AutoUtility currently tracks 64 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Buick Enclave. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 21 complaints (32.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 5 filings cite a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
21 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
15 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
15 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"2018 Enclave w/106k on the odometer and the catalytic convertor cracked. $2200 repair."
"I am submitting this letter to formally report two ongoing issues with my 2018 Buick Enclave. First, I have experienced persistent problems with the emissions purge valve. My vehicle has repeatedly triggered diagnostic trouble code P0496, indicating a malfunction in the purge valve system. I am..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shut off and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the alternator was replaced 4 times before the dealer diagnosed that the failure was due to oil leaking onto the..."
"After two transmission flushes and being told by a Buick dealership's service technicians that nothing is wrong with the vechile's transmission, it has now failed completely at ~90k miles."
"Catalic converter weld broke both sides now"
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Buick Enclave | 171 | 7 | 5 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Buick Enclave | 140 | 2 | 4 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Buick Enclave | 179 | 6 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Buick Enclave Current Page | 64 | 5 | 0 | Current |
| 2019 Buick Enclave | 42 | 2 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Buick Enclave | 56 | 2 | 6 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Buick Enclave | 25 | 0 | 2 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Buick Enclave | 13 | 2 | 1 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Buick Enclave | 19 | 2 | 0 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Buick Enclave | 7 | 1 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Buick Enclave | 36 | 3 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Buick Enclave | 0 | 0 | 1 | View 2026 Problems → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 31 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2018 Buick Enclave
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2018 Buick Enclave is Brakes & Traction Control, appearing in 21 records (32.8% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Engine & Cooling (15) and Powertrain & Transmission (15).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 64 consumer defect complaints and 0 safety recall campaigns for the 2018 Buick Enclave.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2018 Buick Enclave, 5 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 1 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.