2008 Buick LACROSSE - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2008 Buick LaCrosse has not been rated for its overall safety. However, it has received excellent scores in front crash tests for both the driver and passenger side with a rating of 5. The side crash ratings are slightly lower, with a 3 for the driver's side and a 4 for the passenger side. The rollover rating is 4 out of 5, indicating a moderate risk of rollover. This vehicle is equipped with optional electronic stability control, which can help prevent skidding and loss of control. It does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the Buick LaCrosse has had 248 complaints reported and 2 recalls. While the crash test ratings are good overall, potential buyers should be aware of the reported complaints and recalls to make an informed decision about this vehicle's safety and reliability.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

248

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2008 Buick LaCrosse 4-DR w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2008 Buick LaCrosse 4-DR w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Optional
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2008 Buick LaCrosse 4-DR w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2008 Buick LaCrosse 4-DR w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2019 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2019 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 3 3 4
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 3 4 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2019 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2008 Buick LACROSSE

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2008 buick lacrosse. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the airbag warning light illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 50,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2021-01-06
Complaint:
"the vehicle only has 30196 miles on it.the passenger side airbag stays on all the time. i noticed there are a lot of complaints about this model buick lacrosse.why hasn't a recall been issued on these vehicles."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2023-07-03
Complaint:
"red air bag light comes on intermittently. many owners of these cars have complained. it is a poor design and should be recalled. when the air bag light is on, there is no air bags that work. the problem is in the wiring and in the passenger presence system which costs nearly 1k for a new seat bladder which may or may not fix the problem. many owners of these models are having issues with the air bag systems in these vehicles. why hasn't gm been ordered to repair all of these obviously defective systems? never had an air bag problem with any other vehicle. light is on steady now and all air bags are disabled due to this one problem. not a great design and as a safety issue, it should be a mandatory repair by gm. none of my other brands-ford, nissan, or hondas have ever had an air bag problem. this is another ignition key design type lawsuit waiting to happen. why hasn't a recall been ordered? over 70 complaints right here for same issues. when is something going to be done before deaths occur due to non deployment?"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2020-01-04
Complaint:
"i noticed that the passenger side air bag light would toggle between on and off while driving. the buick dealer diagnostic and scan test revealed that the passenger side pressure sensor failed. cost of repair is $2,000.00 with no safety warranty options available to offset the cost. no obvious damage to pressure sensor or passenger side seat cushion containing the bladder and pressure sensor in the years of owning this car to warrant failure of pressure sensor. due to absence of reason for the failure of the passenger side pressure sensor, i am concerned about potential faulty safety systems on my vehicle. a failure pressure sensor in the passenger side could mean that in the event of a crash the airbag does not deploy properly even when there is a passenger sitting there. therefore, it is a safety risk and needs to be replaced, but since it has not been damaged during ownership i am led to suspect that it is a faulty pressure sensor."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2020-01-07
Complaint:
"passenger presence system malfunction. diagnosed as a faulty mat/module in right front set cushion. very expensive to fix. when passenger is in right front seat air mag message on. malfunction. very common with this model vehicle. that's what the tech said at the dealership"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-08-02
Complaint:
"passenger air bag light goes off & on even with passenger in seat."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-02-06
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2008 buick lacrosse. while driving various speeds, the air bag warning indicator intermittently illuminated. the contact called the dealer (sun buick located in wantagh, ny), but was unable to speak to a representative. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 34,438."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2016-12-08
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2008 buick lacrosse. while driving, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to tallahassee ford lincoln (located at 243 n magnolia dr, tallahassee, fl 32301 850-878-4855), where the cause of the failure could not be determined. the dealer sent the contact to dale earnhardt jr. buick gmc cadillac (located at 1850 capital circle ne, tallahassee, fl 32308) where it was diagnosed with a defective air bag sensor. the contact stated that he took the diagnostic report back to tallahassee ford since the vehicle was recently purchased there and he wanted them to pay for the repairs. the contact was informed by the sales representative that they would not pay for the air bag sensor repairs. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 79,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-06-04
Complaint:
"the airbag warning light comes on intermittently. according to my online research this seems to be very common on the 2008 lacrosse."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-02-05
Complaint:
"red airbag warning light appears intermittently. dealer identified a problem with the sensor in the passenger seat and replaced the part. the same problem has since reappeared. the light will turn off when the passenger slides the seat back and forth or unfastens and refastens the seat belt. this problem can occur at any time and does not require the vehicle to be in motion nor the presence of a passenger. the problem is more likely to occur in warmer weather."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-03-03

Recalls for the 2008 Buick LACROSSE

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2007 pontiac grand prix, 2006-2009 buick lacrosse, 2006-2007 buick rainier, chevrolet trailblazer, gmc envoy, 2006 chevrolet trailblazer ext, gmc envoy xl, 2006-2008 isuzu ascender, and saab 9-7x vehicles. in the affected vehicles, the headlamp driver module (hdm) may overheat and fail, causing the headlamps and daytime running lights to not illuminate."
Consequence:
Headlamps that do not illuminate reduce the driver's ability to see the roadway and reduce the vehicle's visibility to oncoming vehicles, both of which increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the HDM, free of charge. The recall began on May 17, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 14291.

Component(s) Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING > HEADLIGHTS
Date of incident: 2015-08-14

BUICK Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

BUICK ranks 20 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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