NHTSA — Electronic Stability Control Problems

2012 Buick LaCrosse (Page 1 of 2)

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
85,233 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Buick LaCrosse brakes problems

brakes problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Buick LaCrosse:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2012 Buick LaCrosse Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #22

Jun 272021

LaCrosse

  • 56,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after a while. The contact stated that the service stabili trac warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the error code. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the error occurred several times. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,000.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #21

Jun 302021

LaCrosse 6-cyl

  • 56,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Buick Lacrosse. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled on several occasions. The stability trac and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who provided several unknown codes. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000. The contact has stated that due to the seriousness of the problems, that they no longer own the vehicle.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #20

Aug 262020

LaCrosse

  • 130,432 miles
Vehicle cuts off after driving for about an hour and a half or two after it gets hot from driving. Then have to wait a while like 10 15 minutes for everything to cool down and it will start back up again no problem. Drive 5 minutes more shuts down repeatedly. When it shuts down the dashboard displays service stabilitrak control and service anti theft deterrent system. Note. I've put a new starter on. A new throttle body. Mass airflow sensor. Upstream oxygen sensor. Changed the oil, checked wires. Changed the cabin air filter. Still not fixed. No service engine lights what so ever. Service stabilitrak and anti theft is all it's showing.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #19

Aug 052020

LaCrosse

  • 61,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Buick Lacrosse. The contact stated that while attempting to move from a stop, the vehicle stalled while accelerating. The contact stated that the service stabili-trak and engine power reduced messages displayed on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where they discovered that the fuel rail pressure sensor range was defective. Sweeney Buick GMC (7997 market St, boardman, oh 44512) and stadium GM superstore Inc (214 w state St, salem, oh 44460) were contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to any recalls. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 11V404000 (electronic stability control). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

- Austintown, OH, USA

problem #18

Jul 222020

LaCrosse

  • 235,000 miles
I was driving my car down a interstate highway when all of a sudden the stability track can on my dash and the car freaked out and breaked really hard ! I stated to spin out and then a loud crack the lower control arm broke on the rear right side. We almost really lost our lives! this is the 12 time this has happen and the mechanics tell me nothing is wrong they can see!! I'm taking it to Buick to see what they say this should be recalled asap! somebody will get severely hurt soon omg

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #17

Apr 062020

LaCrosse 4-cyl

  • 113,000 miles
I was driving down a highway when out of no where my 2012 Buick Lacrosse had an engine reduced speed signal come on and I checked the menu to see what it was about and it said the stability track needed to be serviced and I googled what this meant and on google, google read that other Buick Lacrosse of the same year had a recall when I called about the recall for my car I was told that my car hasn't had any recalls when I just read on google that the same car and year had a recall for the same problem.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #16

Aug 192019

LaCrosse

  • 106,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2012 Buick Lacrosses newest problem is one that actually scares me. I can be driving along at 65 miles an hour and it will kinda jerk a couple of times, then usually it will flash 'service the stability track' then I lose power steering and it dies. I'm lucky if I can make it to the side of the road.I live in a rural area and the highways around here are two lane with minimum shoulders. So when the car does this it is dangerous. It has happened 5 times now. It will restart after about 15-30 minutes and drive just fine. I've taken it to a mechanic and nothing shows up on the computer, everything looks good. But its not, this is by far the worst of the problems I've experienced with this car and there have been quite a few.

- Kelseyville, CA, USA

problem #15

Jul 022019

LaCrosse

  • 84,500 miles
Stability tracking light comes on randomly causes transmission to kick and jurk comes to a stop in traffic. Electronic brake light comes on, telling to have serviced. Told dealer about problem.told they couldn't find problem reset computer. Dealer code was. Programed in and continues to act up over and over. Was told it was a short problem. Told me they resolved the problem with a used pump in transmission! sorry to say didn't fix the problem.

- Lake, MI, USA

problem #14

Sep 012019

LaCrosse

  • 83,177 miles
My vehicle stalled out while I was on the express way. Then it would not start without a jump. Check engine light came on along with traction control light. Computer put out a code P062F. Now I have to get a jump almost every other day.

- Markham, IL, USA

problem #13

May 092019

LaCrosse

  • 84,299 miles
Vehicle stalls and is stopping after the stabilitrak light comes on on the free way and streets. Have taken to dealership several of times to be fixed but the problem comes right back within days. The problem has been persistent since 11/2018 and still has not been able to be fixed as if 5/2019.

- Victorville, CA, USA

problem #12

Apr 302019

LaCrosse

  • 158,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Takata recall. As I was driving on the highway my vehicle slowed down on its own in the midst of 70 mph traffic and as I pushed on brakes my vehicle jerked. When I tried to speed back up my car slowly accelerated. I was terrified when it slowed down because the car behind me almost hit me. My car is now give me a warning sign 'stabilize track assist' but I had my breaks check and they were fine. Now I start to smell a burning smell sometimes when I'm driving

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #11

Apr 172019

LaCrosse

  • 79,000 miles
The car stops running it shuts off. While driving in a parking lot.

- Highland, CA, USA

problem #10

Mar 292019

LaCrosse

  • 107,666 miles
Driving my car was just great on my 81st day of ownership it all changed I was leaving a red light in vicksburg off the interstate onto warrenton rd I experienced loss of all power to everything in the vehicle and if anyone is familiar with that road the are hardly any room to pull over so bad that if I had a passenger hey would have to climb over to the driver side to get out or else slide right into the Mississippi river, talk about bad timing with the exception for the radio the vehicle would only click once no abnormal smells smoke or anything that would cause me to think of any engine damage. After hours of waiting the tow truck came checked the car tried to boost it and couldn't get a charge after getting it home I took the battery to the advance auto parts to charge it and they said it was a dead cell so J brought another battery got it home just for it to click still no crank, it's push to start so it was just one single click and the engine light is the only light on the dash that would illuminate. So I called onstar they told me it needed to be taken to a dealer immediately due to a charging issue after taking it back to the dealership they said it's the motor locked up which is obserd due to the fact there was no indication of it doing anything abnormal before it shut down and with it being new I was told it would shut down before it ran hot and mess up the engine and also makes me wonder why it would even be considered because of the fact of the engine protection mechanism. Now the vehicle is at the dealership just sitting there and I have no way to work and still have to pay car note and insurance on a vehicle I don't even have access to anymore. The dealership is dixon auto and body sales and I'm stuck waiting with nothing to look forward to as far as a ride.

- Crystal Springs, MS, USA

problem #9

Jun 012018

LaCrosse

  • 120,000 miles
Whenever I put fuel in the car it has a hard time starting and will also stall occasionally. It's been happening since June 2018 and I have had a mechanic try to fix it and they can't figure out what's causing it to do this. Are there any recalls for this.

- Mission, SD, USA

problem #8

Nov 032014

LaCrosse

  • miles
My battery has needed to be replaced 3 times already with no explanation as to why. Also, service stabilitylink keeps coming on after driving for a while it disappears and come right back. When I am taking off getting on the highway or speeding up my cat stalls before taking off.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #7

Dec 042017

LaCrosse

  • 54,086 miles
We purchase a eassist 2012 Buick Lacrosse in Feb.2017 with 46845 miles.we recently started having several issue either when in slow motion backing up out of a parking space or turning on a city street with the car doing a hard jerk, surging forward then loosing complete power!, not being able to see in the dark as all the light shut off, can't steer the car with no power steering, all the while in the line of traffic is definitely a safety issue that has been reported by other people years ago by my research and still no recall"!"! just the other night the same thing happened and we were about 20 minutes from home at night having to travel through the mountains, feeling the car not wanting to accelerate and feeling the surges was quite scary! we have had the car looked at but they couldn't find what was wrong with it. The check engine light came on a few times over the last month but shut off automatically within the same day. One morning before work I noticed a message on the dic to service stabilitrak. We have had the car in the shop several times but they were unable to detect the issue to fix it or to get the car to do what we are telling them it's doing and the check engine light is no longer on. Again the safety issue with the loss of power while in the line of moving traffic is unacceptable and must be made right with the cars owner!

- Hot Springs, VA, USA

problem #6

Nov 222017

LaCrosse

  • 52,894 miles
My car was moving and cut off on me and then automatically restarted while driving. The power steering locked up. This is been a going on for a few days now. Sometimes I restart it myself sometimes it automatically restarts. Engine light is on for a day and then goes off and comes back on again.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #5

Jul 122017

LaCrosse

  • 60,000 miles
Vehicle shuts down while in motion on highway, streets, etc. Cannot break, steer, etc. Check engine light comes on. Sometimes will start right back up with a jump but will shut down again as driving. Brand new battery. Very unsafe !!! taken to GMC dealership but still not fixed.

- Dale City, VA, USA

problem #4

Feb 042017

LaCrosse

  • 71,000 miles
The car started stalling and it smell like something was burning. The car would shut off and restart on its own. I replaced the engine out of my pockets and now I am having the exact same problems. First before replacing the engine the serpentine belt broke and I had the repaired, about six month later a bolt broke inside the engine and that is when I replaced the engine. I just got the car back three weeks ago and now it is doing the same thing.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #3

Jul 152015

LaCrosse 6-cyl

  • 59,000 miles
Bought my 2012 Buick Lacrosse used last June. Fishtailing presented in the first month. Have brought the car back to dealership multiple times (including within 30 days of purchase) to have it diagnosed and fixed. They say nothing is wrong with it. Fishtailing occurs in all conditions and on city streets and highways. Most terrifying is at 60 mph on the highway-the sway can be very violent..and it happens a lot. Brought car in again in the fall (5th or 6th visit for this issue). I asked specifically if ESC sensor is malfunctioning because what is happening is not normal. They said computer doesn't show a problem. They told me that is the way that this car is supposed to handle. That is when I searched for a recall and found the one below-a very accurate description of what is going on with my car ("consequence") but my VIN is not in the recall. GM is trying to decide if they will fix it but they don't have to because my car is not part of the recall. Help! NHTSA campaign # 11V404000. "summary: GM is recalling certain model year 2012 Buick Lacrosse passenger vehicles manufactured from June 9, 2011, through July 2, 2011, for failing to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard no. 126, "electronic stability control systems (ESC)." The stabilitrak system has an incorrect calibration that may cause the system to not properly detect if a sensor were to malfunction, and the warning light indicating that the system is not operating would not illuminate, as required in the safety standard. Consequence: The improper diagnosing may cause the ESC to falsely activate, resulting in sudden changes in vehicle handling and deceleration, particularly at higher speeds, which may cause the driver difficulty in maintaining the vehicle's desired path of travel and desired vehicle speed, and could result in a crash without warning" -------------

- Brighton, MA, USA

Read the next 2 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?