2008 Buick LUCERNE - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2008 Buick Lucerne received high ratings for front crash protection with a score of 5 for both the driver and passenger sides. The side crash ratings were also respectable, with a score of 4 for both driver and passenger sides. While the car did not receive an overall safety rating, it did achieve a 5-star rollover rating, indicating good rollover protection. Additionally, the Buick Lucerne comes with optional electronic stability control and lane departure warning systems, which can enhance safety on the road.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the car has had 208 complaints reported and 3 recalls issued. Despite these numbers, it's important to remember that the overall safety ratings of the Buick Lucerne are solid, especially in front and rollover crash scenarios, making it a relatively safe choice for drivers and passengers.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

208

Recall Count

3

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2008 Buick Lucerne 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2008 Buick Lucerne 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.

Optional

2008 Buick Lucerne 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2008 Buick Lucerne 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 2006 Score 2008 Score 2011 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 2006 Score 2008 Score 2011 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 2
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 4 4 1
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 2
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 1
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 2
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 2

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2006 Score 2008 Score 2011 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 2

Complaints for the 2008 Buick LUCERNE

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 lucerne. the contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and failed to start. the check engine warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. the contact referred to the nhtsa campaign number: 08v441000 (electrical system). the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2021-09-12
Complaint:
"vehicle refused to start. no warning light illuminated on dash. checked fuel pump relay and it was burned. replaced and it keeps burning and getting extremely hot. relay has been replaced x4. fuse box is starting to melt. wiring to fuel pump is free of any corrosion on wiring/prongs. interior starts to smell of heavy smoke increasing the risk of a fire in the rear seats."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-08-10
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2008 buick lucerne. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. the contact stated that after investigating the failure online, her husband purchased a fuse box relay from an unknown dealer and installed the part underneath the rear seats of the vehicle. the vehicle then started; however, the failure recurred approximately 5 days later. the contact's husband replaced the relay for a second time; however, the failure persisted. the contact stated that the fuse box relay had melted and there was smoke. there was no warning light illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. the contact related the failure to nhtsa campaign number: 10v240000 (electrical system). the manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. the failure mileage was approximately 82,500."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-01-06
Complaint:
"the fuse box under the back seat has been having issues of burning for the fuel pump relay. it then in turn shorts out the fuse box which keeps needing to be replaced. this is a safety issue as it it catch fire under the back seat."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-02-02
Complaint:
"the fuse block is shorting out and melting and causing the fuel pump relay to burn."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2024-06-06
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2008 buick lucerne. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. no warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the pressure from the rear driver's seat caused a short in the fuel pump and the relays, and that the fuse box needed to be replaced. the contact stated that the independent mechanic had previously replaced six relays and the fuel pump; however, the failure recurred. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the nhtsa hotline. the failure mileage was approximately 113,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-05-06
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2008 buick lucerne. the contact stated that while parked, the interior cabin lights became illuminated, and the vehicle failed to start. when the key was turned there was a clicking sound, but no warning lights were illuminated. additionally, the contact stated that on one occasion, the electric seat independently moved forward while the driver was seated in the seat. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuse box needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 90,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2024-07-04
Complaint:
"the crank shaft sensor went out and caused the steering and brakes to go out. it took out all communications with the car. i had had intermittent problems with it as it went out, and it didn't throw a code showing what the problem was. (i took it to aamco once and goodyear twice before they could identify the problem.) (some buick dealers do not work on cars over 10 years, and some do not use off-market parts when gm has chosen to stop making replacement parts, such as the rack and pinion/steering gear. their goal is to sell cars, not maintain.) at 150,000+ miles, sensors go out, and i expect to replace them. what i don't expect is deliberate design that will cause the vehicle to be or cause damage(d). this is a design flaw by gm and i wonder how many mystery crashes can be related to this."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-06-03
Complaint:
"to start things off the car would crank but not start. my wife did some research and these cars have a problem with the fuel pump relay shorting out. so i replaced it and it fixed the problem for a few days. i was driving home from work and the car shut off. i could smell plastic burning. i pulled over and pulled the fuse box cover off which is located under the rear seat and i pulled the relay out and burned my fingers in the process. so something is wrong and it's causing the relay to overheat and melt. there are many people according to carcomplaints.com that have the same issue. i've seen a lot of people saying that gm says that the seat bracket touches the fuse box putting pressure on the relay causing this problem. well after i replaced the relay i did not put the rear seat on and it still burned out. in my mind it seems to be a fire safety hazard. no check engine lights came on either."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2021-12-08
Complaint:
"i keep fixing this car for the last 11 months , and still can not drive it after $5,000 in repairs, the car stops in the middle of the intersection , on the freeway several times. i went to different mechanics, the dealership to, they keep fixing it, charging me, but the car is still not fixed. i'm afraid to drive it because i don't wanna lose my life and to jeopardize another's people lives.the car just stops while i'm driving."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-02-06

Recalls for the 2008 Buick LUCERNE

Component Recalls

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

Recall:
"gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire."
Consequence:
THIS MAY CAUSE OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES TO MALFUNCTION, CREATE AN ODOR, OR CAUSE SMOKE INCREASING THE RISK OF A FIRE.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A WIRE HARNESS WITH AN IN-LINE FUSE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CADILLAC AT 1-800-982-2339 OR HTTP://WWW.CADILLAC.COM; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876 OR HTTP://WWW.SATURN.COM, GMC AT 1-866-996-9436; OR HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493; OR THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE AT <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM>HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM</A> .

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2008-08-28
Recall:
"gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). a recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. however, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. these incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. the significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber."
Consequence:
IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE HEATED WASHER MODULE TO IGNITE AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL PERMANENTLY DISABLE AND REMOVE THE HEATED WASHER FLUID MODULE. AN UPDATED PAGE FOR THE OWNER MANUAL WILL BE PROVIDED AND INSERTED IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FEATURE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DISABLED AND REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2010-06-04

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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