2008 Buick Lacrosse Electrical System Problems
Owners have filed 84 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the 2008 Buick Lacrosse, 34% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 55,850 miles. The words owners use most often: “door locks” (25% of reports).
- 84electrical system complaints
- 55,850median miles at failure
- 1mention a crash
- 1mention an injury
- 1related recalls
- $1,400typical repair cost reported by owners
- 38%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Door locks: mentioned in 21 of 84 complaints (25%)
- Key fob: mentioned in 9 of 84 complaints (11%)
- Manually lock: mentioned in 6 of 84 complaints (7%)
- Ignition control module: mentioned in 5 of 84 complaints (6%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical electrical system repair on the 2008 Buick Lacrosse at $1,400, and half of them between $1,300 and $1,750.
Based on 5 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2014–2017), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?
Based on 62 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 84 complaints, 1 mention a crash, 6 a fire, 1 an injury.
Buick Lacrosse electrical system complaints by model year
| Model year | Electrical System complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Lacrosse | 1 | 14% | 56,000 |
| 2018 Lacrosse | 5 | 42% | 100,000 |
| 2017 Lacrosse | 11 | 31% | 10,000 |
| 2016 Lacrosse | 3 | 6% | 99,000 |
| 2015 Lacrosse | 9 | 20% | 7,000 |
| 2014 Lacrosse | 14 | 22% | 27,000 |
| 2013 Lacrosse | 54 | 42% | 62,750 |
| 2012 Lacrosse | 62 | 30% | 66,000 |
| 2011 Lacrosse | 32 | 19% | 55,355 |
| 2010 Lacrosse | 46 | 24% | 63,000 |
| 2009 Lacrosse | 31 | 29% | 64,500 |
| 2008 Lacrosse | 84 | 34% | 55,850 |
| 2007 Lacrosse | 75 | 30% | 78,250 |
| 2006 Lacrosse | 83 | 28% | 77,000 |
| 2005 Lacrosse | 80 | 25% | 100,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (1)
Electrical system:ignition
Problem: This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the weight on the key ring and road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
Risk: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Door locks somtimes would lock or unlock and other times not work at all. Made it a issue when parking or entering the car. I had to replace the lock mechanism in the doors. The car has 99135 miles on it but should not have a problem especally the back doors since they are not used very often.
The front headlights and running lights just go off for no reason. When driving home on night the headlights went off for no reason. The nest day, they worked. They continue to work, but the night they went out was very disturbing. The vehicle was in motion, on state hgwy, getting ready to turn to…
The air bag light comes on frequently, but mainly during hot summer days and has came on several times since we purchased the vehicle march of 2019. The light comes on when we are stationary and while driving. When doing research, this seems to be a common problem with other consumers vehicles. I…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2008 Buick Lacrosses have electrical system problems?
No. NHTSA has 84 owner complaints about electrical system for the 2008 Buick Lacrosse (34% of the 250 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Buick Lacrosse electrical system?
Yes: 1 safety recall list electrical system. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do electrical system problems start?
The median reported mileage is 55,850 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix electrical system problems on the 2008 Buick Lacrosse?
Owners report a typical cost of $1,400 (half paid between $1,300 and $1,750), from 5 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about electrical system problems on the 2008 Buick Lacrosse?
The most frequent phrase is “door locks”, in 21 of 84 complaints, followed by “key fob” (9).
Other 2008 Buick Lacrosse problems
See all 2008 Buick Lacrosse problems or electrical system problems across all Lacrosse years.