2008 Buick Lucerne Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Lucerne years
- More complaints than other years 2nd of 6 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 3 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 218 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Buick Lucerne. That ranks 2nd out of 6 Lucerne model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is electrical system (121 complaints, 56%), typically at around 77,602 miles. Complaints mention 13 crashes, 26 fires, 6 injuries. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
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- 218owner complaints
- 3safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 13complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 Buick Lucerne problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System problems | 121 | 56% | 77,602 | “fuse box” (31%) | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System problems | 50 | 23% | 88,500 | “pump relay” (52%) | — |
| Engine | 24 | 11% | 61,600 | — | — |
| Structure | 14 | 6% | 26,205 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 13 | 6% | 60,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 11 | 5% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 9 | 4% | 38,983 | — | — |
| Seats | 8 | 4% | 96,371 | — | — |
| Visibility | 8 | 4% | 16,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 6 | 3% | 77,775 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 6 | 3% | 59,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 5 | 2% | 81,500 | — | — |
| Power Train | 5 | 2% | 89,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 5 | 2% | 45,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 5 | 2% | 17,321 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 4 | 2% | 43,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 3 | 1% | 49,800 | — | — |
| Suspension | 3 | 1% | 48,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 3 | 1% | 23,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 2 | 1% | 20,500 | — | — |
| Interior Lighting | 2 | 1% | 1,800 | — | — |
| Tires | 2 | 1% | 108,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 2 | 1% | 34,000 | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 0% | 310 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | 100 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 0% | 8,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 0% | 19,950 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 Buick Lucerne recalls (3)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
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.
Electrical system
Problem: 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.
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: 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.
Electrical system
Problem: 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.
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: 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> .
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Non-crash engine compartment fires (EA08010) — opened Jun 12, 2008, closed Sep 8, 2008, led to recall 08V441000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Yes, as I was driving down the highway doing the current speed limit my hood had a complete failure where the adhesive for the hood separated completely in the top layer flew off, obstructed my driving for more than 10 seconds then flew off and almost hit multiple cars behind me. Thank goodness…
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The low oil pressure warning light was illuminated, and the message "Add Engine Oil" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was…
I purchased the vehicle a week before the incident. There were no warning lights or messages and nothing to indicate there was a problem. I was driving in a crowded parking lot so I was going very slow. When I turned my car suddenly died. My husband was passenger and my daughter and 2 sons were in…
The contact owns a 2008 Buick Lucerne. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the fuel pump relay and fuse had melted, and the fuse box located underneath the rear seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not…
Fuse box (rear) 2008 Buick Lucerne CXL. FUEL PUMP Relay burns fuses out quickly. The fuse box located under the back seat has been having issues of burning where the fuel pump relay is located. It then in turn shorts out the fuse box which keeps needing to be replaced. This is a safety issue as it…
Other Buick Lucerne years
← 2007 Lucerne · 2009 Lucerne →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 Lucerne | 49 | 2 |
| 2010 Lucerne | 54 | 2 |
| 2009 Lucerne | 128 | 2 |
| 2008 | 218 | 3 |
| 2007 Lucerne | 164 | 4 |
| 2006 Lucerne | 330 | 4 |
See all Buick Lucerne problems by year, every Buick model, or the Buick VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Buick Lucerne?
Owners most often report electrical system, fuel/propulsion system, engine problems. The top one, electrical system, accounts for 121 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Buick Lucerne?
Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 Buick Lucerne a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Lucerne model years, the 2008 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.