Are Buicks Reliable?
Short answer: above average. Buicks are above average for reliability — quietly. The brand has repeatedly finished in the top five of major dependability studies, occasionally beating Lexus, helped by a small lineup of mature, low-stress crossovers sharing well-proven GM powertrains. It lacks the reputation of the Japanese leaders, but the federal complaint record backs the rankings: low complaint volume, mostly minor electronics and trim issues rather than powertrain failures.
Updated 2026-07-02 · NHTSA federal records + industry dependability studies
What the federal record shows for Buick
NHTSA's database holds 101,361 technical service bulletin records across 18 Buick models, model years 2005–2027. TSBs are the factory's own documentation of known issues and their fixes. The most-documented models by volume: LACROSSE (18,946), ENCLAVE (18,778), REGAL (13,961), ENCORE (10,894), VERANO (7,832).
Read TSB volume carefully: manufacturers differ enormously in how granularly they file bulletins, so the count reflects documentation practice as much as problem rate. It is not a reliability ranking on its own — use it to see which models have the deepest known-issue paper trail to check against a specific VIN.
What Buick gets right
- Repeated top-five finishes in industry dependability rankings
- Small, mature lineup — no exotic powertrains, long production runs
- Low complaint volume per model in federal data
The real Buick problem areas
1.4L turbo coolant leaks (older Encore, 2013–2019)
The small turbo four in the original Encore could leak coolant from the water outlet and turbo lines — cheap parts, frequent enough to be documented in bulletins.
Infotainment glitches
Screen freezes and backup-camera dropouts appear in complaints across the lineup, in line with GM’s other brands.
Nine-speed transmission shudder (some Envision/Enclave years)
GM’s 9T automatic drew torque-converter-shudder bulletins in the late 2010s; a fluid-spec change addressed most cases.
Which Buick models are most reliable?
Strong records
- • Envision (2021+)
- • Encore GX (2020+)
- • Enclave (2019+, with the 3.6L V6)
Research before buying
- • Encore 1.4T 2013–2019 (coolant plumbing)
How do I check a specific Buick before buying?
Brand averages don't buy cars — VINs do. A generation-level problem (like the ones above) either applies to the specific vehicle in front of you or it doesn't, and the federal record answers that by VIN: open recalls and whether they were completed, owner complaints filed for that exact model year, and the service bulletins the factory issued for it.
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FAQ
Are Buicks reliable?
Buicks are above average for reliability — quietly. The brand has repeatedly finished in the top five of major dependability studies, occasionally beating Lexus, helped by a small lineup of mature, low-stress crossovers sharing well-proven GM powertrains. It lacks the reputation of the Japanese leaders, but the federal complaint record backs the rankings: low complaint volume, mostly minor electronics and trim issues rather than powertrain failures.
Are Buicks expensive to maintain?
Ownership costs are mainstream-GM cheap; parts are shared with high-volume Chevrolet models.
How long do Buicks last?
The 3.6L V6 Enclaves and mature crossovers commonly reach 200,000 miles without drama.
Which Buick models are most reliable?
The strongest reliability records in the Buick lineup belong to: Envision (2021+); Encore GX (2020+); Enclave (2019+, with the 3.6L V6). The models worth extra research before buying: Encore 1.4T 2013–2019 (coolant plumbing).
How do I check a specific used Buick before buying?
Run the VIN. Every Buick VIN carries a federal paper trail: open recalls, owner complaints filed with NHTSA, and technical service bulletins for its exact model year. CarWhere's $9.99 Full VIN Report packages all three with a market price check — it shows whether the specific truck or car you're looking at has the known problems for its generation, and whether the recall work was done.
Reliability by brand
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- Are BMWs reliable?
- Are Teslas reliable?
- Are Lexus reliable?
- Are Acuras reliable?
- Are Nissans reliable?
- Are Hondas reliable?
- Are Toyotas reliable?
- Are Fords reliable?
- Are Chevys reliable?
- Are Hyundais reliable?
- Are Porsches reliable?
- Are Land Rovers reliable?
Sources checked
- • NHTSA recall records for Buick, model years 2005–2027
- • NHTSA owner complaints and manufacturer communications (TSBs) — 101,361 bulletin records across 18 models
- • Published industry dependability studies (J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, Consumer Reports brand reliability rankings)
- • Documented warranty extensions, recalls, and class-action settlement history
Retrieved 2026-07-02.
Assessments combine NHTSA federal records (recalls, complaints, technical service bulletins) with published industry dependability studies and documented class-action/warranty-extension history. Problem areas describe generation-level patterns, not guarantees about any individual vehicle. Cite this page: CarWhere, "Are Buicks Reliable?," carwhere.com/reliability/buick, updated 2026-07-02. Reviewed by Sam Reynolds, Lead Researcher, CarWhere.