Used 2019 Buick Enclave Consumer Reviews
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Enclave Transmission is still a Lemon
Gary Smith, 01/08/2019
updated 01/12/2024
2019 Buick Enclave Premium 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
124 of 129 people found this review helpful
A new transmission was installed by the dealer (Banks Chevrolet-Concord, NH) who provided outstanding service with our lemon. The original transmission failed and was replaced with a new transmission. Approximately 1 month later the second transmission developed a chuggling noise and is clunky and does not shift smoothly on hills going both up and down. I strongly recommend avoiding Buick's with this transmission! I bought a 2019 Enclave in October 2019. Immediately experienced transmission surging while driving down my moderately sloping driveway. Then on Dec 20,2018 I could not go over 27 mph nor shift gears. Towed by dealer to their shop and told they had to order a new transmission from N. Dakota if available. Which leads me to suspect that new transmissions must be in demand due to being a chronic problem. Web searching indicates 2018's had same problem and the 2019's have the same model number transmission as the 2018's. Hope to not have to go the Lemon Law route. Dealer has been very good. GMC, I am not so sure! You would think they would have corrected the transmission problems for the 2019 models, unless they had use up their transmission inventory.
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Transmission Nightmare
Matt, 02/09/2019
2019 Buick Enclave Premium 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
116 of 121 people found this review helpful
I too have a 2019 Buick Enclave with transmission problems. Took it into the dealer after 2000 miles after it started shaking when accelerating. The dealership said it needed a new torque converter and we could drive it until the part was available. This was around New Years, we went back to get the Enclave and the dealer said they were later told by GM just to flush the transmission as it had too much lubricant from assembly. We took it home and it still shuddered, called the dealer and GM said to flush it again. This time when we picked it up it was worse than when it started. So now GM told the dealership to replace the torque converter however they cannot locate one. So now 6 weeks after this started we are still waiting for a torque converter that may or may not fix this.
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2019 Buick Enclave for sale near you
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Transmission Whine
Steve Jones, 01/22/2020
updated 01/27/2025
2019 Buick Enclave Essence 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
20 of 20 people found this review helpful
I took delivery of my 2019 Enclave in Nov 2019 and like it a lot. However, it developed a transmission whine shortly after delivery. I took it to my dealer and the service manager went for a ride with me. He acknowledged the noise and said he heard it in other Buicks. wondered if it might be the torque converter and he mentioned another possibility that I can not remember. He told me he would contact the GM rep and get back in touch. A few days later I received a call telling me that the noise is considered acceptable as other cars with this transmission also make this noise... That is ridiculous. No new car should make transmission noise, especially a Buick which is classified as a luxury SUV and is the reason I purchased it. I contacted the dealership owner who said he would look into it and get back with me. Haven't heard from him yet. It looks like the run around has begun. Jan 2021 - After a year of ownership, I still haven't got the transmission whine resolved. I've been back to the dealer 4 times but get the same response. It's operating within acceptable parameters. I follow a website called GM Authority that is all things GM. There was an article about a GM pilot program to repair/replace many GM cars with this transmission. My Buick met the age and mileage criteria. I phoned them and as a first step, I brought my Buick back to the dealer with a copy of the article and another test drive. They did not seem familiar with the program but said they would contact GM. After several more emails and phone calls, a GM customer service advisor contacted me and advised that there was no such program and that my transmission was operating properly. I guess the moral of this story is, if you have this transmission in your GM car and it makes a whining noise, it's normal. Jul 2023 - I've driven about 58,000 miles and the whine has persisted. The whine exists in the lower 3 gears when pulling from a stop. I've become used to the noise but the car has performed very well otherwise. It has proven to be a reliable, comfortable, and quiet cruiser and I've averaged just over 23 mpg since new. I'm generally light on the throttle and use the cruise all the time even at speeds as low as 30 mph. Everything in the car works well and is easy to use. The only other issue of mention is that I've sometimes had some issues with the wifi connection. Sporatically it will not connect or will quit in areas where I know the signal exists. I spoke to and On-Star rep about the problem and it improved considerably but still cuts out from time to time. Overall, far fewer problems than other cars I've read about. After 5 years the transmission whine is still there in the first few gears but overall the Buick has been a very good car. It's comfortable, quiet, has lots of space, the tech has been bulletproof, and the car drives very well. Maintenance costs have been low and except for the transmission whine, I've had no issues after 78,000 miles and it's still a good looking car.
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Best SUV
OB, 03/31/2019
2019 Buick Enclave Essence 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
19 of 19 people found this review helpful
Entire family loves enclave. we had a 2010 and put 177000 miles which we replaced with 2019 essence trim - we always lease to buy as u will know during lease if a problem comes. It gives a lot for its price compared to competitors. Before getting 2010 enclave we had BMW X5. We sold x5 at 135000 miles. To be honest X5 cost way more in maintenance above 120000 miles than enclave. We liked enclave better
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Lemon - 2018...Same issues with the 2019
JB, 05/06/2019
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
68 of 72 people found this review helpful
Accelerating 17-20 mph the transmission shudders again at 27-30. The first vehicle had so many repair attempts that it had been repurchased by GM. I now have a 2019, Enclave Avenir which is demonstrating the same issues. This is of major concern, especially now reading the reviews of the same concerns. The service technicians have been wonderful, and we really want to like the vehicle, but this is just ridiculous!
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Impressed
D. Porter, 04/01/2019
updated 04/04/2022
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
61 of 66 people found this review helpful
Didn't want to purchase a GM product, but since the Enclave is the only CUV with three usable rows of seating which still has decent cargo space behind the third row, I took a chance. So far I've been impressed. The ride and handling are very good, the engine has plenty of power, the transmission is a little less smooth than I expected but it's responsive, the tech features are useful, there are many safety features, and the fit and finish are very good. No problems with anything so far. It's not perfect of course. Some of the materials are not luxury level, the auto stop/start is stupid and there's no override button, the seats are not very comfortable, and there are a few missing amenities, but overall it's been very enjoyable. Update: It's been over a year now with the Enclave and everything is still great. No issues whatsoever. Update: Nearing 25K miles now and still love our Enclave. Other than replacing a broken sunshade bracket there have been no problems. Update: Third year and it's still great, no problems. The excellent AWD system has come in handy a few times in the snow. Too bad the morons at GM decided to replace the AWD system with an inferior one starting in 2021.
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Surprisingly Nice Experience - Mostly
ChiefD, 04/12/2019
updated 04/20/2022
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
37 of 40 people found this review helpful
We are at 21 months and about 20k miles. Still very happy with the car. No issues. Receive complements on it regularly, too. Highly recommend this car. Well, it’s been 15 months now. Once I was able to defeat the auto stop, we love the car! Only one minor warranty item in this time (a plastic latch on the moon roof slider broke), everything else has been perfect. Very happy with our ride. Purchased 2019 Avenir end of January. Had it about 10 weeks now. Very pleased with most everything. Absolutely HATE the Auto Stop! Especially because you cannot disable it, either temporally, or permanently. Smooth ride & shifts, quiet, spacious, pleasant leather and soft surfaces. Last SUV was M-B GLE 350. For the most part, wife & I (surprisingly) like this better. Finish (interior & exterior) quite good. Guests complement it, too.
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2019 Buick Enclave - What a Joke
Kari C, 04/11/2019
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
39 of 44 people found this review helpful
Purchased a new 2019 Enclave in November of 2018. After driving my car 100 miles it broke down due to transmission issues. I was told by the dealership that it needed new Transmission sleeves & that the parts would need to be ordered (this whole ordeal took nearly 3 weeks) now 3 months later - the same thing has happened. Wouldn’t go over 5 miles an hr. Shuddered and felt like it was missing gears. I had to towed to the dealership & now I am being told that the car just needed an update - something is starting to fee not right with all of the information I’m being told. I loved this car when i purchased it & now I hate it. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR........
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Coolant leak from Engine cylinder head.
CJoe, 09/17/2019
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
20 of 22 people found this review helpful
Less than 7000 miles on odometer, the coolant was leaking from Engine cylinder head. Part to be replaced. Whoever planning to buy BUICK Enclave, please think/research about it ‼️😡😡😡
Lemon for Christmas
Ann, 12/25/2018
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 9A)
67 of 78 people found this review helpful
I bought a brand new 2019 Enclave Avenir on December 12, 2018. I loved everything about it except for noticing some of the electronic features were not working correctly which I had planned on taking back to the dealership for them to check out the first chance I got. On Saturday, December 22, 2018, I had stopped at a train crossing and had put the shift into park waiting for the train to pass. After the train had passed I then put the shift into Drive being very particular with my new car always looking to make sure on the panel that the D showed up which it did. I then proceeded to cross the track when the car abruptly stalled on the tracks and would not budge with the motor still running. When the car stalled it made a loud grinding noise and the vehicle started jerking hard sending us forward in our seats. I even screamed not knowing what had happened all the while pressing on the accelerator trying to make the car accelerate. It was terrifying being stuck on the railroad tracks because on this particular track several trains pass on it. Another person was with me in the passenger seat and my small son in the seat behind me. This lasted for approximately one or two minutes when we knew our only choice was to get out of the vehicle because of fear of another train soon coming. I then tried one last time pressing the accelerator with this time the car finally moving. I was shaking so bad still in shock from what had happened in fear it was going to happen again before reaching my home. Luckily my home was only about two miles from there. As soon as I parked it in my garage I called the dealership to be told that they would pick it up on Monday, December 24th. They sent a tow truck to pick it up and left me with a much less expensive vehicle to drive which when I purchased the vehicle I was told I would be furnished with a car of equal value if the car was ever in the shop. Well, with a little over 900 miles on my nice expensive new vehicle I watched it being towed away on Christmas Eve which was supposed to have been an early Christmas gift for me and my family. So needless to say I am very unhappy with my new Enclave and the dealership I purchased it from. I do not want this vehicle back after the danger it put me and my passengers in. We had just got off the interstate a few minutes before this happened so what if it had stalled on the interstate with the fast-moving traffic the story would have had a totally different outcome. I do not know yet what will be done about the situation since the car has not yet been checked out but I know that I purchased a LEMON. A stressful Christmas but so thankful God took care of us because we could have not been here to even celebrate this special day.
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