Your vehicle report
2011 Buick Lacrosse
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 169
- Received Nov 2010 to Jul 2026
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Heater blows cold air, defroster fails9 complaints · 5.3% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Airbags fail to deploy in crashes7 complaints · 4.1% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly7 complaints · 4.1% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #21V00F000General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse, 2012-2013 Buick Regal, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received an improper amount of electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately fracture.
- Recall #20V764000General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 15 crashes, 1 fire, 12 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 14 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
- Unintended acceleration despite braking
- Vehicle suddenly loses engine power at speed
- Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline
1 more problem
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2011 | 19 |
| 2012 | 10 |
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 11 |
| 2015 | 15 |
| 2016 | 12 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 15 |
| 2019 | 15 |
| 2020 | 13 |
| 2021 | 21 |
| 2022 | 6 |
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 2 |
| Total | 169 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heater blows cold air, defroster fails | 9 | 5.3% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 7 | 4.1% | – | |
| Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly | 7 | 4.1% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 7 | 4.1% | – | |
| Vehicle suddenly loses engine power at speed | 6 | 3.5% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 5 | 3.0% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 5 | 3.0% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 4 | 2.4% | – | |
| Ignition key sticks or will not turn | 4 | 2.4% | – | |
| Side mirrors give poor rear visibility | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Airbag warning light stays on | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 3 | 1.8% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 3 | 1.8% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #21V00F000December 22, 20214,271 vehicles affected
suspension: rear
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse, 2012-2013 Buick Regal, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received an improper amount of electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately fracture.
A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver's ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212346640. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recalls 20V-764 and 21V-633.
NHTSA recall #20V764000December 21, 2020220,006 vehicles affected
suspension: rear
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.
A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver's ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners were mailed an interim notification on January 27, 2021, and April 15, 2021. A third notification was mailed on August 19, 201. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202308930.
NHTSA recall #14V447000July 23, 2014414,333 vehicles affected
seats: front assembly: power adjust
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Chevrolet Camaro, as well as certain 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles, equipped with power height adjustable driver and passenger seats. In the affected vehicles, the bolt that secures the driver's and passenger's power front seat height adjuster may fall out causing the seat to drop suddenly to the lowest vertical position.
If the driver's seat unexpectedly drops, the distraction and altered seat position may affect the drivers' control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the height adjuster shoulder bolts, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed interim letters to owners on September 11, 2014. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14271.
NHTSA recall #11V149000March 4, 201110,179 vehicles affected
visibility: defroster/defogger/hvac system: windshield: electrical heating element
General motors is recalling certain model year 2011 Buick Lacrosse and Cadillac srx vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 103, "windshield defrosting and defogging systems". On these vehicles, the software in the electronic climate control (ecc) module may disable the ability to adjust the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system settings. If this happens, the driver will not be able to control the heating, cooling, and ventilation for the vehicle.
If this condition affects the defrost system when it is required, it may decrease the driver's visibility, and could result in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will reprogram the ecc module free of charge. The safety recall began on march 11, 2011. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080, Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2011 Buick Lacrosse.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN