
We have all of the service records from the previous owner and have found out the blower has already been replaced and the front and back sunroofs have each been repaired once.
Now today, I noticed wet looking marks on the ceiling above the passenger seat. After touching, it seems to be some sort of grease.
I'm not sure what's going on with this. I'm frustrated to say the least considering the short amount of time we've owned the vehicle and considering we only have one car. I certainly hope Buick will step up and correct these issues considering they were issues before we even owned the car. I'm afraid what other problems we will face from these issues too (electrical, mold, etc.).
We're sorry that you're having some difficulties with your new Enclave. What are your plans for getting this looked into? If you would like for us to look into anything further, please contact us at socialmedia@gm.com (include your name, Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 of your VIN and current mileage, and the name of your preferred dealership).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
For my business use I normally would lease for 2 years, but unfortunately with the economy at the time, only four year leases were available from any company, if at all, which also exceeded the full warranty Buick offered. I was reluctant due to the this lengthy lease, but was assured this was a quality vehicle and it did have the longer powertrain warranty. As of now my reluctance has grown, due to issues with the car both on Buick's part as well as the dealership. In my business I provide quality and dependable service, something that has been very questionable with the Enclave. I can't afford to have a vehicle in the shop, often repeatedly for the same problems.
The first few months were fine, until summer and running the air conditioning. Not long after beginning to use it an awful moldy, musty smell would come from the vents. It would become so strong that it would burn both eyes and nose, and the only temporary cure was to open the car and run the heater. Not a pleasant situation in desert heat, or with clients in the car. We also noticed that there was no condensate dripping from the vehicle, suggesting that it could have a blocked drain line. We stated this to the dealership, as well as telling them we were aware there have been odor issues like this with the newer high efficiency AC coils, and Internet postings about it specific to the Enclave. We knew there was a chemical treatment available and being used to address the issue. I was without the use of my months-old car twice, both times the dealer service insisting it was the protective runner custom installed to protect the light tan carpeting. They said they had never heard of any AC odor problems or the chemical treatment. They must not have Internet service, it's not that hard to find. Strangely enough, this wasn't a vinyl smell, it was MOLD, and only came from the vents, not accumulating in the car when closed and sitting in the heat, as if caused from floor mats. Finally on the third return for this problem the dealership suddenly knew of the treatment and performed it. While it was an another overwhelming chemical odor for a few days, it did seem to eliminate the mold smell for some time and amazingly now we were seeing some condensate.
Not being used in the cooler months, as time went on the moldy smell did return, although nowhere near as pungent. Rather than more multiple visits for this issue we've found a work-around of turning off the circulation of cabin air as much as possible. Unfortunately this can be a battle here in the desert as the automatic climate system keeps reverting the outside air back to cabin air.
For several months that was the only vehicle problem we faced. I did make the mistake of doing the prepaid dealership maintenance, which for a simple oil change with an appointment can leave me without the use of my Enclave for hours to all day, and juggling my own transportation. I wonder how these 15 minute oil change places can do it, even without an appointment, and a large dealership can turn it into a several hours long or all day event. To be fair, a shuttle has been offered, but in my business it does me no good. I need transportation to multiple locations and why I need a reliable vehicle in the first place. I thought the Enclave would achieve that, but it has proven me wrong.
It was after one of the next dealer oil changes that I experienced my next service issue. Even after driving the 7 miles to my home, oil was dripping on my freshly painted garage floor. Understand that this was two color, custom painted, an expensive addition to a 1400 sf completely finished garage that is heated and air conditioned. Needless to say it was upsetting for more reasons than one. Not only for the fresh paint, but that a relatively new car with low miles is leaking oil. The dealership blamed it on the vehicle, stating that Enclaves leave oil on the 'rails' when changing oil, a design flaw I assume. They did offer to clean the oil from the car. This meant yet another return to the dealership the next day and being unable to use the car again for hours, causing me to make other transportation arrangements and reschedule appointments.
When picking up the car I also was told about how much time they spent and 2 cans of cleaner used. What? Should I feel grateful for them cleaning the mess THEY made? I didn't see anyone cleaning my garage floor, placing a drip pad underneath, or having to address my time loss, inconvenience and schedule changes, and the time and expense of another round trip to the dealership. This oil spill did make me aware to check under my vehicle, which will come into play with a future issue.
The electrical problems started next. While intermittent and not appearing worthy of more of my time lost at the dealership, they grew to be extremely annoying. On occasion the radio wouldn't shut off when the door opened. The buttons on the radio, while hardly used with having the those operations available from the steering wheel, began to stick. Then the black finish started to peel from the button leaving a large green illumination when the lights were on. Besides the unsightly appearance this was a night driving distraction.
At times repeatedly opening and closing the door would turn the radio off. When that didn't work the only solution was to manually turn off the radio, leaving the dash illuminated, and manually turning the radio back on when restarting the vehicle. At other times a chime would go off for no reason, often with keys removed and exiting the car. Needless to say this became a laughable, head-shaking quality issue for both myself and my clients.
Fearing that it would cause more interruptions to my schedule I waited until the next oil change to have these problems addressed. Sadly, it turned out worse than I expected as it became 3 visits to the dealership within a week. On the first I was told I
We had figured that the radio both not turning off and it's replacement would be yet another trip to the dealership. This because they would most likely have to order the radio and the switch in the door that we were certain was the issue. On picking up the car, as expected, it would have to return for the radio, but was told that they had 'reprogrammed' the computer and no parts were needed to repair the radio not shutting off. We knew this wasn't the case, but what is your choice? Yes, pulling into the garage at home, turn off the car, open the door and the radio is still on.
Returning again to have the radio replaced, and for it to actually turn off, astonishingly another issue was found! The timing cover was leaking... or was it? How you notice that a timing cover is leaking when changing a radio inside a car is a little beyond me. Remember, this wasn't noticed while under the car for an oil change just days before, it's while inside the car for a radio change. The other thing is that since the previous oil change spill we monitor the garage floor and not a drop has been there. Again, but what do you do? This is a dealership saying that it needs replaced and you surely don't want to refuse it and have it become a warranty issue...or should I say excuse for not covering some future problem. So when picking up the vehicle I had to reschedule another appointment. I was told that it would take a day and a half, an overnighter, so they would furnish a rental car this time. I was also assured that the radio shutoff was now fixed. Of course it still wasn't.
Returning for the timing cover leak I again let them know of the radio not shutting off. Of course this would be fixed this time, for sure! Third time is a charm, right? Well I went to the dealership's Enterprise rental and low and behold to replace my luxury vehicle I was offered a Chevy HHR. Of course I could 'upgrade' to an Imapala for an extra $10 a day at my own expense. Oddly enough when we take the family Cadillac in for any service and a rental car is provided, also through Enterprise, it's another luxury vehicle, some type of Cadillac no less, and at no additional charge.
Amazingly my nearly 2 day repair was able to be completed the same day! How, I have no idea. It can take that long to change oil, let alone disassemble and reassemble the front of an engine. Yet another schedule juggle to go pick up the car early. Although I must say it was welcome to get out of the rental. The HHR was like driving a noisy enclosed gocart with hard seats that equal the plastic chairs you might find in a bowling alley. Of course I am once again assured that all is well and the radio now shuts off. Ahh no, it doesn't.
In spite of everything stated as being repaired, to my surprise a few days later I am left a message that my part is in to repair my radio! What? What part? I was told everything was fixed and nothing about a parts order or having to return AGAIN. I'm told it's a replacement door lock solenoid, which doesn't sound like it's the latch switch which is apparently the problem. By this point one has to wonder if this is compete incompetence or a way to milk warranty money from GM. All at the customers expense and inconvenience, of course.
This is all occurring at one of my busiest times of year. I can't afford any more downtime, so I chose to wait until the next oil change. Unfortunately now that I am able to use the car again I have the time to discover all the new problems that were created form the 'repairs'. In addition to the radio not shutting off, the random door chime well after a door is open, on occasion the interior lights don't come on when opening the driver's door. Then the bluetooth is now working intermittently, and my spouse's phone is no longer even listed as being paired with the car, it just vanished. He does the pairing again and it works....sometimes. Yes a call comes in for either of our phones, the number appears on the dash, and when you attempt to answer it disconnects from the car...more often than not. The same when making outgoing calls. Go through the 'call', 'name tag', 'yes', 'calling', then it may ring once if you're lucky and disconnect from the car. It's not the phone dropping the call as it may still be connected, just not to the bluetooth. If you are lucky enough for it to be working and need to transfer the call to the phone when exiting, that may not work as it did in the past. You either can be tethered to the car until you complete the call, or ask if you can call back because your stupid car now won't disconnect from the phone.
Funny how we don't have this issue in the Cadillac or that the bluetooth worked for over 2 years in the Enclave without a problem, yet now the dealership is claiming that it's our phones that are the culprit, and that their bluetooth works well with Iphones and Blackberry, but not with other brands. Really? You've GOT to be kidding me. Besides it being dangerous, it's a state law in NV that you can only use a hands free device, but my luxury Buick suddenly can't connect to a phone and it's a my phone's problem. Two of them, no less. If this is true it would seem that Buick should inform potential customers that their vehicles require only certain brands of phones for them to actually be able to use this 'feature' of their vehicles.
Oddly enough the Buick online pairing guide lists other manufacturers of phones including the HTC brand of smart phones we use. Their listing of phones, even for 2012 model Enclaves, includes many phones that are no longer in production. I would have to assume that means that to use Buick bluetooth 'technology' when you don't have an Iphone or a Blackberry, you have to dig up an old phone. What the dealer and Buick are saying is after you've owned the Enclave for a while you'll need to ditch your up to date 4g touch screen smart phone and find that discarded Razor or some other old flip phone model on ebay if you want any hope of it connecting with your car.
Of course we're still not done, there's another problem. This with Onstar, a service that I PAY for. When using Onstar before the radio swap, the blower would reduce speed and the radio mute so you could communicate and hear the directions after being downloaded to your vehicle. Since the radio was changed the only time this happens is when connected to Onstar. Once the
The next issue was the flashing tire monitor with the "service tire monitoring system" message displayed. Scrolling through to tire pressure, the right front indicated NO air pressure, which obviously wasn't the case. Stopping to check it with a gauge, it was fine. Later it would go out and read pressure. Then it would come on again out of the blue. This cry wolf display became yet another random annoyance that occurred multiple times.
Today I returned the car to the dealership for another oil change and to have these issues addressed. The door lock actuator was supposedly replaced and now listed as it having been 'showing' inoperative. The door locks themselves have never been a problem, nor did it appear this was an issue that 'showed up' on the previous visits. I can't say at this time that this will solve the intermittent radio not shutting off, lights not turning on, or random chime, as I've only turned the car off once in returning it to the garage.
Today's service is also when I was told that the bluetooth problem is with our phones. The solution was that they've 'noted it' and will update the car, if any updates for our phones should be sent from Buick. The invoice states that it was paired with a tech's phone and it worked. No kidding? Ours will work at times, and then quit. It also states that they needed to check that our phones have the latest software. These are top of the line Android phones, that are much newer than the obsolete models listed on the Buick website. So in other words, we will continue to have random bluetooth connections with no resolution in sight... unless I want to buy new phones and/or change carriers to do so, or revert back to relic devices.
The problem with Onstar was noted on the invoice, but no mention of it listed as being addressed. When I called to see when my car would be ready I specifically asked if the Onstar issue was corrected and was assured it was. Of course I tried it on the way home from the dealership and nothing has changed, the volume remains the same and you can't hear the directions. I will call the dealership in the morning and notify them again that it failed to be corrected, but it appears useless to waste my time again to have another defect unresolved. If Buick will offer to guarantee a solution, fine, but I'm not holding my breath. Apparently even their bumper to bumper warranty is selective.
It's right up there with these annoyance issues. If they can't figure out how to repair a radio not shutting off, a bluetooth that won't connect, or an issue with an Onstar system, how on earth will they repair a more serious electrical problem? What if the car just quits? Will it be in the shop for days, weeks, months? Or will they just give it back and say "Buick no longer covers problems they can't figure out?"
I recently received a letter from the dealership that my warranty will be expiring soon, in early 2011, and that I can purchase an extended warranty. I guess they must feel that with all the ongoing issues I must really need it, and I should pay even more for the privilege of them wasting more of my time, more loss of use of the vehicle, and all to have the same problems either repeat or not be remedied at all.
At this point I feel it better to research my options of getting out of the lease early and shopping other brands. It's a shame that the rumored Cadillac SRX stretched model to compare with the Enclave isn't available, as it appears Cadillac is more concerned about their owner's experience. While I have wanted to buy American and have been a longtime customer of GM vehicles, I may have to resort to turning to imports.
I more than understand that any vehicle from any manufacturer will need service, have a problem, or may even have a recall. It's a shame that Buick has what appears to be a winning design, yet has these quality issues that are just left hanging. When the Enclave has worked as it's supposed to, I have no complaints at all and would buy one again. Comfortable, quiet ride, plenty of power, and all the features I could need. Unfortunately the features only work when they want to, and apparently there is no correction available, or without multiple service downtime and inconvenience.
I've been led to believe that both Buick and the dealership are more focused on ignoring problems or excusing them away, forcing customers to live with their mistakes, taking the loss and having to endure the aggravation. I assume from their actions they expect that I should just feel fortunate that the Enclave still runs at all, and simply forget all those luxury 'features and technology' that I'm paying for.
I could never imagine treating my own customers this way.
Sarah, GM Customer Service
We're terribly sorry to hear that you have had to make so many visits to your dealership on your new Enclave. Have you opened a Service Request with Customer Assistance on this matter? If we can do so for you to look into this further, please email socialmedia@gm.com with more information, including your name and Edmunds username, a summary of the situation, phone and address, the last 8 of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your dealership.
Sarah, GM Customer Service
We're sorry to hear that you have concerns with your HVAC system after having repair work done on your Enclave. If we can follow up on this with your dealership, please email us at socialmedia@gm.com with more information (including your name a contact information, a summary of the situation, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your involved dealership).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
We own the 2011 Buick Enclave and during the summer months the AC blows in the front but in the back it blows out heat onto my child. I had no idea this was happening until one day I sat in the back with her. Took it into the dealer where we purchased the car and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Now, that it's winter it's doing the opposite. Heat blows up front but cold air in back. Took it back to the dealer and service department couldn't find anything wrong, again. So, we took it to another dealer for a second opionion. They too couldn't find anything wrong with it and did mention that I've only got 16oz of freon.
This is a complete hazzard to a childs health to be poured heat on a hot summers day in a hot car and cold air when it's freezing temps all around.
Have any of you experienced the same? I'm at a lost as to what to do...
Thanks.