[Maxfli5]

I noticed a Buick customer service person has been viewing this forum and this issue. How can I reach out to you or vice versa? My wife wants to get rid of the Enclave ASAP. The stalling issue has happened to her three times and we have twin 4 year olds. Twice it happened while on a crowded highway at highway speeds. It scared her so much she doesn't want to drive the car at all at this point. Any assistance greatly appreciated. We are really not in a position to get a new car nor can I afford to rent a car until she's satisfied that it's fixed. We've really enjoyed our Enclave and it's been perfect for our family. However, this is a obviously a big problem.

Our 08' Enclave is at Ritchey Cadilliac/Buick in Daytona Beach. Bruce is our service manager and is the one trying to help but doesn't seem to know what to do. He said that no one else has this issue.

Please help, thank you!

John

 

[sailfish]

You can sent a personal message or tomorrow the CSR should be back online. She is usually only on during the week and perhaps one Saturday a month.

 

[whoonuu]

I just googled "Buick Enclave stalls" and found this forum and thread. My wife has this exact problem. We have a 2008 Enclave with 65k miles. Hers stalls while driving and also won't start at times. The not starting happened to me once. I pulled it out of park then back in. Fired right up. When it doesn't start it's as if the battery is totally dead but that is not the case. The bigger issue is the stalling while driving. Scared her to death. It just came out of service where they said there was a TSB on this issue. No problem, it was fixed. Not so fast. It came out of the shop on Monday and wouldn't start on Wednesday. It eventually did. Today (Thursday) is stalled while she was driving and wouldn't fire back up. Towed back to the dealership to try again.

Our service department seems to be as lost as your service deparment. They will start working on it again tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

John

Boy do I feel your pain! Please check through every post of mine for the details of each repair. Eventually ours was fixed (we have already sold it THANK GOD). the very last thing they did was replace the ignition switch.

I would forget contacting the Buick service people who post on this site -- I registered with them and they did absolutely nothing for me other than call to see if the problem was fixed. Everytime they called (they had what seemed like clerical people calling) I would tell them "No, problem is not fixed" then *I* would ask them several questions and they never were able to give me an answer on anything. Was crazy and a complete waste of time.

This is what I suggest: Have your service people call mine. All of the repairs were done at Cavender Buick GMC in San antonio, TX. Phone number 210-490-2000. The Shop Foreman, name is Robert Hinton, was the one leading the charge on this and eventually solved the problem -- took him several tries but he was very diligent. Very impressed with Mr. Hinton. He is bound to remember this as he was completely stumped. The stalling even happened to him the first time we took it out for a drive. Tell him it was an 08 CXL (red). If they need more info, like the vin, I can send it to you privately. Just let me know.

Good luck! I know what you are going through -- it is scary as ****. One thing Robert taught me is that once you are done freaking out, you can put the car in neutral, turn the ignition off then restart the car, all while it is moving.

 

[rockyp]

One thing Robert taught me is that once you are done freaking out, you can put the car in neutral, turn the ignition off then restart the car, all while it is moving.

This is a very good piece of advice!!

 

[rbarrios]

all my cars can be started in neutral..
Actually I can start my 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo in Neutral too....
Traverse will start in neutral...

Its also in the owners manual.


Starting the Engine
Move the shift lever to P (Park) or
N (Neutral). The engine will not start
in any other position. To restart the
engine when the vehicle is already
moving, use N (Neutral) only.

 

[whoonuu]

I am sure most vehicles will start in neutral but I offered this information because when you are traveling at highway speeds and your engine dies, it is extremely frightening as control of the car becomes almost impossible -- so if you are going into a curve, you can forget staying in your lane. If this happens to you like it has happened to me and this other person now, you are in PANIC mode -- restarting the car while moving was something that never occured to me, mostly because I am in that panic mode when it happens.

I really hope this person gets their issue resolved! I wouldnt wish these circumstances on anybody!

 

[Bwn88]

I hope this is resolved for the owner. On the opposite side...we had a Honda that would randomly go full throttle. Happened a couple times and Honda couldn't figure it out over a couple months. Last time we drove it was the scariest drive ever... to frame it....Ever see one of those TruTv with a car weaving in and out of traffic out of control.... that was me one time on a semi-crowded highway with wifey and 4 kids in back...the car wouldn't turn off with the key either.....Never drove the car again...Thank god no one was hurt...

It is scary as **** to be in an out of control vehicle until it is stopped.

 

[rockyp]

Starting the Engine
Move the shift lever to P (Park) or
N (Neutral). The engine will not start
in any other position. To restart the
engine when the vehicle is already
moving, use N (Neutral) only.

Awwwwww... It's a lot more fun to jam it into Park at 65 mph!! :happy: :happy: :happy:

 

[kidsenclave]

Sounds to me like any new vehicle that's so computer controlled has the potential to just shut down. Guess if we want to avoid this, better buy a 10yr old used car. I totally agree it's scary, but I'm sure it can be fixed.

 

[Maxfli5]

Thank you so much for the info about your Enclave. I spoke to our technician earlier today and he said they KNOW what's wrong and will have it to us on Monday. He said it is a Body Control Module. Later in the day I sent him the VIN number or your car with the information. He called me back within a few minutes and said they pulled up the car in their system and could see what was done. He said they replaced a number of items over a period of weeks. The last thing that was replaced was theeeeee...Body Control Module. It was helpful to our guys that the car wouldn't start while in their shop.

I'm assuming this will fix the problem based upon the other car. It obviously give us enough confidence to drive the car without the fear.

Thanks again. I'll report back in a couple weeks assuming it works out. Until then, think Body Control Module when your Enclave won't start and stalls in traffic.

 

[Blue Oval]

Last time we drove it was the scariest drive ever... to frame it....Ever see one of those TruTv with a car weaving in and out of traffic out of control.... that was me one time on a semi-crowded highway with wifey and 4 kids in back...the car wouldn't turn off with the key either.....Never drove the car again...Thank god no one was hurt...

It is scary as **** to be in an out of control vehicle until it is stopped.

88
I don't understand what prevented you from just shifting into Neutral when this happened??
Disconnect power to the wheels, let the engine rev while coasting to the sholder. Any automatic can be shifted into N and it will just coast - certainly better than endangering everyone on the hwy while the unentended acceleration is ocurring. Even standing on the brake pedal with both feet would have some impact on slowing the vehicle and be better than hanging on to a run-away.

Please explain why a neutral shift could not be done as this could possibly happen to other vehicles and everyone should be aware of what to do should it happen to them.

 

[whoonuu]

Thank you so much for the info about your Enclave. I spoke to our technician earlier today and he said they KNOW what's wrong and will have it to us on Monday. He said it is a Body Control Module. Later in the day I sent him the VIN number or your car with the information. He called me back within a few minutes and said they pulled up the car in their system and could see what was done. He said they replaced a number of items over a period of weeks. The last thing that was replaced was theeeeee...Body Control Module. It was helpful to our guys that the car wouldn't start while in their shop.

I'm assuming this will fix the problem based upon the other car. It obviously give us enough confidence to drive the car without the fear.

Thanks again. I'll report back in a couple weeks assuming it works out. Until then, think Body Control Module when your Enclave won't start and stalls in traffic.

(First of all if anybody is wondering, I emailed my VIN number to Maxfli5 so that they could diagnose this problem easier).

I can't recall exactly -- but after they replaced the BCM, the car still had issues -- I think it was ONLY trouble with starting and NOT stalling, but I am not 100%. I know the last thing they did at that point was replace the ignition switch. When I called today the service rep told me that was the last thing he showed as being done. We had the car for several weeks after that and never had a problem from that point on, at which point we decided it was safe to sell, and did so. Good luck

 

[REDCXL]

88
I don't understand what prevented you from just shifting into Neutral when this happened??
Disconnect power to the wheels, let the engine rev while coasting to the sholder. Any automatic can be shifted into N and it will just coast - certainly better than endangering everyone on the hwy while the unentended acceleration is ocurring. Even standing on the brake pedal with both feet would have some impact on slowing the vehicle and be better than hanging on to a run-away.

Please explain why a neutral shift could not be done as this could possibly happen to other vehicles and everyone should be aware of what to do should it happen to them.

Many years ago, on the TV news, there was a women driving through sacramento on the freeway. Her accelerator stuck to the floor and she roared through traffic, swerving etc. I do not recall the outcome, but do remember the newsman asking her why she didn't just shift inot "N". She said she did, but it made such a racket that she shifted back to drive.
Nothing more to say about that. :banghead:

 

[john 070]

Cars have changed so much, I'm almost certain that very few cars have cables from the accelerator to the throttle body. So to say (driver or mfg.) that the accelerator got stuck is most likely hogwash. One phenom is having rear brakes wear out faster than fronts, and as soon as 25k, and for mfgs. to say "that's normal." there are a lot of factors controlling driver input nowadays, of an electronic nature. A car that stalls randomly and can't be repaired in 3X is unacceptable--should be lemoned and sent to the crusher.

 

[yppas]

Hi Everyone,

I have an 08 Enclave. approx. 160 000 kms and I also have a Engine stalls/quits problem. It has happened a total of 4 times, inconsistently/randomly. The most recent was today. My wife was driving and had my 2 year old daughter in the car. It only seems to be happening as the E is coming to a stop at a red light. The engine just shuts off. No lights, chimes or engine codes....

We love our enclave and hopefully this can be resolved. Am I looking at an ECM or BCM issue or maybe something else entirely?

Thanks,

Tony

 

[kidsenclave]

Hi Everyone,

I have an 08 Enclave. approx. 160 000 kms and I also have a Engine stalls/quits problem. It has happened a total of 4 times, inconsistently/randomly. The most recent was today. My wife was driving and had my 2 year old daughter in the car. It only seems to be happening as the E is coming to a stop at a red light. The engine just shuts off. No lights, chimes or engine codes....

We love our enclave and hopefully this can be resolved. Am I looking at an ECM or BCM issue or maybe something else entirely?

Thanks,

Tony

Sorry to hear this. I just reread the entire thread here to refresh my memory with the other folks who have had this problem. Sounds like it's the BCM (Body Control Module). One of the people had the ignition switch replaced. See...that is why I don't like all these computer controlled things in our new cars now, like the ignition is electronically controlled. If the battery goes dead, you can't turn it and get the key out.

Side note: I see an odd pattern. If you read back in this thread, ALL of the people making posts about this issue mention kids and/or wife being in the car? Is this an odd coincidence, this is never happening to just a man driving alone? What are these kids riding in the car doing? :eyebrow: Do you think any of their electronic devices that they have these days could be causing interference with the vehicle's electronics? And along that line, how many of these cases had a DVD player (factory or aftermarket, installed in the vehicle) in use at the time? Sounds far fetched, but really has me scratching my head. My daughter now has a Kindle Fire....I'll let you know if this ever happens to me while they have that on. (or maybe I shouldn't risk having it on while driving.... :yikes

 

[rick10]

is the car shutting off without hesitation ? , Meaning it just shuts off like when you turn your key or does the car's rpm starts to hesitate like the fuel its cutting off and then shuts off

I had something similar with my mazda 3 (hesitation and stalling) after I did the air filter and it turn out they had to clean the throttle body , maf sensor and reset the computer ( and other things).

I find with these problems it is very hard to diagnose if they do not happen all the time and if the engine is not throwing any codes , so the more details of how the this stalling is happening the better it is for the mechanic to diagnosed the problem

 

[GoldEnclave]

yppas, that seems not only frustrating, but also potentially dangerous. :sosad:

 

[whoonuu]

Hi Everyone,

I have an 08 Enclave. approx. 160 000 kms and I also have a Engine stalls/quits problem. It has happened a total of 4 times, inconsistently/randomly. The most recent was today. My wife was driving and had my 2 year old daughter in the car. It only seems to be happening as the E is coming to a stop at a red light. The engine just shuts off. No lights, chimes or engine codes....

We love our enclave and hopefully this can be resolved. Am I looking at an ECM or BCM issue or maybe something else entirely?

Thanks,

Tony

I am the original poster of this issue. I will send you a private message shortly and supply you with my Enclave's VIN so that your technician can see exactly what repairs were made that fixed this issue. We sold our Enclave shortly after this problem, we had several issues with ours and were happy to be rid of it.

...and no, females behind the wheel and kids with electronics are not to blame for this malfunction. In my original post I wrote very clearly that the stall happened to the shop foreman as well, while he was driving and doing the troubleshooting.

 

[yppas]

It happened 3 time with myself alone in the car and the latest with my wife. There is no hesitation at all with the engine. It just shuts off. Thankfully it only happens while coming to a complete stop.

Thanks in advance for the VIN info.

Tony