2011 Buick LaCrosse problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2011 a good year for the Buick LaCrosse?

Complaint volume is fairly even across this nameplate, so the model year is a weaker signal here than it is on many cars. Read the components below rather than the totals.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 6 of the nameplate’s model years. 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 are absent, which means no records came back for them — not that they were clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2011 accounts for 33% of every complaint filed against the Buick LaCrosse in this retrieval, which works out to 11.3 complaints per year on the road across the 15 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Complaint volume is broadly flat against the 2010 (0.9×), so on this measure the two years are interchangeable and the choice between them comes down to condition and price rather than the model year.

Which recalls cover the 2011?

Take the campaign number to any franchised Buick dealer. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, and they follow the car rather than the owner, so a used 2011 with an unrepaired campaign is a free repair you can claim. How recalls work.

Recall text is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice and affected VIN ranges.

What do owners report on the Buick LaCrosse?

Across every Buick LaCrosse year, not the 2011 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Electrical System — 113 reports
• Suspension — 66 reports
• Steering — 53 reports
• Power Train — 44 reports

If your 2011 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Won't start — clicking
• Won't start — silence
• Battery light on

Which other Buick LaCrosse years should you compare?

← 2010 Buick LaCrosse · 2013 Buick LaCrosse → · All Buick LaCrosse years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Buick LaCrosse page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.