Side/window Air Bag problems of the 2008 Buick Enclave

Went to get out of the vehicle from driver side and the door wouldnt open. You can pull the door handle back but door will not open. Door will open from the outside. Also, the passenger side air bag notification comes on for a while but then will go off periodically. When you start the vehicle it will say "service air bag" (picture attached).

The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 mph, there was a loud bang as the side air bags deployed without warning. The rear passenger sustained a laceration on the neck that did not require medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,400.

In 2012, my 2008 Buick Enclave was recalled due to a malfunction of the airbag. The recall number was #10085. The vehicle was repaired by coleman Buick in lawrenceville, NJ in 2012 and the cost of the repairs was covered under the recall. On Feb 10, 2015, I took the vehicle to coleman Buick because the passenger side airbag was not performing properly again. The dealer indicated the "passenger presence module" was not functioning correctly and that it would need to be replaced at the cost of over $875. I do not feel this is fair or proper since the vehicle has previously been recalled for air bag issues and because gm is currently recalling thousands of vehicles for known airbag defects.

In 2012, my 2008 Buick Enclave was recalled due to a malfunction of the airbag. The recall number was #10085. The vehicle was repaired by ferman Buick on 11/21/12 and the cost of the repairs was covered under the recall. On Nov 11, 2014, I took the vehicle to ferman Buick in lutz florida because the passenger side airbag was not performing properly again. The dealer indicated the "present sensor pad" was not functioning correctly and that it would need to be replaced at the cost of over $900. I do not feel this is fair or proper since the vehicle has previously been recalled for air bag issues and because gm is currently recalling thousands of vehicles for known airbag defects.

We were driving our Enclave on the highway (route 1 near stafford, va) when it felt like it was suddenly not shifting gears correctly and quickly thereafter lost power beyond 30 miles per hour. We drove into a parking lot. We called the nearest Buick dealership/repair shop (route 1 Buick in woodbridge, va) and told them of issue. They said it sounds like transmission and the wave plate is a "known Enclave problem. " they said to have it towed to them and they may be able to assist us with cost as it's close to within powertrain warranty. We had it towed to route 1 Buick. They diagnosed and found all transmission and wave plate codes. They said it was a "known problem" and so they called Buick gm service manager. Route 1 Buick called us back to say gm would not assist us as we were outside warranty by 3,000 miles and had no previous issues with transmission (I have found several other transmission and power loss complaints I and the previous owners made on this exact vehicle in my research into this. . . I have kept all records!). Route 1 said that our cost would start at $3,800 with no guarantee they wouldn't find other issues needing to be addressed. The said lucky for us, our vehicle had an open recall on a side air bag issue they could fix. As we realized we must pay out-of-pocket and couldn't afford $3,800, we paid them the $120 for diagnosis and towed it (at our expense) to dun-rite transmission in fredericksburg, va. Dun-rite found it had a broken wave plate. They rebuilt transmission for $2,800. Unfortunately, the stabilitrak, traction control, and air bag sensors are all also going off and car has had 2 other instances of losing power when driving since. We purchased the certified gm car Nov 2012. My car payment is $462. Per mo. Since that time we have spent an additional $6,095 on repairs and maintenance. Our average monthly expenses are therefore $801. Help us!.

We were driving our vehicle on the highway (route 1 near stafford, va) when it felt like it was suddenly not shifting gears correctly and quickly thereafter lost power beyond 30 miles per hour. We drove into a parking lot. We called the nearest Buick dealership/repair shop (route 1 Buick in woodbridge, va) and told them of issue. They said it sounds like transmission and the wave plate is a "known Enclave problem. " they said to have it towed to them and they may be able to assist us with cost as it's close to within powertrain warranty. We had it towed there to route 1 Buick. They diagnosed and found all transmission codes a wave plate code. They said it was a "known problem" and so they called Buick gm service manager. Route 1 Buick called us back to say gm would not assist us as we were outside warranty and had no previous issues with transmission (I have found several other transmission and power loss complaints I and the previous owners have made on this exact vehicle in my research into this. . . I have kept all records!). Route 1 said that our cost would start at $3,800 with no guarantee they wouldn't find other issues needing to be addressed. The also said lucky for us, our vehicle had an open recall on side air bag issue they could fix. As we realized we must pay out-of-pocket and could not afford $3,800, we paid them the $120 for diagnosis and towed it (at our expense) to dun-rite transmission in fredericksburg, va. Dun-rite found it had a broken wave plate. They rebuilt transmission for $2,800. Unfortunately, the stabilitrak, traction control, and air bag sensors are all also going off and car has had 2 other instances of losing power when going up hills. We purchased the certified gm car Nov 2012. My car payment is $462. Per mo. Since that time we have spent an additional $6,095 on repairs and maintenance. Our average month expenses are therefore $801! help!.

The contact owns a 2008 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that the passenger side air bag warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician diagnosed that the passenger air bag sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 47,311. The current mileage was 51,520.

The passenger side airbag is off while an adult is sitting in the seat. Does not reset after the adult adjusts their posture in the seat. Based on my internet searches, this appears to be a problem that many owners have reported. If there is a crash, the passenger would not be protected because the airbag is off.

Passenger side airbag sensor in seat cushion has failed. Airbag will not operate in a crash. Manufacturer will not cover the cost of repairs.

I have a 2008 Buick Enclave for which the passenger side airbag sensor only detects a low weight (110 lb) adults about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time it turns the airbag off even though there is an adult in the seat. Apparently this is a known issue. . Read more...

Passenger front seat airbag does not work properly. 132 lbs, 5'8" female sitting in passenger seat gets intermittent "on" status for the airbag when car running. Tends to be in the "off" mode about 80% of the time with this same person sitting in the seat. The first time this was addressed was in sept of 2007 during the test drive prior to purchase. At that time we contacted on-star while the same passenger described above was sitting in the seat and the sales rep was present. On-star rep could find no problem and suggested restarting the car. We did and the airbag went to the "on" position. About three months later (after purchase) the passenger airbag began to register in the "off" position most of the time. Restarting the car did not always solve the problem. Within the past month we have only seen the "on" light three times while the same passenger is in the seat. We took the car to the dealership 2 times and they said they could find nothing wrong and that the passenger must be too light and therefore it is unsafe for the airbag to be in the "on" position. It is our contention that there is in fact something wrong with the bag deployment system especially given the system would in fact be "on" sometimes. However gm was unwilling to provide passenger weight parameters so we could further investigate if the sensor is malfunctioning. In checking with NHTSA for national specifications we found it uses a 108 lbs 5'2' dummy to ensure deployment. As noted above we are talking about a person 24 lbs heavier and 6" taller than the minimum NHTSA specification. So there must be something wrong and gm does not seem willing to help us with this problem. This is very unsafe for the passenger. I am the primary driver. I am 120 lbs and 5'4". Gm says the passenger must be too light an therefore it is unsafe to have an airbag. If this is the case then why is the driver side airbag designed for someone my size and weight. They can't have it both ways.